End of Season Deluge

A good Eden Grayling being returned

Persistent rain created the worst possible scenario to the end of the Salmon season on the river Eden. The last few days were a wash out, especially for the fly, apart from a couple of fish taken on a spinner on the last day as the water slightly cleared, but still very difficult conditions.

We are now turning our attention to the winter Grayling fishing to which we have already had some success, albeit in small numbers, but some quality fish up to 2lb, and the results have improved with further visits.

The Grayling fishing was put on hold though, with the intervention of the AAPGAI autumn assessment event for potential new instructors, as well as those instructors who were taking the next step on the ladder. The event was held, once again, in Builth Wells, in Wales, one of two biannual events held at either end of the country to allow people from all over the UK to attend, although several international instructors also attended as usual. The event also included a very successful open day which was aimed at those thinking of taking the instructor route with AAPGAI, or those who simply came along to enjoy the many and varied demonstrations delivered by professional AAPGAI instructors, as well as the one to one tuition that followed. You can read more about these events on the AAPGAI website or Blog.

One of the Demo's by AAPGAI instructor Paul Arden

But home again now and back to thoughts of Grayling fishing on the Eden, but I don't have to think about it too long, as I will be out on the river again tomorrow to put it into practice, especially whilst this period of good weather persists, although I do have a sneaky feeling that when the temperatures do begin to fall significantly we will see some good shoaling up of these magnificent fish in the deeper slower moving areas of the river. "Give it a try".

Not Long Now!

We are once again heading towards the end of the Salmon season on the Eden, and like much of the season the water has continued it's unsettled trend. As I write this, there is more heavy rain forecast for tonight and throughout the early hours of tomorrow morning, which will inevitably raise the river level yet again, putting Wednesday out of commission with only two more days to go, "Grim". Click here to view the river level at Warwick on Eden.

John's Favourite Corner

Since my last post I have been out on the Border Esk with the Borderlines team again, introducing more schools from the surrounding areas to angling and the environment. We were quite lucky with the conditions as the Border Esk has also been prone to high waters of late, but we managed to get out and the kids had a great time. 

Chris with his specimen

All is not doom and gloom though, as the short spells of settled water in between the rising water did produce several Salmon up and down the river, which included a few for Border Game Angling visitors too, as well as some good trout before the trout season closed on the 30th of September.

One visitor did get a pleasant surprise when he encountered a very nice fish of over 20lb on the fly, a coloured cock fish which he returned to the water after an epic battle on an Ally's Shrimp. "Nice One".

Russell with one of four Browns

Had to cancel the last two days due to high water, with today not looking much better, but nevertheless if the conditions continue to keep us off the water until the end of the Salmon season, (Friday) there's still the Grayling fishing to keep us going over the winter months, which I am looking forward to immensely, and I already have a few bookings lined up. "It's a really good way to extend your fly fishing season".

From Iceland to Eden

Into one of Iceland's big Sea Trout

I returned from Iceland on Tuesday to find the Eden running high yet again, nothing seemed to have changed since I left last Thursday, and after talking to a few of the guys on the river it seems I hadn't missed out on much either, although I have heard that there have been a few fish caught during the spells when the water was dropping, but still not as many fish showing as we are used to at this time of year. "Yo Yo water yet again".

A good result

Iceland was certainly a whole different ball game, with plenty of fish being caught by our group over the 4 days we were there, with a grand total of over 100 Salmon between six shared rods, and an additional 22 Sea Trout of over 3lb, a few of which would touch the 10lb mark, and slightly above, not including the many smaller Sea Trout we caught during our time on the river. Just when I thought it could not get any better, I was fortunate enough, (along with a few others)  to land one of these leviathans, a Sea Trout of around 10lb (pictured here). A fantastic trip with excellent guides and a group of like minded AAPGAI instructors who are also good friends, how can you top that. I would certainly recommend it to anyone, and I hope to return next year for a second innings.

A nice Salmon at the end of a day

The Eden was still quite high yesterday, although above Lazonby, (where I was busy giving a Salmon fly casting lesson) it was dropping nicely, with the water clearing well as the day progressed. Therefore the water at the lower end of the river should be coming into good form over the weekend, as long as the rain stays away that is. Lets hope it does and a few fish are caught before the closed season is upon us. "Fingers Crossed".

I will be off the Eden tomorrow, as the Borderlines team will be running a family fishing day on the river Esk at Langholm, but I will be back again on Sunday for a tuition & fishing session for two adults on the lower river, so hopefully we may encounter a fish or two.

Latest Happenings

Allan with a fresh Grilse

A few Grilse started to show up on the river around mid to late August, but not in the numbers expected, with many of the fish caught being in the Salmon category, (generally larger fish) but with the water levels continuously fluctuating Salmon fishing has been hard at times with few fish showing.

Yuichi's First Salmon

Water levels rose yet again today and with only five weeks of the Salmon season remaining, (on the Eden) all we want is the water to fall to hold a few fish up for a while "no more rain please". 

That said, we have certainly had several Salmon, and lost a few too. Here are some of the recent catches from Border Game Angling visitors, including Yuichi Takayama's first ever Salmon "Excellent".

Andrew with a fish of around 11lb

The trout fishing has also continued in good form with some good quality late season fish (when the water has permitted) to add to the exceptional early season fishing we have encountered on some of the Eden beats, and Doug Douglass (pictured below) has certainly had his fair share of quality trout on a couple of trips with me this year as well as landing and returning a nice cock Salmon of around 9lb on Monday.

