River
Tweed River Report Period Ending 17th October
Over the
past four week period the weather patterns have finally changed from the
constant drought for the previous months to a much more unsettled period with
some rain and heavier showers finally having some impact on the river levels.
There has
still not been a proper flood at the time of writing but a 6fter went through on
the 6th October. These lifts finally gave the older fish that have
been stuck in the lower river a much needed chance to start pushing their ways
up through the system towards the spawning grounds. In the latter weeks of this
period the catches have been dominated by the upper river with the majority of
these older fish pushing up through the river leaving the lower sections of the
river much quieter with still no sign of anything fresh coming into the river.
I have heard of three fresh fish in the last couple of weeks but a long cry
from what we should be looking for during this part of the season. We are still
awaiting to see if this is the new norm or just a cycle of things changing. Who
knows and only time will tell. At the time of writing there are 38 fishing days
remaining for the 2021 season, looking at my rough catch so far for the season
it looks like around 5000 will be the final total unless something dramatic
happens in the next few weeks. The Sea Trout tally currently about 500 has been
a disappointment this season with a real lack of any numbers throughout the
year, low water won’t have helped but really looks like they just weren’t there
this year.
Lower Birgham Head Boatman Mr Tom
Davis reports “The River has been catching some fish, but from what I’ve seen
and speaking to others it has all been older river fish apart from the very few
fresh fish. But without trying to gloss over the obvious disappointed of recent
weeks, we have caught some fish, we have had some momentous fish (3 first ever
fish) and judging by their delight, for all they cared the fish could have been
blue/green/red/purple or all of the above! You will always remember your first
ever salmon, and there’s every chance they will continue on their salmon
fishing journey to learn and develop on what they already know. Most of the
fish we have been catching have been older fish, well rested, went back well
and left to continue their journey upriver. We have tagged some of our fish
when it was right to do so and we have caught 2 tagged fish in recent weeks as
well. Both tagged at Paxton, one salmon and one sea trout. So the recatch data
was passed on and hopefully valuable data knowledge. I was always told that the
autumn fish come in on the second flood in the autumn, well we had one and
fished behind it with optimism, when the next one comes we will fish after it
with expectation. Because after all, we are fishermen, we fish with hope, no
matter how much we know or we are told, we always think there could be one,
maybe one more cast.... maybe once more down that pool, or another change of
fly. It only takes one taking fish... Anyway, fingers crossed our next band of
rain comes through, and behind it we will see the catch of fresh fish
increase... As I said before we fishermen are optimistic! Tight lines. Tom.
Upper
North Wark reports “Finally some water so that we could start fishing properly
again and get the boats back out. Mr Jonathan Hufford and Mr Peter Thomas
landed three to 28lbs between them on Willie Gunn, Willie Gunn Templedog and
Junction Shrimp. Mrs Diane Orson has a good trip making numerous connections
over the 3 days and landed 4 (15lbs, 8lbs,7lbs and 4lbs) to her own rod using a
Comet Tube fly from her late father’s box which had caught the eye of her
ghillie Martin. She then took Martins 13ft 7” Mackenzie Graphene Atlas rod of a
wee play on Wednesday and landed another fish from the Snipe on a Tay Salmon
Fly Willie Gunn Franc N Snaelda. She rounded off her trip with a pre-ordered
Lobster Thermidor from the Contented Vine. What a way to end any trip,
especially a successful one like that. Mr Tim Catterall landed a nice 12lb fish
from the Snipe on a Black and Yellow Conehead Templedog”
Lees Head
Boatman Mr Malcolm Campbell reports “Francis Sidoli had 10 to his own rod on
the 4th October. We have not seen any fresh fish since 27th
August. Heard on the grapevine that a liced 18lber was among the Ladykirk catch
on Saturday''
Mr Marc
Wrigglesworth had a great day hooking 16 fish and landing 7 of them including
fish of 22lbs and 25lbs. Marc reports that a couple of them were fresh and all
fish returned.
Mr Andy
Britton was presented with the Malloch Trophy and Bemersyde Award for his 32lb
Salmon caught on the 11th August 2020 at Tweedmill. Mr Harry
Brownlow was presented with the Junior Bemersyde Award for his 16lb Salmon from
the River Teviot.
