Shooting & fishing: You can't beat it

Published on Thursday 27 November 2008 10:17

WE had to keep him waiting for 40 minutes because the real purpose of the Borders visit was not so much to see how the aristocracy keep warm, although that fitted in quite well, but to fish Tweed, as you must say. Never the Tweed, but Tweed. (Don't ask. It's code. One of those things like hunting coats being "pink" not red.)

The Tweed is one of only three Scottish salmon rivers to stay open until the end of November. Rather astonishingly, October and November are the best months on the upper Tweed – September was surprisingly good this year, plenty of water – just as all the other rivers are closing. So if you are absolutely desperate, which most serious fishermen are, Tweed's the thing at the backend.

We had been asked to fish on water belonging to the Macdonald Hotel at Cardrona, a hideous building for which the architect should be struck off, though the food was terrific. The hotel last year became owner of two miles of fishing on the north bank of the river, bang next to its golf course. I know lots of hotels with golf courses that will boast access to fishing, or who promise to arrange it, but none with eight rods on their own beat within a three-minute stagger of the breakfast table and first tee, or indeed, the gym and swimming pool, should you be that keen.

The fishing had previously been run by the local angling association, some of whose members were not too bothered how they caught their fish. But the new owners, being hoteliers, were a bit out of their depth with fishery management, until up popped Kenny Annand, a freelance kitchen fitter, lifelong fisherman and Tweed enthusiast (also our gillie for the day) who said he'd look after everything if he could get in the odd cast for himself. Now banks have been made good, paths cut and ne'er do wells warned off. This year the hotel offered a day on the river, packed lunch and B&B for 90, which proved outstandingly successful and may be repeated next season. Downriver it's 300 in places and you bring your own sandwiches. But then they don't get the backend fish. Kenny, who always wanted to be a keeper as a boy, had seven fish out of the hotel water in two and a half days the week before we arrived, fishing fairly deep in high water with a sinking tip and a large Cascade tube fly on the end. I didn't catch anything but probably would have done if I had stopped talking and listened to Kenny, especially as the river was dropping and full of frolicking fish.

Of course, as soon as we went off to inspect the Mellerstain boiler Kenny caught "my" salmon. But it wasn't very big and he put it back.

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