River Tyne 27 May 2016
Kielder release
The rain forecast last week failed to materially affect the Tyne catchment. As a result, the reservoir remains below the trigger levels for both May and June so no release will occur during the coming week and none is planned for the week commencing 2nd June.
A small release began on the 24th May raising the river level by 110mm- 4 inches, this is not related to the planned release programme.
Tyne Salmon counts
The fish counter at Riding Mill recorded 417 upstream counts for May up to the morning of the 26th. Earlier in the week daily counts of 20 plus were recorded with an increase in overnight activity. The total count for the year to date is around 577.
River reports
The river continued to flow at a low summer level for much of the week, however a short period of decent rainfall on the 25th increased flow in the South Tyne by some 100mm ( 4 inches). This combined with the slight rise in the North Tyne has led to an increase of around 158mm (6 inches) on the Bywell gauge. The small lift in water levels encouraged fish to move, a number of very fresh fish, salmon and sea trout were attempting to access the bridge footings at Hexham earlier today.
Despite the difficult conditions, a slight change in the weather resulted in 4 salmon to 10lbs coming to the net near Riding Mill, Styford reporting 3 and Bywell 1. Occasional salmon were caught in the lower river at Wylam. Sightings of sea trout are increasing downstream of Hexham.