River Tweed River Report Week Ending 22nd August
I would like to start
this week’s report by highlighting the fact, if information is not sent to me I
can’t include it in the report. I am not a mind reader and I have no idea what
is been caught by who, what, where and when if the information is not send to
me by the contact options at the bottom end of the report. I compile these
reports in my own time and hopefully they provide the anglers of the Tweed and
further afield a good idea of what is happening on the river on a weekly basis.
Hopefully they are appreciated by the vast majority of you readers.
Back to the fishing a strange
old week last week with a decent start on Monday with fish been caught
throughout the system but as the week went on with a little lift the fish
seemed to switch off a bit and proved far more difficult to tempt. There still
seems a good mix of Grilse and Summer Salmon in the river with a good number of
fresh fish still been caught on a regular basis. Reports are that, there are
still a decent head of fish in the bay so fingers crossed the fish will
continue to run for the next few months. Saturday was pretty much a wash out
for most of the river as heavy overnight rain brought in a fair bit of colour
and a steady rise well into the afternoon. Should make for decent fishing on
Monday but the biblical storm forecast for Tuesday could wipe out Wednesday/Thursday
only time will tell, but a second flood back to back off the first flood is
normally a good thing traditionally.
If you catch a tagged
fish then please take a note of the tag number, this can be made easier by
taking a photo of the tag. To report a tagged fish please contact the Tweed
Foundation on 01896 848 277 or the Head Fishery Officer on 07884 230 045.
The River Tweed Salmon
Fishing Museum will be officially opened by Her Grace the Duchess of Roxburghe
and Sir Gareth Edwards at 6pm on Thursday 3rd September 2020 in the
Town Hall, The Square, Kelso.
Above Kelso 65 fish were reported, Between Kelso and
Coldstream 78 were reported and below Coldstream 67 were reported. With the
best fishing being at Horncliffe where 17 were landed. Sprouston 16 and Birgham
Dub 15 also picked away during the week.
Waltham and Dritness
Beat reports a quiet week, with one grilse
caught by Jack Weightman , before the water on Saturday finished us off.
Tiptoe fishing this
week, we had 2 gentlemen visiting for the day on 19th
August and they caught two 8lb salmon in the Top Stream, and Tiptoe Throat
with a Stoat’s Tail fly. Brown Trout are proving good sport on the beat
to.
Fishing at Dryburgh
Upper Mr Rufus Litchfield landed his first Tweed Salmon and on the same beat Mr
James Aitken landed a fresh grilse. Mr John Taylor landed 4 on the Junction
Beat. The fabulous Mrs Clare Haggas had some great sport on Hendersyde landing
some lovely fish on the fly, she even caught more than Mr H this trip. Go Clare
well done.
210 Salmon and 12 Sea Trout were landed for the week with the best fish 18lb Salmon
caught on the Rutherford and Junction beats.
It’s
always good to hear how the fishers enjoy their experiences on the river,
please let us know about your catches and memorable moments of your trip. Below
is some first-hand feedback from anglers last week
Tweedhill
As always
a lovely trip to Tweedhill. Brian looked after us very well. Looking forward to
coming back! 1 x Salmon caught at tail of beat with a hot cone head red
Francis.
Horncliffe
Excellent
days fishing - Ghillie Steve very pleasant and helpful.
Pedwell
Peter
looked after us superbly, very helpful throughout the day and did everything
possible to get us a salmon!
Ladykirk
Fantastic
morning sadly with the afternoon the water had risen and became unfishable but
that's nature. Thoroughly enjoyed my day hope to make it back again
Milne Graden
Kevin and
Lindsay were very friendly and helpful, especially with the second rod, who was
a beginner. Lindsay also lent me a sinking tip. The round stone hut was
special. There were a lot of fish showing but no takes.
Tillmouth
Very
strong gusty winds and rising water levels...storms on west coast. Challenging
and demanding but great fun. Excellent ghillie, Richard, with local knowledge
and expertise. Thoroughly enjoyable day. Thank you.
