The river comprises 2 & half miles of river with a fine mixture of long fast running powerful pools flowing into good tail runs along with one or two longer stretches of slower water which fish well during high water levels.
There are 12 main named pools and others during high water conditions. The pools are mainly fished from the bank and by wading, with one boat available to the fishing parties.
The Bywell Beat is fished as a single beat with a maximum of 5 rods. There is one full time ghillie although extra ghillies can be organised for parties if desired. Although spinning is allowed in the early season or when river levels are very high, rods are encouraged to fish the fly. The Bywell pools lend themselves to flyfishing, and the bulk of the fish caught each year are caught on a fly.
Through the excellent work of both the Environment Agency and the Tyne Rivers Trust, the Tyne System is constantly improving in regards to both the quality of the water and the spawning habitats. This has lead to considerable migratory runs of Salmon, Grilse and Sea Trout which have been impressive in both quality and quantity.
The beat’s recent record year of 633 fish in 2011 was very nearly surpassed last year in 2012 with a fantastic catch of 576
It is understood that the fish counter at the top of the beat showed approximately 45,000 fish passed through in 2010 and 40,000 in 2011.
