The Atlantic Salmon Trust’s Valentine’s Day Treat

[Editor]

The Atlantic Salmon Trust’s 2012 Fishing & Country Sports Auction is set fair to be better than ever, with a choice of 300 delectable lots on offer – an increase of around 15% on last year.

Among the new lots for 2012 are prime fishing on the Test, Itchen and Beauly rivers, and sea trout fishing in England, Wales and Scotland. There are also some very exciting new lots from Ireland, including fishing on some of Ireland's finest rivers, the Blackwater, Mourne and Drowes. Previous AST auctions have brought the opportunity to bid for fishing at the south end of Loch Hope – in 2012 even more beats on this iconic loch are on offer. And of course, there’s the usual selection of fishing overseas, especially in Russia where an opportunity to fish the Ponoi is the stuff of dreams for most salmon fishermen. Whether it is intimate fishing for two on a secluded river in perfect privacy, or the experience of fishing a grander river with all the excitement that brings the AST auction has something for you, or for someone you want to delight.

As well as fishing, stalking for red, roe and fallow deer has been donated, plus some highly desirable shooting, including driven pheasant and woodcock. There are opportunities for singletons, pairs of guns, and up to a whole team of guns.

In addition to these lots for the active country sportsman, there are sporting prints and watercolours, and a rare opportunity to buy a superb Valentine's Day gift of a limited edition of the acclaimed books 'Atlantic Salmon Magic' and NASF's 'Salmon Rivers', both of which are among the very best of recent publications on the Atlantic salmon.

“Last year’s auction raised around £80,000, and the proceeds have been devoted to sea trout research, taking forward sustainable aquaculture initiatives and work on tracking the migration routes of salmon at sea. AST’s priorities for money raised from the 2012 auction remain: the sea trout research priorities identified by AST’s 2011 sea trout workshop, plus picking up and publicising practical applications for managers from the SALSEA (Salmon at Sea) project data,” said AST Chief Executive Tony Andrews. “The annual auction remains our single most significant fund-raising event, and its success is essential to helping us continue our work.”

As in 2011, the Auction will be run online – we plan to make the bidding experience even more user-friendly on this occasion. The auction site (The Atlantic Salmon Trust Fishing Auction) goes live on 14th January 2012, and bids will close on 14th February. What better Valentine’s Day gift for the angler in your life?