Big Salmon

[elwyman]

52lb salmon from the Alta.

[clydebuilt]

No wonder he's smiling!!

[williegunn]

I see the C&R on the Alta is similer to most Norwegian rivers.

[salmonking]

question,,,,,,would anyone consider returning such a fish,
if they be so lucky enough to catch one of that size,?
as long as i got i pic..i prob would,if it was fit enough for release,
on my local water theras too many guys taking fish,
last yr i met 1 guy with 4 salmon(spring fish).
i thought it was a cryin shame as the spring run is really improving,and we should be doing our utmost to preserve this.

[jock]

It has been many a year since I landed my biggest salmon which was probably just over 20lbs. I personally would never kill any large salmon even if a river was full of them. However, I would not criticise a fellow angler if he did. I would criticise, if the angler was going against the rules or voluntary code for that particular beat or river.

[stu47]

Norwegien mentality is 5 bag limit ,i must take 5 fish,

[clydebuilt]

salmonking said:

question,,,,,,would anyone consider returning such a fish,
if they be so lucky enough to catch one of that size,?

Have to agree with you there salmonking, if it was fit enough to be returned then i would have slipped it back, pic or no pic, its a fish you would happily remember for the rest of your life.

[storlaks]

Fortunately in Norway they haven't gone C&R mad like in the UK. Maybe they've reaslised that it's not the ONLY answer to stock recovery and thriving rivers systerms!! Their rivers have recovered from years of neglect and even Gyro infection without Mandatory C&R. Good river management and nature seem to do fine.

Killing fish is part of tradition on Norwegian rivers....let's respect that. More fish are being returned than ever before but it's still left to the individual to decide.....not some river management board or goverment body.

Choice is a great thing!

If I caught a fish that size and it was fresh I guess I would kill it and get it mounted.

[williegunn]

storlaks said:

Fortunately in Norway they haven't gone C&R mad like in the UK.

Mad interesting use of the word.

Whilst fishing the Gaula the Norwegians were going on about the buy out of the fiord nets, not by Norwegian anglers I hasten to add. Then having deprived the netsmen of their catch they happily weilded the preist on every salmon landed vast numbers were caught on the spinner or worm. River boards could certainly help the Norwegian situation, I noticed lots of spawning burns which were inaccessable.

[stu47]

Hei Storlaks where in Norway do you come from?

[stu47]

Hei Storlaks where in Norway do you come from?

[jimthefish]

I was lucky enough to fish the Alta in august last year sharing a rod with one of my mates. Of the 35 fish that we caught, we killed one sealiced 25 pounder which had engulfed the fly and was bleeding badly. As far as I could see, all of the syndicate rods return all of their fish and have done so for the past few years.

The locals have some fishing lower down near the town of Alta and also through the annual lottery. I bet that 52pdr was caught by one of the locals.

These big Alta salmon are just too precious to kill. I think the message is slowly getting through to the Norwegians but it will take a long time for them to get over the habit of wielding the priest.

The Alta incidentally is a fabulous river in a fantastic setting. Every cast you think "could this be the one ?".

[storlaks]

I don't come from Norway. I'm scottish, live in France and fish in Norway every year, as well as Scotland. My point is this. Some Norwegian rivers were in a real bad way just 10-15 years ago. Numbers declined and people stopped going. A decade later things have improved and on some rivers the improvement is dramatic. This was without any C&R policy!! Investment is the river itself.....purification, spawing areas, net buyout etc etc have all contributed to increased salmon runs....and of all sizes. So without a mandatory or even voluntary C&R policy they have managed to turn things around. I guess nature takes it course if you provide the right environment for it to do so. C&R has it's place and should be encouraged on all salmon rivers, but not (IMO) enforced. It certainly shouldn't be seen as a way to measure the quality of a salmon river!! It gets to much emphasis in Scotland, more than it deserves.

As for the Fjiord net buyout. No different from the Noth East Altantic drift net argument. netting salmon doesn't bring in millions of Kroner to the Norwegian economy. Salmon fishing does. If the rivers can sustain and flourish with a small havesting of salmon then let it be. I think we all know that anglers only catch and kill a small percentage of the fish running a rivers system. I'm strongly against the "kill everything" mob, but sensible conservation measures are best.

The fact that we debate or comment on whether a big fish should be killed in a river in another country tells me that some of us are obcessed with C&R. The Alta has one of the highest weight averages and is one of the best rivers on the planet.

