Week beginning 24 April 2017
Monday 24th April. The day started off a bit cold then got colder with the wind picking up from the North West and the odd snow flurry it was more like early March than late April. Team Harper here for the week and as keen as they are they couldn’t find a fish to take a fly. They were in good company today as looking at the websites there was only one fish caught off the whole river, for a Monday that’s shocking. It really blew a hoolie this afternoon which made a dram in the hut very appealing. 1’1” and 50 degrees this morning, with a hard frost forecast for tonight it’ll not be 50 degrees tomorrow morning. I saw a big Seatrout in the Cauld this morning which jumped clear of the water two times and there is a fish in the Slap but neither would pull at a fly. Still waiting to see a Swallow.
Tuesday 25th April. Well it blew even harder today from the North with rain and hail showers throughout the day, but summer is just around the corner as there were six Swallows on the Temple this morning keeping out of the worst of the wind, there were even some flies for them. On the fishy front the usual suspects were showing in the Slap but again no interest from them. Down on Learmouth stream however Graeme Whitty had a bit more success, almost, getting a hold of a fish at the bottom end of the stream but managing to shake it off again before long, he also had another pull off the point. This afternoon Richard Harrison a man who knows his “Ps”but maybe not his “Qs” landed a fresh 5lber at the Iron Gate point which was very welcome on a day like this. The catches were a lot better than yesterday with 10 landed 3 of them being below us. 1’1” and 46 degrees and squeaky clean. We are on floating lines with intermediate tips teamed up with either a wee tube or a dressed double/treble around the #8 mark. The Osprey was with us again today along with the Otter. If the wind would drop we would get round the corner into Duddo downwards but at the moment the waves are rolling upstream and none of the rods or Ghillies for that matter fancy it much.
Wednesday 26th April. This is more like it, very little wind and a few fish showing, some in the Slap and one in the Cauld so it was all to play for today. Terry was on the Slap croy as quick as a ferret down a rabbit hole and his second cast was grabbed by a nice liced 7lb fish. It took a 1’1/4” black and red tube, we then turned our attention to the cauld and the fish we’d seen, hoping it was still there we crept down the right hand side of the stream and right on cue there it was, this was a bigger beast and it charged round the pool a time or two, nearly at the net and it was using the stream and flexing itself against the strain and ping out came the hook and thats when the swearing started. It looked to be around 13lb mark. Good luck to it we had our chance. There were some fish showing down at the Iron Gate but no pulls. 1’1” and 44 degrees today but the weatherman says it to start warming up from tomorrow, I really hope it does as I need to start getting plants out of my greenhouse and polytunnel as they are packed full.
Thursday 27th April. Another nice enough day with just the odd sharp shower to spoil it. 1’0” and 46 degrees. Graeme Whitty was nearly top dog today getting into a fish at the Iron Gate and it was almost coming to hand when the hook pinged out, it was around 10lbs and a resident fish, that’s the first older fish we’ve had a hold of this spring. Tony Bosomworth fished the Slap for a while then he fished it for a good while longer as he couldn’t believe that the fish that were showing wouldn’t take a fly, they didn’t. Richard Harrison also managed to shake one off at the Iron Gate so the score for the day is zero. Got a bit of Hogweed sprayed today, as soon as we get a bit of warmth it’ll likely be popping up all over, there is just a fraction of the amount now days, 20 years ago you could hardly get to the water for the stuff.
Friday 28th April. A nice calm morning with hardly a ripple on the Temple/Slap and there were fish showing in the Slap. We chucked a fair mix of flies at them but they wouldn’t play. A fish or two was showing at the Iron Gate also but they wouldn’t play either so we ended up at lunchtime fishless. This afternoon down at the Glide a cock Grayling was chasing the hen fish about the place and in the Cauld there was another doing the same, whilst on land the cock sandpiper was doing his best to impress the girls, bobbing up and down and flashing the white underside of his wings. Up at Learmouth stream a fish splashed opposite the bench and Richard covered it a few times but it’s still there. The only one to catch a fish today was the Otter who’d pulled a decent sized fish out of Learmouth and had it half eaten no doubt it’ll be back tonight for the rest. An east wind picked up this afternoon and the forecast is for winds from the east all next week with very little if any rain.
Saturday 29th April. Not a fish caught above the Lees today, some would say they’ve had their turn up there but really its better when the whole river is fishing, everyone is happy, social media is full of photos of fish with smiling fishermen holding the fish the wrong way but that’s another story. Richard Harrison was the lucky boy today getting a liced 20lb from the Cauld this morning he also lost another smaller fish. There were the same old fish in the Slap showing now and again to keep up the interest. There is a large charm of goldfinches down near Duddo stream - they mustn’t breed in the first year and that’s why they are in a flock, I think. No trout rising even though there were some flies coming down, no ducklings yet but it won’t be long as the Black Backed Gulls are patrolling the margins looking for them. It’ll be better next week.
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©M Campbell 2017
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