The Lees
picked away steadily during the period with success been had by Ms Joanna
Green, Mr Tim Lawson, Mr Jeremy Gould, Mr Ben Jack, Mr Dendy Easton, Mr Brian
Lovering, Mr Geoff Sleight, Mr Charles Cook, Mr Mike Smart and Mr Jonathan
Reddin landed 5 in a day to 15lbs. Ms Amy Hulme landed some good fish at Middle
Pavilion. Mr Stuart Norris had some good fishing on Horsburgh landed Salmon and
Sea Trout. The Mattioli Party had a good time on Junction landing 13 on the
first day of the trip. Laura Mattoli had her best day landing 4 to her own rod
and added to her catch over the next few days. Mr James Knox had success on
Birgham Dub using a Tay Salmon Fly Micro Red Frances. Fishing the Kelso Angling
Association beat on the River Teviot on Thursday 6th October Mr
Robert Muir landed fish of 7lbs and 12lbs both returned. Mr John Hall landed 3
fish of 12lbs, 6lbs and a very clear hen fish of 4lbs all returned. Mark Lee's son Carwyn, 25, had his
first fly caught Scottish Salmon yesterday 16th October on Traquair,
4.5lb & followed it up 45mins later with a fish of 13.5lb.
The Tweed
Foundation Report “Having counted many thousands of juvenile Salmon and Trout
this summer, The Tweed Foundation has completed its summer electrofishing
programme. Thirty sites throughout the catchment have been sampled as part of
an ambitious national monitoring programme which involves Trusts and boards
sampling all catchments in Scotland that contain Salmon using a consistent
method that allows results to be compared and assessed. While the results from
our own electro-fishing still need to be analysed, major tributaries such as
the Gala, Leader and main stem of the Upper Tweed continue to be extremely
productive for Salmon fry.
Since
2019, The Tweed Foundation has been PIT tagging Salmon Parr and Smolts to
determine return rates of adult Salmon to the Gala Water and to look at the
survival of Smolts through the lower Gala Water. PIT tags are the smallest type
of tag that can be detected by monitoring equipment as they contain an internal
microchip that is activated when it passes close to an antenna, rather than
relying on a battery for detection. An important milestone in the development
of the Gala Water as a monitored river (which means we monitor all stages of
the life cycle) is the installation of a mains powered detection antenna next
to the fish counter in the fish pass. Up until now, we had to change a battery
every 5 days. This means in addition to seeing how many Salmon return to the
Gala Water, there will now be a video recording of every PIT tagged fish and an
estimated length. Last year we detected our first Salmon that returned after
one year at sea, so of the cohort of Salmon tagged smolts that left in 2019, we
will now detect two year old tagged fish, allowing us to calculate a total
return rate to the Gala Water for the first time. We also expect to see some of
the fish that were tagged in 2020. For the first time in 2021 we also tagged
500 Sea Trout smolts; very little is known about their survival at sea, so it
will be fascinating to see how many return in the next couple of years. As part
of the development of the Gala Water as a monitored river, we are trying to
estimate the numbers of smolts that are produced every year. However, a
complicating factor is that an unknown number of Parr migrate down into the
main river in autumn, a pattern which may be found through the Tweed system and
has been reported on other rivers. To start investigating this migratory
pattern, we have PIT tagged around 250 Salmon parr in the Middle Gala Water in
the last week of September. With the installation of a streambed antenna in the
lower Gala Water just downstream of the fish counter, we will be able to start
assessing the extent of this migration. If Parr from the tributaries like the
Gala Water do migrate into the main river in Autumn, then another interesting
question is whether these fish then return to the Gala Water as adults to
spawn; if this is the case, these fish would need imprint their first journey
from the Gala Water to the main river (to find their way back) and then their
migration to the sea the following Spring from the main river. Why Parr would
choose to migrate down into the main river is a difficult question to answer;
perhaps over wintering habitat is more available in the main river or perhaps
feeding opportunities are greater”
Week Ending 25th
September, above Kelso 31 fish were reported, Between Kelso and Coldstream 72
were reported and below Coldstream 95 were reported. With the best fishing
being on the Ladykirk beat where 39 salmon were landed.
