Tweed - Reports

317 salmon reported, much the same as the week before, include the non reporting beats the overall score could have been anything lower than 450 salmon. Junction and Sprouston are on 240 and 196 respectively as of close of play last Monday. 

With fresh fish still being reported coming off the tides, there is optimism for another good week. 

The looming arrival of Hurricane Ernesto is expected to bring heavy rain as it sweeps between here and Iceland. In Scotland, the weather has already turned prematurely autumnal, with more rain forecasted for Monday, even before Ernesto arrives.

Lennel

Last week was decent at Lennel, with over 20 salmon landed, though many were also lost. This week, Monday August 19th, the beat has caught 10 salmon.

Tillmouth

It was a humid start to the week on Monday, with thundery showers throughout the day. Despite losing a few grilse, the action picked up on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the river rising about 3 inches each day. Wednesday turned out to be quite productive, landing three grilse in just half an hour on the Wellington Pool. Thursday was wet and windy, but still managed to hook a couple more, although a few were lost. By Friday, the river had risen to 2 feet 10 inches and turned chocolate in colour. Opted to spin that day, which paid off with a catch of one salmon, two grilse, and a sea trout. Saturday saw the water level drop sharply to 1 foot 3 inches. Jamie Roy had a highlight of the week, landing a beautiful 20lb fresh cock salmon on an Ally Shrimp from the Wellington Pool. We also had success at the Craw, where we pulled in a couple of nice 14lb salmon on a Junction Shrimp. The week wrapped up with a total of six salmon and grilse, all safely returned to the river. There are plenty of fish in all the beats, both fresh arrivals and resident fish. With a challenging forecast ahead, here’s hoping for some more good catches—tight lines!

Lower Birgham

Another successful week at Lower Birgham followed the previous week's good catches. Fish were seen in most main pools, with plenty showing and running. Early in the week, we mainly caught grilse between 4-6 pounds on various flies, particularly black and yellow tubes. After a the dirty flood on Friday caused by Thursday’s rain, we returned to the river in the afternoon and caught one fish with a couple of other pulls. Saturday brought high expectations, which were met as we landed 8 salmon, most of them double-figure, fresh, and silver. By the end of the week, we had caught 13 salmon, bringing our yearly total to over 100. Here's hoping next week is just as good, if not better.

Carham Beat

Monday, we started the week with the gauge at 6 inches and the water temperature at 63°F. We landed 5 fish, all on fly, ranging from 3 to 8 pounds, caught in the morning. Tuesday saw a slight rise to 8 inches and 62°F, with the small lift in water unsettling the fish, resulting in just 1 catch and a few tentative bites. On Wednesday, back at 6 inches and 60°F, we caught 2 fish on fly in the evening, as the hot, bright weather made evening fishing more practical. Thursday’s conditions were similar, and we landed 3 fish between 7 and 11 pounds. After heavy rain on Thursday, Friday saw the gauge rise to 2 feet 6 inches, with the water carrying a lot of color. Despite trying with fly and spinner in the afternoon, we had no luck. By Saturday, the gauge dropped to 1 foot 2 inches with a temperature of 58°F. Although the water was still coloured, we managed to catch 13 salmon and grilse, including fresh and older fish up to 18 pounds. Overhead conditions were generally favourable, with cloud cover most days except for the bright and sunny Wednesday. Small black and yellow bottle tubes on short intermediate or slow sink tips, along with Flying C and X-Rap spinners, were effective. Cheers, Lee.

Hendersyde

Apologies for missing a few weeks. Here's the update for last week from Monday the 12th. It was a good week for the Hendersyde rods. Dr. Marcus Fenton, fishing with his family and a friend, had a great start, landing 7 grilse and a salmon in the first two days. A small water rise on Wednesday made conditions tougher, but we managed to avoid a blank with one salmon. The river settled by Thursday, and Dr. Fenton landed 4 more fish, mostly grilse. Friday brought another dirty rise in the water, frustrating but ultimately beneficial for the river. On Saturday, the river was fishable again, and we enjoyed great sport, landing 6 fish, including 3 salmon around 15 pounds. A young guest, Ioana Staicu, who had never fished before, learned to fly fish and, within half a dozen casts, landed her first fish, a 10-pound salmon, followed by a smaller grilse. In total, we caught 19 fish, all on floating lines and various shrimp patterns.

Tweedswood

We caught one fish on Tuesday and lost one on Wednesday. On Friday, we caught another fish and lost one more, followed by another catch on Saturday. Water levels have been fluctuating, with a lot of peaty water coming from the Ettrick, leaving us just two fish away from 50 for the season. Diego, a visiting angler from Argentina, caught a 14-pounder.

Boleside Beat

Rising water early in the week, mainly from the Ettrick, made fishing challenging. By Thursday, the water began to settle, and on Friday, we connected with 6 salmon but only managed to land 2—a 12-pounder and a 5-pounder caught by Mick Laidlaw. On Saturday, the fish held better, and the rods landed 2 salmon and 4 sea trout, the best being a 7-pounder caught at the Meetings on a Teal Blue and Silver. With water levels dropping, we hope to catch more next week. Short intermediate tips and small flies continue to work best.

Beats reporting to FishTweed and Tweedbeats have reported 3,180 Atlantic Salmon so far this year, this does not include non-reporting beats. You can now find catches in one place on the River Tweed website. If you are viewing the page on your mobile please turn your phone to view it on landscape for the best experience. 

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Thank you to the boatmen and ghillies for your fishing reports. Anglers please keep emailing your fishing news to [email protected] and tag us into your Tweed fishing trips on social at River Tweed News. 

Best wishes

Anne

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Bemersyde Trophy

Entries are now open for the Bemersyde Trophy for the best salmon landed on a fly on Tweed The winners of this prestigious award (senior and junior) will be invited to a presentation luncheon at Bemersyde House.

Previous winners of the senior award include Jim Reid, Shamus Jennings, Wayne Longstaff, Finlay Wilson, Craig Duncan, Andy Britton, Jonathon Murray, Janice Hogarth and current winner Adrian Gotzheim

Previous winners of the junior award include Jess England, Debbie Harris, Andrew Kitchingham, Debbie Harris, Harry Gotzheim, Samuel Ackroyd, Harry Brownlow and the current winner Sam Taylor

To be eligible for the trophy the fish must be caught on a fly in a sportsmanlike manner and be returned to the water. For more information and to enter this years trophy please contact the Bemersyde Estate office:- Bemersyde Estate, Melrose, Roxburghshire, TD6 9DP

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We would like to thank the boatmen, angling clubs and beat owners on the Tweed system who have contributed to this report by providing their time and information as the weekly report would not be possible without your help and support. If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Tweed for the purposes of this report, please feel free to contact us here. 

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