It’s been a really long time since I’ve fished a Scottish salmon river. I think I was 24/25 (ie. 15 years ago) when the River Spey last witnessed the Indiana Jones whip cast technique, with any potential taking salmon running for cover as the water was whipped to foam in front of me. Unbelievably, I still managed to bag my second ever salmon on that trip which, being honest, was much more to do with my old flat mate putting me in to the best pools of one of the stronger beats of the lower Spey than any salmon fishing knowledge or talent at that time.
That fish (returned) was modest, weighing about 5lbs and taken on an Ally Shrimp in the pool where the Fiddich River of Glenfiddich whisky fame joins the Spey; but I can still remember it like yesterday. The gillie, Willie, a former cooper at the distillery, offering a rare compliment (my fault not his that more were not offered) as for once a Spey cast sailed out towards the Fiddich mouth with the leader turning over and the shrimp fly dropping down in a position I would have chosen to place the fly by hand. No need for an upstream mend and only a third through the cast the line straightened and we were off…
Enough nostalgia, my salmon PB is 7lbs 8oz and it’s the River Teviot this time on the Upper Roxburgh beat about 1.5 miles upstream of the famous Tweed/Teviot pool at Kelso. I won two days salmon fishing from a work colleague, Jimmy, on a bet three years ago in an airport in Alaska and amazingly he’s finally honoured the bet. A mate of Jimmy’s has fortunately done the homework for us over many years and has worked out that this beat has a lot of bang for it’s buck if the levels are right and in any case I’m not going to get £1,000 a day on Lees or Upper Hendersyde past the high commander at home any time soon. However, with a ton of rain on the Sunday before driving up and 41 (yes, forty one and salmon fishing is apparently goosed in the UK) fish coming off the Lees beat on the Saturday I confess did start to doubt the tactics of fishing a relatively cheap beat which is very rain sensitive.
My worry was misplaced though, as Monday morning delivered a steady level of 1ft 6in
s above summer levels, which our man Neil said was spot on. The rain at Hawick dictates river levels on the Teviot at Kelso and the rain had been pushed further north by the high winds – magic, game on. I bought a 14ft Hardy Uniqua 9 wt double handed fly rod about a year ago to try on the Welsh Dee and this matched with my Hardy Zane 8/9 sea reel and a Rio multi-tip spey line with the floater and a 10ft intermediate polyleader were the weapons of choice. My only two salmon have come on a Monroe Killer and an Ally Shrimp so whilst “anything as long as it’s a cascade” was the advice on flies received on went the MK.
s above summer levels, which our man Neil said was spot on. The rain at Hawick dictates river levels on the Teviot at Kelso and the rain had been pushed further north by the high winds – magic, game on. I bought a 14ft Hardy Uniqua 9 wt double handed fly rod about a year ago to try on the Welsh Dee and this matched with my Hardy Zane 8/9 sea reel and a Rio multi-tip spey line with the floater and a 10ft intermediate polyleader were the weapons of choice. My only two salmon have come on a Monroe Killer and an Ally Shrimp so whilst “anything as long as it’s a cascade” was the advice on flies received on went the MK. The morning showcased terrible casting, even my overhead was rubbish, but the river was full of fish and despite my lack of distance, control AND finesse, I was definitely managing to cover fish. I get one bump after switching to a very sparse 1.5ins silver stoats tail tube and at lunch the gang has nailed two nice fish of 6-8lbs, both on shrimp patterns tied on trebles rather than tubes. Neil has invited the former U. Hendersyde gillie, Kenny, to join us and with 40 years’ experience on that beat alone is a man to listen to. A full floater with a 5ft sinking polyleader is the set-up that has already delivered him a fish this morning on a Cascade treble to 15lbs maxima green leader. Not a twitch for me in the afternoon in the upper sections of the beat but the casting is much improved and the guys have had three more, with our guest star Kenny taking three in the day – not too shabby given he hasn’t fished the beat for 30 years…
A few sherbets in the Queens Head hotel in Kelso that night and the chat is that we’ve had as many fish as any of the mega beats, including Chris Tarrant and pals on the junction. Not bad for £75 per day.
