Week beginning 27 March 2017
Monday 27th March. It was a nice enough day with some nice company, once we got the company sorted out as two lads arrived a day early, Rob and Howard don’t start until tomorrow so we sent them to Coldingham loch to fish for troots. The Lees gauge was sitting at 2’5” and 42 degrees and the water was clean all we needed were some fish to stop on the beat. We fished Temple, Cauld and Learmouth this morning and all we had to show for it was a decent Brown Trout from the Temple. We repeated the process in the afternoon apart from swapping Learmouth for the Back of the wall but the result was the same. Some beats further up fared much better with the Junction getting 7 and a Seatrout followed by Lower Floors getting 6 and Sprouston 2, the nearest fish to us was 1 at South wark. We still need the water to drop below 2’0” at the Lees to slow/stop the fish and give us a chance, I was hoping this would be the week but there’s more rain about mid week. Total for the day 1 Broon Troot and 2 Carrion Crows.
Tuesday 28th March. 2’2” and 44 degrees and nice and clean. With the correct rods on the beat we did the draw and set off fishing round the beat. There was a fish seen in the cauld and Flipper reported seeing a fish in Learmouth stream but neither side could get a pull. This afternoon the sun poked its face out of the cloud and we got a fish from the glide, a lovely 10lb licer on a cascade fished on a sinking line, the lucky rod was James Henderson of Townhouse and Burts hotels Melrose fame. Junction were top banana again getting 10 today, the fish must have a rocket up their arses as they just go straight past us and we don’t even see them. We need as I have often said the river to get below 2’0” at the Lees gauge and they will stay with us long enough to get at them. Sadly there is more rain forecast for Wednesday/Thursday so that will screw up this week. There were a few more sandmartins about today and plenty flies for them to eat.
Wednesday 29th March. The river was starting to look good at the Lees at last 2’1” and 44 degrees. Rob and Howard were joined today by Andrew Potts and Stewart who were on the Lees for the first time. Howard was on the cauld and Temple this morning, we backed the Temple up but saw or touched nothing, a quick coffee stop and it was into the cauld, half way down the right bank and the reel was making that lovely sound that only a fish can make it do, I got the boat to the side and was just getting the net ready and the fish was gone, bugger, bloody, bollocks! The fish was shaking its head like crazy the whole time so perhaps hooked just in the nose end. That was all our action for the day, the only other excitement was reports of the osprey at Milne Graden and around Kelso. The Kelso area was where the action was again today with Junction getting 8 and Lower Floors 6 one of them a 24lber for Jim Reid. It’s raining as I write this and I really hope it’s not going to be much but looking at the gauges the top of the Teviot is rising.
Thursday 30th March. Well it was over before it started really with a rising river and a lot of colour coming in from the Teviot according to reports from lads further upstream. Gordon Potts was here for the first time with pal Paul and the other two rods were Francis Sandison and Ian. Paul had a brief hold of something at the back of the wall on a 20gram toby but that was the only pull of the day. By lunchtime it was up almost a foot and the colour was starting to come in so the lads decided to head home. Looking at the gauges tonight it’s falling at Sprouston but rising at Hawick and Roxburgh so we’ll be facing a “broon” river tomorrow, that’s another week ruined.
Friday 31st March. Well that’s March kicked up the arse and into the history books and good riddance to it. The gauge was sitting at 3’6” and rising and the colour of drinking chocolate, by lunchtime the gauges were all over the place some rising some falling and by evening the situation was the same, up and down like a lady of the night’s knickers. So 5 salmon for March, not much to show for a lot of effort. April is the month that the river should come alive for more beats than the luck one or two round Kelso, the trout should be rising to March Browns and the swallows will be here taking them also, river temps should be lifting and thoughts turn to floating lines with just a wee sink tip on the end, and if the river ever drops I might even venture out with my riffle hitch “skimmer” it was early September I had a 3lber from the glide on a skimmer, a distant memory now. Tomorrow is a write off before we start as it’ll still be very dirty but the weatherman tells me with a smile on his face that a high pressure is coming in and should be here for a few days. We’ll see.
Saturday 1st April. Well the April fool was on us as it’s rained and rained then rained some more, not really heavy rain but persistent. The Lees gauge was sitting at 3’5” this morning, checking the gauges at lunchtime they have still to be updated but I’m expecting it to rise again. Tomorrow is set fair and it’s to last for a few days so we might catch a fish next week. I’ve still to see a decent hatch of March Browns or any trout rising but that’ll change as soon as river drops.
©M Campbell 2017
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