River Tweed– Lower Birgham
We have fished the Lower Birgham beat on the River Tweed for a number of years. It is an annual trip that we look forward to with baited breath all season. We have had some magical days on the beat in the past and it is not just because of the quality of the fishing that draws us back every year. Over the years the ghillie’s on the beat, Tom and Ryan have become great friends and we regularly fish together on other beats. Even when we don’t catch fish, the craic and good banter more than makes up for it.
Great times in the past at Lower Birgham
This year we decided to make our annual pilgrimage to the beat in May. We had already fished the Tweed earlier in the season further upstream at Rutherford and my wife had caught a nice springer. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get my revenge. Like many beats on the lower Tweed sport had been patchy on Lower Birgham through the early spring months but there had been an upturn in catches a few weeks prior to our visit. Tom wetted our appetite when he informed us the night before our fishing, that running fish were being seen on most days coupled with the odd resident
Next morning we followed our normal ritual when travelling down to fish the Tweed. A caffeine hit at the service station just after the Forth Road Bridge was followed by a stop in Kelso to get lunch from our favourite bakers. We sat looking at the Junction pool enjoying our second coffee of the day, watching the occasional springer jumping at the head of the pool. We both began to feel the adrenaline coursing through our veins!
Lower Birgham is a three rod beat situated downstream from Kelso, by the pretty village of Carham. It has two boats and guests are well looked after by the two ghillies Tom and Ryan. The beat has ample fishing for three rods and can fish well in most heights of water.
On arrival at the beat, we were as always, warmly greeted by Tom and Ryan. It was great to see them again, although initially I was quite nervous as Tom was sporting a rather large but well maintained beard. I had never seen Tom with so much facial hair in the past, but it grew on me over the next two days!
It was great to have a chat with Tom and Ryan while having a cup coffee before we started fishing. Tom had some very interesting and plausible theories on why many lower Tweed beats had endured a difficult spring. It was hard to argue with Tom’s theory that the poor catches were due to a toxic mix of high water, lack of kelts and seals. However, today there was not a seal to be seen in sight. My wife and I were sharing the beat with another angler who was relatively new to salmon fishing. He had been fishing the day before and had seen some fish, so prospects looked good for our two days. I was going to be fishing the bottom half of the beat in the morning with Tom and my wife would be fishing the pools on the top half. After a quick discussion around tactics, we decide to set up both fly and spinning rods. On the fly rod, I opted for a floating line with an anti-skate tip and a small Cascade bottle tube. For the spinning rod, I chose a Vision X120. My wife’s weapons of choice were a dressed size ten Kinermony Killer on the fly rod and like me a Vision X120.
As Tom took me across the river in the boat, I could see that the water was gin clear. A strong wind was blowing from the North West and the forecast promised heavy thundery showers in the afternoon. I was going to be fishing the Jetty Stream, Merk Skelly and Bell Rock pools in the morning.
The cauld
We started fly fishing in the Jetty Stream. The Jetty Stream is a lovely bit of fly water. It has got a good steady flow that helps swing the fly around at a tantalising speed. The pool is not deep but has some larger boulders where the fish tend to lie. It is almost River Dee like in character. I covered every inch of the stream to the best of my ability. Above me, I could see my wife fishing below the cauld, with her fly rod waving furiously under the watchful eye of Ryan. We then moved downstream to fish the Merk Skelly. This is a slower and deeper pool, which lies on a slight left hand bend. It can be very productive in the spring. As the pool was slower and deeper, Tom suggested that I tried spinning. Tom and I got lost in conversation putting the world to rights. At one point, I had forgotten that we were actually fishing. A large splash from a resident salmon by Bell Rock soon reminded me. We fished down the Merk Skelly without even a pull. By this time, it was nearing midday. We decided to fish Bell Rock before lunch.
The Bell Rock is another deep pool. It gets its name from the massive rock that lies in the middle of the river at the head of the pool. The fish lie on either side of this rock. It is one of the most productive pools on the beat. My Vision X120 was fishing well and I knew I was covering fish as I had just seen one. I felt I covered the pool well and was surprised when my line failed to tighten.
We came back across the river satisfied in the knowledge that we had done all we could in the morning. My wife was back at the hut by now and neither she nor our fellow angler fishing the beat had fared any better. It was lovely to have lunch sitting outside over looking the Tweed. It was great to see our fellow angler who was new to the sport so enthusiastic about salmon fishing. For someone that had only been salmon fishing a handful of times, his casting was excellent. My wife and I have an age old tradition when we come to Lower Birgham, which is always to have cake after lunch. The cake was a rather moreish looking Victoria sponge, which was enjoyed by all. I am sure Tom got the biggest piece, which he vehemently denied!
