Description Of The Blog

Thank you for visiting our salmon fly blog. In this blog you will find lots of fly pictures, step by step's, and other pictures of fishing related stuff. We have recently launched our official website that can be found at www.taysalmonfly.co.uk or click on the link on the right hand side of the page.

Tuesday 26 January 2021

Tiger Silly Super Snaelda Salmon Flies - Tay Salmon Fly



 Tiger Silly Super Snaelda

Tied on 15mm Brass Shrimp Tubes with Brass Cone. With deadly UV Silly Rubber Legs We have been sorting through our materials and making patterns so these come as a limited edition with a limited stock quantity. At the moment when these are gone they are gone as the tubes are no longer available from the supplier.
There are only 15 of these available in stock.
To purchase these flies click on this link

www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

Monday 25 January 2021

Tummel Monkey Salmon Flies - Tay Salmon Fly


 Tummel Monkey 3/4" Conehead Tube Salmon Flies


www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

Sunday 24 January 2021

Intruder Flies - Tay Salmon Fly


 Some new colour combination of Intruders added to the website range.


www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

Saturday 23 January 2021

Blue and Black Tiger Tail Super Snaeldas - Tay Salmon Fly


Blue and Black Tiger Tail Super Snaeldas
Tied on 15mm Brass Shrimp Tubes with Brass Cone.
We have been sorting through our materials and making patterns so these come as a limited edition with a limited stock quantity. At the moment when these are gone they are gone as the tubes are no longer available from the supplier.
There are only 5 on these available in stock.
To purchase these flies click on this link

www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

 

Friday 22 January 2021

Where To Buy Templedog Salmon Flies In The UK - Tay Salmon Fly

 

Silver Doctor Templedog 1" Copper Tube Salmon Flies.


www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 


Thursday 21 January 2021

Park Shrimp Conehead Salmon Flies - Tay Salmon Fly

Park Shrimp 1/2" Conehead Tube Salmon Flies

www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

 

Wednesday 20 January 2021

What Flies For Spring Salmon? Tay Salmon Fly


 Perfect For The Spring


Tadpole 1.5" Copper Tube Salmon Flies

www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

Tuesday 19 January 2021

Original Underghillie Salmon Flies From Tay Salmon Fly

Underghillie 1/4" Copper with Brass Conehead Tube Salmon Flies


www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


Please come along and like our Facebook Page and join in the discussion and check out our other deadly salmon flies.

For all your Salmon Fishing Flies visit our Tay Salmon Fly Website please click here

If you wish to contact us you can do so by clicking here 



To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427












Tay Salmon Fly, Salmon Fly, Salmon Flies, Fishing Tackle In Dunkeld, Fishing Tackle In Birnam, River Tay, River Tweed, River Spey, River Spey, Fly Fishing, Atlantic Salmon, Springer, Spring Salmon. Fly Tying, Salmon Fly Tying, Salmon Fishing In Scotland. Where To Fish In Scotland, How To Tie, How Do I Tie, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Dressing, Salmon Fly Pattern, Murthly Salmon Flies, River Tay Salmon Flies, River Tweed Salmon Flies. Foxy Tails, Venairds, Futurefly, Eumer, Murthly Beat 1, Murthly Beat 2, Upper Hendersyde,Tay Salmon Flies,Fishing The Tay, Fish Tay, Fish Tweed, Fish Spey, Fish Dee, Where To Fish For Salmon In Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays In Scotland,Tony Black, Tony Black Salmon Flies, David Ballingall, David Ballingall Salmon Flies, Upper North Wark, Upper North Wark Beat River Tweed, Fishtweed, Fish The Tweed, Tweedbeats,Fishtweed Reports, River Reports,Fishtweed Prospects, Kilt Pin, Brooch, Salmon Fly Kilt Pin, Fly Tying Instruction, Fly Tying Step By Step, FutureFly, 

 

Friday 1 January 2021

River Tweed End Of 2020 Season Report - Tay Salmon Fly

 River Tweed End Of 2020 Season Report

With the season now confined to the history books, we can look back and think what a season for many reasons. Mr Herbert Hinterberger from Germany got the year off and running with Tweeds first fish of the 2020 season, caught in the Putt at Lower Floors on the 1st February, which won him the Tweed Trophy. With a very wet February fishing was quite limited and 14 fish were reported on Fishtweed with the Junction beat landing 4, Upper Hendersyde 3, Sprouston 3, Birgham Dub 2 and 1 each for Upper North Wark and Rutherford. As we got into March the spring run seemed to be building up with a reasonable number of springers being caught before the country came to a standstill on the 23rd March due to the Coronavirus Pandemic that swept through the nation and fishing stopped until the lockdown was lifted. 72 fish were reported on Fishtweed for the 3 weeks fishing with the best of the fishing being at the Junction 16, Sprouston 12 and Upper North Wark 10. In the middle of May a very unique situation arose when the lockdown was lifted in England but not Scotland which meant that only the beats on the English side of the river could start fishing again with Scotland following a few weeks later. It was an intriguing period before the fishing in England reopened, thinking how many untouched, rested fish are in the pools are the catches going to be huge well those questions got answered straight away with Tillmouth landing 85 and Horncliffe 51 in a couple of weeks and for the rest of the beats fishing at that point 256 salmon were landed for May. June proved quite productive with the lower water conditions helping the bottom river with Ladykirk 94 and Tweedhill 90 having the best of the fishing, with the odd small rise fish did start to push through and Hendersyde 64 and Sprouston 60 did well. The summer months were ideal for fish coming with regular rain given almost weekly rises in water levels, which is always a good thing over the summer and beautiful fresh salmon into the teens of pounds and chunky grilse were there in good numbers. There were 1151 fish reported for July reported with Tillmouth 122, Rutherford 94, Tweedhill 88, Sprouston 86 and Birgham Dub 80 showing the vast area where the catches were spread out over. Water levels in August were a bit higher and this affected some of the lower end beats but 962 fish were reported with Tillmouth 102, Birgham Dub 84 and Ladykirk 78 having the best of the fishing. As we entered into the autumn month of September and October the fresh fish that had been in abundance slowly dwindled into more coppery coloured fish which became the trend as the weeks went past. For September 1436 fish were reported with the best fishing on Tillmouth 171, Lees (on Tweedbeats) 145, Rutherford 133, Ladykirk 121 and Birgham Dub 107. October catches started to tail off with bigger floods ruining some days each week and by the end of the month 1042 fish were reported with Boleside 92, Tillmouth 87, Lees (on Tweedbeats) 86 and Ladykirk 65 having the best of it.  November saw the return of lockdown in England and new tier systems in Scotland which resulted in most beats closing the doors for the remainder of the season.

The final season tally will be known around March time after the River Tweed Commission’s AGM, early indications suggest the figure will be around 10,000 Salmon which would be a reasonable increase in recent seasons. The summer fishing was a real highlight this season with good water levels and plenty of fish entering the river on a regular basis. The autumn again failed to materialise into what we hope for every year but fish continued to be caught through into November. Individually these beats had the best fishing on the river this season, Tillmouth 639, Ladykirk 447, Lees 425, Birgham Dub 386, Rutherford 385, Sprouston 355 and Junction 324. Two of the biggest verified fish of the river this season were caught by Mr Andy Britton with a 32lber at Tweedmill on the fly and Mr Mike Heaps with a 31lber at Norham Castle Syndicate on the fly also.

