April into May

Trout & Salmon Magazine

As expected, April did eventually warm up, but it certainly took its time! The trout are only just now beginning to show a proper interest in our offerings, but fly hatches are not exceptional apart from some steady hatches of Grannom from time to time.

April kicked off with a very enjoyable rod test for the Trout & Salmon Magazine which can be viewed in the May edition of the publication. The test consisted of a variety of 13' to 13' 6" rods for a range of applications. Some really nice rods in the mix which we put through their paces with a good selection of fly lines.

In between tuition sessions we travelled up to the river Tay on our annual pilgrimage to represent AAPGAI (Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors) as part of the joint AAPGAI / SANA (Scottish Anglers National Association) assessment team. The aim was to assess potential SANA candidates taking their SGAIC (Scottish Game Angling Instructors Certificate) qualification. A great weekend was had by all (with good weather for a change) with a 50% success rate as 6 out of 12 candidates successfully gained their certificates. Well done to them!

One of several fresh lower Eden fish

Back home on the Eden, it was good to see a few spring salmon being caught, with the majority of fish being double figure fish too, just like the one in the picture on the left courtesy of David Pinner who fishes the tidal beat I lease on the lower Eden, and whilst the river is now low once more these tidal reaches are still doing well given that these very fresh fish are now having to wait around for fresh water before continuing their journey upstream.

Another good sign yesterday was the amount of silver smolts dropping down the river in an attempt to make it back to sea, and only yesterday I had to stop fishing as I was catching too many of these valuable fish on their important journey, and I must say, they were good quality smolts too, with the majority being in the 7" to 8" range. Lets hope they manage to avoid the multitude of fish eating birds we are now seeing on our rivers and that their journey is a successful one!

David's well chewed fly 

Plenty of fishing days booked in for May, so fingers crossed that what is often a very fruitful month lives up to our expectations. May is probably my favourite Month of all, especially after a very fickle April as things start to come to life on the river and hatches improve encouraging the trout  to be a little more accommodating. A lift of water wouldn't go a miss either to encourage some of those lower river salmon to populate some of the upper reaches. Watch this space!

Unsettled Weather throughout March

Steve with his first River Brown

March was certainly one of those very unsettled months which threw a variety of conditions at us, from cold winds to sleet, snow and heavy rain, but luckily we also had a few days when the weather was a little more forgiving and afforded us some quality time for a bit of casting tuition too, and following the opening of the trout season on the 15th March, we also picked up one or two nice fish during a couple of tuition / fishing sessions. It is always a bonus when those simply coming to improve their casting also get the opportunity to experience the end product.

For the most part of March the water always seemed to be a bit on the high side for fishing, especially on the lower river, although the latter half of the month did throw up a salmon or two, from different beats along the river, and the trout fishing also picked up towards the end of the month. With the long term forecast looking much better, April and May are certainly looking more promising, as is often the case.

An AAPGAI indoor presentation

The recent AAPGAI weekend (mentioned in my last blog) went very well indeed. We were so lucky with the weather given that the forecast was atrocious, and it certainly was in many of the surrounding areas, however the turn out was very good considering that some people living further north could not make it to the event at all, being as some routes were inaccessible due to the snow. However we managed to put on some great indoor presentations as well as a few outdoor demonstrations, whilst the worst of the weather skirted around us. The next open day event will be held in Wales in October, so if anyone is interested please let me know and I will send you details.

Given that conditions are set to improve significantly, and the signs are all there too, with some varying hatches of Large Dark Olives now coming off which are always a good indicator, and a good early season fly that regularly attracts some decent trout. I have therefore been doing the usual improvements on the lower beat following the damage caused annually by the higher waters and we now have several river sessions arranged for both salmon and trout fishing down there. Can't Wait!

Improvements on the Lower Eden

As you will see from the calendar on my website, shown here: (Available Dates) my April dates are still reasonably available, but May is well on its way to being fully booked up with just a few days left, so if you are considering a day or two in May, or even a casting session, please let me know a.s.a.p. and I can reserve one or more of the remaining dates for you whilst there are still some left.

Looking forward to getting back into full swing again with the usual casting sessions and some good fishing sessions as the season warms up and the fishing comes into its own once again. I will see many of you soon and "Tight Lines". to all.

Welcoming the New Season!

Patagonia Sea Trout

As we move into March I know those trout anglers amongst you will be itching to get out again, anticipating some good trout fishing forays later in the month, especially if this good weather continues, hopefully encouraging some early insect hatches on the river. Don't worry it won't be long now before the season is in full swing affording us the opportunity to target some good fish once again.

The early season weather has been quite warm, to say the least, but several rivers have already reported a few salmon being caught, although not yet in any great numbers. That said, in recent times that's not unusual with better catches being recorded from April onward.

Patagonia Brown.

