Just a quick question that I'm sure someone can answer for me.
Does anyone know what time of year the salmon make their upstream run in the UK?
Does anyone know what time of year the salmon make their upstream run in the UK?
Salmon Run
- Thread starter Wayland
- Start date
Here in Norway: About now I would think. Being an inland boy I have only heard this, but it is supposed to start running when the first bumblebees are flying.
Big inland trout goes about when the wheat is ready for harvest. The biggest go first (counts with both trout and salmon) and the very smallest go as late as September-Oktober. Higher elevation/lower temperatures makes for a earlier run, as they have to be finished before the frost makes the river flow too slow.
It probably is the same way in the UK. But I would expect the salmon to run earlier than here as the first run should happen in the spring flood. While trout generally go with the autumn rain. Trout should therefore run later. Don't know about sea trout though.
Torjus Gaaren
Big inland trout goes about when the wheat is ready for harvest. The biggest go first (counts with both trout and salmon) and the very smallest go as late as September-Oktober. Higher elevation/lower temperatures makes for a earlier run, as they have to be finished before the frost makes the river flow too slow.
It probably is the same way in the UK. But I would expect the salmon to run earlier than here as the first run should happen in the spring flood. While trout generally go with the autumn rain. Trout should therefore run later. Don't know about sea trout though.
Torjus Gaaren
Some salmon will have started their run by now, fish caught early in the year are called "springers" and are more likely to be found in the lower reaches of a river. As the year moves on more fish enter the river, and more fish move up towards the head of the river. They enter the river between February and November, but it is very much dependant on local geographical and seasonal differences. On the upper Wear I think the fish get here by winter, and I saw a dead, spent fish of about 5lbs in the shallows in March I think, though to be honest I couldn't say if it was a salmon or sea trout. My kids saw and photographed one in a tiny burn at spring half term.
I'm guessing that it could take them up to a year to travel the length of the river but spawning in the shallow streams seems to take place in March on this river.
I'm guessing that it could take them up to a year to travel the length of the river but spawning in the shallow streams seems to take place in March on this river.
As a kid (and occasionally now when I'm up there) I fished the Aln and the Coquet, and both ran early spring right through the summer. Sea Trout seemed to run a bit later (end april/may then through the summer).
They tend to spawn at the end of the season (October/ November) and it was not uncommon to catch a "spent" fish early in the following season, which were traditionally put back to continue on their way.
They tend to spawn at the end of the season (October/ November) and it was not uncommon to catch a "spent" fish early in the following season, which were traditionally put back to continue on their way.
IIRC the salmon season is from March to October (or thereabouts)
As a rule of thumb you tend to get more but smaller fish in the first half (probably more like 2/3rd's really) of the season, then bigger but fewer fish later on.
I used to fish on the Usk river every year - brilliant
Biggest fish I caught was 17.5lb one August - in fact it was the biggest fish of the season on that beat.
As a rule of thumb you tend to get more but smaller fish in the first half (probably more like 2/3rd's really) of the season, then bigger but fewer fish later on.
I used to fish on the Usk river every year - brilliant
Biggest fish I caught was 17.5lb one August - in fact it was the biggest fish of the season on that beat.
