6 February 2022 News/Editorial
It has been an exciting off-season here weatherwise. Nearly everyone east of Kelso was battered by Storm Arwen so that, in all seriousness, much of the most eastern Borders, on the morning of Saturday 27th November, resembled a war zone. The tree devastation was something you hope to see only once, if at all, in a lifetime. The South had their massive destruction of October 1987; we here did not. Now we have had our evening/night of the 26th November 2021; the South did not.
There have been two named storms since, fortunately both far less damaging for us than Arwen. I hear that Aberdeenshire was not only destroyed by Arwen, but that the most recent Storm Corrie was even worse. It is hard to imagine what places like Haddo, north of Aberdeen, now look like. 1,000s upon 1,000s, no exaggeration, of magnificent trees have been felled by nature.
We here lost about 60 trees and major limbs, not many you would say, and you would be right, but when you see all those massive beech, oak, cedar, walnut, chestnut and pine trees, mostly 200 years old, lying in serried ranks, as we did that Saturday morning, it was a most mournful sight. I thought it would take 3-5 years to clear; by dint of extreme skill and hard work, not least by boatman Paul Hume wielding his chainsaw, less than 12 weeks later most of it has been cleared, bar some very large roots which I am not sure what to do with (no, not a stumpery!).
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In amongst the storms, January was the most benign, the least cold and the driest we can ever recall, not that those of my age can remember much, and the stats back that up. The river was fishable almost every day in January, and remained so last week, as fishing 2022 began on Tuesday. As I write, the river levels are rising and the weather has turned winterly, much more the sort of thing we are used to in February.
As for the fishing, “not much” is the cry, and you would think that, of the spring salmon in situ, a reasonable percentage might have been caught given the perfect water conditions, for all beats.
Pictures of some of those caught tell us why brave folk bother at this time of year; they are perfect, mint examples of the Atlantic salmon species, if fewer than 15 (in 5 days) were caught on the whole river.
As for next week, the prognosis is for more unsettled, windy and often cold weather, a real wintry mix, but with little precipitation post mid week. After that there are mutterings of high pressure returning. We shall see.
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It has all been happening for those aficionados of the interweb thing. Not only has Fishpal left the Leeming stable after more years that most of us can recall, but it has had a revamp and is under new ownership,. There is also a refreshed River Tweed website with a bespoke Fishing section. The idea is that, to get a “whole river” catch, you do not have to be a mathematical genius every week and take the Fishtweed catch, plus the Tweedbeats catch, and then subtract those beats that are on both, and add a bit for those beats not reporting anywhere. Early days, I know, but thus far it isn’t working as it reports just 4 caught last week. As and when it works properly, it and the other parts of the Fishing section will attract viewers to the River Tweed website, or such is the aspiration, where you can also see what the RTC and Tweed Foundation have been up to, its news and any up to date advice etc.
Whereas most of us think it is bonkers to have 3 websites (Fishtweed, Tweedbeats and now the RTC Fishing section) recording Tweed fishing info, many wise heads have tried to rationalise it without success, testing even Job’s patience.
We are where we are.
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The RTC Annual Report is out soon. All eyes will be on the 2021 catch figures. That they will not be good is a given, some will think the danger signals are flashing bigtime, while others that the river was full of fish and that there is no problem, blaming the poor catches on the dry summer.
For now, 2022 season is under way, and all any of us can wish is that the salmon numbers returning are more like 2020, not 2021.
Oh, and I nearly forgot, the cormorants. Down this way on the river we see a flock of between 60 and 140 almost every day, and they have been here ever since Arwen drove them inland at the end of November. I dare you to work out how much poundage/tonnage of our fish they have consumed over the last 2+ months. They have been harassed every day wherever they are, but the truth is that they are now so wary of humans you cannot get anywhere near them. I hear loads of complaints, but very little in the way of constructive ideas of what to do about it within the current laws and regulations.
That they are a scourge, together with their sawbill/goosander friends, cannot sensibly be doubted. How to stop them destroying countless tonnes of our increasingly scarce fish is yet to be effectively decided/actioned. All we can agree is that whereas birds are not the most fundamental issue with the numbers of both returning adult salmon and native brown trout and grayling, massive grazing of our juveniles within the river, over the winter months especially, is hardly designed to help.
Welcome to 2022 salmon fishing (the trout season starts a bit later) on the Tweed. May your lines be consistently tight.
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