Week beginning 14 September 2020
Monday 14th September. A very warm morning, overcast but most importantly no bloody wind.1’11” and 56 degrees with a beery hint to it. Team Gould here for the week and following the usual Monday morning chaos setting up rods, lines, flies and sorting out transport in these Covid times we were off. There were plenty fish showing round the beat but none that wanted to play, even the beats enjoying their last day with the spinner didn’t really make much of the conditions as the catches across the websites were just ones and twos. It’s too warm and the fish don’t like it, it’ll help my chillis and get the remainder of my tomatoes to ripen but no good for salmon unless they are straight out of the sea but they are in short supply. The only action I had today was getting Malcolm into a seatrout in the Lower cauld on a long Collie Dug. This is the weather we should have had in late July/August not mid September. Tam over at South Wark had the fish of the day from the Temple a 27lber, so well done Tam and his lucky rod.
Tuesday 15th September. It was warm this morning and it was hot this afternoon 25.6C to be exact, too hot for fishing but we did. 1’6” and 58 degrees with a beery tinge. Jeremy Gould was in action in the Cauld getting a 13lb coloured hen which took the #6 gold bodied cascade sort of fly as soon as it hit the water, he lost another in the tail of the pool and had a boil at the Collie Dug. Tim fishing down the back of the wall had a wee grilse around the 4lb mark and Angus lost a fish that took off down the Duddo and parted the leader. There are fish in all the pools of various colours but in these conditions they are not keen to take, it’s to drop 10 degrees or more tomorrow but then we will have the water much warmer than the air which I never like, by Thursday should even out. At this time of year with low water and lots of fish in the pools anyone trout fishing is bound to bump into a salmon especially if they are fishing old style down and across. On Coldstream club waters the rule is thigh waders only but most times I take a lenient view as chest waders keep you warmer and dry and its a pain buying two types if you fish other waters, if you're round the Lees I don’t expect to see trout anglers up to their waists in the river in the middle of some of the salmon pools, you’ve only got a couple of weeks of the season to go so behave. Catches were low today across the web pages due to the conditions and I doubt if the spinner would have made any difference, you can’t anyway as its fly only from today.
Wednesday 16th September. High drama today at the Lees, it started with Jeremy Gould getting his snap T cast muddled up with something else and the #6 cascade lodging itself in his head whilst fishing the Annay, I was rather pleased it was his head and not mine, a loop of nylon and a sharp tug and it was soon back on the line and into the river. Further upstream in Duddo Joanna was into a fish and whilst playing it tripped over a stone and fell face first into the river, sticking to the task in hand she carried on in the prone position and landed the fish a 12lb cock, a wee bit later she was into another fish and this time the reel fell off the rod, again she managed to land the fish which was a 10lb hen, both fish were coloured and safely returned. I wish I’d been there as it would all have been recorded, I could have sold it to You’ve Been Framed. Jeremy recovered from his brush with death in the Annay caught a seatrout in the Glide which he slightly over estimated the weight of it must have been the head injury. They were the only fish of the day. The catches up and down the river were much the same as yesterday with 3 being the highest score. Still hearing reports of the odd fresh fish down above the tide so as it cools down they might come forward. On the wildlife front a little egret has turned up, still loads of kingfishers about and the otter is making a nuisance of himself killing the odd duck. 1’4” and 56 degrees, fly choice today was the first one that fell out of the box after giving it a good shake, Joanna was using a very lightly dressed #7 salar double cascade and Jeremy was still on the slightly bloody #Cascade treble, both on floaters with sinktips. It’ll be better tomorrow.
Thursday 17th September. A cracking day today with wall to wall sunshine, not a lot of use for fishing but a lovely day to be out and about. A 5lber was caught in the Annay and that was the only one landed. Jeremy nearly had one in the Cauld but managed to pull the skimmer away just before the fish took a hold, Mungo had a pull in Learmouth but that was it. There are fish jumping all over the place, none fresh or silver for that matter but lots to see. No one fell in today or hooked themselves so that’s a plus. 1’3” and 52f squeaky clean. Forecast the same for tomorrow so it’ll be a challenge.
Friday 18th September. Another lovely autumn day with blue skies and fish jumping all over the place except they weren’t jumping onto the flies apart from one that is which took Mungos cascade in Cornhill bend, sadly for Mungo he must have had a wind knot in the line as they were soon parted. That was the only pull of the day. 1’3” and 52 degrees squeaky clean. I did get a glimpse of one fish amongst the dozens that are showing in the Duddo that looked a bit silver but it was the only one. Ladykirk were top dogs with 6 followed by Upper Floors with 5. I wanted to get the skimmer going today but with an upstream wind it doesn’t really work as it gets drowned, I’ll get it going in the Cauld and Duddo tomorrow. Latest-Mungo caught his first salmon tonight a wee freshish grilse at the Iron gate point.
Saturday 19th September. A cooler day 1’1” and 50 degrees fish jumping all over the place. I had Charles in the Cauld this morning and tried a wee black Frances tube first and all was well until Charles thumped it into my back, by the time we got the hook out the wind had blown the boat right over the Cauldstream and that blew any chance of sneaking up on them with a sunray, likely wouldn’t have made any difference. Tim down on Learmouth had more success and landed a 5lber which was a bit coloured. Angus had left his phone and glasses on top of his car last night, they found the phone next morning but it had been ran over a few times the glasses remain lost. The team stuck at it this week and deserved more fish but they didn’t want to play, sometimes you have to have all the planets aligned. The planets must have aligned for Tim as he had 2 fish from the Duddo tonight.
Sunday Morning. Hut has been broken into last night and cleaned out, Paul's and my stuff all gone rods, reels, lines, waders, jackets, lifejackets, fly boxes, 100s of flies. I know is a long shot but if you see second hand Hardy rods and reels popping up for sale, Bougle, Cascapedia, 13’6”sintrex and 15’0” Swift, Doctor England lifejackets, Mackenzie rod 15’, anyone selling kit too cheaply let us know.
©M Campbell 2020
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©M Campbell 2020
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