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Lower Pavilion Season Review 2009
Well what a strange season that was, we either had no water for weeks at a time or far to much water for lomg periods, reports of no springers, small grilse and late back end fish all made it a very funny year.
On the spring fish front there was a lot of time we had no water which doesn't help along with very bright conditions but the fish were there, although very hard to catch. By the end of May the cauld pool was full of spring fish and by the end of September the Ettrick fish counter was telling us it had been a normal spring (climate change ?)
The grilse run was much the same as usual but there were a few small fish reported, but no more than normal.
Back end fish were a little late with us but we had no water for most of the back end and without water we do struggle a bit.
Febuary
We started the season with very cold conditions and big water, just what you would expect at this time of year but the first fish wasn't long in coming off the beat on the 17th of the month, a cracking 15lb sea liced fish, it was followed by another two fish of 14lb and 14 and a half lb.
March
The month saw lovely conditions but the fish that were with us were really hard to get a hold of. We finished the month with 3 salmon which was a little disappointing.
April
March was bad April was worse, we had no water at all by now and were reporting summer height on the gauge and very bright, hot over head conditions which lasted all month and we only managed 2 fish.
May
May was a carbon copy of April until the week when we finally got some much needed water and the fish moved into the beat. That week we had 11 fish all very fresh and 90% returned. We finished the month with 13 fish, so not a bad month but not great.
June
We had the exact same conditions in June that we had in April, very low and very hot, we didn't know then that was our summer. We did manage to winkle out 2 fish for the month.
July
July was exactly the same as June although we did have five or six small rises in the water which hampered the weed cutting but didn't really help the fishing, we ended up with 3 salmon for the month.
August
August was wet most of the month and fishing improved greatly, although we did lose quite a few days to coloured water. We finished the month with 25 salmon and grilse, so things were looking up.
September
This was a funny month, the first week we only fished one day due to flooding, the second week was a lot better and we started catching again, we had 9 for the week. The next two weeks saw the water slowly dropping back to summer height and started to make it very hard again although we did catch a few more and finished the month with 23, but at least we were seeing lots of fish.
October
This was a month that I was pulling my hair out ?? no water at all, lots of old fish in the beat but all the fresh were stuck in the bottom river and only the odd one or two pushing through. We did get 30 for the month which in the conditions was very good and I have to thank the members for their determination.
November
This month started with unsettled conditions for most of the week and the fish would hardly take, we did manage 10 for the week. The following week was completely different with ideal conditions for most of the week and the fish were taken easily, we had 38 for the week and quite a few lost as well. The last two weeks were terrible , we only fished two days out of 12, the reason for this was massive water all the time including a 13ft flood, which tested the new hut's foundation's (unscathed). So we ended the month with 49 which was good for only two weeks fishing.
Summary
A very strange year on the beat, but when you look at the beats around us we actually did very well ending up on 153 salmon and 28 seatrout, but not every year can be as good as last year, lets hope for a fantastic 2010. Tight lines for the new season and merry christmas to everyone.
Pool by Pool
Generals = 39
Cauld pool =50
Upper bridge= 14
Lower bridge= 1
Island stream=14
Battery=24
Cowies=11
All the best Scott
Season Review 2008
Well what a truly great season we have just had on lower Pavilion !! 313 Salmon and 72 sea trout. A new beat record and a season to remember for a very long time.
We started way back in February, cold wet and very miserable, but on the 11th of February the season started with a superb 1lb sea liced Springer, which got us under way for the year. Another two fish came our way during the month, both very good fish.
March saw the conditions a bit better and a lot warmer. We had a good month with ten fresh fish and countless kelts, so in general we had some really good fishing for the time of year. the fish were well spread out and were taken in most pools, although the Cauld Pool was a firm favourite.
April is when spring really starts to show itself on the tweed, lambs are in the fields, trees start to sprout and it's a lot warmer.
We had good water temperatures and good water height for most of the month and the catches followed. the beat had 17 fresh fish and the odd kelt and a lot of fish were seen running through the beat. the Battery and the Cauld Pool again proving to be the hot spots, although the whole beat was fishing well.
May saw the beat show it's bones until later in the month when we had some rain to give us a rise in water. By this time of year there is always a really good head of springers in the beat and the catches show this, 19 fish for the month of various sizes from 6lb to 18lb and mostly very fresh.
June, the last month of the spring and also traditionally the start of the drier weather on the beat. We had 5 salmon for the month, so not the greatest of catches but we were nearly at summer height which can make them a little harder to get hold of.
