Week beginning 3 March 2014
Monday 3rd March A lovely sunny day and warm for the time of year so all was well in the world apart from the river which was at 4’3” this morning at the Lees and carrying a lot of colour. Two rods had decided to give it a miss and two turned up, one left straight away and Paul Holland who is fishing tomorrow as well took himself off to do a bit of shopping and came back this afternoon for a few chucks off the bank, he was trying out his new rod really and working out what line to use. No I haven’t caught the bloody mole yet and have put in a deeper tin as it appears they can’t jump but they can climb! The pair of Egrets were fishing away on the far bank, no sign of the seals and the birds are singing their heads off so Spring is here, all we need is for the water to drop, forecast for the rest of the week is settled so it should get below 3’0” this week below 2’0” would be better but can’t see that.
Tuesday 4th Another nice sunny day and the river down to 3’0” on the Lees gauge, the big news is we caught a Salmon today, never mind trying to catch moles, we caught a salmon ! Bad news is it was only one pound in weight maybe a couple of ounces more but not much. The lucky rod was Ray Anderson using a telescopic spinning rod that cost £7.00 second hand. We had fished all day until 4.00pm when Ray nearly jumped out of the seat so savage was the take, after an epic struggle he swung the fish round to me, whilst taking the hook out and thinking it was a very well mended grilse Kelt Ray spotted the lice on its back, it’s the smallest Springer I’ve ever seen but Ray reckoned it was quite a nice one by his standards. Plenty fish being caught round Kelso today and bigger than our one. 2’11” at 5.00pm which is the lowest it’s been this season so let’s hope some of the fish slow down a bit and stay with us.
Wednesday 5th 2’9” that’s the lowest it’s been this season and nice and clean, we gave it a fair go but all we had for our efforts was a Seatrout Kelt, I didn’t see a fish all day or a Kelt for that matter, plenty Otters, Egrets a kingfisher no seals. The weather forecast is looking grim for tonight and tomorrow night then the weatherman says it’s going to settle down, I bloody well hope so. What about the mole I can hear you shouting, the biscuit tin method has failed so its back to the tunnel traps which have served me well for years and years, the way its going the mole will die of old age before I catch it or I’ll die of old age!
Thursday 6th Breaking news- Houdini is no more! After several weeks on the run the long arm of the law caught up with him above the Slap Croy, I am slightly worried that there is a Mrs Houdini in the area and I’m pleased Mole catching is not an Olympic sport as I wouldn’t be winning gold this time. On the fishing front we only had two rods today due to some double booking (not by the Lees) I have to say. 2’7” and 44 degs today which is warm for the time of year, we had a wee hatch of dark olives and the Skylark has made his first appearance singing away over the Cauld. By the close of play we had managed one pull in the Cauld and that was it for the day, no one saw a fish or a Kelt all day but they must be going straight through us as fresh/liced fish are being caught round Kelso, Not looking good for next few days as a flood warning out for upper Tweed tonight and a lot of rain forecast.
Friday 7th Weatherman was spot on this time and all the gauges are rising, 3’11” and coloured 6’0” by mid afternoon, Tony Lenahan and party due to fish tomorrow but it’ll still be too big and dirty, that’s the second time this year tony and party have been flooded off the Lees. Phil Walker called in and entertained us with stories of huge Seatrout and Salmon from around the world whilst John and Graham packed up their rods and headed for the Tyne which is still in good order; Graham just arrived this morning from Paris! Should have checked the levels. There is a Mrs Mole or cousins as the traps are full of soil again so its starts again. Forecast is for a high pressure to build next week so we just might get at them if they are there.
Saturday 8th 3’6” and carrying a lot of colour, the lads had all decided not to fish which was a wise decision as coming over from the west side of the country to fish in high brown water would not be a lot of fun. Hopefully next week will be the start of a very long settled spell.
© M Campbell 2014
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