[salmonking]

I AGRE WITH 90% ON YR VIEWS STORLAKS,BUT I HONESTLY DONT THINK WE HAVE BECOME C&R OBSESSED (UK).
I THINK A LOT OF THE YOUNGER SALMO FLY FISHERMEN WANT TO DO THERE BIT FOR THE FUTURE,NOT ONLY FOR THE SALMON,BUT FOR THE SPORT ITSELF,WHERE AS A LOT OF OLDER GUYS ARE MAYBE STUCK IN THERE WAYS....I HOPE I M NOT OFFENDING ANYONE,AS I DONT MEAN TO STERIOTIPE,ITS JUST WHAT IVE OBSERVED IN MY AREA.

[robmason]

The Alta may be a fantastic river in a great setting but our intrepid angler (above) cares little about it. All that matters to him is his trophy fish. Just look at the setting he chose to display the fish of a lifetime! Back garden somewhere in Norway!

The mentality is big game hunting not angling. I find it sad. The thought of killing such a fine fish just to stuff it or mount it! Repulsive.

[storlaks]

This guy caught a 52lb salmon and killed it. Why are we judging him and his actions. The fish is fresh, caught fairly (I presume) and he's acted within the rules and regulations of the river.

This is what I mean by "obsessive"!!!

Who are we (Brits) to judge how the Norwegians run their rivers systems and salmon fishing.
Hunting/fishing for salmon is part of their tradition as is killing the catch, so respect that. It's not wrong and it's certainly not repulsive.

Returning a bleeding fish to a river is cruel and repulsive.

C&R should be something we all do and human nature will dictate to what level each individual will do it, but it should not be something we measure ourselves by and/or others. It certainly shouldn't be an enforced rule or LAW!

[salmonking]

i agree totaly with springer,i probably take 3 fish max in a season,
if im lucky enough to catch that many,,,3o or so fish is average on a good yr,although ive only had 5 this yr,due to lack of water on my small spateriver(whiteadder).
1 has been taken,given to the prop...who i may add gives me a ticket yrly(FOC),ITS the only fish i would consider giving up,its the very least i can do.
To take a salmon and give them away IS AN ANGLING CRIME,and selling them worse still,it boils my p### to see this happening and it does.
if i can get a quick snap of my catch,and if its not badly hooked im more than happy to see it go back,as springer says,if someone wants a fish theyknow where the river is.

[jimthefish]

storlaks said:

My point is this. Some Norwegian rivers were in a real bad way just 10-15 years ago. Numbers declined and people stopped going. A decade later things have improved and on some rivers the improvement is dramatic. This was without any C&R policy!! So without a mandatory or even voluntary C&R policy they have managed to turn things around. I guess nature takes it course if you provide the right environment for it to do so. C&R has it's place and should be encouraged on all salmon rivers, but not (IMO) enforced. It certainly shouldn't be seen as a way to measure the quality of a salmon river!! It gets to much emphasis in Scotland, more than it deserves.


The fact that we debate or comment on whether a big fish should be killed in a river in another country tells me that some of us are obcessed with C&R. The Alta has one of the highest weight averages and is one of the best rivers on the planet.

The Alta is still a shadow of its former self. Part of the problem was the building of a dam in the upper reaches which adversely affected the spawning areas of the big fish but if every big fish caught (such as the 52pdr in the photo) was killed then make no mistake, the precious strain of large salmon could be lost to the Alta.

Maybe it's an age thing. In my teens, twenties and thirties I killed almost all salmon I caught on the basis of satisfying the hunter's instinct.. In my forties I started to think about it a bit more and started returning more (painful at first in the case of sealiced springers). Now that I am in my fifties I return the majority of my catch. However, if I did not have the option to kill a salmon for the table then I would have to seriously consider the motives for fishing as much as I do.
Yesterday I was fishing a Lower Beat on the Tweed and had 3 salmon. The best was a chrome bright 17lb hen with a closed vent but I had no hesitation in returning her safely knowing that her eggs will contribute to further generations. The smallest fish, a clean hen of 5lbs had sucked the fly into her gills and was spouting blood. We are having her for dinner tonight and will enjoy.

In summary I agree that the angler should have a choice to kill or not, but in my dotage, I would like to think that my sons will be able to enjoy what I have had and continue fishing for that most wonderful fish, Salmo Salar.

[salmonking]

wich beat were you on jimthefish,i was on milnegraden week before last,and the fish seemed to be bomming through down there,
i had 1 good belt and that was it,the rest of the rods struggled as well,higher beats are doing well as expected this time of yr.

[robmason]

The water's too high for Milne Graden to fish well.