Another Moral Dilemma.

[rennie]

Whilst contributing to a thread on backing a while back I pondered something that happened to me a few years back.
Fishing the Nith at Thornill,on the Mid-Nithsdale water with a pal who had not Salmon fished before we were stood on the high bank of Wee Porters while I explained the water to him and what we would be trying to do when a Grey Back in the mid twenty's showed right where it should.Straight away I put my pal into the pool and he fished down steadily towards this fish with a wee devon in fine style unfortunately with no joy.I then followed him with the fly rod(intermediate,1" tube 15lb maxima and size 8 treble).Right on the button the fish took,plodded about a bit then made off out the pool and into the beat below where it just plodded about a bit more.I walked down to the limit of the beat but didn't encroach and tried to ease the fish back towards me.After about 15 mins. the hook pulled.At this point the fish was well behaved, sat there and if I had walked down to it I am positive it would have been one in the book as it were.
Now the reason I didn't follow is a few years ago a friend of mine in similar circumstances did follow a fish downstream whilst fishing on a well known beat of a big river, on landing the fish he sought out the ghillie of the downstream beat,explained his actions and even offered the fish over.The ghillie had no problem,but a few weeks later my pal received a letter from both estates concerned asking for an explanation of his actions and informing him that in future he would not be welcome on their waters again,it turns out the tennent of the downstream beat had complained.The matter was eventually resolved but left a nasty taste in my pals throat who almost gave up fishing altogether.Now people what would you have done as either party?,follow the fish,stand your ground,or indeed allow the rod into "your water" to land their fish.Perhaps easily sorted out by the forum but in the heat of the moment?. Pedro.

[altmor]

Not too difficult for me, this one Pedro. I think firstly, if I was fishing on the lower beat, I would like to assist the angler from the upper beat. It's not after all as if he had hooked the fish in the water I was fishing, and being upstream, there's not much likelihood, I would have had a chance of hooking the same fish anyway.

Particularly (and hypothetically of course), were I not having much action below him, a fish played through my pool, might help to stir things up a bit, and who knows, might bring the fish on for me later !! It's not the first time I've been down through a pool with a fish hooked at the tail, and after a good play through the whole pool, the rod coming down behind me hooks one in the neck (of the pool).

What would I do if I were on the upper beat and things looked as though the fish was going to "cross boundaries"? I'd guess I would try to hold on at the marches, and if that failed, would follow it down into the next beat. It's better to land a fish and properly release the hook and fish, than to have your leader stretch and "ping" !!

[macsalmo]

Hi Rennie (or should I say 'Na then' ;D),

Another good dilemma.
This one is easier for me to answer.

Yes I would follow a big fish down into the beat below and accept any consequences.

Yes I would be ok for another rod to land their fish on 'my beat'.
This has already happened to me on the Annan a few years back (the latter that is ) I netted a 22 lber for a very grateful fisherman who's fish decided to head back to the solway.

Thats my view but I'm sure there will be mixed ones to come.

ATB

Gary

[say]

Personally I woulld follow the fish down to the beat below and take what ever came my way. As mentioned earlier, it's better to ensure that the fish is landed safely and the fly removed than putting on the brakes thus leaving a fly in the fish.

However I know of a beat on the Dee that does not practice 100% C&R, therefore if these anglers came downstream to the beat below I would fully expect them to respect the rules of that beat and release the fish.

[macsalmo]

Wow Say, you could of just opened another can of worms there mate

In theory the fish was hooked on the other beat which means its their fish
But in practice the fish would be taken from the C&R beat

Wheres that fence, I'm off for a sit down on it

[altmor]

Yes, that's a real teaser !!
For by the fact that I thought the whole of the Dee was C&R, what to do in a situation like that .
Should the codes of the river by followed, or the codes of the beat .

Move along that fence a bit Macsalmo, I need a sit down too !!

[Sloggi]

This shouldn't be an issue. I suppose I'd want to treat other fishers as I'd want them to treat me. First thing I'd do would be to offer my assistance. Catching a salmon is hard enough without dogmatic proprietors standing on the boundary with a large pair of scissors and a cynical smile!

I suppose the other issue here would be the beginning and end of a beat. i know one beat on the Dee where the sad and lonely proprietor spends his day at his boundary complete with spinning rod and 13cm GFR rapala threatening fishers if they encroach one 1/2cm too far (the beat changes mid-pool). The law which is, at times, an ass clearly allows for the fisher to cast from the end of the beat into the next beat but the caveman on the other beat just won't have it.

I guess I would have to suggest that common sense is the only way forward in all these dilemmas. After all, we're just after the same thing - an opportunity to duel with Salmo - so lets help one another!

That's enough, I guess. Don't get me started on catch and release on the Dee!

[Sloggi]

Have tried to "modify" my post, unsuccessfully. Should read: ...offer my assistance.

[Sloggi]

offer assistance...

[wilbert]

Any beat owner / ghillie that would have a problem with this is in my book a prick and I wouldn't care less if I never got asked back to fish their water again. I would be more embarrassed about the fish taking the p1ss out of me rather than what someone else has to say on the matter.

If someone fishing a beat above me came down onto the my beat whilst playing a fish I wouldn't hesitate to reel my line in and give them all the help I can. Salmon fishing is hard enough at times so any help is a bonus.

I cant see any problem in hooking a fish on your own beat by any legal method and having to go maybe 100m downstream to land it, this happens on big pools all the time so whats the difference when you cross an imaginary line?. This March I asked my ghillie if I hook a fish in the bridge pool and it runs under the arch should I give it some serious pressure or follow it. His answer was simple follow it and land it where you can, if you hook a fish on your own water its perfectly legal to land it where ever you can.

To sum it up its not really a moral issue, a moral issue is more like should I sh*g the beat owners wife or not.

[child of the mist]

I think the legal position is, that if you hook a fish in your own beat but land it in another, the fish belongs to that beat. They then will decide wither to keep it , return it, or give it to you. It is not illegal to play a fish in a beat where you don't have the fishing as long as it was hooked on a beat where you do have legal fishing. Personally I would be happy for someone to land a fish in my beat and would accept their decision if I was taken on to their beat. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong