Some Rain & A Few Fish

The last week probably didn't see as much rain as was predicted and levels only lifted by 6-7" in midweek before dropping down to 2-3" above summer level again. However that small rise does seem to have encouraged fish to move up. James Mackellar had a successful couple of days at Cardrona, getting two salmon on Friday and a sea trout on Saturday. Succesful flies were a collie dog, small junction shrimp and a stoat's tail.

Also on Saturday, Brian Marshall returned a 9lb salmon and both Iain Bain and Brian Davidson each had a sea trout.

More rain is forecast and the river is rising quickly in its upper reaches at the moment so the next week should see more fish caught. It's been a long time coming!

River levels are updated twice daily on Fishtweed should you wish to check current river conditions.

Returns

We're approaching the end of September and catches have been a little disappointing over the last few weeks with a few notable exceptions. Cardrona, along with all the other Upper Tweed beats, has suffered as a consequence of the dry spell of weather that is only now coming to an end. However, we've not had returns from all who have fished with us and I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that it is important that they give us details of any catches (including nil returns and whether fish were retained or released). We have to give a full catch return to the River Tweed Commissioners at the end of every season and without your returns we can't do this. Please send your returns to the email address on our FishTweed page and feel free to add any other information you'd like us to hear about (flies, techniques, pool in the case of catch returns).

September 2008 saw 17 fish caught for the month including the one pictured here which went back safely after the photograph was taken.

Indian Summer

This last week has seen more settled weather and the bright sunshine and gradually falling water (now at just under one foot above summer levels) has meant for pleasant but generally unproductive fishing conditions. There have been rewards for those who were persistent, the most notable catch was a 8.5lb salmon caught on an Ally's Shrimp by Robert Steel. Two sea trout were caught early on in the week, the biggest, a fish estimated at 6lbs, was captured by Tom Borthwick.

We are unlikely to see any significant rainfall over the next few days but there is likely to be more cloud cover which should improve prospects for those hoping to catch a September salmon.

Prospects & tactics

The forecast for this coming week is for more unsettled weather, which really suits the Upper Tweed and should hopefully keep the level 'topped up', encouraging fish to keep coming through from lower down.

The regular rods use a range of tactics. Of late, we have been trying out some modern set ups using shorter rods in tandem with skagit lines or shooting heads. Whilst the river up here is not particularly large, these set ups can still be advantageous in tight situations and where greater depth and control is required, particularly later in the year when water temperature is low and the river is pushing through.

At the moment, a rod from 12 - 14' is more than adequate, getting the fly down a little always helps. The successful rods at the weekend were using modest sink tips just to get the fly down a foot or two. One fish was taken on a light skagit set up with a short sink tip and the other utilising a conventional short-head spey line with a slow sink tip.

As for flies, dressed doubles (size 10-8) or smallish light tubes will be all that is required, cascade variants, shrimp patterns or the ubiquitous stoats tail are always a popular choice. If the water really is pushing through (anything above 2' really), don't be afraid to go up to quite a large fly.

They've Arrived!

A decent lift last Sunday and other small rises in the intervening days since have helped maintain good levels throughout the last week and so it was no surprise that Cardrona saw its first two salmon of the season caught on Saturday. Both fish were very fresh as can be seen from the photograph of the first (estimated at around 11lb) going back.

There are undoubtedly more fish present as Charlie McGhee, also fishing on Saturday, hooked and lost a couple of fish.

We've also added to our tally of sea trout this week, Iain Bain and Hywel Vickers getting one apiece on Tuesday and Friday respectively.

With more rain forecast for the beginning of the coming week prospects should remain good.

Salmon & Sea Trout Fishing at Cardrona

We've set up this blog to provide information for those wishing to fish at Cardrona and also to provide news updates for those of you who have fished with us in the past or who are intending to do so in the future.

The beat comprises 1.8 miles of fishing on the right bank of the Tweed at Cardrona, just a few miles downstream of Peebles and only 26 miles from the Edinburgh by-pass.

It's true to say that the upper Tweed is regarded as an autumn fishery but, given water (and we seem to be getting a fair bit as I type this in mid-August), salmon can appear earlier in the season. Last year was the first full season under the current ownership and 96 salmon and 4 sea trout were caught between August and the end of the season.

If you'd like to join us at Cardrona you can check availability and make bookings via Fishtweed.