Week beginning 8 February 2016
Monday 8th February. Team Harper here for ten days, now that’s dedication for you in February, but they need more than dedication today as its 4’4” and rising with wind and rain forecast but it looks like we have missed the wind and most of the rain at least as its now 4.30pm and blue skies above which have been a very rare sight this year.
Tuesday 9th February. A different day today and the word is dreich which I think is a perfect way to describe a wet damp cold dull day, and that’s what it was all day. At 3’4” and rising the rods wisely decided not to fish and I have to say the engine room for the boat was very happy with that decision. Paul and myself went round the beat putting in new marker posts for the pools which had been washed away in the floods and checked the anchor points for the boats some of which are going to need to be moved as the banking has gone and exposed the concrete block that the chain is fixed to. I didn’t see a fish or even a Kelt today but then again I wasn’t looking for one and in fact I haven’t seen one this season yet but as soon as it drops in a bit we’ll get them. Both Junction and lower Floors had a fish today but they were the only fish on the river. Sammy the Seal has disappeared thankfully as not seen him since last Friday. The weather girl is now saying that it’s to be dry with us to the end of the week so every bit it drops will help.
Wednesday 10th February. Well it was a lovely day outside today with the sun shining and blue skies above us but it did nothing to improve the fishing as the river was 2” higher than yesterday and still with a bit of colour, not brown but that grey colour in it. As it was such a nice day we set sail in the boats, Graham Whitty taking the Temple with me and Frank Smith (Yorkshire painting by numbers champion) going into the Cauld with Paul, Frank soon realised the error of his ways and was back into the hut quicker than a rat up a drainpipe and set about washing his brushes. Graham made of sterner stuff thrashed his way down the Temple with a wet 5 on the end until 12.00 noon then a ham bun was calling. Richard had set off down the beat a bit like Captain Oates but returned after some while with nothing to report, while Terry had opted to guard the whisky in case someone sneaked in and had a sly nip. After a very convivial lunch Graham was the only rod to try a cast this afternoon and went down the beat to see what damage the floods had left and to see if he could find any spare parts for his plough in the flood debris. There was one fish reported today off the river at Hendersyde, Taymount on the Tay was the place to be today as they had 8 and Upper Kinnaird had a 34lber, now that’s what you call a springer. I always think it’s a good thing if the rivers further north are doing well it’ll soon be our turn, you have to be an optimist, well at least a realistic one.
Thursday 11th February. A nice sunny day again, well the morning was at least. 2’11” and 38 degs so it’s getting there slowly. We launched the Cauld and Temple boats again today and managed to prize Terry out of the hut and the nice warm fire for a run through the Cauld but apart from catching the bottom a couple of times that was it for him. Richard Harrison was the lucky boy as he caught the first fishy thing we have had which was a 4lb Salmon Kelt at the top of the Temple. After another enjoyable lunch the only lad brave enough to venture out was Graham Whitty who by the way can plough the straightest furrow this side of Dover, but his efforts in the rain were in vain. On the wildlife front there’s not much going on but I did hear the first Skylark this morning and the Woodpeckers are knocking seven bells out of the trees getting their territories sorted out. On the garden front all is quiet apart from getting my onion seedlings into bigger pots. Clancy (champion onion grower) will be here next week so there will be more talk about onions than Salmon.
Friday 12th February. Another lovely day with a hard frost to start, I had to get some warm water to defrost my car door this morning so I could get in, the last time it was like that I pulled the handle off the door. Anyway 2’8” and 36 degs with blue skies and no wind. I was in the Temple with Graham and fished it from Ledges to Cobble point without a touch, I was just about to say last cast when Graham’s rod buckled over and we were into an epic battle which lasted all of 55 seconds to a minute and we had a 2lb Seatrout Kelt at the bank , I decided not to bother with the net and hand lined it in the last few yards, pulled it’s nose out of the water and just touched the hook and it was off, it saved me getting my hands wet. There were 7 fish reported off the two websites today the closest to us at South Wark who had two licers, so they are getting closer as the levels drop, it’ll be our turn tomorrow. We switched from wet 4 type lines to wet 2 today but still kept the copper tubes on to get it down a bit. I don’t like the look of the forecast for tomorrow as its east winds and snow.
Saturday 13th February. It would be difficult to get two different days as the last two have been, today has been wet and cold and if it wasn’t raining it was snowing along with a strong north east wind. Richard and Frank headed back to the warmer climes of sunny Yorkshire Terry studied the paper at length whilst Graham who is made of sterner stuff gave the Cauld a go from the boat in the morning and waded the tail in the afternoon but never had a pull. 2’6” and 36 degs, nice and clean. Spinning starts on Monday so I should imagine that will be the method of choice for almost all on Monday and we’ll see if it makes any difference to the catches, it’ll certainly let us cover a fair bit more water. To make things worse today Scotland were beaten at the rugby by Wales it was a better game than last week though. On the wildlife front the Dipper was dipping about the Cauld on Saturday, its one of my favourite birds.
Sunday 14th February. 2’7” and a touch coloured
©M Campbell 2016
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