We ended the spring with 54 salmon, mostly on the fly and 72% return rate. We must thank all our members for this great return rate.
July had some rain to freshen things up and we had 9 fish for the month. A mixture of old springers, summer fish and grilse. The grilse were really good quality this year averaging 5lb and brand new.
August saw constant high water and as you all know this really suits Lower Pavilion. We had a fantastic month with 33 salmon and grilse and countless sea trout. A lot of the fish were strait of the tide and covered in sea lice and the sea trout were averaging 7lb and very good fighters.
September, August was good September was awesome with 57 salmon and grilse again and lots of sea trout, some in double figures.
We had one week when we had 33 salmon and 22 sea trout and almost as many lost, a really good week on any beat. The water kept coming and so did the fish and we really had a fantastic September with nearly all rods connecting with fish.
October saw the rain still falling and giving us perfect conditions for fishing. Although i don't think the farmers would agree, a lot of them still had a lot of crops to come in. We ended the month with 69 salmon and grilse and one or two sea trout. The average size of fish was well up on normal with lots of fish in the 10lb to 16lb class again a lot of them very fresh.
The water height played a huge part on our catches as it rarely dropped below two foot on the gauge and the fish just kept on coming.
We ended the month on 222 salmon and grilse and had the whole of November to come!
November broke all my expectations with 91 salmon and grilse, including one week of 43 salmon and at least 50 fish lost, one member had a hold of 14 fish in two hours on the generals and unfortunately only landed 3 of them, (running fish). The following week was completely different with only 5 fish for the week, but the water was never settled and neither were the fish. The very next week saw settled conditions and 31 fish were recorded including one of 24lb. the last week was hard fishing, we had low water and not many fish coming into the beat, but we still managed 11 fish for the week.
Summary, 313salmon and 72 sea trout, a season that I don't think anyone will forget in a hurry.
I must applaud our members for their fantastic efforts over the season and making this the best ever on Lower Pavilion.
New beat 5 year average of 212
All the best and tight lines for 2009
Scott Povey
2007 SEASON REVIEW..
To begin with I would to say sorry that the website has been down for so long, technical problems, but all fixed now.
Febuary
We began the season the season in typical Febuary conditions, cold, wet and windy and with plenty of water. We had lots of water throughout December and January and washed most of the kelts away so sport was a little thin on the ground to say the least. By mid month we were starting to see the odd fresh fish in the beat and unfortunately hooked two springers but not landed
March
March was a lot better in terms of warmer water and a good lot of fish about. Our first of the season came on the 2nd of March from the Generals and was taken by Mr Tony Bird and weighed 9lb. As the month wore on more and more fish came into the beat , although a lot of them kept on pushing through having said this we landed 13 springers and lost as many again. This was one of our best march's in the last few years and lets hope that continues this year.
April
April was a very strange month, usually our best month but not this year, We had very warm weather for most of the month with temperatures touching 70 degrees most days and very little water. We did manage to land 6 fish for the month and lost one or two, but nothing to write home about. By the end of the month we were praying for rain to bring in some more fish and spark things back into action.
May
We finally got the rain we needed and all the fish that didn't come in April came on mass in May and we had truly great sport with days of 3, 4 , and 5 some days, but the most remarkable thing was we lost 46 fish and still managed to land 30 fresh fish. This was surely one of our best spring month's ever. Most of the fish were typical Tweed size (7lb to 10lb) and almost all of them were carrying sea lice. The fish were taken on mostly fly , typically size 6 fly's and light sink tip lines and also one or two on the spinner.
June
June was the start of our wonderfully wet summer (not so good for the farmers) but great for the fishing, we had rain most weeks and quite warm weather which in turn kept the fish coming. We ended up with 13 fish for the month, and again mostly on the fly. So the beat ended the spring with a very healthy 63 fish in the book and with the prospect of the grilse arriving soon it was looking good for the summer.
July
We had 11 fish for the month of which 5 were grilse, The grilse this year were a good size compared to the last few years when we were seeing these little 2lb fish, this year they were back to normal and mostly 5lb to 6lb. It was quite funny to lose quite a few day's in July to flooding, I suppose it must be global warming!! We could do with a few more July's like this one.
August
August was a carbon copy of July with flooded day's and warm weather and some really good fishing for the time of year. We finished the month with 16 fish, all but three were grilse, but again they were good fish in the 5lb to 7lb class. The only down side to all the wet weather over the summer was that the weed cutting and striming wasn't down to my usual standard but the fishing more than made up for it.
September
September was a fantastic month for fishing, we had plenty of water and lots of fish in the beat. We had the tail end of the grilse in the beat and also fresh run back end fish were starting to come thick and fast. We ended the month with 43 salmon and a few seatrout . This was a very good month for us and it was nice to see our members doing very well..The last two weeks of the month were the best with 29 of our September total coming in those two weeks. At this stage we were on 133 salmon and a few seatrout including one of 14lb which is away being mounted and will be in the hut in 2008.
October
After a great September I couldn't wait for October, usually one of our best month's. The worst possible happened in October !! No water. There were thousands of fish in the bottom ten miles of the river and only a few were coming forward, I witnessed the fish first hand on one of the bottom beats and it was mind blowing with ten in the air at once and very easy to catch, but with no prospect of rain the fish would simply not move until they had to. We finished the month with 22 salmon and three seatrout , very disappointing for October but as they say that's fishing for you.
November
November was a lot better with 43 salmon landed but with an average of 60 for the month we were a little back on normal but this can be put down to the low water conditions which don't suit the beat. We finally got water near the end of the month but this fish had one thing on there mind by then and that was getting upstream to spawn. The last two weeks of the month saw the gauge rising and falling on a daily basis which never helps.
Summary
A year of two half's with fantastic fishing in the spring, summer and early autumn and noy so great in the back end when we really expect it. But let's hope 2008 is a very good year.
All the best Scott
We ended the season with 193 salmon and 37 seatrout, this has been a very good year on Lower Pavilion and I would like to thank everybody for making it a great year.
Merry Christmas to everyone and tight lines for 2007
Cheers Scott Povey..
Week starting 27th November 2006
We started the week with very unsettled conditions and very strong winds but still managed fish , Mr Latham had a 13lb fish from the Generals and also a 4lb seatrout and Mr Hall had two fish from the Cauld pool weighing 5lb and 9lb, but then the water stared to colour up and and rise and finished it for the day. Tuesday saw the water not in great condition again and we blanked for the day. Wednesday was a lot better and so were the catches, THE Morrison party had one salmon and 3 seatrout all from the Generals and Mr Latham also had a seatrout from the Cauld pool, Mr James Henderson also had a good day with two salmon, one from The Cauld pool and one from the Generals. Thursday saw James Henderson back in the action with a further two fish from the Generals and his brother Nick Henderson also took a salmon from the boat, his first in ten years, and to finish the year yours truly had two fish from the Generals.
So not a great week with 11 salmon and 5 seatrout.
Week starting 20th November 2006
We started the week with high water and coloured conditions (3ft 2 inchs) We fished most of the day but the water rose all day and really put an end to the fishing, it peaked at 4ft 5 inchs. Tuesday saw it back down to 3ft 5 inchs and still fairly dirty, the exact same happened today with the water rising most of the day and killing it again. Wednesday was a different matter, the water was down to 3ft 3 inchs and very fishable, Dr totten;s guest Mr Tyrer had a truly great day with five fish, he had three from the Battery which weighed in at 5lb,10lb and 19lb he then followed that with an other two from the Generals which weighed 6lb and 14lb and while giving a casting lesson I had a 6lb grilse from the Cauld pool, all fish were taken on wet 4 lines and 2 inch tubes. Thursday saw another good day for the Totten party, Dr Totten took his first ever salmon off lower pavilion after a few weeks of trying (well done) and Mr Tyrer had a good 8lb fish and a seatrout also out of the Battery and to finish the day Mr Waring and Mr Firth had a seatrout each out of the Cauld pool weighing 4lb each. Friday saw the river the best it had been all week at 3ft and clear and a lot of fish showing, Mr Tyrer had a great day once again with a further five fish ranging in size from 5lb to 9lb all from the Generals, Dr Totten kindly gave me half an hour with his rod and I managed two fish from the Generals, one of 7lb and one of 24lb. Saturday saw the river back in flood and very dirty (5ft +) and put an end to the fishing for the week.
So quite a good week with 15 salmon and 3 seatrout, seasons total so far 182 salmon and 32 seatrout.
Week starting 13th November 2006
We started the week with 2ft 2inch on the gauge and with a little colour running and a few fish showing in the beat, Mr Peter Wellborne was first in with a lovely 6lb fish from the Battery and another lost , he was followed by Mr John Gill with a 7lb fish from the Generals, both fish were taken on wet 2 lines and 1 and a half inch tubes . The water rose steadily all afternoon and really put an end to the fishing. Tuesday saw the river back down to 2ft 2inchs and the fishing was better , Mr Wellborne took three crackers out of the Island Stream which weighed in at 8lb,8lb and 6lb and once again all taken on a wet 2 and his favourite 2inch willie gunn, Mr Orr from Pebbles also had a 6lb fish from the Generals, but once again the water rose in the afternoon and spoiled what could have been a very good day . Wednesday saw the water at 2ft 8 inchs and a bit coloured, but we still managed three fish for the day, Mr Tom Sheperdson took one out of the Battery which was about 6lb and Mr Rory Harkin from Dublin had two, the first from the Generals at 8lb and lost another and a fine fresh 6lb fish from the Island Stream in the afternoon, meanwhile it had been raining hard all day and I think we all knew what was coming in the morning??? Thursday was a total write off with 7ft 6 inchs running through the beat. Friday wasn't much better, we were down to 4ft but still very coloured, having said this Mr John Tuckwell had two lovely seatrout out of the Cauld pool and we had an old 8lb salmon from the Lower bridge. Saturday saw the water up again after overnight rain and really put an end to the week , we fished for a while but it was just two dirty.
we finished the week with 10 salmon and 3 seatrout, totals for the season!! salmon 167 and 29 seatrout.
Week starting 6th November 2006
We started the week with quite low water and mild conditions (11 inchs and 48 degrees). Fishing was always going to be hard this week simply because of the conditions, having said that Mr Bob Campbell had two lovely fish from the Generals weighing 6lb and 12lb and also lost a further two fish. Tuesday was a bit slower with only one salmon for the day, it fell to Mr Mcgregor in the Battery and was taken on a 2inch blue templedog and intermediate line. Wednesday was a carbon copy of the day before with one fish for the day, a lovely fish of 6lb which came from the Generals to Mr Chantler. Thursday saw the water up 3inchs to 1ft 2 inchs and still warm at 46 degrees and looking good, and it was for Mr John Hewitt, he had two cracking fish from the Generals, weighing 5lb and 6lb, both were taken on a new disc style fly. Friday saw the water back down to below a foot and it produced our best fish for the week, a real beauty of 17lb which fell to Mr Paul Beasley, Mr Bill Church also had a good fish of 5lb from the same lie on the Battery. Saturday was a complete wash out with 3 ft 3 inch on the gauge and very coloured and fishing impossible. So not a great week with only 8 fish but an enjoyable one. Total so far is, salmon 157 and 26 sea trout...
Week starting 30th October 2006
Monday saw the river at 2ft 3 inchs and clear, although still a little warm at 48 degrees. Mr Mutimer got the week of to a good start with a cracking 20lb fish from the Generals on a 3 inch comet, the same fly took another fish for him in the Cauld pool which came in at 7lb. Mr Livett also had a good morning with two fish from the Cauld pool weighing 10lb and 6lb, both very fresh. We had another two fish and a seatrout from the Island stream, all three caught on a 2 inch editor. Tuesday saw the river rising all day and peaked at 3 ft with quite a bit of colour in it and to add insult to injury there was gale force winds to contend with all day. Wednesday saw the river back down to 2ft and quite clear and we also had our first real frost of the back end which brought the temperature down to 44 degrees. Mr Alistair Makin took his first ever salmon, a lovely 6lb fish from the Generals on a 2 inch black and yellow, his brother Julian Makin went one better and took a 15lb fish out of The Island stream on a willie gun. Mr Mutimer was also back into fish with two from the Generals weighing 5lb and 20lb. Thursday saw another four fish coming off the beat, Mr Livett had a lovely fish of 10lb from the Pot and Mr Alistair Makin had three crackers from the Island Stream weighing 8lb,8lb and 12lb, not bad considering he only got his first ever the day before. Friday saw the water dropping back to 1ft 3 inchs after three nights of hard frost and the temperature came down to 38 degrees, the fishing started to become quite hard but we still managed three salmon and a seatrout, Julian Makin had one from the battery, a real beauty at 16lb, he then followed it up with another one of 6lb from the Generals and his brother also had one from the Generals of the same size, to finish the day Mr Livett had a 4lb sea trout from the Upper Bridge. Saturday saw the water down to a foot and gin clear and a little warmer at 40 degrees, we had another four fish for the day, one of 7lb from Upper Bridge and one of 7lb from the Cauld and Mr Len Carter had two 15lb fish from the Generals stream to end the week off nicely. Quite a good week with 21 salmon and two sea trout, current totals are salmon 149 and sea trout 26.