Storm clouds gathering over the Nether Streams
The wind was getting up and the clouds were building over head and looking angry. I would be fishing the top half of the beat. The top half of the beat starts just below Carham Cauld and boasts some lovely fly water. My wife would be fishing the Jetty Stream and Bell Rock from the opposite bank. I had just started fishing the Nether Streams when the wind started to howl. I look behind me to see an angry black cloud and its accompanying rain. Another thirty seconds later, I was being pelted by golf ball size hailstones. To say conditions were not pleasant would have been a bit of an understatement. This only lasted ten minutes after which we were blessed with glorious sunshine again. I fly fished the Nether Streams. It felt fishy and I saw some sea trout jumping. I then went down to fish the Jetty Stream. I had changed my Cascade bottle tube to a size ten Silver Stoat, as the water was so clear. The head of the Jetty Stream from the right bank looked good. The current at the head of the pool was swinging the fly around into the deep water at just the right speed. I saw a fish rising at the tail of the pool. I covered the entire pool without a touch. I was just about to change my fly and have another go when a flash of lightening illuminated the sky. A rumble of thunder bellowed in the distance. Now catching a salmon is important to me but not that important! I looked downstream to see Ryan rowing my wife furiously back across the river. I did not realise that Ryan could row so fast! We decided to take shelter from the rain in the hut. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and another slice of cake while debating on the merits of fishing in lightening and thankfully decided against it! We could not believe it when we looked at our watches to see that it was almost five o clock. My wife was aching all over and looking forward to a hot bath at the hotel, so we decide to call it a day.
The following morning dawned a bright crisp late spring morning. Any remanence of the thunderstorms that had plagued us the day before had long gone. After a quick stop in Kelso for some lunch and strawberry tarts, we made our way down to the beat. My wife and I were the only anglers fishing, so we would have to fight it out between ourselves to decide who would get the pick of the pools. After great debate amongst the four of us it was decided that I would go up and fish the top of the beat with Tom and my wife would fish the Merk Skelly and Bell Rock with Ryan from the far bank.
Looking down towards Bell Rock
As the water was crystal clear, Tom suggested that we changed tactics and use the more conspicuous fluorocarbon for leader and smaller flies. I chose a lightly dressed size twelve Cascade. We both walked up to the cauld and I started fishing the Nether Streams. The wind was strong but luckily it was blowing downstream. We fished down the Nether Streams but did not touch a thing. My back was aching, so I insisted that Tom had a cast. He refused, so I literally had to thrust the rod into his hands. He started fishing at the tail of the Nether Streams. I looked downstream to see my wife fishing away in the Bell Rock. Tom could not have been fishing for more than two minutes when he shouted. I looked up from my bank side vantage point to see his rod bent. I could not believe it; he was into a fish. As soon as the fish was hooked it leaped into the air. It was a lovely fresh sea trout of around three pounds. It put up a good fight producing a good bend in the rod with its short sharp runs. Eventually, the power of the big salmon fly rod took its toll on the fish and it was grassed. I was delighted, as at least a fish was caught from the beat. The fish took a size twelve Executioner fly tied by Tom himself. We decided to go back to the hut and celebrate with a cup of coffee.
It was just nice basking in the late spring sunshine chatting away. Tom had recently been away on holiday and it was great to hear about his wonderful tales from Africa. We could have sat and chatted for the rest of the morning but there were fish to be caught. Tom suggested that I fished the Jetty Stream for the final hour before lunch.
I decide to persist with the Executioner fly, as it looked great in the clear water. Within a few minutes of starting fishing at the head of the pool, I saw four different salmon jump. Three fish showed at the tail of the pool and one above me. The fish all looked very fresh and appeared to be running. By this time, my wife had come back across the river after fishing the far bank. Tom advised that she should go up to the top of the beat above me and fish down, as the fish appeared to be running. We both fished hard for another hour, thrashing the water to foam, under the watchful eyes of Tom and Ryan but neither of us got a pull. As it was almost two o clock, we decide to stop for a well deserved lunch break.
The view looking downstream from the cauld
God the strawberry tarts tasted good! My wife was aching all over from fly fish and spinning for a day and a half. After we all had our sugar hit, we decided to fish for another hour before we called it a day. My wife was going to fish the top of the beat again with Tom and I would fish Bell Rock from the far bank with Ryan. I decided to try a small black Flying C as this had not been tried so far on our trip. It had turned into a lovely afternoon now and summer was in the air. I covered every inch of Bell Rock with my Flying C. I tried to vary the direction of my cast as well as my speed of retrieve but it proved to be fruitless. At half past four we decide to call it a day. When we were coming back across the river in the boat, I could see my wife with a big smile on her face, sitting by the hut. She must have caught a fish. Not again I thought, as it would be the second time she has beaten me on the Tweed this season!
I asked my wife how big it was and she seemed surprised as if she did not know what I was talking about. I have seen her do this before when she has caught a fish, as she likes to keep the suspense going. To my relief, my wife had not caught a fish but had a very productive afternoon with Tom, practising her Spey casting and was now proficient in the snake roll technique. She was delighted, as she had also managed to add a few extra yards on to her double Spey cast, with a few helpful tips from Tom.
The four of us sat outside enjoying a coffee in the late afternoon sun, reminiscing on a wonderful couple of days. We had not caught a salmon, but this did not detract from our enjoyment. Tom and Ryan had been great company as always and my wife was delighted at being able to perform a new cast thanks to Tom. We got into the car and sounded the horn in appreciation to the boys as we headed for home. We saw them waving in the rear view mirror and we both had a big smile on our face. We always do when we fish at Lower Birgham.