Week beginning 30 July 2018
Monday 30th July. The rain had done its job to a degree at least, 1’1” and rising with a lot of weed right through the water column making fishing very frustrating with weed on the hook every cast. Matt Randall’s team here for a couple of days and we have to hope the weed will have settled by this evening, I saw a photo of the river at Melrose on instagram and it looked dirty so lets hope it all runs through overnight and its clean enough for fishing tomorrow. There were a few fish showing but I didn’t see the fish just the splash or the head and tail so couldn’t see if they were silver fish. At least the water temp has dropped back and was sitting at 60 degrees this morning.
Tuesday 31st July. A much cooler day with a very stiff wind blowing which was fine for strimming in as it blew all the bits away and kept me cool as well as fly free. On the fishing front the river had much less weed coming down and just a tinge of colour, this suited the lads who got two from the Slap and one from the Glide, the biggest was 10lb but all three were older river fish. 1’5” and 60 degrees. The wind did nothing for my garden as it blew over a load of big pots with even bigger dahlias in them, have I ever said I hate the wind. Catches on the river were much improved with some 22 fish reported by 7.00pm. HOLD THE PRESS—bored with the telly and the dug needing a walk, I took both the dug and my rod to the Glide. Now it’s only taken 2 years and 2 weeks but I’ve finally hooked played and landed a salmon since I landed my last one which was on 15th July 2016, I followed it up 4 casts later with a 3lb Seatrout also from the Glide, both returned and both on a #8 Cascade double, full floater. (See Instagram tweedbeats for film clip).
Wednesday 1st August. This year is flying by into the eight month already. 1’0” and 60 degrees this morning and Team Marshall are here for three days. Simon Scargill was on the cauld with Paul this morning and put his position to good use landing a 12lb salmon, what makes this fish more important is the fact it’s his first ever salmon, so well done Simon, it wasn’t a bar of silver but that doesn’t matter, a quick up and down for the photo and back it went. The rest of the lads reported seeing the odd fish round the beat but no other pulls this morning, by lunchtime the river was still dropping and the cauld on the left bank was just starting to dry which usually happens around 10”. There is some light rain forecast for tonight but not enough to put the river back up I doubt.
Latest- It’s been raining fairly well all evening so you never know, I popped along to lock up the hens, through a sunray over the Slap and had a huge boil at it but 90% of the time that’s all you get, good fun though.
Thursday 2nd August. A much warmer day. 9” on the gauge as the water ran off like sna off a dyke as they say, there is a wee rise coming down the Ettrick and the Teviot which will help slow it down, just a few inches though. Howard lost a fish in the Duddo this morning and Ed lost one in the Iron Gate so the score board still stands frustratingly at nought. I was speaking to a lad who’s been fishing further down the river and he tells me there is plenty fish about and a lot of fresh ones, he had 4 to his rod yesterday, they just need to push up another 4 or 5 miles, Junction had a liced Grilse this morning so some are giving it a go.
Friday 3rd August. 1’5” this morning and 65 degrees, the Slap and cauld had a good number of fish showing and a few of them were silver. Howard Cooper was on the Slap and we pulled a cascade through it from both sides but didn’t get a sniff. We then popped on a Collie Dug and two casts later a very big splash and a fair old tussle ensued which produced a 12lb Seatrout, (see Instagram for clip). That was all the action this morning and in fact it became very quiet with next to nothing showing, the river was still rising a wee bit so maybe that’s put their heads down. The catches were quieter across the websites tonight so may be tomorrow they’ll be back on. The lads are going back out this evening so hopefully they’ll put another on the scoreboard.
Saturday 4th August. An overcast start which soon turned in to a warm sunny day. 1’0” and the Lees gauge and 62 degrees. Ed Marshall was in the boat with me at the top and despite seeing a fish in the Slap we couldn’t get it to pull a fly of it. Things were the same in the Cauld where we tried a skimmer, a collie dug and a tosh treble, we did see another fish in the Cauld but it only showed the once in the tail end and we never saw it again. Further downstream in the Glide Simon had a brief hold of a fish on a sunray and that was all the action for the morning. The lads are going to give it another run through later on so hopefully they’ll add something to the bag. It’s Coldstream common riding next week so no fishing report next week, normal service will resume week after when there will be loads of fish coming in and I’ll have lots to tell you about. Until then eat more mackerel (answers on a postcard if you know what I’m on about)
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©M Campbell 2018
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