Bemersyde Head Ghillie Ian Farr reported “February seems like a long time ago, when the water came up to the steps of the hut, leaving us repairing the gravel. Trees came down, including across the drive, but at least it made plenty of wood for the fishing hut and the house! With the river rising (and falling – thankfully) by as much as seven feet in a 24-hour period, there was little to be done except to clear up the damage. The second big swell at the end of the month did cause concern - up to seven foot on the gauge again - with fears that it might alter the river bed significantly enough to damage the redds from this year’s spawning as well as smolt and small par. March began with floods again, but our first fish of the year came on 6 March out of the Cromweil at 13lbs for Mark Hansen on a black yellow tube. The water was two foot four and clear: finally! More trees came down across the drive by the end of March, although by that stage fishing was becoming a distant dream in any case. The girls and Ian started to spend more time working in Bemerysde gardens than on the river. The rest of the spring was so hot and dry that there would have been little fishing in any case and with the drop in people visiting the estate, we had work on our hands controlling the wildlife! Spirits were boosted with the arrival of the beautiful new boat, but she would have to lie idle a little while until we were allowed to launch. By the end of April, the water was so low, we could see stones that hadn’t been visible for 20 years. We were doubly frustrated by Covid and the dry weather, but at least Bemersyde sits in such stunning scenery, enabling us to get out and see such beautiful things as the view to the quarry near Scott’s View and the Big Moss. While our annual party to celebrate the winners of the Bemersyde trophy will have to wait, we were delighted to announce Jonathan Murray and Samuel Ackroyd as overall and junior winners for 2019. Jonathan landed his 35lber on a Calvin shrimp conehead in the Black Strand Pool at Fairnilee in November 2019 and Samuel caught his salmon on a Red Francis in Bemersyde’s Boat Pool in October 2019. We congratulate them on their catches and look forward to celebrating them in person as soon as is permitted and then it came, a glorious day at the end of May when we were allowed back on the river. It was hot and dry, but we were catching fish again. Moving into June, Nick Green had a nice fish out of the Boat Pool and new syndicate member Colin Halliday landed an eight-pounder out of the tail of the stream. Fiona Brown was one of the first people to fish the River Tweed in Scotland after lockdown restrictions were eased and she was gracious enough to talk to ITV Border about the resumption of angling at Bemersyde. Sadly no fish for her that day, but she did land an eight-pounder out of the stream at the beginning of June. There was an extraordinary week at the beginning of June for the fish just kept coming: five in three days, some more lost and one that got away as Ian was trying to tag it! After an extraordinary thunderstorm Alex Barclay caught two fish out of the stream and there was a super day at the end of June, with five salmon and one trout.

July started with great promise and, happily, a trout for Ian Farr‘s grandson, Alex, out of Woodside. By the second week of July the water was high and deep brown and we were only able to use the lower half mile of the beat, but we were still landing fish: 29 salmon and nine sea trout. We also saw the first grilse of the season. Into August and there was a good rise of water. We were finally allowed to use the new boat and caught a couple of old spring fish going up to spawn out of the Boat Pool. There was a big excitement at the end of the month with the screening of BBC Two's Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse and we were finally able to put an end to the speculation that Paul Whitehouse did, in fact, CATCH A SALMON!

By the end of August it was extremely wet, with flooding taking the levels up to nearly six foot on the gauge, but there were still some fish about to catch. The start of September was a perfect illustration of how perplexing, pleasing and frustrating fishing is. One day the water was like beer, but we caught five salmon and one trout; the next day we had perfect conditions but didn’t land a single thing! The month progressed with some great fishing, including 15-pounders for Peter Abraham out of the Cromweil and for James Benbow out of the Dish. The start of October began with low water and low expectations, but we had some super fish weighing up to 16lb. The torrential rain gave Ian sleepless nights and he was down at the boats at 4am at one point making sure they did not wash away as the water hit eight foot on the gauge. The rest of the month but brought some glorious fishing and a better autumn than had been seen for years. ITV Border came back at the end of October to film for Border Life and All Around Britain, to talk about the rise in the popularity of fishing over lockdown: how good it is for body and soul as well as social-distancing in that you are well advised to remain more than two metres away from anyone casting in any case! The fish kept coming. Some high waters receded and one week yielded 13 fish, including one tagged by Ian in July this year. The season was rounded off very nicely with a super fish from the Boat Pool for Alex Barclay weighing in at 17lb. All in all, it has been a great season, with 139 salmon and sea trout caught here at Bemersyde. We have had more sea trout and a better autumn than in recent years and, given current trends we are anticipating a really good spring. Is it too much to wish for the right amount of rain at the right time?

