Coarse fishermen revel in Tyne’s rich harvest
Last updated 17:35, Thursday, 21 August 2008
The Tyne was in near perfect condition, following midweek floods for the annual open coarse fishing survey match on the river.
Despite the soggy summer, the river fished exceptionally well.
Some sections were troubled by rising water levels, but overall, the match more than lived up to expectations.
Indeed whilst some sections struggled, the statistics of the winners were amazing as no fewer than 42 of the 89 anglers competing caught double figures.
Of that 17 weighed in bags in excess of 20 lb, and 30 lb plus catches, weights that would win easily elsewhere, but they were only good enough to win sections!
Dace were the most plentiful fish, followed by chub and roach. Other species recorded included eels and gudgeon.
Anglers gathered at the auction mart in Hexham to draw their pegs, which ran from Wark on the North Tyne down to Bywell on the main Tyne.
Once the draw was completed anglers dispersed to their pegs before commencing the five-hour match at 11am.
Although the stretches of the river where the exceptional catches came from are usually preserved for salmon interests, the quality of the fish caught proved that the Tyne coarse fish population, almost reduced to nothing in the 1980s following the advent of Kielder, is now well and truly back on the map.
Joint organisers the Environment Agency and The Tyne Anglers Alliance recorded a big thank you to all the riparian owners for their co-operation, Northumbrian Water for their management of Kielder for the match and finally the EA, in particular Robbie Stevenson, for all his hard work.
A nice round of applause by the anglers for TAA's Tyne representative Steve Hoggins showed a deep appreciation from the contestants for his considerable efforts in putting all of this together
North East matchman Eddie Bridon led a superb string of big weights with a fantastic 60lb 14oz caught from the Riding Mill section.
Eddie fished a four-metre whip and maggot to catch 200 dace and a couple of bonus chub from his two-foot deep swim.
As well as being crowned Tyne Champion Eddie also picked up over £800 in prize money and was also part of the winning team, the splendidly named "Maver Nit Wits."
Runner up was Teesside visitor Ian Kirton with 44 lb 6 oz from the consistent Hexham section.
Third place went to local angler John Parkinson with 42 lb14 oz, also from the Riding Mill beat.
John caught quality dace and chub to 3lb.
A donation of £ 600 was made to the Tyne Rivers Trust by the TAA.
Environment Agency fisheries technical specialist, Phil Rippon - who himself weighed in with a creditable 32lb 10oz - said: "Once again, the Tyne Championship has proved a great success, with some fantastic fishing, and improved information on the river's fish stocks.
“We had 85 anglers travelling from as far a field as Northamptonshire to participate.
"In addition to providing a fantastic day's sport for anglers from across the region, the information provided by the catch records, carefully recorded by Environment Agency staff as each angler weighed in, will be used to continue to improve our knowledge of the Tyne's fish stocks, and help target effective management actions in the future.
"I'd like to thank everyone who helped in organising the match, and all those who kindly offered anglers access to their water for the event."
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