Week beginning 30 June 2014
Monday 30th June The last day of June and we had a fish to help with the figures, that puts us on 26 for the 5 months, what a thought 4 rods for 6 days a week and only 26 fish! We can do that in one day in the back end. Paul Copson and Stuart here and it was Stuart who got the Monday morning Slap fish it was about 11lbs and had been in the river for a while. I went out last night for a cast at the Cauld and the ledges and never saw a thing apart from a couple of Seatrout in the top of the Temple so I’m not going back until things change.
Tuesday 1st July A hot sunny morning same old fish in the Slap which couldn’t be bothered to rise to a fly. I spent the morning spraying weeds round the beat and sorting out the paths. Put some Maran eggs under a bantam in the henhouse hopefully she’ll hatch them out as they have lovely dark brown shells, also put some in an incubator as she can only cover about 7 so if they all hatch I’ll add them to her, thats the beauty, hens can’t count so she’ll never notice.
Wednesday 2nd July An overcast start with a bit of a south wind blowing, Stuart was on to the Slap with Paul Copson telling him that the ripple would make all the difference, unfortunately it didn’t make the slightest difference and Stuart never had so much as a sniff of a fish. It’s about 9” on the gauge now and the left bank of the Cauld is dry, all the bottom beats are struggling to catch a fish so it doesn’t fill me with hope, but a lot of rain is forecast for Friday so hope springs eternal as they say. Clancy your Onions are getting on fine but I think I’ve put the wrong leeks inside the tubes as the ones in the tubes are really skinny and your ones on the bed are looking much stronger, so I’ll have to get some more tube and try and save the day. The Pumpkin plant is now starting to stretch its legs and move up the garden, and I now have 3 months to grow one bigger than 323lbs.
Thursday 3rd July Much the same as yesterday I’m afraid with no fishy action on the Lees to report.4 Groups of canoes coming through the Cauld 10mins apart didn’t help. On the garden front it would seem that I’ve been attacked by carrot root fly which is a real bugger as they’ve even got at some of my long carrots which are 3’0” above the ground, so much for them not flying more than 18” above the ground.
Friday 4th July American independence day (funny how they don’t call it separation day) anyway it’ll soon be Scottish Independence Day! Paul Copson went home yesterday as he’d forgotten to water his spuds whilst Stuart Thompson gave it another day but caught nowt, we didn’t even see a splash today, rain coming in tonight so it might cool things down a bit, I don’t think it’ll be enough to affect the river though. Off to bed early tonight as it’s off to Jedburgh to the Reidswire rideout, it’s an early start again. It’s to celebrate one of the rare occasions where we gave the English a kicking (did I mention Bannockburn last week?) I’m sure you know the story there.
Saturday 5th July A cracking day at Jedburgh Reidswire ride, a very long day though didn’t get home until 8.30 this evening 31 miles for the horseson awarm day over the hills round Jed.As for the fishing I see that there were a few caught further downstream so there’s always a wee bit of hope that one might come sneaking through.
Photos this week are of The Canoes playing about in the Cauld and the Reidswire stane and more horses of course.
© M Campbell 2014
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