28lber Appears In The Press

HOT OFF THE PRESS!
This article about Helena Craven's magnificent 28lb springer appeared in today's edition of The Courier newspaper (Thurs March 26)
LADY LUCK has smiled on the fair sex for the capture of the River Tay's best spring salmon of the 2009 season so far.The magnificent 28lb fish fell to salmon fishing first-timer Helena Craven, and what a tale the mum-to-be will have for her baby when it comes along later this summer.Helena, from North Yorkshire, was in a party fishing the Newtyle Beat at Birnam when beginner's luck struck in the most remarkable fashion.Harling a tomic lure in Dean's Burn on the renowned beat alongside husband Nick and Newtyle head ghillie Martin Ritchie, Helena hooked into the superb springer on just the second swing of the boat across the pool.She then displayed the skill of a veteran to coolly bring the fish in under Martin's expert guidance and after a quick snap for the album the springer was safely released.The biggest fish taken on the Tay system in 2009 and one of the largest recorded on Newtyle for a number of years, it bottomed Martin's 25lb scales but a length of 40inches placed it around the 28lb mark."It was only afterwards that I learned Helena was four and half months pregnant_maybe she shouldn't have been lifting such a heavy weight!" quipped Martin.Helena's feat also adds more weight to the theory that when it comes to salmon fishing the female touch is something special.That belief has its foundations not far away on the banks of the same river where, more than 85 years ago, Tay ghillie's daughter Georgina Ballantine landed a 64lb salmon that remains to this day Britain's largest ever rod caught specimen. The catch is the highlight of a season now warming up nicely for the Tay, with Helena's triumph followed by Newtyle's first fly-caught springer."I also had a 20-pounder out of the same pool but Helena's fish was really something special," said Martin.The latest capture has helped cement Newtyle's reputation as a top sporting beat after BBC Alba viewers recently saw a 20lb salmon landed when the cameras visited to record the Tay as part of their Salmon's Journey series.