However to be perfectly honest I cannot comment in too much depth on the February fishing this year as I took the opportunity to fish in Patagonia for Sea Trout and big browns, therefore I managed to miss most of the February fishing in the UK. That said, it was a fantastic experience and one I would recommend to any angler thinking of doing so, although I am now a little lighter in the pocket area than I was before. 

Whilst the fishing season on the Eden is just getting underway, (apart from the tuition side of things given the exceptional weather) I also took the opportunity to help out on the River Nith open day event on Monday the 25th, on the Carnsalloch beat of the river where we were all piped down to the water by a lone Piper to bless the river and celebrate the new season there. A very pleasant experience!

River Nith Open Day

Back on the River Eden again tomorrow though, delivering another casting lesson, so hopefully the weather will stay good and I can keep an eye out for any early moving fish in anticipation of March 15th when the new trout season kicks in.

As it happens I will miss the first couple of days of the Eden trout season this year as I will be attending an AAPGAI assessment event at the Friars Carse Hotel in Dumfriesshire where we will be holding another open day for the public, so if any of you are going to be in the area on Saturday the 16th March, why not come along to the Friars Carse Hotel and take advantage of the knowledge and skills of the professional AAPGAI instructors in attendance who will be delivering demonstrations throughout the day in both Fly dressing and fly casting in the hotel and it's grounds. 

The Friars Carse Hotel (AAPGAI Open day)

It will be great value for money at £50 per head which includes a buffet lunch as well as coffees and teas, and if you so wish there will be one to one tuition included in the price, or you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the free flowing information available to all. Click Here for further details, including directions, and I look forward to seeing some of you there on the day:

Hope to see you all soon and "Tight Lines" for the New Season!

Merry Christmas to All

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from Border Game Angling. I hope everyone enjoyed their time out on the river with me this year, and having already taken a few bookings for next season I am very much looking forward to seeing many of you again in 2019.

The Winter Grayling fishing has been a little slow up to now, but that's most certainly down to the recent high waters we have had as you can see in the picture below showing one of the Eden tributaries in full spate.

Flooded Eden Tributary.

That said, if the weather stays dry and the river continues to fall, (as it is doing now) there should be many more opportunities to fish for Grayling between now and the new Salmon and Trout seasons.

So not a lot more to report at the moment I'm afraid until we get back out there, which I am happy to say I will personally be doing this Saturday following a casting lesson, so definitely looking forward to that.

In the meantime, until we meet up again, I hope you all have a great Christmas and achieve everything you want to achieve in the New Year. "Tight Lines".

End of the Eden Season!

Another Youth Rainbow Trout Day

The weather stayed relatively nice in Cumbria for the latter part of the Eden fishing season, which was a great bonus in respect of our Borderlines days as it quite often cools down a bit too much when planning to introduce youngsters to angling at that time of year. However this was not the case as we had some great weather for all of the activities we provided, especially the fishing events, as they caught plenty of rainbow trout on the small Stillwater we use. So all in all a good result there and we have already planned out our program dates for next year too.

A Beautiful Brown from the Eden

On another note, we did catch a few brown trout on the river Eden too, right up until the end of the trout season on September 30th. This was great news, and also very enjoyable, but the action did seem to slow down a bit quicker than I would have liked it to. 

In addition to this, the fresh water we received towards the end of the season did give us the opportunity to tempt one or two salmon, some of which we hooked and lost and some we hooked and landed. However it did feel as though we had to search for them a little more than usual this back end as they weren't keen on giving themselves up so easily. One of the fish lost was quite a formidable fish too as it threw itself out of the water a couple of times just to annoy us before disappearing into the distant depths of the river.

This was a formidable Salmon

In between these fishing sessions we had some good tuition sessions on the river too (as always) covering many of the Spey casting techniques, and we also have a few booked in during the close season, so let's hope the weather stays nice for as long as possible. I do like to get my teeth into the mechanics of casting and still find it very rewarding to see people improving their techniques. As it happens I am out again tomorrow with someone for that very purpose 

Jeff returning a salmon to to the river

In time honoured tradition, as soon as our Salmon season ended I headed down to Wales for the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors biannual assessment weekend and open day event. I always look forward to attending these AAPGAI events, getting involved in them, meeting new people and catching up with like minded anglers. Once again it was a great success and something I love being a part of.  

A later but cleaner fish on its way back

If you have never been to one of these AAPGAI open days I recommend that you do so at your earliest convenience, as the demonstrations in both fly casting and Fly Dressing are a joy to watch, with plenty of time for individual tuition sessions and a unique opportunity to ask the professionals all the questions you always wanted to ask throughout the event. Book your place now, its great value for money!