198 Salmon and 2 Sea Trout were
landed for the week with the best fish a 21lb Salmon caught on the West
Learmouth beat.
Week Ending 2nd
October, above Kelso 115 fish were reported, Between Kelso and Coldstream 110
were reported and below Coldstream 120 were reported. With the best fishing
being on the Ladykirk beat where 29 salmon were landed.
347 Salmon and 73 Sea Trout were
landed for the week with the best fish a 28lb Salmon caught on the Birgham Dub
beat.
Week Ending 9th
October, above Kelso 203 fish were reported, Between Kelso and Coldstream 114
were reported and below Coldstream 52 were reported. With the best fishing
being on the Lees beat where 25 salmon were landed.
387 Salmon and 16 Sea Trout were
landed for the week with the best fish a 28lb Salmon caught on the Upper North
Wark beat.
Week Ending 17th
October, above Kelso 207 fish were reported, Between Kelso and Coldstream 114
were reported and below Coldstream 82 were reported. With the best fishing being
on the Boleside beat where 36 salmon were landed.
421 Salmon and 18 Sea Trout were
landed for the week with the best fish a 28lb Salmon caught on the Yair beat.
Places to Stay, Eat and Browse Locally
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.
***NOW
AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS*** Fantastic new self-catering accommodation at the 1905
Holiday Let which sits in a peaceful position on the cobbled streets of Kelso
above 1905 Bar where one can enjoy a pint of real ale or a G&T in a cosy
yet traditional bar. Four Bedroomed apartment in central Kelso for Holiday or
longer term let. The accommodation sleeps 8 people. To book a stay in this
superbly refurbished to a very high standard accommodation please go to this
link https://abnb.me/ITUcD4HPOfb
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.
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/
If anyone would like to get in
touch for advice or enquire about fishing, fishing tackle and fly tying, deer
stalking etc., or just for a chat here are my contact details. Iain Wilson,
Mobile. 07736903379 Email. borderstalker@gmail.com Website.
borderstalker.com
A new and
freshly available holiday let. The ‘Kelso Cobbles’ is a self-catering
accommodation that can sleep 9 people. There are 4 large double bedrooms, two
that are zip linked (so can be made into twin rooms). There are 2 spacious
bathrooms. With large comfortable and spacious living areas. It has a separate
dining room and benefits from its location of being very close to all local
restaurants and shops in the centre of Kelso and overlooking the beautiful
Kelso Abbey. For more information and bookings please contact Jason
07836270390.
The week
ended with the level at Sprouston 10” and the water temperature is 46.
Looking
at the availability for the week ahead, the river is really busy with not much
availability for the next few months. If you are looking to fish the river I
would suggest booking sooner rather than later to avoid missing out. I would
recommend Horsburgh, Traquair and Upper North Wark Beats to be in with a chance
of fish this week.
The
forecast this coming week, Tomorrow will see a misty start,
with some drizzle in places through the morning. During the afternoon, a band
of blustery rain will arrive from the west, falling heavy at times. Much
of next week will be rather unsettled, with a broad area of low pressure moving
into the North Atlantic. It will be breezy and mild, with bouts of heavy rain
and thunder on Tuesday. Deepening low pressure may bring gusty conditions and
sharp showers on Wednesday and into Thursday, but details remain uncertain.
Turning cooler and more settled on Thursday night.
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
Look at
what to bring for the week ahead, this could change given the forecast which
looks quite unsettled most of the week but as a guide a floating or
intermediate line with assorted poly leaders should suffice on most beats. Red
and Black Frances, Willie Gunn Flamethrower, Willie Gunn Franc N Snaelda,
Kinermony Killer are all capable to tempting fish on around ½” to 1” tubes, dressed flies are now worth a
go more often in a size 6-10s. Spinning has now stopped for the remainder of
the season and starts again on the 15th February 2022.
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 as there are quite a few beats that
don’t report)
Total
catch last week: 421 Salmon & 19 Sea Trout
Total
caught so far this season: 4193 Salmon and 468 Sea Trout
As
reported on Fishtweed:-
(Biggest
Salmon 28lb Birgham Dub, Upper North Wark, Yair)
(Biggest
Sea Trout 10lb Tillmouth, Junction)
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
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