The 2007 season began with our traditional toast to Tweed given by Charlie Miller and Milly (my Riffle’s Mum) and the river on the 1ft mark.




There was the odd kelt about but we didn’t manage a fresh fish. In fairness we don`t expect many fish up this far until March or April but it is always nice to have a try on opening day.

And indeed our first fish came on the 8th March when Steve was up clearing some of the debris away from the banks after a flood and decided to have a cast in the Bishops. The result a lovely silver 9 pounder. Then even though we had good water for over two weeks we had no one fishing, so we can never tell what might have been. But the rest of the system enjoyed a better than average run of spring fish this year.

Sadly by the time we arrived for my spring courses most of the water had gone and so had most of the fish and so results were disappointing. A total of four Salmon were hooked and played not counting the odd pluck and pull, but none actually reached the bank! Still, at least it proved there were fish there and in any case my basic courses are mostly intensive instruction with not a great deal of actual fishing time, so one cannot expect miracles.

The summer on the beat was one of the wettest ever and I suspect could have produced some very respectable sea trout and trout fishing and maybe the occasional grilse, but again we had virtually no-one fishing. I am hoping a few more people might think of taking advantage of what is a very inexpensive weeks fishing at this time of the year. Win or lose, a summers evening by the river, a good bar-b-q and then fishing that magic last few hours of the day can be a great way to unwind after entertaining the kids all day.

In August we then undertook to complete the bank repairs on the Upper and Lower Runners, which we hadn’t had a chance to do the previous year. And, although we had previously been granted permission to do the work, someone locally, who obviously doesn’t like our efforts to improve the place alerted an army of clipboard waving civil servants who descended onto the beat like a swarm of ants.




The upshot of all this was that the application fees (no fines or anything of that nature) for this retrospective permission actually exceeded the entire cost of the works done… and you wonder why our economy is going down faster than a shot down aircraft.

Anyway back to the fishing… It was not until September 19^th after some by then welcome rain that again before our first fully tenanted week, Steve stopped for a quick cast and promptly had a 9 pounder out of the Lower Runners and a 14 pounder out of the Upper Runners.

The following week Mick Bell`s party had 8 lovely fresh salmon and a sea trout before the water, frustratingly once again, for me and my course week that followed, drained away.

We did manage a couple of fish, including a first salmon for Cameron Gough. Hopefully not the biggest or the freshest he will ever catch, but very welcome all the same and, I hasten to add, the fish which was carefully returned. The other fish was a nice 13lb Keeper for Robert Markland.




The weeks that followed were to turn into the hottest driest Indian summer that we had seen for many years and we, as with the whole of Tweed, were dogged by continuous bright sun and low water. Even though, fish still came for every party in dribs and drabs and by the end of the month, October we had produced 19 salmon and 7 sea trout. Not a complete disaster but well below the same period in 2006.

It was not until the end of the month that we had the first rainfall for 6 weeks and a 3ft 2” lift of water. The sad fact was that after so many weeks with hot sun and no rain there had been a massive build up of algae in the river and this produced a very dirty flood, which the fish don’t like. This combined with the ground being so dry meant that within 2 days the water had run off completely and we were back where we started.

Even so, this small respite had, at least, made it possible for new fish to run and even with the level almost off the gage, come they did. Not in big numbers but in small pods skittering over the gravel bars with their backs out of the water, exactly as I had seen them do back in the last drought year of 2002.

Steve reported to me several times during this period that he had never seen so many fish in Tweed in all his life and wasn’t it fantastic. And this in mind of the so called glorious years of the early sixties.

Then on November 19th the weather finally broke and the rain arrived. And as happens so often after a long dry period we got an absolute deluge. But the fish immediately went on the move, pouring through the beat and on up to the headwaters. And big fish too.



In the last week of the season we managed our four best fish of the year at 20, 22, 23 and a whopping 31lbs caught by Andrew Markland (just to outdo his brother who had only had a 13 pounder in early October) in the Bridge pool in the failing light. His fish was witnessed by several onlookers and duly measured at 47inches long. Had it been fresh Steve reckoned it would have weighed nearly 40lbs.

And so ended the 2007 season.

And if you are someone who thinks that you are the only one that luck completely deserts on occasion, take encouragement from my own result this year. I failed to catch a single fish off the beat! Five fish on, over seven days fishing, and not a single one put on the bank. Perhaps I should take some lessons?

As ever my thanks to everyone who has helped us during the year but especially to Steve for his continued enthusiasm and tremendous hard work for the beat and all of us who fish it and to Dawn at the George who works so hard to look after the sometimes rather unruly autumn migration…. The fishers not the fish!

All that now remains for me to do is to wish Steve, Dawn, all of our tenants and all of you, a very happy Christmas and to say I hope we will see you all again next year.

Michael Evans

15th December 2007

P.S. For those concerned, the invitations to existing tenants to renew for 2008 should go out during the first week of January and you will need to confirm your place with your deposit by 31st January. Those looking to get on should drop me a line or e-mail to the office to that effect or await the publication of any available dates on this website on February 1st.

Upper Caberston 2005 Season
Upper Caberston 2006 Season