Week beginning 12 August 2019
Monday 12th August. 8’6” or there about’s as it was off the gauge. It’s what it needed but it’s a shame for all the rods looking to fish for the next two days, it will likely fish on Wednesday but the further up the river you are (within reason) the better it should/could be due to colour. We have to hope that the fish come in on the back of this or it’s squeaky bum time. The rain over the last few days has battered my plants to bits, I’ll be lucky to have a dahlia to show and my surfinia has all started to rot. However my onions are looking like show winners.
Tuesday 13th August. 4’8” and 56 degrees and starting to clear, still very very beery but improving, Got some grass cut and potholes filled, chucked a toby off the bank for 15 mins but no action, we’ll get into the Temple tomorrow and get it fished at a proper height so it could be a good day.
Wednesday 14th August. 3’0” and 54 degrees still rather beery. J Reddin Kelso and Dave Walker from the land of theWhaup here for the day. Dave went into the Cauld first off and we ran it through with a fly then a rap (yes we do spin in big water and 3’0” is very big for us) but we never had a touch, Jonathon fared better getting 2 on a fly from the Ledges, he followed them up with a few seatrout from the Lower Temple on a rap, David Walker was soon playing catch up getting a hen fish around the 7lb mark also from the Ledges on a Temple Shrimp tube which is now his favourite fly By lunchtime I think the score was 4 salmon and 4 seatrout, by close of play at 5.00pm the score was 8 salmon and 7 seatrout the best being 12lbs and 8lbs respectively. The only really fresh fish got off at the net and was a 10lb’ish salmon the rest were clean enough but not fresh. There has been steady light rain most of the day so we’ll have to wait and see what if any effect it has, I’d like no more rain for a week or two but there is a fair bit more on the forecast over the weekend.
Thursday 15th August. 2’8” and start of play and 56 degrees still well beery. It was also very windy and this made me grumpy, what made me even more grumpy was my coat blowing out of the boat and into the river, f###ing wind! A tiny rise came down the Teviot and this seemed to make the fish a bit on the fussy side as they were not as keen to take today, we did manage 3 but it was hard work in that wind. All 3 came from the Temple and ranged from 9lb down to 1lb if it was lucky, I took some scales off it as it’ll be interesting to see what it’s been up to, I’ll let you know when they come back. Catches on the river were down on yesterday and the beats above the Teviot can’t blame the wee rise. More rain tomorrow so I hope my coat has dried out overnight. Latest- Perry fished the lower cauld this evening and caught 3 grilse; they obviously came on again after the rise went through.
Friday 16th August. 2’5” and 56 degrees still a bit beery with a south wind. Nigel Houldsworth was the top banana getting 3 fish from the cauld this morning from the left bank one in the lower cauld which was an older fish and 2 from the top croy which were both fresh, myself and Max could only watch from the right bank and offer our congratulations, he followed those fish up with one from the glide. Simon Blaydon had a pull in the temple this morning and one in learmouth this afternoon, Max had a wee trout from the cauld and that was the total of the day’s excitement. I was expecting to see far more fish with the improving conditions but they were absent or keeping their heads well down, its as if the fish that were here have pushed off and the new ones aren’t here yet, Some of the beats downstream caught a few so there are some coming. The gauges are rising at the top end so it could be a dirty river again tomorrow. So to all the people that were praying for rain we’ve had enough now thanks.
Saturday 17th August. Yesterday's heavy showers in the west have taken their toll and the river is up again and very murky, 3’3” and 56 degrees. Nigel of 4 fish yesterday fame turned up with the team and after a look and a wee discussion the team went back again, Nigel and Simon decided to fill a bit of time in having some casting practice down the Glide out of the wind, myself and Paul left them to it as we don’t really need the rowing practice I met Nigel later that day wandering about in a wheat field and he told me that Simon had had a wee pull. It now needs to stop raining and let’s have some settled water then we’ll find out what’s there.
© M Campbell 2019
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