Mandal river - week 28, 2010

By Thomas Samuelsen

After some hours of traveling and conversation to the other participants on this yearly salmon trip (where to catch, where would the fish stay, what is the weather doing, and all the other stuff salmon fishermen can talk about) comes my experience and discovery for this week.

During the week the weather was changing from a warm, sunny summer to a cloudy, windy autumn with heavy rain with temperatures at day from 15 to 25°C. As in many books of salmon fishing has written; nearly perfect conditions. The water level in Mandal river is regulated by several water power plants and during this week the water level was between 25 to 45 m³. The local fishermen told us that this water level was perfect, thus the salmon could pass the critical points in the river on their way up the river. I measured a water temperature during the week from 15 to 17°C, which may be considered as a typically summer temperature.

In the last couple of years quite a bit of water, this year 25 to 45 m³.

We were with four guys, two fished with earthworms and the other half, me included, were fishing the fly. We all fished quite actively up to 10 to 16 hours each day in different beats along zone 3. Some beats are for the fly and others for the ‘worm-bathers’, hihihi. In all we got 19 salmon, 17 on earthworms and only 2 on the fly. At first sight it seems to be a great result, but we wonder how it can be such a big difference between worm and the fly. Another issue was the size of the caught salmon; they were very small, 40-55 cm. Mandal river is known as a river with a lower average size salmon, but that small?

The next words are just my thoughts, opinion and experience after 13 seasons of salmon fishing in Norway. I’m not a biologist, politician or environmentalist, it’s just what I’ve experienced and discovered during my time at the river, talking to local people and other salmon hunters along the river.

Salmon hunters along the river.

After the result of this week in Mandal river, I have some questions regarding the salmon fishing in Mandal river and in general. I don’t expect any answers, it’s just to mention it and make salmon fishermen aware of the fact we must pay attention and be careful with the salmon rivers that are left. I don’t know all the answers and maybe we’ll never get to know them, maybe it’s just nature…

• We have caught several, very small salmon. How can it be? Is it because the small salmon can pass the waterfall after a movement of a strategic stone? And how can it be that such small fish measuring 40-50 cm, migrate up the river. Shouldn’t they have to wait a year or two longer in the sea to grow larger?
• Let’s say the small salmon will spawn; will the offspring be strong enough to survive the journey to the fjord and the massive attack from sea lice? We caught a 2 kilo salmon carrying 20 to 30 sea lice. Wouldn’t bigger spawning fish create a stronger offspring?
• Earthworms are very effective when fishing for salmon, but how can it be that 6 days with 10 to 16 hours of flyfishing, for two fishermen only results in two very small salmon, one each? Is it because there’s just no more salmon in the river or did we do something wrong? We tried all kind of flies; small, big, light, dark, colored and hitch. Also various lines with different sinking rates, just to try something else.
• According to the statistics seen, the quantity for this year so far is about like last year. Look further back in the past and the quantity was much higher. I have no doubt that the Finså breading center is doing the best they can, but is everybody doing their best to maintain Mandal river and many other great rivers as a high quality salmon river?
• Could the decreasing quantity of catches be due to less fishermen at the river or is there just less salmon in the river? Or could it be a combination of both?

Above is just my remarks and questions, feel free to comment and bring answers. I think we should do our best to maintain and improve the conditions for the Atlantic salmon, just as we try to do for our children, grandchildren and so on, so they can go to a river as well and see, catch and maybe release an Atlantic salmon, so it can keep on doing what it came for: To ensure the species.

So it can keep on doing what it came for: To ensure the species.

Tight lines and wet flies,

Thomas Samuelsen

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