The end of an epic journey

 We found this dead salmon, on Christmas Eve, in Waskerley beck, a tributory of the river Wear at Wolsingham in Weardale. It had evidently swum upriver from the sea to spawn in shallow gravels and died of exhaustion, old age or disease - or perhaps from all three causes. Patches of fungal disease are clearly evident on its scales. Few salmon make it back to sea after they have spawned.

It would have begun life in the river as an egg, made its way downstream to the North Sea, then spent up to four years in  the sea before returning to its home river to spawn. The end of an epic journey.

Salmon and sea trout

The salmon and sea trout spawning season is over for another year, but while it lasted there were some spectacular opportunities to view of these fish trying (unsuccessfully) to leap Spurleswood beck waterfall at Blackling Hole in Hamsterley forest. After prolonged heavy rainfall, when the beck is in spate, the water falling into the deep pool creates upwelling conditions that the fish exploit when they try to make the jump.

Right time, right place, wrong gear ...

A recent photograph on Flickr by Bob the Bolder showed a salmon leaping the wear on the River Wear just below Durham cathedral in mid-August, which is early for these fish to start moving up river to spawn. 


One October afternoon five years ago I happened to be walking past Spurleswood beck in Hamsterley forest in Weardale just at the time when salmon were trying to leap the waterfall there. We watched for half an hour while fish after fish hurled itself into the torrent but none made it to the top. Conditions were probably close to perfect for the fish, with the beck in spate and a deep plunge pool below the waterfall where the upwelling water would have given the fish extra impetus, so maybe some made it after we left. 

It's hard to be sure whether these were sea trout or salmon but judging from the indentation in the tail fin I think they were salmon. Sea trout tend to have a straight trailing edge to the tail fin.

I didn't have any decent photographic gear with me when I took these bu,t judging by Bob the Bolder's photo, now is the time to plan for a return visit............