To all of you who have fished at Bemersyde and who follow our page, thank you for your support. We wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas, a happy New Year and the very best for 2021.

 

Lower Birgham Head Boatman Mr Tom Davis reports “Well the end of another season has passed and now having a break and taking a week or so to reflect on what was a unique year. What a strange year it was, lockdowns, travel restrictions, only people traveling from certain places, and the strangest when we were only allowed to fish the English bank of the river. But through all of this the one thing that was really positive to see was people really enjoying their fishing. Some people who have always fished, some who have never fished and some who used to but has taken it up again. This added to a very good summer and early autumn run of fish and good river conditions made for plenty of very successful anglers. On Lower Birgham we had our best catch numbers for 7years. We landed 201 salmon and 30 sea trout. But saw and lost plenty others. It was the standout catches in the summer (July/Aug) that 2020 will be remembered for in particular, with most of the fish into double figures and very fresh, running in off the tides. Whilst September was our best month there were some river fish and a few fresh ones in the mix. But also a few bigger fish 20lb+ caught. These catches were pretty consistent throughout the whole river system, with fish getting caught and seen up and down the river. What will 2021 bring? When will the fish run the river? And in what numbers? The answer is nobody knows... but we all hope that with the last 2 years' catches picking up, another good year on the cards would be great wouldn’t it! Thank you for everyone who fished with us in 2020, your understanding, effort and commitment produced a great year at Lower Birgham in a pretty strange year for us all. We look forward to seeing you in 2021 and hopefully a little more normal. Stay safe, tight lines and see you all ready for the 1st February! All the best, Tom”

