Week beginning 20 September 2021
Monday 20th September. Team Gould here for the week. Minus something on the gauge and 55 degrees with a very weedy slime covered riverbed, the water is squeaky clean but when wading you have a brown/green trail downstream of you. Angus had a brief bit of action in the Glide this morning and a pull in Cornhill bend, that was all the action for the morning, this afternoon some of the team decided not to fish and come back out this evening, Malcolm Green and Joana fished on and Malcolm rose a fish to a wee skimmer in the Glide. Weather wise it was a warm mostly sunny day with a light breeze and no rain yet again.
Tuesday 21st September. Autumn equinox and we had some wind, the first wind in what seems like months not that I’m complaining as regular readers will know how much I like the wind. Joanna Green was on the Slap and cauld and she got a fish not a great big fish, not even a big fish but a fish, it went into the book at 7lbs and was very welcome indeed. It came from the Cauld on a full floater and a #10 cascade green butt thing. The rest of the team had been on the river early doors but had failed. After a long lunch Angus Oakshott was on the Cauld and not to be outdone he landed a 12lb old hen which was safely returned, quite a day getting 2 out of the Cauld in recent times. Ladykirk were top dogs today landing 12 which was half the total catch for the river, I don’t know if any were fresh/ clean, there were no fish reported below them so perhaps not a run of licers coming in. The rain that we were all banking on later this week now looks to be pushing off away north and missing the catchment yet again.
Wednesday 22nd September. Tim Lawson caught a fish last night in the Cauld, so yesterdays score should read 3 not 2 but I’ve tagged it onto today’s score which was 3 but reads 4. Anyway, Tim Lawson was the man today getting one out of the Bags first thing then one from the Glide on a sunray, he also had another pull and a big splash from another. Malcolm Green had a 5lber from the Iron Gate this morning on a wee cascade and to finish the day Tim had a keen but not keen enough fish chasing the sunray in the cauld this afternoon. There was a very stiff wind blowing today which normally helps things rather than the flat calm at this height and maybe it did with us getting 3. The rain has definitely missed us yet again and in fact it is to be 20f again by the weekend which is not going to help. Catches below are nothing to shout about again and I’m still not hearing any reports of fresh fish in the river. Golden plover turned up today another sign autumn is upon us. Minus something on the gauge and 56 degrees, the water is really clean but the river bed is manky.
Thursday 23rd September. Another very mild warm even day for late September, minus 0 on the gauge again and a tepid 56 degrees. Angus was top banana this morning getting a mighty coloured 4lber from Learmouth stream on a sunray, his brother Charley who arrived this morning had a pull in the Cauld on a #12 cascade. This afternoon started with a visit to the dentist for me as a filling plus a bit more had popped out and I was very lucky to get a place at the dentist, tooth filled I got back to the river to give Tim a hand landing a feisty 14lber from the Duddo stream it wasn’t in the first flush of youth but gave a good account of itself, this was followed by Jeremy Gould (team captain) getting himself onto the scoreboard with a 5lb grilse also from Duddo. I don’t like a wind but when its as low as this it helps, 17 fish reported below us but I’ve not heard of anything fresh. Still no sign of rain and so dry is it that the farmer is spraying water onto his potatoes, this will soften the ground to stop any damage to the skins as they go over the riddle, 4 rain guns spraying all afternoon and evening but I suppose we have to eat.
Friday 24th September. Another lovely day on the river, very windy but it was warm, very warm for the time of year. Minus something on the gauge and 56 degrees this morning, I’d imagine its over 60f this evening. Angus was into the action at the Iron Gate this morning getting a 14lber on the sunray and losing another plus other boiling and chasing it. There were fewer fish showing today but it was bright so bright and sunny that Tim and Charley decided to leave it alone until this evening so the score could increase. The local potato group are still spraying the field and actually have been all night as the ground is so hard. I felt a bit sorry for the Cornhill rod trying to fish the Bags as the wind was blowing the spray from the rain gun right across the river so it looked like he was fishing in a monsoon. Catches away down again with Ladykirk only getting 2 today rather than 9 or more. This last blast of summer is to last over the weekend until Monday when the temp is to drop to 13C-14C that might just switch some of the fish on.
Saturday 25th September. Not much sunshine today but it was still warm; the wind had also gone which made it harder work trying to tempt a fish. Charlie Oakshott had a pull on a wee stoats tail in the Slap and that was it for the morning. At lunch Tim said his cheerio’s as a long drive home, Jeremy and Angus had left last night so it was down to Charlie and son Patrick this afternoon. Charlie phoned about 6.30pm to say he’d had a seatrout and lost a salmon in the Glide and Patrick had a pull in the Duddo all to the sunray. 13 for the week not too bad in these conditions. The local petrol station ran out of fuel today and some supermarket shelves are empty and have been for weeks, covid and Brexit are getting the blame, maybe thats what’s happened to the salmon and the rain.
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©M Campbell 2021
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