Week beginning 3 April 2023
Monday 3rd April. I’m back from my wee winter jaunt, the sandmartins have beat me back as well as a swallow or two, I had a lovely time thank you. It was a bit nippy this morning especially for me with a fair frost on the ground this morning, the frost has done enough damage this year so far and I no longer like it as I’ve lost almost all of my dahlias, only three tubers have made it through the winter, they were well packed in dry compost inside large cardboard boxes in my garage but -10 or -13 was just too much for them. Anyway, the fishing, the Lees are on 7 for the season so far which is 2 more than this time last year so things are on the up. Today the gauge was reading 2’1”, 42f and squeaky clean. Tony Smith and company here for three days, we got the draw done and the lads spread out round the beat, Tony was in Learmouth stream and lost a fish after it got round some rocks and managed to wriggle itself off, bad luck when opportunities are scarce. Phil Odling gave the Cauld and Lower Temple a good go but we never saw a scale, the Cauld looks to be a bit deeper and some of that gravel that ruined the place last year seems to have gone, we’ll know better as the river continues to drop in. James Cheer and Eric Wright fished the bottom half of the beat but never threatened anything. There were 13 or so fish reported on the websites tonight, top beat being Birgham Dub with 4. Hopefully we’ll join in the fun as levels drop more.
Tuesday 4th April. Another frosty start but the sun soon warmed things up. James Cheer was top dog today getting his first of the season from the Cauldstream this morning, he also lost another in the Slap, the fish was around 7lbs and took a Willie Gunn Snelda tube. Paul and James saw about another dozen whilst they were in the Cauld this morning. This afternoon Tony was in the Cauld hoping that some were still there but despite covering every inch with two different flies not a pull was had. There was a brief hatch of March Browns at 1.00pm and a local lad had a couple of cracking brown trout both around the 3lb mark, he also lost a seatrout of about 7lb when it jumped and broke his leader. 1’11” and 40f today. Ian Farr sent a photo of a belter of a fish they had at Bemersyde this afternoon, it was around the 18lb mark and fresh, they don’t get much better than that.
Wednesday 5th April. 1’10” and 44f with grey cloudy skies and a bit of light rain, perfect height and conditions for a fish at the Lees if there were any stopping there. Phil was on the Slap and Cauld and fished it twice with a couple of different tubes, we didn’t see or touch a thing, in for coffee, after coffee we tried the Slap again out of the boat to get the wind in our favour, Phil saw a nice fish jump and a couple of casts later it was on, after a good fight it was almost in the net when it just dipped its head a wee bit missed the net had another short run then threw the hook, Phil just shrugged his shoulders and said well it saves having to handle them and get the hook out. It was a nice fresh fish and had lice down its back and looked around 9lbs. The rest of the team didn’t fare any better not getting a pull. This afternoon Eric Wright hooked and landed a lovely fresh fish around the 14lb mark from the middle of the Cauld, I saw the Cornhill rod getting one on a spinner from the Duddo and another clear the water in the same pool. The last two days there has been a heavy but brief hatch of March browns and the trout have had a feast for 20 minutes or so, today despite the water temp being up 4f to 44f very little was hatching and no trout to be seen. The Avian bird flu has certainly done its worst as in October there were still plenty Cygnets on the beat but you could see it was about, today there are no Cygnets to be seen on the beat and just a couple of pairs of adult swans.
Thursday 6th April. A cloudy day with the odd shower and a chilly North West wind, 1’10” but rose to 1’11” during the morning, the water temp had jumped to 47f. I only saw the one fish today which was a wee thing about 5lbs in the Glide, Colin saw another in the Cauld this afternoon which cleared the water and made him squeal a bit. It was quieter across the websites tonight with Birgham dub coming out well on top with 5 reported for the day. There was a small hatch of flies again today which was over as soon as it started. Conditions are good really we just need the fish to hang about.
Friday 7th April. A nice crisp sunny start but cloud from the east soon covered the sun. 1’10” and 44f today. Eric Bell here for the day along with Mark the other two rods retained by the family for Easter. Eric was on the Slap and a lovely big fresh salmon jumped over the line but wasn’t interested in the fly, in the Cauld a wee bit later we saw another two fish one of which head and tailed right beside the fly but nothing would pull. Down in learmouth Mark and Paul also saw fish but couldn’t get a pull. It’s nice to see them but I wish they’d slow down and give us a chance. We are still on fast sink tips and mostly copper tubes in most of the pools. This afternoon down at the Glide and Iron Gate we didn’t see a fish but it was good fishing as the east wind had dropped and the Glide at 1’10” is about spot on. The Cauld is fishing well and the fly is coming round nicely as that gravel that caused all sorts of problems last year seems to be gone. Fish caught as far down as Tweedhill today which is good news.
Saturday 8th April. A nice day with sunny spells but cold when the sun went behind a cloud and the east wind was there. 1’9” and 46f on the Lees gauge today. Jonathon Reddin and Steve Robins here for the day. Steve fished the Slap and Cauld this morning and Jonathan Reddin fished the back of the wall to the Glide, both lads can put a bit of a line out but that didn’t matter as there was nothing there to grab the fly or so it seemed. This afternoon Steve went into Learmouth and had a bit of a pull down by the gate, Jonathan fished the cauld and Slap, a fish was seen in the Slap during lunch and we saw two in the Cauld, one way down the bottom and one about seven yards off the boat dock which is well out of place, we never had a touch. The catches on the river were well down today which is strange as I’d have said conditions were perfect for the time of year, of course you have to have the fish on the beat, but they might be there on Monday. No hatch again today and no trout rising, because there was nothing to rise to I suppose. That’s my first week in and I’ll be happier when it warms up, catching bonefish is a lot easier than finding a springer at the moment but when it happens it takes a lot of beating. Follow us on instagram tweedbeatsfishing for latest pics and clips when I eventually hook one to film.
©M Campbell 2023
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