One of the best beats you can possibly fish - 1 fish
Lower Birgham
Very good
day’s fishing during which very well looked after by both ghillies Tom and
Brian...advice coupled with their knowledge and skill much appreciated, thank
you.
Tom and
Bryan were exceptionally helpful and friendly, especially with my friend who
was a beginner, and we enjoyed our day with them. There were quite a few fish
showing but no takes.
Dryburgh Lower
The river
was flooded out but our ghillie did his very best to give us an enjoyable day
on the river. Our guests really enjoyed their day
As always
at this fishery my fishing and guidance by David the Gillie was first class. It
is always a pleasure to fish here and nothing is too much trouble to ask. Tom
and his team have done a fantastic job by accommodating me moving my fishing
dates so I could fish. So a big thank you to you all as I love my
fishing.
Ashiestiel
Dave, as
the ghillie, was responsive to my texts and calls and was helpful in telling me
where best to fish. There were some fish showing but no takes. It was nice fly
water. The other rods were welcoming and very pleasant
Tweedswood Head Ghillie Mr Kevin
Patterson reports “with good water all
along Tweedside the harvest starting to come in it’s that magical time of the
year on the tweed. We have had it a bit tough over last few weeks with the
spinning stopping and fly only there’s no doubt about it a salmon on the fly is
truly a lot harder to achieve against the spinner. One casting with the fly rod
takes a lot of skill and effort and quite hard work on a whole day out but must
burn calories. Two getting the fly down or up in the water right fly right
wading line it’s very tricky indeed I’ve become completely obsessed with fly in
water levels tip of tip on fly if bigger smaller . It’s hard to gauge but worth
it all. Three but the takes also much harder to control what to do if the reel
a loop or two loops lift or leave it’s a maze of things. Four once hooked
playing the salmon I can honestly say we have lost more than caught this season
and most at the last gasp but no touch on the fish to remove hook no counting
it’s a blaze of frustration but people enjoy it so if you think you want to try
it fish pal book and let’s see what you can do. I miss spinning I enjoyed it
but forgot what it was like to fish in a more interesting and challenging way
also good luck to all the people that catch no matter the method cheers Kevin”
Lower
Birgham Head Boatman Mr Tom Davis reports “One of the great beauties of the job
we do is the variety in the weeks, no 2 weeks the same, no telling what the
fish will do and predicted results rarely coming true. And looking last weekend
conditions looked good, water was a good height and the week ahead had all the
signs of a great catching week to look forward to. And although we went through
days and days of seeing loads of fish. Most, if not nearly all managed to evade
our hooks! Even fish we had on found a way to get off, running fish in the streams
pulling lightly on the fly found a way to tease us in with a nice slow draw
before letting go as quick as it had taken. One even managed to somehow break
our leader... but sometimes we have to just hold our head high, be satisfied we
had contact, look forward to the next opportunity and be great full we have
fish with us in the river, and throughout the system for us all to have a crack
at. The water at the end of the week wasn’t totally needed as it made fishing
on Saturday a pretty tough day, but a couple of fish were lost from the bank
and gave us fresh hope of some more fresh, bigger, shinier, and harder taking
fish might move up for the week ahead. These little pulses of water bring fresh
optimism and maintain a good fishing height for us. So fingers crossed the fish
Stay on and the scoreboard keeps ticking over. Tight lines, stay safe. Tom”
On Upper North Wark, The beat remains closed however we
are aiming to reopen on the 1st of September. Any enquiries or
booking requests please call Martin on 07825334427.
