ANOTHER JOINT EFFORT.

I was the the  Nyth many years ago and two families had come to fish the river for a few days.  Amongst them was a little girl called Tess.  She was very small in stature despite being about 14 or so at the time.  She was mad keen on salmon fishing and could cast quite well.   I took her out on the slippery slabs at the head of the Cafn pool and she fished it down pretty well but with no result.

When she got beyond the maximum range of her cast I suggested I took the rod and cast rather longer as there was a good lie right in the tail of the pool.   I cast and I gave her the rod each time as the fly swung across.  After about half a dozen cast the line tightened and she was into a fish.   It was important to get the fish up from the tail as below were 300yds of fast rocky pools and waterfalls. Luckily the fish did not do this and played slow and deep.  We needed to get out of the pool and try and walk the fish up to the quieter water above the head of the pool.  She kept hold of the rod as I picked her up and carried her to the bank.

Once there the fish behaved well and she was able to walk it up some way to somewhere we had a chance to land it.  Suddenly the fish really woke up and on one occasion it rolled on the surface in midstream.   It was big, very big.   “I think you better give me the rod Tess”I said and she agreed.  I played the fish for some time and by then we had quite a collection of spectators from the two families

Two experienced angler from the party took the big net down the ladder into the river and eventually we netted the fish.  All three of use agreed that it could, probably was  be a thirty pounder.  It was C&R at the time so we did not risk weighing it and it was successfully returned.

Tess and her family are still syndicate members at the Nyth.  She is much older now of course but not a lot bigger.  She has a baby to boot.   Last year she caught at 11lb fish at the bottom of the Nyth and rang my mobile for instructions and I had a running commentary on the fight as she successfully beached the fish.

The question remains   Whose fish was the thirty pounder.?   Her fish I reckon!!