March 1st and the commencement of a new salmon season on North Devon’s Taw and Torridge. I joined members of Barnstaple & District Angling Club at Newbridge to celebrate the occasion at their bankside hut. Warm spring sunshine brought smiles and optimism a contrast to last season’s start with a raging torrent of dirty water combined with hail and thunder.
A Hang glider drifted high above in a clear blue sky. We chatted warmly of seasons gone and those who had walked the river banks at this very spot. It was good to share the spring day with a band of fellow piscators those stories of silver bars bringing hope for the season for anglers are an eternally optimistic bunch. A cool beer, hot dogs, Lemon drizzle and a cup of afternoon tea.
The river was running high with that healthy aqua tinge of spring. With the biggest tides of the season any salmon were likely to be well upriver by now but it was perhaps still worthwhile savouring the throb of a spinner as it traversed the currents or the drift of the fly over well-known taking lies.
Daffodils, celandines and primroses brought that touch of yellow to the lanes and river bank. We will soon glimpse the first martins and swallows and who knows perhaps that silver tourist will bring a touch of silver to enrich some lucky anglers life. I look forward to reporting on the first spring salmon of 2025.
