Week beginning 20 May 2019
Monday 20th May. The German international team are here for the week and were soon into action. Peter Lohse was on the Slap this morning and managed to tweak the fly away from the first fish to come at it, he followed this up with a disaster as his tapered leader snapped on the second fish, honour was restored though as he hooked and landed a nice 8lber from the Cauldstream. Martin Tewes down at Learmouth had a pull from something in the stream and that made up the action for the day. 7” and 56 degrees this morning with a bit of air from the west. A few seatrout were seen today so one of the lads might pick one up this evening. They did have more action in the evening Martin had a 6lber from the Slap and followed that with a fresh 7lb seatrout and not to be outdone Mark had a 4lb seatrout from the Glide on a wee dry fly and lost another.
Tuesday 21st May. A great morning for Martin as he landed 2 fresh fish in Learmouth stream but carelessly lost 3 others, Mark Schafer up on the Cauld landed his first salmon ever a lovely 11lber, he has caught more seatrout than you can shake a stick at but that was his first ever salmon, he also had a pull in the Slap. Feeling a bit left out Stefan Pauli had a good pull in the Slap and a few casts later had a 5lber, so 4 fish by 3.00pm and as many lost. No doubt the lads will pick up something else later on. I see the Dub had 5 today and Carham 4 so fish are on the move even at this summer level. All the fish have been on #12 flies fished on a floater with a 5’0” inter tip. I went along to try my luck at the trout tonight or maybe a seatrout but I was no sooner up to the Ledges and the rain started, without a coat I was soon wet, the temperature had dropped a lot so it was home time without casting a line.
Wednesday 22nd May. A cooler day with a North West wind, 6” and 54 degrees. Peter Lohse was the top rod getting the only fish of the day from the Slap, a 7lber on a #10 double; Stefan Pauly had brief hold of something in the Duddo but not long enough to decide what it was. The catches are down partly because the fishtweed website is not showing them, on the Tweedbeats site there are just a few. We didn’t see many fish today they have moved on. More success late on, Mark had a couple of seatrout from the Glide last night on a wee dry emerger, 6lbs and 3lbs.
Thursday 23rd May. A bit on the windy side today from the North West which means it was blowing straight down the Temple and cauld and straight up the Bags and Duddo. 5” and 55 degrees this morning. Mark lost a fish this morning in the Slap, Stefan fished the Bags and Duddo and didn’t see a fish Peter fished the Glide Cornhill Bend and the Duddo and saw one old fish in the Glide. On his way back up Stefan stopped to see how Martin was getting on in Learmouth and found out he’d just landed a fish, Martin ever the gentleman said he should have a cast in Learmouth which he did and hooked and landed a 10lber, both fish were river fish, one took a #12 silver stoat and the other a lightly dressed #10 gledswood shrimp sort of thing. They are now talking up the rain for Sunday but I’m not holding my breath. Went out for a cast at the trout and saw some decent trout in the Duddo and the Bags, but with my eyes no use in near dark anymore, an upstream wind and a leader that was twice as long as i needed I caught nowt.
Friday 24th May. 4” and 56 degrees nice and clean but with a bit of slimy weed coming down. The sun was out and the wind had dropped making fishing a bit harder. Stefan had a nice 7lber from Learmouth stream whilst Peter managed to shake off two, one in the Cauld that grabbed a fat stripped sunray and one in the Slap that grabbed a #12 Black Frances, Martin who can usually winkle a fish out failed apart from a pull in Learmouth, the boys have fished very lightly this afternoon saving their efforts for sundown. I’m going back to catch that trout in the Bags.
Saturday 25th May. Didn’t catch that trout and in fact never saw it or its pal, they could have been seatrout and pushed off. 4” or there about’s both sides of the Cauld well and truly dry. Martin was on the game this morning and soon had a fish around the 10lb mark from Learmouth stream and as there’s so little water to fish he phoned Peter to come and have a cast as he’d done the Duddo/Bags which had already been fished by the other side, Peter fished it down and nothing happened but on seeing a couple of fish splash in the stream above he went through it again, this time he tempted an 11lb fish to his #12 Posh Tosh, Both Peters fish and Martin fish were river fish but very welcome. Up on the Slap Stefan had a long range release and I had a big bow wave at a sunray in the Glide. The lads are having a go tonight but there is light rain now and the temp has dropped making the water warmer than the air which I never like. 13 fish for the week and as many lost I should think. Lighter kit is required at the moment; 15’0” rods with heavy multi tip lines are just too clumsy.
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