Week beginning 14 April 2014
Monday 14th April A lovely spring morning, still a nip in the air when you’re out the sun and in the wind though 1’10” and 46 degs and squeaky clean, perfect for the Lees but we failed again it’s becoming a bit of a chore now all this fishing for no result, but we were not alone today as the Osprey had several dives and failed to catch as well. We did see 3 fish in the Slap this afternoon and got quite excited but couldn’t get a pull from them. Its amazing that we just don’t see all those fresh liced fish going past us that are being caught above us. Tuesday 15th A frosty start followed by a lovely spring day, 1’9” and 46 degs it’s perfect again and we saw three fish in the Slap but couldn’t get a pull from them, good strong team on today all Tay trained (not always a good thing) I hear you say but they can stick a line out. This afternoon Paul was fishing the Slap as a couple of fish came through but not a sniff was had you would think they were blind! No trout moving today and no March Browns so thats maybe the last of them, there’s aye tomorrow. Wednesday 16th Another perfect day 1’8” and 49 degs, almost floating line! Fish showing in the Slap so I thought it was just a case of putting a fly over them which we did several times, in fact we thrashed it with all sorts but not a sniff was had. The fish that were there were not the freshest and one looked a bit on the skinny side and could well have been a Kelt but it didn’t want to play either. Bob (flipper) over at Learmouth text me to say they’d had a 10lber from the stream (it was their morning) so well done him but it didn’t lift the cloud of depression at the Lees and looking at the websites tonight I see they had one at South Wark so we are really playing piggy in the middle, I also spoke to Colin Bell at Upper Floors and he tells me all his fish today were liced, a sheet of weldmesh is going to be the only thing that will stop them in the Cauld it would seem. Going to enter long carrots and parsnips in the competition this year but what a fiddly job it is to grow them, trying them in dustbins and you have to have different compost for the hole and the surrounding area took ages to sieve it all, all that work to grow something that’s hardly worth eating as its all length. If the fishing carries’ on like this for much longer this report is going to turn into a gardening and common riding report. Thursday 17th Put the flags out we caught a fish, I am using the royal “we” again as I was in the boat in the Cauld and Jim Fleming caught it all on his own from the back of the wall, a nice liced 9lber but I did see a photo of the beastie so can claim a wee bit of it. John Low lost one in the Cauld this morning, it jumped in the tail end opposite us a quick cast from John and it took straight away and as quick as it was on it was off again. Murray Stewart (maker of fine reels) had a couple of pulls high up in Learmouth stream and another couple were seen in the Glide and Iron Gate, it’s almost as good as the back end now! 1’7” and 49 degs squeaky clean but it blew a gale until 4.00pm which spoiled the day and i don’t need to go to the gym tonight, anyway I’ve got carrots to plant. It is nice to see some fish at last and on the websites I see that there were a few caught below us. And Trish (Queen of the Slap) I got the key but you forgot to put the £20 note in!!!! So it’s to be sunny and calm tomorrow just my sort of day. Friday 18th Now this is what happens when I don’t have time to write this on the same night, I forget what happened, I was out to play on Friday night and didn’t have time, I suppose I could make something up like we saw loads of fish and had a lot of action but that would be a bit of a fib. It was a lovely day nice and sunny 1’8” squeaky clean we fished round the beat saw nothing and touched nothing, that’s more like the truth, we did see a couple in the Slap but I imagine they are the other side of Kelso by now. Saturday 19th Another day same shit as they say. 1’6” and 46 degs sunny frosty start, a fish showed twice in the Slap but all quiet after that, they are still catching tide licers at and around Kelso I’m told but they must have their heads down as we just do not see them. We tried everything that we could wee flies big sunrays which produced a couple of nice trout but no action from salmon. It’s Sunday tomorrow and it’s Easter so I should go to church but bollocks to that, one day off a week and a garden to sort out and it’s dry and sunny, there’s more chance of me catching a salmon than go to the Kirk! Easter Monday tomorrow so I better take an egg along to roll, then again it’s a bank holiday I might just stay in bed. The weather is to be strong east winds, low water and bright sun so not a great start tomorrow me thinks. Photos this week are A nice view of the Temple and Jack who’s been filming this week jumping in for a swim, on Saturday evening, at 46 degs he’s bloody mad.
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