Doug with one of his many trout

Plenty of fly casting tuition going on with a couple of people having refresher sessions before travelling abroad, which is exactly where I will be going on Thursday when I will be flying off to Iceland to do some fishing of my own. I will keep you informed.





Persistant High Waters

Having a go on Monday

With the exception of the odd day here and there, high waters have consistently prevented the fly fisherman venturing out over the last couple of weeks, although there have been a few salmon taken on the spinners, all decent sized fish too, as we see yet another year where the Grilse are later than normal. Every time it looks like the water is going to come good it rises again, with localised heavy rainfall, and today was no exception. On Monday the higher beats on the river were looking very good, and fining down nicely, and I couldn't help give it a try, but to no avail, although now I know why as the river lifted once more, but there is an up side, and once the rain stays off we are in for a treat, with the river having been flushed through ready for the main back end runs. "I can't wait".

Some of the members attending the course

I have been on the river Nith over the last two weekends with a colleague, running a series of fly casting courses arranged by The Dumfries and Galloway Angling Association. The first weekend saw low water, but the second weekend saw a big lift in water, with several large salmon running the edges of the river on their way upstream, especially on the Sunday when fishing for migratory fish is not allowed under Scottish law, but hopefully all those attending the course will now be able to put their new found casting skills to use, in the near future, and target a few of these fish.

Post code directions for SAT/NAV is DG3 4AQ

I'm at the Galloway Country Fair this Saturday. It takes place at Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate over the weekend of the 20th - 21st August, it should be a great event. Click here for details  I will be there to help promote Borderlines and to assist with the casting clinic. "Well worth a visit".

The C.L.A. Game Fair and back to the Eden

Something for all the family

Following a couple of tuition sessions, and a very well attended family fishing day on the river Nith, (near Dumfries) I was off to the C.L.A. Game Fair (as planned) over the weekend of the 22nd - 24th July. This year the event was held at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, and apart from the odd shower or two, the weather was fantastic and a good show was had by all. I was working with a great bunch of lads as part of the Guide Fly Fishing team, which I do from time to time, simply because I think their products are very good and I am more than happy to use many of them in my everyday fishing activities.

If you have never been to a C.L.A. Game Fair (Country Landowners Association) it is well worth a visit in the future as there is something there for everyone. Next years show is to be held at Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire over the weekend of the 20th - 22nd July 2012. For further information visit the C.L.A. Website

Fay with a cracking Grayling

On my return I had a couple of tuition and fishing sessions booked in on the Eden for trout and grayling, which as it turned out were well timed, because when I left for the Game Fair on Thursday evening (21st July) the river rose again due to localised heavy rain, and it was now in good condition, with, I might add, several good sized salmon running the river, and a few being caught.

One of Sam's fish from the lower river

These sessions produced some very good fish, a couple of which are pictured here, and it was nice to see several good grayling coming to the net again, as they have been few and far between on the mid and lower river, both over the winter period, and of late, but they are now turning up again. Grayling are a very nomadic fish and can migrate long distances within a river system, fish that migrate within fresh water only, are classified as Potamodromous fish.



One of the events for C.A.A.

Flying the Borderlines flag again we organised and ran the annual youth day event, in partnership with Carlisle Angling Association. The day was a great success once again  with around 80 youngsters taking part. Activities included: Fly Casting, Fly Tying, Fishing and Entomology, culminating in a raffle and prize giving session. "A good day was had by all".



The Best of the Weather in Ireland and Wales



Killyleagh Castle

I flew over to N. Ireland on the 1st July for the Irish International Fly Fair, held in Killyleagh. This is an annual event, now in it's 4th Year, which is going from strength to Strength, attracting interested parties from all over the world. The show has a fantastic setting with the beautiful Strangford Lough at the bottom of the hill and the casting demonstrations and teaching sessions delivered within the fairytale style castle walls, where we were staying for the three nights, and to top it off the weather for the show was fantastic, which always helps.

On my return I took some time out in the Scottish highlands, where the weather was a bit changeable, but the scenery was awesome, although this was just a stop gap before travelling to Wales in the heart of sea trout country, where I stayed with my good friend Illtyd Griffiths in preparation to spend two nights on the river Dovey. Illtyd's knowledge of sea trout fishing is vast, although he will not put any emphasis on that, but believe me if there are fish about he will put you on to them, and this trip was no exception.

The first night I hooked and lost what felt like a very big fish, and believe me there are some big fish in the Dovey, and just when I thought I had blown my big opportunity, Illtyd took me further down stream and put me straight onto another one, but this time I landed it, a cracking cock fish of 7lb 2oz. "What a night". Anyone thinking of doing some guided sea trout fishing in Wales I recommend you contact Illtyd. His website details are as follows: http://www.sewincaster.co.uk/

Following some exceptionally warm and sunny day time weather, the second night just got better, and when I eventually entered the water, (on dusk) the fun began, and between three of us, we managed to hook around a dozen fish, not all of which were landed, but I did manage to land three of them. Two around the 4lb mark and one about 5lb and that's not to mention the quick grabs and nips that we encountered down the pool. The final outcome was eight fish and the sport was phenomenal.

I returned to the Eden on Saturday to do some casting tuition on the middle river where I saw a couple of nice Salmon showing, and a good sea trout, and my intention was to fish the lower river yesterday, but the water began to rise and colour badly which unfortunately scuppered my plans for a while.

A few casting tuition and fishing sessions lined up for the rest of the week with people coming to learn both trout and Salmon techniques and then I am off to the C.L.A. Game Fair at the weekend. http://www.gamefair.co.uk/ Speak again when I get back.