Upper North Wark Head Boatman Mr Martin Ritchie reports “Finally we have time to sit down and reflect on events at Upper North Wark over the last 12 months We  could not have imagined what was about to happen we were preparing for the start of the 2020 season. As opening day arrived we were greeted with 50mph winds which was quite a challenge for the winter rested arms and casting was tricky into that angle of wind. On the 4th February Mr Mike Graham landed our first fish of the season. He had previously done this on opening day 2019 and won the Tweed Trophy at the same time.  Mike caught a beautiful 12lber on a 2” Black and Yellow copper tube from the Back Of The Isle with boatman Mr Richard Farr doing the necessary with the net. The rest of the month was a wash out as we lost 15 days to dirty water. As we moved into March, which traditionally is our best spring month, we were greeted with 4ft 9” on the gauge!!  And it wasn’t until the 4th we were back fishing with a bang landing 3 springers on the fly. Mr Richard Farr landed 2 and Mr Hugh Newton 1. On the 17th we had a very interesting day when we hooked 9 fish but only landed 1 from the Snipe with Mr Jason Tumath managing to hang onto one. With hopes high we thought the following day could be very productive but we were greeted by a 6ft dirty flood! Good job the beat fishes well in high water and on the back of that flood landed a further 6 springers.  Mr Hugh Newton landed 2 on a 2” Black and Yellow, Mr Steven Hogg, Mr James McLay, Mr Richard Farr and Mr Martin Ritchie all getting one apiece. On the 23rd the beat was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and with the 2 meter rule stopping boat fishing, we remained closed to the public until the 1st September. The summer months were pleasingly wet with regular rain which seemed to keep the fish coming. It’s not often we get to fish ourselves at these levels so It was nice to get a cast albeit from the bank only. We had some good sport landing 22 Salmon in July and 21 in August with fish up to 20lbs being landed and many of the fish being in the teens of pounds. We had an incredible day on the 31st August when we hooked 16 fish in the day!! An unbelievable day's sport. With the relaxation of the 2 meter rule we reopened to the public on the 1st September and it was gratifying to see our regulars returning. . Father and Son team Keith and Jack Triffitt were our first rods after reopening and they picked away and landed 3 fish for the two days and lost a few more. The best fish went to Keith with a 14lber from the Snipe on a Samurai Shrimp conehead fly.  After this it became a frustration game of “what if “as we lost 22 fish for the rest of the month and only landed 11. October was also frustrating with a week being lost because of dirty water and high winds. We landed 10 for the month. Ms Amelia Busk landed a superb 24lber from the Back of the Isle on a 1” Red Frances. The Red Frances produced well for us during the month with Mr Mike Graham landing 3 to 16lbs, Mr Richard Farr a 13lber from the Mill Stream from the same fly. We had a fun day with Peter Stott on his first trip to the beat landing 2 in the Dub and Mr Ralph Holmes completing the catch of the day with a fish from the Snipe. A special mention to Mr Alan Triffitt who has been working hard on learning how to speycast and was suitably rewarded with his first fly caught fish from the Snipe on a Burgundy Frances. November started with a 7ft 6 flood!! On the falling water, fishing a Wet Cel 5 spey line, 15ft of T21 tip and a 2” Black and Yellow Copper Tube we landed a 14lber from the Snipe. On the 5th we landed 4 fish and lost 5. Fish landed were 24lb, 20lb, 14ln and 4lb. The following days the fish just seemed to start taking that bit softer and we went on a run losing the next 5 we hooked. On the 9th we had a special moment when Head Boatman Martin Ritchie rowed Taymount beats on the River Tay’s Head Ghillie Mr Cohn O’Dea onto his first Tweed salmon in the Dub Pool.  Mr James Aitken completed our catches for the season and landed a 10lber from the Dub on a Cascade Tube. With the changes in the Coronavirus restrictions we decided to close the beat to the public on the 13th.  It has been an interesting season!!  At times hard work to manage the bookings during the lockdowns and regulations that prevented fishing. We landed 85 Salmon for the season, which we are pleased with in the circumstances but we do have nagging feelings about what could have been if we could have used the boats during July and August.  We will never know but it was great to see such a good head of fish on the beat. Mr Mike Graham finished the season as top rod with 11 salmon all on the fly, he also had our joint biggest fish of the season with a 24lber, Ms Amelia Busk had the other 24lber also on the fly. We had 2 other fish over 20lb for the season. On Behalf of beat owner Mr Jonathan Hufford, Myself and Richard I would like to thank everyone who fished with us during 2020. Your custom, support and understanding during what was a turbulent season was very much appreciated and we look forward to welcoming you back to the beat in 2021 hopefully with no restrictions in place and we can get back to doing what we all love properly. If you haven’t fished with us before and would like to come and fish at Upper North Wark please give Martin a call on 07825 334427 or email bookings@uppernorthwarkfishing.com.

 

 

 

Lees Head Boatman Mr Malcolm Campbell reports “A much better year than last year, February and March were a complete washout or blown off, April and May we had perfect water conditions and fish in numbers but were shut down due to covid, June came along and low water and squeaky clean but we had fish, lots of fish on the beat, big fat silver springers but only two rods a day due to travel restrictions and nowhere to stay. July started well but then became humid and the fish went off a bit. August still fresh fish to be had, September plenty fish but slowly starting to colour up, October two wee fresh grilse at the start of the month all coloured apart from them. November the river closed itself down. It would be nice to think that this trend continues and we can fish in nice weather with a floating line or wee sink tip, wee flies or a sunray/collie or even a skimmer for a bit of excitement. 425 landed of which we returned 396 and only one on the spinner” 

 