Week starting 23rd October 2006
We started the week with the water at 11 inchs , gin clear and hot sunshine , but we still had a really good day on Lower Pavilion, Mr Collinson had a good cock fish of 8lb from the Island Stream, Mr Sharp had two fish for his day, the first came from the Generals and weighed 7lb, his second came from the Island Stream and was 6lb. Mr Stephenson had two grilse from the battery and a friend of Mr Stephenson, all the way from Kenya (Richard) had a lovely fish of 7lb from the Generals. All fish were taken on sink tips and small flies. Monday was good , Tuesday was even better, top rod was Mr Arnett with four fish , two from the Battery, 8lb and 10lb, an other two from the Island stream which weighed 7lb and 8lb. Mr Nicholas Golding had his first salmon which came from the Generals Stream and was 14lb. Mr Sharp also had a fish today from Cowies and was 10lb, Mr Viner had a nice fish of 7lb from the Battery and to finnish the day Miss Cullen had a very fresh 4lb grilse from the Generals. Once again all fish were taken on small flies. Wednesday was another great day with 8 more salmon and a seatrout, Mr Stephenson had two more today from the Battery and weighed 6lb and 4lb, Mr Sharp was in again with a fine 6lb fish from Cowies. Mr Golding snr also had a good fish of 8lb from the Generals. Mr Arnett also had a very fresh fish from the Battery which was 9lb and Mrs Viner took one of 7lb from the Generals and then Miss Cullen showed us all how to do it with a 9lb fish from the Generals, a 7lb fish from the Island Stream and a 12lb seatrout (with sea lice) from the Island Stream which gave her the fight of her life. Thursday saw the river in full spate and unfishable (5foot). Friday saw the river back to 3ft 8 inchs and fairly coloured but we still had a good day and at last we were on wet two lines and tube flies, Mr Golding had two fish for the day, his first came from the Battery and was 6lb, his second was from the Cauld pool and was a good size at 12lb. Mr and Mrs Viner also had a fish each on the Generals which weighed 6lb and 4lb. We ended the week with two more fish from the Generals which both fell to our kenyan friend Richard and were 15lb and 6lb. We finished the week with 28 salmon and 1 seatrout, a very good week.
Week starting 16th October 2006
Monday saw the river at 10 inchs and gin clear and looking quite good although we would have liked more water. We managed to get a couple of fish from Cowies in the morning, both were very coloured and weighed 6lb and 8lb, we also had quite a few knocks and pulls but nothing else came to the bank. Tuesday and Wednesday were very similar in conditions and we weren't able to hold any fish at this height although we were still seeing fish travelling through the beat on most days, this has been our biggest problem this back end, with the water being low and very warm(49) the fish are running straight through us. Thursday saw the rain come in to the catchment for most of the day but unfortunately it came in from the east and only gave us a rise of less than a foot on Friday morning. The fishing improved on Friday with another two fish coming off the beat, one of 6lb came off the Battery and the other one came off the Generals and was 4lb both were taken on intermediate lines and small tubes. We all thought Saturday would be very good but the rise in water we had on Friday came mainly out of the Gala water and saw the river carrying a lot of peat which in turn made the fish gill sick and although we tried hard all day we didn't even get even get a pull.
Lets hope the forecast over the weekend is correct and we get some water and colder conditions.
