Fishing: On a wing and a prayer, cormorants saved my day

Sun and wind never make a good combination but that was what I was faced with at Tweeddale, writes STUART FRASER.

It was very busy with very little space available but I did manage to sneak on the big pond at the narrow neck.

The water was gin clear and there was not a bit of weed in sight which, in the present, climate is amazing.

Fish were rising along the dam wall and, obviously the trout were in or near the top, so I went with a midge tip line and a couple of dries.

After no interest from the fish, I tried a team of buzzers, again without success. It was not until I tried cormorants that I got any interest. Casting diagonally with the wind I let the flies settle before retrieving a very slow figure of eight. Several rings appeared around the flies before my line straightened.

There were heart-stopping moments as the trout leapt in a bid to avoid capture but, thankfully, it stayed on and came to the net in the end.

It was a cracking 3lb fish, fin and tail perfect.

I went on to get a further two fish on this method, one a rainbow at 4lb and another blue at just under 3lb.

It had been a while since I last visited Tweeddale but it turned out to be well worth the wait.