Mr Christopher Noble of West Newbiggin Syndicate reports “We had a bumper season at West Newbiggin. We only hope that it was not a “flash in the pan” and that we’ll have improved sport in future seasons too! During that “silly period” when the English side of Tweed could fish and the Scottish couldn’t, we decided not to fish into Scottish waters (Ladykirk), which certainly restricted our catches, but our Members thought that only fair. We had good sport until the end of September, but with no new fish after the end of August, we stopped fishing altogether at the end of October. Salmon fishing in November appears to be “finished” now. We feel sorry for the rods on the upper river, but the season is certainly getting shorter. Our heaviest fish was 27lbs and I got one of 22lbs! We returned 90% of all the fish we caught”

 

Waltham and Dritness Syndicate report “Waltham and Dritness 2020 season began our season on May 13th, and what a start 14 Salmon landed and several others lost. Conditions in the spring suited our beat with low water and cool temperatures, by the end of June we had caught almost 100 salmon. We continued catching through the summer months, a few rises of water in September moved most of the fish upriver, and by the end of the month fish were thin on the ground. We saw no autumn fish. Most of the fish we caught were in superb condition most with sea lice. We ended our season with 160 Salmon.

Berwick and Whiteadder Angling Association reports “The round up on catches for salmon and sea trout is in from Dave. A total of 50 salmon and 8 sea trout caught. A tough year, first Covid takes a grip then then the water disappears with no rain to speak of from the end of May to September. While the lower beats of the Tweed had a bumper year in the low water we need rain on the Whiteadder with several caulds holding back all but the most determined fish. Grilse did come through the low water which is probably why the average fish was quite small but a few bigger fish were caught, the best being about 12lb. Messages from the top of the river suggest there were a lot of fish spawning right up to the Whiteadder Dam, so we wish those offspring well and look forward to seeing them in the years to come.

Please see below catch return for the Association during 2020.

SALMON CATCHES

Total for Season 50 Salmon & 8 Sea trout

Beat 1 - 31 Salmon and 3 Sea Trout

Beat 2 – 10 Salmon & 2 Sea Trout

Beat 3 – Blanked

Beat 4 – Blanked

Beat 5 – 9 Salmon & 3 Sea Trout

Beat 6 – Blanked

May

Beat 5 – Two Salmon

June

Beat 2 Two Salmon

Beat 5 One Salmon

July

Beat 1 One Salmon

Beat 2 Three Salmon

Beat 5 One Salmon

August

Beat 1 Eleven Salmon One Sea Trout

Beat 2 One Salmon Two Sea Trout

Beat 5 Two Salmon Three Sea Trout

September

Beat 1 Eight Salmon One Sea Trout

Beat 2 Two Salmon

Beat 5 One Salmon

October

Beat 1 Eleven Salmon One Sea Trout

Beat 2 Two Salmon

Beat 5 Two Salmon

4 Salmon Kept out of 50

2 Sea Trout kept out of 8

Biggest fish 12lb

 

Kelso Angling Association Secretary Mr Roy Adam reports “The salmon catch on Lower Roxburgh showed small improvement. 47 Salmon were caught, 6 more than last year and 9 greater than the 5 year average. Sea Trout numbers were down 17 on last year at only 14 caught. Sea Trout seem to vary on this beat, the numbers for the last five years being 14, 37, 4, 31 and 14, the five year average being 18. The results of our first year back on Upper Roxburgh were 19 Salmon and 20 Sea Trout caught. The largest salmon was caught by Michael Briggs, a lovely fish of 20lbs. There were four others caught at 15lbs.”

