Week beginning 28 April 2014
Monday 28th April A nice calm start but a bit dull and damp, 1’6” and 50 degs, water has a bit of a tea stain to it. Team Harper reported for duty and we soon got the lines and flies sorted out, Graham Scott (one of Lloyd banks finest clerks) was first up onto the Slap and casting his normal 45yards and with fish splashing about we thought it was going to be a numbers game but after putting about 15 different flies over them without a sniff it was apparent that the numbers were going to be small. A dig through the box and I found a 1” tungsten Red Francis, once Graham got used to the extra weight he plopped it into the Slap and was straight into a fish which ran through the Slap not cutting the line this time like last week, luckily it came back up and we soon had it in the net, a nice 8lber not the freshest fish in the pool but boy was I pleased to see it. The Cauld was its usual empty self and not a thing was seen. The lads fishing the bottom end reported at lunchtime that they had seen a couple in the Glide area but no pulls. Lunch was the usual affair with beef sandwiches that would choke a tiger and enough wine and drams to float a boat. The afternoon followed much the same as the morning but with no action at all. Clancy your Onions are in the ground, so it’s just a case of waiting until September to pick up the silverware!
Tuesday 29th A dull start but the sun was soon through and it was a lovely hot day as long as you didn’t want to catch fish, the same old things were in the Slap but apart from one boil at a Sunray there was no other action for the day, this afternoon Richard and Graham set off down the beat to do battle, whilst the other Graham who caught the fish headed for home as the bank cat had gone missing over the weekend and it was Grahams turn to look after it. Terry decided that there was more action to be had watching the snooker on telly (more like watching paint dry) so that was the day, nothing much to report.
Wednesday 30th Well I’m rather pleased with myself today as we had one fish off the beat and I caught it! Terry after fishing the Slap and Cauld decided to sit and have a coffee and said you put a Sunray over the Slap I’ll come and net it for you. First cast and wallop! It came out of the glassy calm Slap with the Sunray in its mouth and it wasn’t until it was back under that I felt the weight of it, not a monster at 8lbs and not the freshest but a fish just the same and this year they really all count. The other bit of excitement was I saw a fish in the Cauld this afternoon which is the first one I’ve seen this year! Bad news is the rain started this afternoon and as I write this the top gauges are rising and there is rain forecast all night so tomorrow could be a big brown water, mind you I’m at Berwick riding of the bounds tomorrow, now Berwick on a nice day I can suffer and I mean a really nice day, but on a very wet day with a 25 mile an hour wind from the north east I’ll be watching the horses from the car. The same car that had to have a new battery fitted today as Sally left the ignition on all night and killed the battery off, these things happen I suppose.
Thursday 1st May No fishing for me today as it’s the riding of the bounds at Berwick, it’s not the biggest riding of the summer but it is the first, so it was everyone suited and booted and down to Berwick, it was wet and cold at Coldstream but at Berwick it was Baltic and with a 20 mph wind coming off the sea filled with rain I have to say I’ve had better days out, everyone was soaked riders, horses and spectators, the things we do for tradition! Anyway the river was rising and colouring and as far as I can see there was only one fish off the whole river, weather is to turn into the north with night time frosts so that will soon drop it back in and let’s hope team Harper have been behaving while I was away but with the state of the weather and river I imagine the bottle was passed to the left a few times which would of been the best thing to do.
Friday 2nd May A much better day, dry warmer less wind but the river is at 2’0” and dirty so not so good. We thrashed away most of the day with only brief breaks for refreshments, Terry had a 5lb Seatrout from the tail of the Cauld on a Toby (yes we can spin when the water is bigger and brown) along with a wee Brown trout, Graham had a couple of pulls and a trout up the Temple and we did see a fish in the Cauld, but that was it for the day. There’s a frost forecast for tonight so I’m away to cover my spuds. Saturday 3rd May Nice enough start bit of frost first thing, 1’8” and 46 degs bit of a tea stain to the water, there were a few fish showing in the Slap which refused everything we threw at them and as is becoming boringly usual not a thing showing in the Cauld, Graham Whitty had a wee Seatrout from Learmouth on a Sunray which is becoming the “in” fly nowadays, Richard Harrison who grow a pea or two on his allotment in Yorkshire had a hold of a nice Seatrout in Duddo for a couple of minutes but apart from that nothing else happened. The Otter was fishing the Cauld this morning so best of luck to him as it is not the pool I’d choose at the moment. My TV debut went ok on channel 4 news last night and I’m now thinking of a new career in politics or maybe a fishing programme, I’m sure my Oscar nomination is just round the corner. Theres a bit of rain over the weekend which we could do without and I’d like it to warm up a bit, but we’ll get what we get. Photos this week are Berwick Bounds and the Dugs waiting for a sandwich from Graham. And Graham Scott with his fish smiling like a man that’s just caught an 8lb salmon!
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