Week beginning 9 October 2017
Monday 9th October. 1’10” and 52 degrees and nice and clean, now if you were/are a Lees regular you’d be licking your lips and rubbing your hands together, or even doing things that might bring you to the attention of the local constabulary with conditions like that but it was not to be. After last week’s runaway success with the catches we were brought back to our senses with bang only getting two fish today from the Iron Gate and a boil at a sunray in the Cauld. There were plenty fish showing in the Cauld and enough to keep us interested in the Temple but they didn’t want to know. We were using floaters with sinktips of different lengths and sink rate to try and tempt the beasts but nothing would work. The Otters gave us a cheery wave as they floated by and the Kingfishers were peeping away in the willows this morning in the autumn sunshine and thats part of the problem, It’s too warm, last week the water temp got down to 46 which tends to get the older fish perked up a bit, when it warms up they just switch off, a bit like me really. Now some of the other beats might be saying the water was 46 degrees with us as well and we caught next to nowt, but we had fish about the place. The forecast could be better as my old friend the wind is coming back and bringing a lot of rain mid week, it’ll shuffle the pack and the old lads might take for a day or two but the rather severe weather lady on BBC Scotland says it’s going to “taps aff” by the weekend, which results in even warmer water.
Tuesday 10th October. A nice warm morning followed by a breezy afternoon, the Lees gauge showing 1’8” and squeaky clean, there were plenty fish showing in the Cauld and Learmouth but I have to say it was really just the same fish showing again and again. There was a fat 15lber landed in the Cauld just before lunch on a wee willie gunn tube and Richard Onslow had a 4lb grilse from the tail of the Glide, that was all the action today for us. Birgham Dub had a 32lber today which is a big fish any time of year so well done the rod that got that. I would say we have lost a lot of fish over the weekend, they have to move upstream sometime and I would say they have. The forecast is for a lot of rain in the west going south and its to dump up to 4 inches over Cumbria, it’s bad to tell yet if it’s going to dump any over the Tweed catchment, we’ll know tomorrow. A big flood would certainly be good for the fish maybe not so good for the angler but it would shuffle the pack and if there is anything to come in it would bring them. The Otter was busy fishing around the Slap this morning and all the goosanders and cormorants seem to have buggered off so that’s good news.
Wednesday 11th October. It was a day when we couldn’t keep them on the hook, first was a fish first cast with a sunray in the cauld, one sharp pull and it was away. Second a fish in Learmouth stream which grabbed a red francis then dropped it. Third two fish in the glide on a sunray with a single hook both small fish but fish just the same. Fourth a fish in the Slap followed by one in the lower cauld. So it could have been five but it’s none instead on the scoreboard. There was light drizzly rain all morning turning to proper rain this afternoon and looking at the gauges at lunchtime all the top gauges were rising, tonight there is 4’0” at Hawick and Peebles so fishing tomorrow will be very unlikely. The water will certainly shuffle the pack this time as its well into the backend, good for the fish not so good for the angler. More rain on Friday so that could well be it for the week.
Thursday 12th October. 4’0” on the gauge and brown so no fishing today. Will it fish tomorrow? I checked the gauge at 4.30pm and it had dropped to 2’11” but was still very dirty, the forecast is for rain in the west of the catchment for most of the day tomorrow plus a gale blowing up to 40 plus mph so even if it clears the rowing and casting is going to be near impossible, but if the forecast is right it’ll be rising again by lunchtime. I see there were some fish caught at the top end of the river with the best being a 20lber at Middle Pavilion.
Friday 13th October. Unlucky for some and that was the case on Tweedside today as the river was rising yet again and it was blowing a bit of a hoolie. We gave it a go this morning but whatever is there was not interested, to be honest by the time we got going the rise was with us and there was hardly a fish to be seen, by late morning the colour was starting to come in and after lunch it was the proverbial coffee colour. Looking at the gauges tonight the top gauges are falling but there was a lot of water coming down the Teviot so I imagine the colour will still be with us tomorrow. Sammy the seal was with us this morning again and gave us a cheery wave as he went past us in the Glide, if I don’t see him again I’d quite happy. There was one fish reported off the river today which came from Upper Dryburgh a 4lb grilse. So what’s going to happen tomorrow? No doubt if we are fishing it’ll be in marginal water, the wind is to drop before it picks up again for Monday. The Teviot is still rising at Roxburgh and is just shy of 5’0”, the Tweed is falling above Kelso but slowly so that will help to dilute some of the colour from the Teviot, but I can’t see it being anything like decent fishing if we fish at all.
Saturday 14th October. Properly flooded off today with very brown water mainly from the Teviot, so an unsettled week with the river up and down almost on a daily basis and wind on top. Forecast for the start of next week is for gales on Monday as the remains of hurricane Ophelia go by, so it’ll be hot hands again. As ever see instagram or follow tweed beats on facebook for all the latest photos and film clips.
©M Campbell 2017
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