Week beginning 8 July 2013

Monday 8th July You beauty it’s a scorcher! Misty start with water at 66 degs, a rise at a wee silver stoat first cast at the Slap then nothing, gave the Cauld a go but it’s just a load of streams going in lots of different directions at this height and the fish don’t like it. I took the water temp at 4.00pm and it was 71 degs, I thought that was hot until I took it on Tuesday at 1.00pm and it was 75 degs! But there was two silly fish one old one had a go at a wee bottle tube in the Back of the wall and another in the tail of Cornhill bend, both came off. Tuesday 9th 71 degs this morning and 5 inch with a green tinge covered the likely spots which are few now but nothing doing so it was waiting till 1.00pm to get the BBQ going which was very nice I have to say. Jimmy nae mates the duck is still with us and still on his own but doing fine and more or less fully feathered. Weed is now starting to lift off the bottom and moving down the river which is going to be a problem, but the chances of a fish taking in this heat are slim and I’m starting to feel sorry for them it must be like living in a sauna, then we come along and hassle them. Wednesday 10th Cloudy start but the sun was soon out, Terry was the lucky boy getting a wee 6lb Grilse from the Cauld backwater on a Green and Gold Toby, no lice but fresh, it must have had to walk up through some of the streams. Graham not to be outdone had a few casts at the Slap and promptly pulled the fly out of the Salmons mouth, to be fair he was lifting to cast when it came for the fly that was all the action for the day which is more than I expected. The BBQs have been great as Terry certainly knows how hold one and a nice way to fill in a hot day. Thursday 11th Another scorcher and the rods booked into fish today decided not to come a distance to fish in little water, I spent the day sorting out new boat and repairing nets which one day will come in very handy. Both sides of the Cauld are now high and dry, its a long time since I’ve seen both sides out of water, I threw the biggest Sunray I own over the Slap which made things zoom about a bit, there a quiet a few Seatrout in the Slap, all coloured and they do not like a big Sunray over them. For my Onion fans, a couple of the Onions in the Polytunnel have keeled over and died, I think it’s maybe a bit too humid in there so going to cut back on the water as I’ve been keeping them wet. Clancy will be screaming at the screen when he reads this as I’m bound to be wrong, I’ll maybe see you at Kelso Union show Clancy when you can put me right over a dram or two. Friday 12th An early start for the Campbell family as its Jedburgh Festival Day, 272 horses today (Fox never stood a chance), It’s a great day out lots of colour and ceremony, it celebrates one of the few times when we gave the English a pasting. It was 29 degs on my thermometer and not a cloud in the sky so both riders and horses were sweating a bit, horses more than riders I should think, anyway son stayed on again as its expensive if you fall off it’s a bottle of Champagne for every fall which are all opened on 8th August at Coldstream so there are corks flying everywhere. On the fishing front It was just too hot, Colin was holding the fort today and I should imagine the water temp was in the mid 70s again, he hasn’t phoned to say there’s a huge run of fish arrived at the Lees so I assume nothing has been caught, its to be a bit cooler tomorrow but it will take some serious rain to change this now. Saturday 13th No rain and no big run of fish, another hot sunny day just like summers should be, unfortunately for the rods this weather is no good for fishing. Colin was holding the fort again as I was off to Duns Reivers day so another early start up at 4.30am to get to Duns for the Breakfast which is always held in a pub for some reason. The river is now very low and weed cutting has started on some of the beats above us, Calum at Lower North Wark was cutting on Saturday but he had the curtsey to phone and tell me and didn’t start till lunchtime so the rods could get round the beat before the weed arrived. The forecast is for the fine settled conditions to stay so things are going to be much the same for the coming week.