 

The RTC/Tweed Foundation report “The floy tagging study is designed to look at the recapture rate of rod caught Tweed Salmon. However, it threw up an unexpected result on the 10th November. Whilst capturing trout moving into the headwaters of the Leithen Water to spawn (part of a study to understand the relationship between Tweed Brown trout and Sea-trout), several Salmon were also caught. One of the captured salmon, a male Grilse of 54cm (21”), had a Floy tag. The tag number showed it had been tagged at Dryburgh Upper on the 22nd July by Boatman Brian Douglas. The recapture provides the first direct link between a tagged rod caught fish and its spawning location. After being recorded, the Grilse was quickly released to continue its journey upstream. There have been 3469 fish recordings through the Ettrick this year, with the usual rush of fish through the counter in early October. Good numbers have been passing through the Gala counter, with at least 3352 fish counted so far. The upgraded camera system is picking up some good video clips of large Salmon, with a number of fish approaching the 40 lbs mark. With Salmon spawning taking place throughout the catchment in November, Tweed Foundation staff took advantage of low water conditions in the second week of November to survey sections of the Upper Tweed and Whiteadder. Counting Redds (where gravel is turned over by Hen fish to lay their eggs) is not a precise method of assessing the abundance of adult fish, but it does give us a chance to understand where and when spawning is taking place, helping us to interpret results from our juvenile monitoring. The traditional method of counting Redds involves walking along a stretch of river, noting their location. However, this is limited to quite narrow watercourses with clear, low water. Using a recently acquired drone to look directly down into the water, we were able to survey sections of river up to 20 m wide and in some areas of the Upper Tweed, we were able to record the numbers of spawning fish as well. Walking alongside the drone, we were able to cover around 5 km of watercourse in a single day.

 

Regular Tweed Fisher Mr Colin Hewitt who has after a very difficult year for health reasons made it back on to the banks of the Tweed, It was great to see him back in on the action too. In his own words Colin added “Memorable, but for different reasons......3 rods shared 15 fish on the day. The two other guys had seven each, and I had one! Finished chemotherapy in late April and booked fishing was rolled over, so I picked a day off the web at Rutherford, before last operation in July. Fished fly all morning and was completely knackered by lunch time. Shoulders and arms were dead with fatigue. Never felt so tired and reverted to spinning the Dub in the afternoon. Hooked into a decent fish and almost didn’t have the strength to get it in. That’s when I sat out the rest of the day and contemplated. Happy to have caught the fish and be fishing; happy to have finished treatment and still be here; really surprised how fit you have to be to fish for salmon and that it’s taken for granted. PS...Check yer bollocks regularly chaps as, if not right, get it seen to ASAP!

Early season tactics for the River Tweed would normally consist of sinking fly lines with assorted poly leaders. As for flies, Black and Yellow, Tosh, Gold Tosh, Gold Bodied Willie Gunn, Rogie, Monkey, Eternal Optimist and Ice Maiden will all feature in the early season catch books so stock up on these killers. On the spinning front (From the 15th February) Devon Minnow, Blair Spoon and Salmo Toby should bring success given the right conditions.

By the time Trout and Salmon Magazine is on sale the 2021 season will be underway and hopefully the first springers of the season have been landed and we’ll be tucking into some fabulous food at the Contented Vine restaurant in Kelso, it has been badly missed due to the restrictions. It remains to be seen if we will be back fishing as normal or still under some sort of Covid Restrictions at the start of the season only time will tell. I would like to wish everyone all the best for the season ahead, stay safe and make memories.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributes to my river reports without the information provided it would not be the report that it is and hopefully one the readers find interesting. A special thank you to regular weekly contributors, Tom Davis at Lower Birgham, Malcolm Camplbell at the Lees, Brian Douglas at Dryburgh Upper, Waltham and Dritness Syndicate who provided great up to date information for their beats. Fishtweed and Tweedbeats websites for their statistics and content. Hopefully some more beats will appear more regularly in 2021 by sending in reports. If you’re an angler and wish to send me details of catches or special memories on the river please get in touch and I will include in the weekly/monthly reports.

 

If you would like to contribute to the report please feel free to get in touch by emailing martinritchie02@gmail.com

 

Martin Ritchie


www.taysalmonfly.co.uk


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