Day two and to be original I’m set up exactly as Kenny was the day before, all the way down to a shiny new Cascade Shrimp fly on a treble. The river is up 2 ins and carrying a bit more colour which together with none of us getting even a twitch all morning doesn’t dent my confidence. I can feel that something is going to happen today.
I fish with my mate Damian in the afternoon choosing as novices to run through the pools pretty closely together with different flies and line set ups to encourage each other and see if depth or fly makes a difference. Some fallow deer playing on the far bank are an early distraction but we’re both quickly punching the casts out as well as can be expected and taking 1-2 steps down the run after each cast. Nothing for two hours and then a good pull for me and within a minute Damian has hooked one within 30 yards of my position. He’s been getting used to a new shooting head set-up and has bunches of line in his left hand which he sub consciously drops on the take and just can’t make the ground back as the fish runs straight towards him. Slack lined for a moment the treble must move and come loose when he finally reconnects. I’m gutted for him particularly as it would have been his first salmon…
We fish the run out and then move pools to where three of the fish caught by the team have been taken and to cheer ourselves up by cutting in front of Jimmy on the main pool, who richly deserves it being the most boastful, selfish angler in the UK, which is a title he revels in(!). We were told at lunch that the fish run along the far bank in this pool and that a wade to halfway and a full cast to within inches of the far bank is required to cover the best lies. The casting is getting there now and with the fly landing within feet of far bank rushes I’m still confident, though it’s 4.30pm and we’re due to pack up at 5pm.
A better overhead cast of more 60 degrees rather than the classic 45 degrees flies shoots out to within inches of the far bank rushes and a third of the way round the line jolts and jags out straight off the reel at a rate of knots. I’m a bit shocked and very slow to react; finally lifting into a fish which has already taken 20 yards and jumps clear of the water almost landing in the far bank rushes. It’s a coloured fish but jeez, it looks an absolute horse and I am not the one in control in quite fast water 40 yards from the bank with no net. Damian is off as soon as he sees the fish, sprinting back to the car to get my salmon net and the green Hardy is bent double with line piling off the reel still as the fish surges upstream. The drag is set quite hard but it makes no difference so I back it off a bit not to push too much pressure on the hook hold as I start the long wade back towards my bank.
After 10 minutes, I’m 10 yards from the bank and whilst the fish is far from beaten I’m feeling a lot more confident with Damian in thigh deep downstream of me ready with the net and the rod and reel working well to match the strong runs. Jimmy has ascertained my set-up and has started wading out to where I took the fish…you can't keep a good man down.
I’m desperate to land this fish, as it’s a PB by a mile, but it is coloured so I don’t want it to be left with no gas when I return it; so I gamble and turn it the heat on the drag. After a number of missed heartbeats and netting attempts he’s in the net – yes!!!! - I’ve horsed the big boy in a bit towards the end of the fight but better that than a dead breeding fish. I nip the leader in the net and remove the Cascade shrimp treble in the net. The tail of the fish is massive and the big hooked jaw makes him look a mean customer who’ll definitely get the birds when they join him in the spawning grounds.
The fish goes less on the scales built in to the net than expected at 11lbs dead (he’s lost 2-3lbs in my estimation while hanging about in the river waiting for the girl fish to arrive) and with a quick snap taken he’s fully revived over 5 minutes before swimming off strongly. At one point, the fish sits on the bottom in 2ft deep fast water motionless without the need to move it’s tail to hold position. Amazing. We tell Jimmy it’s gone 14lbs 8oz on the scales so is 2lbs bigger than his the day before and I am delighted to report that he caught nothing more.
Well, I’ve only gone and done it (!). The only fish to come off the beat today and a PB by 3.5lbs in a true smash and grab raid. Brilliant. All I need now is Wales to smash the French in the RWC on Saturday…
CheersMr Fish
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