First Fish of the Season: Three Years Running on the River Tyne

There's nothing in the fishing calendar quite like the first fish of the season. After the long close months, that first bar of fresh silver is a jolt of pure optimism — proof the fish are back and the year has truly begun. And for three seasons running now, the River Tyne at Bywell has produced it: the first fish of the season, and some of the very first salmon landed anywhere in England. It's no accident. The Tyne's spring run is stronger than most people give it credit for, and the lower Bywell water — where fresh fish stack up below the Riding Mill fish pass until the river warms — is about the best place in the country to intercept an early springer. Here are the three anglers who did just that.

2024 — Paul Outhwaite

Paul got us underway with a cracking springer of 13.5 lb from Boomhaugh — a deep, thick-shouldered fresh fish and a wonderful way to open the account. A proper early-season Tyne salmon, and a reminder of the calibre of fish the spring run can produce.

 Paul Outhwaite with his 13.5 lb springer from Boomhaugh, 2024

2025 — Andrew Soweby

The following spring, Andrew Soweby did the honours with the first fish of the season — a beautiful fresh fish taken on a bright, cold day on the lower water. Two years running is a coincidence; it's also a pattern worth paying attention to.

Andrew Soweby with the first fish of 2025

2026 — Sean Parker

And this season, Sean Parker made it three in a row — the first fish of the Tyne, and among the very first in England — a pristine, sea-liced springer straight from the tide. Three seasons, three season-openers, all from the same stretch of river. We couldn't be prouder of the water, or of the anglers who fished it so well.

Sean Parker with the first fish of the Tyne, 2026

Why Bywell fishes so well early

It comes back to the river itself. The fish pass at Riding Mill works as a temperature-linked barrier, so early in the year fresh fish hold up in the lower and middle beats below it — right where we fish. It's the reason our spring run is so reliable, and why the first fish of the season so often comes from here.

Fancy being part of next season's first fish? Get in touch and come and fish the Tyne in the spring — and if you're new to it, here's what a guided day looks like.