week starting 9th October 2006
Monday saw us all in good spirits after last weeks catch and the river was nice and clear and about the 1 foot mark, overhead it was cloudy in the morning and looking very good, and so it was Mrs whitley had a real beauty out of the Generals that came in at 15lb on a junction shrimp and sink tip line, unfortunately that was it for the day due to the sun coming out and turning it into costa del Melrose. Tuesday saw the river at the same height and gin clear and the overhead conditions were better although still very warm for the time of year, having said this we still took two fish for the day, the first fell to Mr Rowley in the Battery on a size 8 cascade double and sink tip line and was 6lb in weight (sealice marks all over it) the second fish came out of the Island Stream and was the same size although a little coloured, we also lost five fish for the day. Wednesday saw everything the same as the day before and the fish kept coming, Mr Rowley was in again with a 12lb fish from the Island Stream and Mr Hewitt managed to lose four in the same pool. Mr and Mrs Harcourt also took two fish from the Battery. Thursday saw the river at 2ft 3inchs and quite coloured after overnight rain, we only had three rods out today and we agreed it was to dirty and decided to meet at lunch time. To kill time until lunch I fished myself and unfortunately took three fish up to 12lb, despite repeated phone calls to the members I couldn't get in touch with them to get them back and in the afternoon the sun came out again and killed the fishing. Friday saw the water back to 1ft 3inchs and clearing and quite a few fish running, we had Mr George Michie fishing with us today (head gillie from easter elchies on the spey) and he had a good day with us, he took one out of Island stream and lost one, he then moved on to the Battery and lost another and then took a sealiced grilse out of Cowies which weighed 6lb, our other let rod also managed two grilse out of the Battery which were 4lb and 5lb, again all fish were on sink tip lines and small fly's ( I thought this was October ). Saturday saw the river at 1ft 2 inchs and very clear, although we had thick mist for most of the morning, however that did not stop the fish from being caught. Mr Tyrer had a cracking day with four fish, one from the Battery, two from Cowies and one from the Generals and Mr Hewitt had a superb fish of 8lb from the neck of the Battery which gave him the fight of his life for fifteen minutes. So a very good week with 18 salmon and grilse and over 20 lost, seasons total so far is 96 salmon and 24 seatrout.
Week starting 2nd October 2006
Monday saw the water in very good order, although a little low for us at 1ft 1inch on the gauge. We had one major problem ! blazing hot conditions and intense sunshine, we saw one or two fish running through the beat and managed to connect with a couple of them, but lost them both. Tuesday was very overcast and the river was up a couple of inchs which got the fish moving again, although the water temp was still high at 52 degrees, which in turn kept the fish moving and not really in their lies . We managed to get three cracking grilse, two from the Generals and one from the Battery, all fish were taken on sink tip lines and size 8 cascades but the annoying part is that we lost nine for the day. Wednesday saw the river hold its height and we had a very light frost which slowed the fish down a little bit and in turn we had a good day, five for the day and only one lost. Again all the fish were grilse, with the biggest being 6lb and all very fresh. They came from the Generals (2) the Island Stream (2) and the final fish from the Battery. Thursday saw us back in the groove again with another five fish, again all grilse and very fresh and coming from the same pools and to the same tactics as previous days. Friday was a bit of a non starter, we had 2ft on the gauge after overnight rain which would normally be a cracking water for us, but it was very badly stained with peat and we struggled all day with only a couple of pools for the day. Saturday saw the water up to 2ft again but not quite as badly stained, by the afternoon it was clearing and we started catching again, We took a cracking 7lb fish from the Island Stream and a further two from the Generals, we also had two seatrout for the day. So quite a good week with 16 salmon and 3 seatrout. Our current totals are 78 salmon and 24 seatrout for the season.
Week starting 25th September 2006
We began the week in really good spirits after the 6ft flood we had last week, monday saw the water at just under 2 ft but quite heavily stained with peat and a lot of fish going through the beat. We struggled quite a bit simply because of the colour and the water temperature (58 degrees) with the water as warm as this we were always going to struggle because the fish were rocketing through the beat. We did get one fish on Monday, Mrs Hudson had a real cracker, very fresh and at 12lb a good size, she took the fish with a 1 inch black and yellow tube on the Generals. Tuesday the river drop back to 1ft 3 inchs and still stained quite badly, we had a brief hold of five fish but when they are running as hard they often take short and you often lose them. Wednesday was a little better, we kept the river height and the colour was better but the fish were still bombing through the beat and hard to get a hold of. We managed to get one for the day which fell to Mr Fowler while on the Generals, a lovely sea liced grilse of 4lb, we also lost 8 fish for the day. Overnight rain saw the river back up to 3ft and unfishable , so Thursday was a total loss. Friday was better but still badly peat stained, we managed to hook and lose 3 fish for the day, but with the water back at 1ft 2 inchs and still as warm we were struggling to hold fish. Saturday was the best day of the week for us, we had thick fog until 10 am and just as it was lifting we took two fish out of Island Stream, one of 17lb and one of 6lb and lost another, we also lost two on the Generals. For next week we need some more rain and colder temperatures.
