Week beginning 21 May 2018
Monday 21st May. Another warm sunny day with the Lees gauge showing around 9” and 56 degrees this morning. I say around 9” as the gauge stops at 1’0” but the Cauld is starting to dry on the left side and before the gauge was shortened it used to show 10” as the Cauld started to dry if you follow what I mean. Anyway Team Germany here for the week for some fishing and stalking. The draw was done and Martin Tewes drew the Slap and cauld and with some fish showing in the Slap he thought he couldn’t fail, after trying 102 different flies he failed. Peter Lowes fishing Learmouth Stream was the lucky boy getting a fresh 9lber on a #10 Posh Tosh whilst Stefan Pauly had a pull in the tail of the Glide. That was the action for the day unless Mark fishing the late shift gets one down the Glide. It’s to be a bit cooler tomorrow and Wednesday so that should help things a bit.
Tuesday 22nd May. Well the cooler cloudy conditions certainly helped as we had 4 today off the Lees. Now this spring that’s a big day. It started with Stefan getting a 7lb fresh fish from the Slap on a Posh Tosh, he followed that up with one from the Cauld also weighing 7lbs but an older fish this time, it also took the same fly, and that was Stefan who didn’t want to get into the boat. Martin Tewes down at the Glide had a very clean 11lb fish on a #12 silver stoat, this fish followed it for some distance with its dorsal fin and top of its tail sticking out of the water before it grabbed it. Peter Lowes not to be outdone had a fresh fish from the Middle Stream again on a wee Posh Tosh. All Martin needed was a Grouse for the Macnab if they’d been in season as he had a lovely Roe buck at 5.00am this morning. They are a versatile team as they have even brought a bike with them to cycle up and down the beat so no pool is too far away, (see instagram for a wee video clip) of bike in action. Another cloudy day tomorrow so let hope for a repeat of today. 30 plus Goosanders seen down the back of the wall this morning, they must be moving down river with the smolt run.
Wednesday 23rd May. A cloudy start again and a bit cooler, 8” and 54 degrees. The team arrived full of hope and with the odd fish showing in the Slap expectations were high. Martin was on the Slap and soon had a fish on the end, it was an older river fish and was around 7lbs, he also had a fish on in the Cauld, a fresh one this time but after a bit of a struggle and getting it off a snag it shook the hook and was away. Stefan had a nice fresh fish from Learmouth stream around the 12lb mark and lost another up in the stream. This afternoon things brightened up and the sun was trying to come out but never quite made it. The lads are having a cast after dinner so the score might increase, nice to see the beats downstream picking up a few fish, hopefully there will be a few more fresh fish on the beat tomorrow. We had a visit from the Burgons dog at lunchtime, Harry he’s called, they were fishing at Lower North Wark and Harry decided to have a wander, I didn’t think it was him as when he’s at the Lees he’s usually covered in dead fish that he’s found somewhere on the beat.
Thursday 24th May. Another overcast start with a bit of haar coming in off the coast, this was burnt off by the sun a bit earlier today in fact the sun was shining down by 10.30am. Stefan was on the slap and cauld this morning and put his position to good use getting a liced 6lber on his now favourite fly a #10 Posh Tosh fished on the floater with a 5’ inter tip. That was the only pull we had today, it was very bright this afternoon but we did see fish, there was a very good fish in Learmouth stream right opposite the bench and Norbert’s fly was right on the money but it didn’t want to know. It must be around 8” on the gauge and 54 degrees this morning. The forecast is for the same tomorrow so I hope the lads are about their game first thing. Later on Norbert went back to Learmouth and hooked a fish in the stream but it wasn’t to be and it was a long range release.
Friday 25th May. Another sunny start but cloud was building and by late afternoon there was some very light rain, more like a damp air. 7” on the Lees gauge and 56 degrees. The usual old fish were showing now and again in the slap but no takers today not even a boil. The lads covered all the likely spots but nothing was interested if it was there. Mark Shafer was the only one to have any success and that was with a nice roe Buck early on this morning. There are still huge numbers of smolts going down which is good for the future as long as they remember to come back. There is some good cloud cover tonight so that will help keep some warmth in as the last few nights clear skies and an east wind has dropped the evening temps.
Saturday 26th May. So that’s the week over and what a good week it was with 9 landed and a few other pulls and fish lost. The 9th fish of the week came from Cornhill bend on a #10 silver Ally caught by Martin Tewes who for the first time was not top rod that position was taken by Stefan Pauly so well done Stefan. 7” on the Lees gauge and 56 degrees and still nice and clean. The forecast is for more of the same so the river is going to be on its bone next week but the fish don’t seem to mind too much as long as the water temps remain in the 50s. As always log on to instagram or follow us on facebook tweedbeats for the latest photos.
©M Campbell 2018
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