As anticipated, the various ex-hurricanes and named storms sweeping across the Atlantic disrupted conditions at the end of last week, particularly affecting beats below Kelso. The Teviot’s muddy waters were significant. Nonetheless, River Tweed beats reported 354 salmon, surpassing the totals from the previous two weeks. This suggests that the overall river tally, including non-reporting beats, was likely around 500 salmon for the third consecutive week.

Tillmouth

The week began promisingly with 17 fish all caught on the fly, and several more were lost on Monday. Fishing remained productive until rain disrupted the week, with river levels rising daily after Monday. Although anglers continued to see plenty of fish, the storms ultimately won by Friday lunchtime. The river needs to settle soon to give these fish a proper chance.

Lennel

Report for w/c Monday, August 28, a lot of salmon were moving in the rising water. Although many were lost, some were successfully landed. The river was up over 6 feet this morning. So far, Lennel has reported 93 salmon for the month.

Lower Birgham

Last week was another great one. The week began with plenty of fish visible, resulting in several landings despite losing a few. Fish often took the fly but then hesitated and dropped it. Tuesday was similar, with many fish seen and 7 landed, including some fresh grilse and larger silver autumn fish. As the week progressed, worsening weather and strong winds made fishing challenging, but fish were still present. With the river rising on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were essentially washouts. Despite the tough conditions, it was a very successful week with 19 salmon and 2 sea trout landed. The continued catch of silver fish is encouraging.

Carham 

The week started on Monday with the gauge at 7 inches and water temperature at 58°F. Two salmon and four grilse were landed, though eight were lost, including seven by one angler. The landed fish ranged from 2 to 10 pounds and were all caught on the fly. Tuesday's conditions were similar, resulting in 1 salmon and 3 grilse landed, all between 4 and 9 pounds, also on the fly. By Wednesday, with the gauge at 1 foot 7 inches and a water temperature of 57°F, heavy rain had lifted the water level further and added color. We switched to spinning and landed 1 salmon and 5 grilse between 3 and 9 pounds, plus 2 sea trout of 2 pounds. On Thursday, the gauge read 1 foot 2 inches with a water temperature of 57°F. Despite the steady rise in the river throughout the day, we managed to land 2 salmon and 2 grilse, all between 2 and 9 pounds, using spinners. We stopped fishing early due to increasing river color. Friday saw no fishing due to high-colored water. By Saturday, with the gauge at 4 feet 1 inch, fishing resumed late in the afternoon with one fisher landing a 2-pound sea trout on the spinner. This week, fish sightings were sparse, and we caught a higher proportion of older fish compared to fresh ones. The weather was generally good but with a distinctly cooler autumnal feel. Floating lines with intermediate and slow sink tips, size 8/10 dressed flies, small tubes, and Flying C spinners proved effective.

Boleside

The week began with low water and warm temperatures. However, Mike Sutton managed to catch a lovely 13-pound fish from the Gardenback using a small conehead Stoat’s Tail. Rain on Thursday led to improved conditions by Friday, resulting in one salmon being landed and a few lost—an ongoing trend this season. Saturday was similar, with 1 salmon and 2 sea trout landed. The highlight of the week was Mike Roberts’ superb 20-pounder from the Rink Stream, which put up a strong fight. As with previous weeks, a short intermediate tip with small dark flies like the Wullie Gunn or Stoat’s Tail is recommended.

Horsbrugh

Fish have been seen, and one was caught on the Cardrona side Saturday morning.

This Coming Week

An uncertain start to this week, but conditions should improve. The weather is expected to settle and even warm slightly after the recent distinctly autumnal chill. Optimistically, once conditions stabilise, there should be no shortage of good fishing water levels for at least 10 to 14 days across the catchment.

Catches

Beats reporting to FishTweed and Tweedbeats have reported 3,554 Atlantic Salmon so far this year, excluding non-reporting beats. For a comprehensive view of catches, visit the River Tweed website. For the best mobile experience, view the page in landscape mode.

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Tight lines

Anne Woodcock

Email anne@tweedfoundation.org.uk

Mobile 07540 834852 

The Tweed Foundation Annual Auction will go live in November. If you would like to donate an auction lot to support the work of the foundation and education program, TweedStart, please email anne@tweedfoundation.org.uk