Week beginning 4 April 2016
Monday 4th April. The crappy weather continues with cold damp and even wet conditions all day today that along with a north east wind made it very unpleasant and back to full winter gear on to stay warm. This bad weather did nothing to deter the team which was a mix of old and new rods to the Lees. The old ones quiet literary being team Charlton with an average age of 85 years with John Wilkinson topping the lot at 90 and is as fit as most. The young team being James Aird and Chris. A couple of Brown trout were all we had to show for our efforts today and a hold of something a wee bit bigger in the Temple on a Toby. The March Brown hatch is starting to get underway with trout feeding on them this afternoon, not loads of them but enough to make me think it’s time to put up the trout rod. The gauges are rising at Sprouston tonight but that will run through us tonight and will be fishable tomorrow, may have a tinge of colour. 2’2” and 42 degs using 10’0” sink tips and 1” copper tubes or #6 dressed doubles. We just need some fish to stay here, Junction were the golden balls again today getting 7 but Birgham Dub had the best fish at 22lbs.
Tuesday 5th April. Winter refusing to give up its grip on the year again today, not that it’s really cold just damp wet and grey but our spirits were lifted today when Bob Millar of first Tweed springer fame hooked and landed a cracking 13lb licer in the tail of the cauld, Bob on his first trip to the Lees Was using a gold bodied willie gunn tube on an intermediate line. Being interviewed by Ghillies monthly magazine later that day Bob said he was chuffed to bits and has now decided that the Willie gunn is his favourite fly. The river was rising slowly all day from 2’2” to 2’6” when we finished with just the slightest tinge coming in, it might go higher as there have been some heavy showers this evening. With the increase in water that was enough to stop the March browns and I didn’t see a trout move all day, I didn’t see a salmon either apart from the one we caught. We had a wander up the Temple this morning and the amount of swallows and sandmartins was a sight to behold there were hundreds of them flitting about, the big dog otter was outside the hut this morning and he is a big lad. The senior members of the team gave the beat a good thrashing but not a pull was had, there were around 15 fish reported across the websites tonight from the Lees up to Dryburgh.
Wednesday 6th April. A blustery day with the odd shower some of them heavy, 2’6” and 44 degs with a tinge of colour. We went through the pools this morning with fly and spinner but two brown trout were all we had for our efforts. The March browns are still refusing to hatch due to the unsettled water but the swallows and martins are finding something to eat as they are dipping down at the water. We had two young Otters in the Cauld this afternoon squeaking furiously for each other, this might have something to do with the appearance of the big dog Otter chasing them away from the bitch to bring her into season again, last year the dog Otter killed both the young one which is a bit harsh but thats nature for you, they don’t show that on springwatch or the badgers eating the hedgehogs. We used to have loads of hedgehogs round the Lees but you never see one now but we have loads of badgers. 15 fish reported off the river today. I just wish it would settle down and warm up as I need to get my 1st early potatoes into the beds and my onions out of the greenhouse as I need the space, another windy day in store for us tomorrow and a couple of gauges rising tonight so likely to be much the same conditions tomorrow.
Thursday 7th April. Another wee rise today only a couple of inches but it’s not settled and unsettled water with us means unsettled fish especially in spring. Colin Hewitt and John Dresser joined us today both have fished the Lees before and been successful but that wasn’t the case today as they never had a touch. Ron Charlton did get a hold of something in the Glide which ran a bit of line out but didn’t stick on. The fish at the moment are continuing with their charge upstream and getting through the lower beats as quickly as they can, we did see a couple this afternoon, one in the Cauld and one in the Slap. 2’6” and 44 degrees this morning with a few heavy showers. Queen of the Slap Trish Burgon and her long suffering wife John are joining us tomorrow and she will be like a cat on a hot tin roof as the way the draw has gone she will be on the bottom half of the beat until 1.00pm and will be fretting about the Slap being over fished in the morning, but with Trish’s 40 yard circle “c” going over it the fish might as well jump into the net tonight.
Friday 8th April. Bit brighter day but no warmer. The day was brightened up by the capture of a fish though; Jeff had a liced 7lber from the Cauld on a 20gram Toby (as we’re still just above spinning height) that was the only fish seen all day on the Lees. The trout and marchbrowns are still refusing to make an appearance and Trish Burgon failed on the Slap although she was casting like a demon on the Glide. Peter Moody on his first trip to the Lees and just on his second day ever salmon fishing was soon putting out a very respectable line which deserved a fish but there were no more takers to be had. It’s just a bit of a slog at the moment waiting for a fish to stay on the Lees but one day I’ll go down to the hut and when I’m having a cuppa before the rods get there I’ll be seeing loads of springers jumping about in the Cauld, I keep buying lotto tickets as well. Upper Floors were the golden boys today getting 5.
Saturday 9th April. Well we nearly caught a fish today, this great event took place in the Temple up in the Ledges, just to hook a fish in the Temple in recent years in the spring is an achievement in itself which is why it deserves a mention; Billy Matthews was the nearly lucky rod. Round the rest of the beat nothing was seen or touched which is starting to become the norm of late it’ll all change one of these days. 2’1” and 44 degs, still cold today, it did warm up a bit mid morning when the sun peeked out for half an hour and that was just enough to set off a wee hatch of March Browns which in turn brought a couple of trout up to the surface to gobble them up, it was very short lived though. It was also nice to see a couple of fish getting caught on the lower river 1 at Ladykirk and 1 at Milen Graden which means that Kevin (Head Ghillie )must have come out of hibernation. It was Grand National day today and I managed second place which is the first time I’ve had a horse finish in years. There’s a wee rise coming through tonight just an inch or two so nothing to worry about, forecast for next week is a mystery to me as I’ve not seen it, but I’m sure it’ll be good, nice and settled with the temp up about 10 degs would do.
©M Campbell 2015
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