Thread on the Salmon Fishing Forum  relating to the capture of ones first salmon.

  Mine was quite memorable for several reasons    My early fishing from a very young age was centered around coarse fishing, then match fishing, then reservour trout and river trout.
I was a young single Police Constable at the time at Kidderminster in the Worcestershire force as it was then.  There was a good culture of sport with football, cricket and fishing well to the fore.
Some weeks before the event I was playing football when I had an injury resulting in a broken right ankle which resulted in my lower leg being fitted with  a plaster cast.

I was able to walk with a crutch and then a stick but could'n't really go fishing until I decided one day to try and drive my car, a Ford popular. Not a very sensible decision under  the circumstances, having to use my left foot for both clutch and brake.   Another young Officer, Kevin who was in our fishing team decided he would come with me.  The destination was the BAA water on the River Teme below the weir at Lindridge where I had fished for some years.  Well we made it, having run down a pheasant on the way, seemingly dead and had it in the boot but as we pulled up and opened the boot it there it was staring at us -not dead at all.  It was despatched with the starting handle- yes it was that long ago.

Anyway I hobbled down with the aid of a stick to the bend below the weir where there was a nice gravel beach and a deepish run under the far bank.  Fly fishing was not really practical so a small fixed spool reel on the 9' cane rod with 5lb line and a size 12 hook. A couple swan shot for weight and a couple of small worms for bait.  Trout or perhaps chub was expected and sure enough caught a couple of these.  My friend had gone out of sight downriver past some fast rapids below me and a short time later another nod on the rod signaled another bite.   I lifted the rod, made contact and the next second a silver missile cleared the water into  the overhanging branches on the far bank and I was well and truly into a salmon.   I was not in a good position to do much other than to try and stay in contact but heard a noise on the gravel behind me and expected to see my friend returning having yelled my head off after a few minutes of contact.

Instead I saw a dirty great sow with a brood of youngsters examining the contents of my tackle bag which I had left lying some way behind me.   They started to trash my bag and I had to decide whether to stay with the fish or rescue my tackle.  I stayed with the fish which eventually started to show signs of calming down and having done their worst the pigs eventually wandered off.   Eventually I sort of got on top of the fish which eventually wallowed a short way out and luckily I managed to beach it on the gravel in front of me.  I helped it up the gravel with my plaster cast and dropped to my knees to restrain it.  It was a lovely fresh fish of about 8lbs or so. Had it simply turned and ran downstream no way would I have landed it.  Not thsat bright though are they really..  Kevin arrived back some time later by which time I had the fish under a bush and my trashed tackle sorted.   Did I have a salmon licence you may ask?  To be honest I can't remember but possibly not..

Had a lot of salmon off the Teme in the years that followed. I was stationed at Tenbury and later the Country Beat Station at Eastham just a field away from the river.   Good times and a lovely river in those days.

My second salmon, also from the Teme had  similar twists and turns.  Another time perhaps.


Perhaps you might like to share your first salmon experience!!!!!!!!!!!