My annual run over the the town I grew up in and with the weather set fair I thought I would give the Musselburgh stretch of the River Esk a wee visit again. I was warned by the person I was over to see, that it had been very high the day before, and looking over the bridge between Musselburgh and Fisherrow it looked a little faster than last year and seemed to be carrying a bit colour, but you could see the bottom and I thought, ” I am here now, might as well give it a go”.
A welcome splash of colour on the river bank-a Bullfinch. Seen some really bright blue and red Kingfishers but too fast to get a picture
Upwings came off steadily all day but never seen a fish take one from the top, probably couldn’t se them in the cloudy waters
Getting a permit is a lot less of a chore as they can be bought now in the cycling shop behind the Brunton Halls, so no trip up one side of the Esk for a permit then all the way back to get parked like last time.
I found a place to park in Inveresk as I figured it meant I could start in the middle and choose to work up or down but still be relatively near the car for the trudge back at the end. I was hoping to start in the wee run that I found a fish in last year ( albeit it came off sadly) as it seemed like a good spot. Despite it not being a notably wild winter for high rains and storms, I could not identify the spot. Whether what weather there has been since last year has moved things around, or the still slightly high and fast water was simply covering up what I recalled of the section, I am not sure.
It all looked fishable today though was carrying a lot of colour. As I stared what looked to be fairly deep water turned out to be maybe no more than knee deep but you could just make your feet out through the brown-ness, and it was like standing on a fast paced bed of marbles as your feet rolled over the stones on the bottom even in the relatively shallow water. By the time you were thigh deep it was getting a bit “concerning” at times. I was glad I had my wading stick!
I had tried the bugs in the deeper water, now was trying spider sin the shallows
So I fished and fished, mostly with heavy bugs but changing to spiders and even tried swinging a streamer at one point but I never encountered a fish. There was a LOT of fly life. I was regularly surrounded by midges but fortunately they did not appear to be the “eat you alive” variety.There seemed to be steady hatches of dark olives and at one point what looked like a huge mayfly passed me by! I seen some stunning Kingfishers too but narrowly missed getting a photo of them.
But no fish, not one did I encounter or see move. I reckon I was a day too early as today has been a belter, and I bet the river has cleared and fallen a bit over the last 24 hours. But you just need to fish what is in front of you and give it a go. I still enjoyed the day and will be back hopefully later in the season.
