The Atlantic Salmon Trust, Angling Trust and FishPal have teamed up to produce a series of three ten-minute advisory films called "The Gift" to promote best practice for fishing for salmon. The videos have been warmly welcomed by anglers, with thousands viewing them on YouTube even before the official launch today.
The advice, which is all based on scientific evidence, is aimed to minimise the damage to released fish from angling and includes the right choice of tackle and equipment, how to play and land fish efficiently, and how to handle them in the net. Now that anglers voluntarily release around 80% of the salmon they catch, the aim is to ensure that as many of these fish as possible go on to spawn successfully.
Presented by Andy Ford of Sky Sports fame, and featuring Dr. Ken Whelan from the Atlantic Salmon Trust the films were shot on the famous Bywell beat of the River Tyne by kind permission of Lord & Lady Allendale. Jess England (18) and 77-year-old Tom Robinson both demonstrate how to play, land and handle fish safely, ably assisted by their ghillie.
Here's all three videos to enjoy!