Prospects

(Last updated: Monday 20th May)

Ian Wilson of Borders Gun Room - Prospects for week ahead.

Ian is on holiday this week, so I'm afraid the quality of this report will be lower than normal!

The River is carrying a tinge of colour following the weekends rain which brought river levels up by 12 - 18" yesterday and is now steady and reading 1ft5in on the Boleside Gauge. This is a good fishing height and I would expect this level to drop slightly, but we are forecast up to 5mm tonight which will lift the river again, before settling with only showers forecast for later in the week. Last weeks water temperature was into the low 50f`s, after having dipped back into the upper 40's and I would expect these temperatures to remain in low 50's.
We are forecast to have a moderate to gentle breezes from a NorthWesterly direction for the rest of this week, which may make casting at times difficult and keep the temperatures down.

Fly Patterns to try are Cascade, Allys Shrimp, Wullie Gunns, Gledswood Black and Yellow or Blue Shrimp, Posh Tosh, Munro Killer, Editor and Monkey and these should be on 1"or 3/4" copper tubes or Dressed Doubles/Trebles size 6, 8, or 10`s depending on which part of the river you are fishing.
Spinning is another option to try and the likes of Devon Minnows, Flying `c`s, Tobies, Rapalas and X Raps are all likely to be productive.
There are fish spread throughout the river system, but have been reluctant to take, hopefully with warmer water temperatures and the threat of some rain later in the week this will change, and there is an increase in catch returns
The weather for the week is currently forecast as follows:-

Monday: Areas of low cloud and mist at first soon brightening with some warm sunshine developing. Perhaps remaining misty along eastern coasts. Scattered thundery showers developing this afternoon with some hail and a risk of intense downpours and flooding, especially east. Maximum Temperature 22 °C.

Tonight:
Further thundery downpours into the evening, mainly Lothians Borders and Dumfriesshire, the showers gradually dying out to leave a drier night though with a few fog patches. Far west breezy. Minimum Temperature 7 °C.

Tuesday: Any mist or low cloud lifting then a bright day with some sunny intervals and just the odd very light shower. Cooler though still pleasant in the sunshine. Maximum Temperature 13 °C.

Wednesday: Wednesday will be cool and breezy but it will be bright with some sunshine. Maximum Temperature 12°C.

Thursday: Wednesday will be cool and breezy but it will be bright with some sunshine. Maximum Temperature 8°C.

Friday: A few showers. Friday dry with lighter winds. Maximum Temperature 10°C.

Saturday: Partly cloudy in the morning, becoming brighter with a light north, northeasterly breeze. Maximum Temperature 17°C.

The tides at Berwick are rising this week with 4.0 at 10:03 GMT on Monday rising to 4.8m at 14:26 GMT on Saturday.

As always care should be taken when casting and eye protection should be worn at all times to protect eyes from an errant cast - it can happen to the best of anglers so please don't be complacent. Also on the safety note, a wading staff is useful, especially after floods may have moved gravel and boulders round the river bed and a flotation device should always be worn when in the river.

All anglers are requested to complete and sign the G.S Declaration document before they begin to fish. This is crucial if they have fished outside of the U.K.

In the interest of adding more detail to these reports, if any rod/boatman/gillie etc. has any details of catches, anecdotes, pictures or experiences whilst fishing Tweed could they please contact us by e-mail at info@fishtweed.co.uk

Good Luck and Tight Lines for the week ahead.
Come back soon Ian and I hope you have a good holiday.

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