Easy Arithmetic.

[elwyman]

Never mind Nolon, many newcomers to salmon fishing blank in their first season, and even some experienced rods have struggled this season - south of the border anyway.

Don't give up, that first fish will come and it will boost your confidence enormously. Best tips I can give you are:

1. Speak to successful anglers and find out what they are doing differently to you.
2. Try to be on the water when conditions are most favorable.
3. Note where you see fish showing and being caught by others, and concentrate on these areas.
4. Persevere - particularly around dusk when fish will often move up the pool and come on the take.
5. if all else fails, blow a big wad of cash on a prime beat that is stuffed full of fish!

[robmason]

Can only agree with above, particularly 1 and 2. Good luck next year!

[jock]

Owen, one of the lads I fish with is so good that even if there are no salmon in the beat, as soon as the salmon hear (scent?) he is on the water they seek him out, take his fly and bingo another one to him. Well that's how it appears to all those that fish with him. Not this year.......so far he has blanked, the big 0, zilch, nuthin, zero, b***** all, sweet * * etc.

It happens to us all, even the very best. For my 12 days this year totally dedicated to catching salmo I landed 5. No springers this year, 4 grilse and 1 salmon that was it. One mate who was with me on all 12 days caught just 1 grilse. It ain't easy......thats probably why we do it. Follow the advice earlier and your day, indeed days will come.

Cheers, and all the best for next season.

Jock

[scotty]

dont worry about it owen it happens tp the best of us, i have had more follows and lost more in the last 2-3 weeks than i care mention and i aint managed to land one, but tomorrow i will.. its the last day and i have the dinamite...... salmon watch out

cheers scotty.

[hardygem]

Well owen ,welcome to the club i spent my first year trying like my life depended on it i was out as much as my wallet (and my wife) would allow. I was reading books listening to all the advice i could etc and still managed to acheive the same scoreline as you.I thought i would never catch a fish and was a wee bit p1ssed off with my luck(ability).Then someone who had caught lots of salmon over many years told me that i was in the enviable position of still having the experience of catching my first atlantic salmon to anticipate and look forward to.I think that it will be all the more special when you do get your first (and you will) knowing that you have had to work for it .Hope this helps
Tightlines for next year Hardygem

[elwyman]

hardygem said:

Then someone who had caught lots of salmon over many years told me that i was in the enviable position of still having the experience of catching my first atlantic salmon to anticipate and look forward to.

Yes, that's a nice way to put it.

Catching a salmon for the first time on a new beat or a new river still gives me a similar feeling, a sense of achievement I suppose.

I caught my first English salmon this year, which means I've now caught salmon from all 4 home nations - suppose I'll have to try the Isle of Man next year. ;D

[macd]

Keep at them Nolon.

Like the guys say- you still have that thrill ahead of you. But watch out its addictive. If you get one and then go without for a while its worse......withdrawal syptoms

Good luck in 07.

[JJ]

Keep at it Owen. This is my second season and on 18 trips my grand total is er.. one actually!!
I got a wonderful fresh grilse from the Findhorn on my 13th attempt and like you I had emptied my wallet and spent all my 'brownie points' before I got my first. You are far from alone and dont forget you are still learning even when you aint catching!

Its been brilliant though now again a bit of easy fishing wouldnt go amiss.. is it time I booked a trip to Russia or Iceland, just to get a few pulls under my belt?!

(ps trout fishing hardly cuts it for me anymore, too predictable and too easy!)

- John

[JJ]

Good luck to all next season, thanks to everyone on here giving us newbies advice and encouragement - it means a lot to us when you are mostly 'fishless' and cant fathom why..!

[kercock]

Nolon,I thought you had left the country ! Sorry to read of your lack of success but glad you are still keeping at it.07 won't be long in coming and will disappear very quickly too.. Get a few gold bodied WGs in your box,tied in tubes and doubles you will get your Springer for sure,There are a host of superb fly tiers out there in this site,who can supply you with the best of the best.Keep goin' see you in the spring perhaps..........

[magpie]

Nolon

I understand there are rods available through Roxtons on the Lower Varzuga in May. Average catches = 36 salmon per rod per week. Cost = £6k per rod/ week (ouch!)

[iainjay]

Nolon...you are not alone.My first season as well and nothin' (well a big kelt back in february but folk tell me that doesn't count....it did to me).I too began to think along the same lines as John..do I forego a whole season at home and splash out on a trip to norway or somewhere?Couldn't afford to do both.Mmmmmm.

Cheers

[exerod]

I'm with springer on this. I wouldn't give up a years fishing on the 'fourth division' Westcountry rivers for one week on a prime beat, it would be so easy to get the wrong week and blank (well maybe not in Russia).

I think the most important thing in salmon fishing, as long as there are fish in the river, is confidence. I blanked for four years because I believed that there was some special magic to hooking a salmon. Well there isn't, its only a fish and a fairly daft one at that. A fresh run salmon is just as easy to catch as a newly stocked rainbow if you are in the right place at the right time!

Don't get downhearted if your local beats don't produce hundreds of fish. One river I fish has a declared return of 50 to 60 per year, many would think it not worth fishing but somebody must be catching those fish, I usually get five or six of them which is no big deal but better than nothing!

Keep at them and tight lines

Andy

[iainjay]

Sound advice guys,will take it onboard.Can't wait to get back out.