Week starting 18th September 2006
We started the week with only 8 inchs on the gauge and bright overhead conditions, there were one or two fish showing in the beat, mainly in Cowies and in the Cauld Pool and the majority of them were pretty stale and hard to attract to the fly. Tuesday saw the water come up 6 inchs and colour fairly badly, having said that we did hook a fish in the Island Stream but unfortunately it came off. Wednesday saw the water come back down to 8 inchs and again we hooked and lost a fish in the Battery this time. Thursday saw heavy overnight rain fill the river to almost 6 feet and very coloured and lots of debris coming down, although this was very unfortunate for the rods that were out , we really needed this rise to get things started. Friday saw the water back down to 3 feet but very peat stained and fishing was almost impossible, although we did try for a while. Saturday was as I expected, still very peat stained and not many fish on the move yet, but I think that will have changed come Monday. We did manage a nice grilse of 6lb from Cowies on a size 8 cascade and intermediate line. So not a great week but things will get a lot better from now on.
2006
SPRING REVIEW
Febuary
The season once again started very cold with strong northerly winds, snow, frost and lots of grue coming down the river. Fishing on the first couple of days was just about imposable because of the grue, but on Friday the 3rd Febuary we managed to get our first Springer of the season, it was a cracking 11lb bar of fresh run silver, we got another fish of 9lb a week later, both fish came from the same lie on the Generals. that was our lot for Febuary, mainly because of strong east winds and the very cold water temperatures.
March
March was a disaster!!! I have never known a month as cold, we had freezing cold east winds all month along with a lot of snow and hail. the water kept a fairly good height for most of the month, but with the water temperatures at (32) there were few fish entering the river. We did get one for the month a lovely fish of 8lb that came from the Battery. As the month wore it did start to warm up a bit but still very cold.
April
Well what a difference a bit of rain and a westerly wind makes, fish entered the river freely during the month and we had a bonanza, we took 21 fish for the month ranging in sizes from 7lb to 12lb and most very fresh. We took the fish mainly on intermediate lines and wetcel 2 sinkers with the usual tube flies. We had a lot of fish out of the Battery, which makes a nice change and goes to prove that the work we did last year has really improved the pool, the rest of the fish came from all over the beat with Generals being a steady provider.
May
May is usually a good month but this year we suffered badly from lack of water. We had no significant rainfall throughout the month and this made fishing hard, we did not see many fish running the river and the fish that were already there were beginning to go stale. Having said that we did manage to take six for the month, three came from the Battery on the fly and three from the Cauld pool on the spinner.
June
June was a carbon copy of May, no rain at all for the month, we did get four fish for the month all of which came from the Cauld pool on spinners, the best being a lively 11lb fresh fish.
Summary
Well what a strange spring we have just had, from freezing cold to blistering heat. We have managed a very good total of 34, which in the conditions was remarkable. the whole river has been up and down, a lot of the middle beats are well down on previous years, but one of the two Kelso beats have had a record year and the bottom beats have been very poor, but the fish counter on the Ettrick its an average year.
Lets hope for a cracking back end.
2005
SEASON REVIEW
The season started off a little slow and this was mainly due to very cold east winds for most of the month with very changeable conditions in the water. The fishers on the beat were still having a good time catching quite a few kelts, which for a brief moment gave them some excitement. It wasn't until the spinning started in the third week of the month that the beat took its first springer of the year, a lovely fresh fish of 9lb taken in Cowies. This was a welcome sight as its always a good feeling to get the first of the year, unfortunately it was the only one we had for the month although quite a few fish were seen moving through the beat.
March was a cracking month, the water temperature was up and so was the river height with an average of 1ft 8inchs and a lot of fish were travelling into the beat and holding with us. We had 13 salmon for the month and to the surprise of most of the rods fishing the beat we had 10 that were sea liced, including 2 that had long tailed sea lice. This was truly a good month for all that were fishing Lower Pavilion.
April looked to have great potential and started off very well with 7 fresh fish in the first two week's of the month including 4 with sea lice. But then the rained and rained and really put an end to any good fishing condition's for the rest of the month, we did manage to hook and unfortunately lose quite a few salmon but caught 2 sea trout, which was a nice early surprise.
We were back in the swing of things in May with 13 fish coming to the rods and again a lot of them were sea liced. The reason we have had so many sea liced fish this spring can only be put down to the good high water condition's that we have had so far, while the lower beats have struggled, we have managed to hold the fish with us for a while at least.
June was very slow with only 2 fish for the month, while the rest of the spring had good high water condition's June suffered badly with little to no rain to keep the water up and fish running into the beat. So we ended the spring with 36 salmon and 3 sea trout, with which we are very happy and is a good start to the season.