Berwick
and District Angling Association reports “In addition to Mihai's grilse Dave
Cross had another of the Ashtree a d lost another yesterday. Believe Alan lost
a big kipper in the Ashtree today. Water levels definitely improving and as the
muck washes out more fish will come. Another fish off Clarabad
yesterday, a fish of about 7lbs returned safely. We have had water over the
past few day with more to come, especially next Tuesday, prospects looking much
better for the August. Hopefully the recent rises will have cleared a lot of
muck out of the river and we know the Whiteadder can run high but fishable, in
fact it can fish very well. Fish counter numbers from Dave for the
Whiteadder. 4th May to 10th June the data was corrupted and 23rd June to 5th
July the system was out of operation so we don't have a full picture. 164 fish
went through the counter in June and 263 in July. Remember the fish counter is
at Alstrom near Chirnside, a couple of miles above our top beat at Ninewells.
The 263 is the best July count since 2015, considering the Whiteadder has been
bare bones for months it amazes me that fish can still fight their way that far
upstream. A bit of rain today continuing into Tuesday looks like buckets of
rain coming, just what the doctor ordered. Could be mucky to begin with as the
recent spates have only cleared the weed and algae and a bit of silt. You know
the Whitie rises quick, clears quick and drops quite quickly so the prospect
from Weds onwards are good. If 263 fish made it up to Chirnside in a teaspoon
of water what will come with a deluge?”
We are blessed in this area to have some superb local fishing
tackle shops that are well worth a visit the superb well stocked Borders Gunroom
in St Boswells. I would recommend for a rummage round which and find out from
the local staff what’s currently doing the damage on the river and lochs.
After any fishing trip on the Tweed it’s always worth a trip
to Kelso to enjoy a superb meal with great atmosphere in the fabulous Contented
Vine restaurant. I would highly recommend it as a must visit during your trip.
Call 01573 224777 to reserve your table.
The stunning Saddler Cottage, located within the grounds of
Tillmouth Park in now under new ownership. Suitable for fishers and families
this lovely cottage is very handily placed for fishing the Lower and Bottom
Tweed beats. If you would like more information please check out the link https://www.crabtreeandcrabtree.com/properties/saddler-cottage/
The week
ended with the level at Sprouston 1ft 5” and the water temperature is 58.
Looking
at the availability for this coming week I would recommend Tweedswood, Dryburgh
Upper and the Pavilion beats should have a chance of some action this week.
The
forecast this coming week, Tomorrow, heavy rain and strong
winds will move northwards throughout the day across the region. Unseasonably
windy with strong easterly winds. The rain will begin to ease later in the
evening. Wednesday looks to be a mostly dry and cloudy day, but with the
chance of the odd spot of rain. A few evening sunny spells leading to a clear
night. Thursday will become mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain, some heavy in
the afternoon. Staying cloudy overnight with some rain still possible. On
Friday there will be some showers with the odd sunny spell, but staying breezy.
As always
I would like to thank all those who provide me with the information to make
this report, it is very much appreciated. If you have any information or
photo’s you would like included please get in touch with Martin on 07825334427
or info@taysalmonfly.co.uk
Looking
at what to bring for the coming week’s fishing, with the rise last week falling
in a floating line with assorted poly leaders should suffice on most beats,
however with big rain forecast for Tuesday sinking lines and big flies may be
needed by mid-week. Copper Cascade, Tritton Shrimp, Gledswood Shrimp, Willie
Gunn and Ghillie Flies are all capable to tempting fish on size 6-10 dressed
hooks or 1” – 1½” tubes. Great time of the season for giving the Sunray Shadow
a go to. On the spinning front, the flying c, rapala and toby should be worth a
go.
As always
come prepared and always listen to the advice of your boatman or ghillie. If
you’re needing to top up your fly box ahead of your trip please check out
www.taysalmonfly.co.uk
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Season So
Far catches (This figure is a rough guide and does not include fish caught
during the Lockdown period 24th March to 12th May)
Total
catch last week: 210 Salmon & 12 Sea
Trout
Total
caught so far this season: 4021 Salmon and 824 Sea Trout
As
reported on Fishtweed:-
(Biggest
Salmon 25lb Birgham Dub)
(Biggest
Sea Trout 15lb Drygrange)
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To book or enquire about fishing on the Upper North Wark beat on the River Tweed please give Martin a call on 07825 334427
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