Week beginning 20 July 2020
Monday 20th July. 9” and 58 degrees, bit on the cool side and a wee sneaky shower or two going through. With all the talk of millions of fish in the lower reaches of the river I was hoping a few would have pushed upstream, some did but not many. We watched as the Cornhill lads carried another fish down to their hut, we maybe need to start earlier to get first crack at the Duddo. Learmouth had an older fish off the Glide point and another one from the stream which was brand new. It took us until 3.00pm when Richard Onslow using a sunray for the very first time got a fresh 7lber from the Cauld, we popped a tag into it and set it on its way, there were a few showing in the Slap but none wanted to pull. We are now needing a foot or two into the river which will shuffle the pack and hopefully bring the millions up to us.
Tuesday 21 July. 8” on the gauge if the water could reach it and 56 degrees. Got Ally Onslow into the Cauld boat with a Collie Dug on and he had two fish at it but neither took a hold, we then tried a skimmer and had another fish up at it but no pull, the biggest surprise was the fact there were 3 fish in the Cauld and they were lying on the new gravel in 2 feet of water. The other lads fared no better but did see fish down the beat, I might take a sunray for a walk tonight as I’m fairly sure there will be no swimmers tonight.
Wednesday 22nd July. Moved a couple of seatrout last night at the Otter stones but that was all the action. Gene Godden and team here for rest of the week and it was a wet damp grey dreich morning, even Kelsae the black lab was not impressed sitting in the rain at the Duddo stream where Alan hooked a fish, it was the briefest of holds and was soon gone. Gene however fared better in learmouth getting a fresh 10lber down by the gate. This afternoon Alan rose a fish to the collie dug in the Cauld but no pull, it is an effort to row/fish the cauld now at this height with a lot of different currents and not a lot of depth, there were fish moving in the slap but they wouldn’t look at a thing. Forecast is for a dry day tomorrow with less wind and cloud cover so on paper it should be a better day fishing wise.
Thursday 23rd July. Another wet start to the day (so much for the forecast) but warmer and humid. 7” and 61 degrees. Not many fish showing but Gene managed to find one in the Glide, a 12lber fresh as paint which he graciously returned. Toby Kembel sporting his new waders covered everything at the top end and waded right into the shallows in the Lower cauld as we’d seen some fish down there but none would pull. Alan covered the Learmouth stream but fared no better. We have been using low water tactics, wee flies and floating lines with short sinktips, giving the Sunray/Collie a go as well but not even a bow wave today. I went along for a walk this evening and the river was up 3” and a lot of fish were moving through the Cauld and Slap, There is a bit of water coming down but it’ll only put it up an inch or two more, better than nothing.
Friday 24th July. River rising a wee bit and in fact it went up 8” which lifted a lot of algae and stone dirt and by this afternoon the fly was covered almost every cast. There were very few fish showing until 4.00pm when a good few popped their heads out, not to take a fly maybe just to see what was going on. The water settled and is falling so hopefully tomorrow the weed will have settled and the fish will be wanting to play the pack having had a wee shuffle. The drama today was a wee fat woman with two of the scruffiest flea ridden spaniels in the land killed my last hen; I robustly pointed out the error of her ways and sent her on her way. What with the bloody fox and thick peoples dogs its a hard job having hens. Only 6 fish reported off the river all below us.
Saturday 25th July. 1’4” and 61 degrees also very humid which I never like nor do the salmon, went through the Cauld 3 times with Alan and thought he’d at least get a boil at the Collie dug but I never saw a fish all morning. Toby and Gene fishing Learmouth and the Duddo/Glide fared no better. I thought the wee lift would shuffle the pack but if it did they had their heads down. The lads had a long drive home so headed off at lunchtime. Today Sunday the gauge is reading 1’9” and still clean at lunchtime as sometimes with a small rise the colour annoyingly comes much later, lot of rain on the forecast for tomorrow so hopefully we get a few before any spate comes on Tuesday.
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©M Campbell 2020
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