July again was very quiet with only 2 fish coming of the beat for the month, but with very low water condition's and blazing sunshine nearly every day we really couldn't expect much more.
August was a little better with 8 fish for the month, although these were nearly all very small grilse, but still gave a good account of them self's. We were starting to pray for rain now because we had not had any for some two month's and the river was suffering, the bottom of the river was filthy and in need of a good clean out to get things started.
Again in September we needed rain, the river was on its bones and the two small rises of about a foot, were gone before we knew it. Having said all this we did manage 15 fish for the month, and some very fresh ones amongst them. But comparing it to last year it was disappointing.
Well we prayed for the rain in September and didn't it but we most certainly did in October. The river was very unsettled, it would be just beginning to fall and clear and then it would rain again, to put it into perspective we really only had a chance to fish properly for on 8 days out of the month which was disappointing for all concerned. We did land 19 salmon for the month, which was good considering the adverse condition's.
November had much better condition's and we returned to normal catches for the month. We also had our first frost of the back end and this really improved the fishing. We ended the month with 49 salmon, although a lot of these fish were in their spawning colour's they still gave us some tremendous sport. It was November that gave us our biggest fish of the season, a superb 26lb fish that took 40 minutes to land on the Generals.
The beat managed to achieve it's 10-year average for the season so we can't be to disappointed, it will go down as a season of extreme drought and floods.
Tight lines for 2006
Season review 2004
February was a strange month with the river in flood during the first week and then in the second week it was very mild and river conditions were good, the final two weeks saw the return of more seasonal February weather with snow and ice and very cold winds. Although we had these changeable conditions we had a really good month with 10 fresh fish coming off the beat as well as numerous kelts and baggots . December and January had been very mild with good river levels and temperatures, which allowed some of the early fish to run hard.
We had changeable conditions throughout March with unsettled water levels, but when conditions were right some very good sport was had by members and tenants with 8 fresh fish being caught on the beat. March was a more enjoyable month simply because it got warmer and you didn't need five layers of clothes on to fish.
In April everything was starting to grow again after the winter and it was beginning to look green and pleasant , as was the weather , with many days of warm sunshine . We had 7 fresh fish for the month which was a little disappointing although we were running out of water by the end of the month and this made the fishing a little more difficult , but still very enjoyable.
May is usually one of our better spring months but not this year as we had very low water and we were very disappointed with only 3 fish caught for the month. The previous 2 seasons catches in May have both been in double figures so we are hoping that 2005 will be back to the historic average.
June started with low water for the fist week or so but then we had some much needed rain in the west which gave us a good rise and immediately thereafter the fishing improved and we managed 9 fish for the month, these fish were a mixture of late springers and early summer fish.
July is usually a slow month with the river dropping to it's summer level, this year we had some water at the beginning of the month which gave us the start of the grilse run as well as a lot of sea trout, we finished the month with a very respectable 11 salmon and numerous sea trout. A lot of these fish were fresh run straight from the sea with long tail sea lice attached.
August was a great month for us this year, we had the biggest flood of the year at 8.5 feet on the gauge, and this brought forward a big run of fish that normally lay in the lower reaches of the river. In addition, this year 85% of the North Sea Drift nets have been bought off so a far greater number of fish entered and run the Tweed, We had some excellent sport and ended up with21 salmon and a lot of sea trout. Normally August can be quite slow but if we get the water we get the fish.
We had good levels of water throughout most of September with a good rise in the second week of the month and we quite literally had a bonanza in the last two weeks of the month with fish readily taking the fly, most of the fish were in the 8lb to 10lb class and many of them had sea lice attached. We ended the month with 29 salmon and a good number of reasonable sized Sea Trout as well.
October was hampered with high water and the river was un-fishable for two and a half weeks, which shortened the month, we still managed to take 40 Salmon and a few Sea Trout. Although we lost quite a bit of the month, when we did get fishing we had some great days with lots of fresh run fish being caught.
November was a month we should never forget, it was simply stunning fishing with an average of 23 fish per week, the first two weeks it was at it's best with quite a few double figure days as well as double figure fish. The second half of the month we could have done with a little water to keep the fish moving but we still had some great days.
This is a season to remember and with the North East drift nets now off there is a great deal of optimism that in the years to come the fishing will continue to get better.
Many Thanks to all our Members and Tenants for making this a good year.
Tight Lines for 2005