In pursuit of a large slab of silver

We do not need to venture abroad to land a leviathan; some British rivers carry the genetics for double-figure sea-trout

- STEFFAN JONES

Akin to salmon, there are rivers across the world with a pedigree for producing big sea-trout. Southern Argentina comes instantly to mind with the leviathans of the Rio Grande, for example, where seatrout of more than 30lb are caught most seasons. Historically, the Baltic produced the largest sea-trout in the world, with records indicating fish in excess of 40lb. Whereas these are largely confined to the history books, there are still a few rivers that flow into the Baltic that produce fish of more than 20lb.

However, we do not need to look enviously at such faraway pastures in order to pursue a specimen seatrout because we do have revered rivers that carry big fish genetics right on our doorstep.

Let’s begin by exploring what constitutes a big sea-trout, because this is highly relative. For example, most of the Solway rivers tend to produce fish in the 2lb to 8lb range, which are fantastic sea-trout, but rarely produce fish above this weight. Is an 8lb seatrout a big sea-trout? Absolutely. However, I believe most would see that fish of a lifetime and ultimate target to be a specimen of, or above, 10lb – that almost mythical double-figure fish.

Anglers can spend a lifetime in pursuit of such a piscatorial unicorn. Failure can emerge from targeting a river that does not carry the genetics of such fish, or from the tactics deployed to target them.