One of Jeff's Killer flies

The next open day event will be held at The Friars Carse Hotel on the River Nith in Dumfriesshire, details of which can be found on the AAPGAI website on the following link: AAPGAI Open Day

As always at this time of year we look forward to extending the season with a bit of Grayling fishing, and yes I am always involved from a tuition and guiding standpoint of course, but I do personally love a bit of Grayling fishing myself, especially when wrapped up warm on a crisp Winters day when the fish are on! "Tight Lines".

Water at Last!

Fish On!

At last August saw some fresh water entering the rivers which certainly helped to drop the water temperatures and encourage a few salmon to accept our offerings. However there was a short spell at the end of last month and the beginning of this, when there was a significant amount of fish stacking up in the lower river, but whilst temperatures remained high they were simply ignoring our flies altogether. The up side to this was at least you knew you were fishing over fish, and when you were getting comments like" I have never seen as many fish in a single pool before", then at least things did become a little more exciting.

"When we did eventually get some water there were spells of action with fish lost and fish caught on the fly".

1 of 2 on the day for Brian.

The fish in question however have now moved on from these lower reaches following the recent rain we received and will hopefully by now be well distributed throughout the river, but before they moved on we did manage some success, with a few anglers connecting with a few of these fish.

With the river now dropping in again we will hopefully see some fresher (more aggressive) fish entering the system and once again building up in numbers ready to offer us some further excitement, especially around the tidal stretches of the river and hopefully they will be more willing to oblige.

The Sea Trout fishing didn't really materialise in any significant way this year and although there were fish caught, numbers of fish were definitely down. This is not necessarily down to lack of fish, but is most certainly associated once again with the high water temperatures and the stress this can cause the fish themselves, often causing a lack of interest in our offerings and when they do get the urge can often result in very tentative and missable takes, unlike the aggressive takes we like to encounter when these fish are very comfortable in their environment. So if you didn't manage to get out in June / July to indulge in a bit of night fishing, don't worry as you didn't miss much at all.

A nice Brown coming to the net.

It was good to see the Brown Trout fishing eventually improve too following the input of some fresh water. This gave us more options when fishing for them, other than just nymph fishing in pocket water. 

There has also been a few better browns grabbing the salmon flies of late, which is always a good sign that they have woken up a bit, unfortunately they are usually the sort of fish you would like to encounter on much lighter tackle.

A Casting Demo at the Lowther Show.

The Lowther Show was a great success again this year especially given the mixed weather we had over the weekend, but it was nice enough to bring people out to watch our demonstrations and get involved in the casting tuition and competitions available on the fishing island. It was good to meet new faces and catch up with familiar ones too!

I am hoping September and October will throw up some better salmon fishing this year, given that conditions were against us when we should have been having positive results, although I guess we will be at the mercy of the weather again if this is to be the case.

The Heat is On!

Not much change in the weather throughout July I'm afraid, apart from the odd shower here and there, (some heavier than others) but with little effect on river levels (until now that is) as the water was quickly absorbed by the dry ground.

Unhooking a trout caught on a Spider

That said, these very welcome showers also brought with them some well received cloud cover offering us a little respite from the scorching sun. These intermittent mini freshets (so to speak) did produce a couple of sessions when the trout obliged us too, especially when searching the pocket water and the faster water at the heads of pools where gold headed nymphs were the order of the day. We did however have some success on the spiders too, especially at the tails of pools where the water was interrupted by the rocks protruding through the surface, creating slightly faster flows and small pockets of oxygen.

The salmon fishing, like the weather, also dried up throughout July with the odd report of fish being taken on goldheads whilst fishing for trout, something I have encountered several times myself over the years and also whilst guiding people on the river, especially in low water conditions. As I write this blog I am now receiving reports of salmon entering the lower river in response to the 20 cm rise of water we received towards the end of the month. "Finger Crossed".

A Borderlines Morning session

The good weather does however continue to encourage a number of youngsters to attend the many courses provided and delivered by the Borderlines team. These courses (like the one shown on the left) consist of various group sessions throughout the day which include, health and safety, fish recognition, entomology, fly casting, Knot tying, fly choice and much more. The youngsters then venture out onto the Stillwater's we use (under supervision of course) and proceed to catch their first fish. This allows us to explain playing and landing a fish, and either how to dispatch a fish properly, or alternatively how to catch and release a fish in the correct manner, should they so wish.

As mentioned in my previous blog, the good weather certainly doesn't stop people coming along for casting tuition and whilst the fishing is slow it's a good time to take advantage of this opportunity, so that once we do receive some fresh water, (which we inevitably will) techniques will be in place and ready to go.

The Lowther Show

Our next big event is the Lowther Show where several of us get together, under the Borderlines and AAPGAI banners (along with a variety of other instructors) to provide tuition, advice and demonstrations on the fishing island throughout the weekend of the 11th and 12th August. It would be great to catch up with some of you there and a browse around the Show itself can be a great day out. Until then!