Seek him here, seek him Yair

In the UK, it is possible to cast for salmon in every month of the year, so Sam Carlisle heads to Scotland for the last day on the Tweed

- Sam Carlisle

Salmon exist at every edge of the North Atlantic sea board. From Canada in the west, to Russia in the east, Portugal in the south and Greenland in the north, Salmo salar run these rivers. Yet it is only in the British Isles that you can legally catch a salmon in every month of the year.

Starting on 1 January in Donegal and ending on 15 December in Cornwall, it is not unreasonable to hope for a bar of silver to inhale your carefully cast fly. Our temperate clime, avoiding both the Arctic ice and the Mediterranean sun, means that British salmon can run into the rivers on almost any day of the year.

As such, our salmon have developed distinct runs within each season: from the extra-fat ‘springers’ that come from February to May in prime condition, ready to spend almost a year in the freshwater without feeding, to the summer run grilse, their small bodies more metabolically amenable to balmy water temperatures. Finally is the autumn run; leaner than springers but typically the largest of all, benefiting from those extra few months feeding at sea.

These distinct ‘runs’ are an evolutionary insurance policy; spreading the king of fish’s return to avoid concentrated predation, extreme weather or natural disasters. It also provides year-round sport for anglers who wish to extend their season beyond the fairweather months.

Chance