I fished a section of water I have not been near since I was a boy.
The following Google Map shows where I was:
Manor Bridge beat above Peebles
Water was clear and pushing along in places but you could cover most of the water with care.
I had heard this section had been fishing well earlier in the week and having blanked ( at least on Grayling) at Walkerburn, and finding it was quicker coming here than going to the Clyde decided to give it a go.
Looking downstream towards Manor Bridge and the Manor Water
Parking here is pretty easy, there is a side road just over the Manor Bridge which is closed to through traffic so you can park here at the foot of a small brae. Alternatively and more obviously, coming from Peebles, cross the bridge and turn, parking on the approach road where there is enough room for about three cars parked close in to the side. There are a lot of walkers coming and going so expect a lot of cars.
I decided to start about 300 yards upstream of the bridge, near the bend in the river. I suspect you could venture further out and get more lightly fished streches, but I had a relatively short time to spend here and wanted to get on the water. Pushing further up I suspect woul dimprove your chances as there will be less people will go further along from the road.
There were a lot of salmon moving here and a lot of spent carcasses especially around the Manor Water confluence with the Tweed.
I tried to cover as much water as possible and with Polaroids on it was possible to pick out some possible lies and give them a try. A few were out of reach to me- I did not feel comfortable wading much deeper, but those a bit more sturdy than myself and less “altitude challenged” may have less problem. For sections I could not reach with my puny 9ft #5 rod, I gave the French Leader a go. I used a Hends 4.5 metre French Leader with a homemade indicator made using lengths of Carp fishing float tubing. They hold up well in the water with the heavy bugs and only where it was too deep for the leader length did it submerge at all- you could still see it though. My rod for this was way too heavy- being a 6 piece Snowbee Prestige Travel Rod but I wanted to give it a go and I have to say it cast the leader really quite well- which surprised me and the bugs seemed to fish well. Easier than my last go at this on the Dee in November last year. Obviously, I suspect the longer you go with leaders- I have a 9 metre one in my bag, the benefits of a longer, lighter rod would become apparent. As long as the fish you were getting were of decent size the heavier rod will be OK but I think you would pull the hook out a lot on smaller fish- which could ruin your day if you get a pod of Grayling in reach.
Roll on for my Greys XF2 Streamflex Plus 9ft 6″ #4 coming- its been on order for 4 weeks. The latest date is now mid-February! Dunno what the delay is but no one seems to have them in.
I swapped the leader of bugs I was using on the French Leader over onto my short line Cz set up and carried on downstream conventional Cz Nymphing on a shorter line and indicator
There are quite a few snags along the bottom here, and I used a jig hooked pattern on point to try help in this regard. Especially near the trees, there are a lot of submerged snag points- probably branches. You will almost certainly lose bugs and tangle up. That’s what I hate about heavy bugs- when you catch a snag and it frees out all of a sudden, they come flying back and wrap around everything faster than you can react. It’s worth carrying some pre-made leaders maybe even with bugs on already?
I really wanted to fish the tree line (both banks) and about a third of the way along I finally got a proper take I might have had one tap earlier but it was so fleeting- it felt like I had a fish on but then it was off as fast). I could not believe the strength of the fish and I never expected anything quite this size. My previous best Grayling was no more than about a pound and though a strong fighter, this thing was pulling hard down to the bottom. After about 5 minutes I had seen a flash of colour off it once and to be honest, after fleeting thoughts of it being a Salmon- dispelled by no jumps or racing downstream or broken lines, I did think I might have caught an escapee Rainbow. Not sure if there are many/any in the Tweed at all, but that’s what it looked like. I was hoping it really was a Grayling but surely they could not be this strong?
With only 4lb line on and all the knots- tapered leader, indicator, micro-rings, and three dropper leader you worry one knot will let you down at the crucial moment.
Every time I took a bit line from the fish it went solid on the bottom, I knew it was on most of the time as it shook its head occasionally. Eventually, as I started to feel I was making progress it made a burst downstream. I recall Hywel Morgan saying he caught a big Grayling in the 2 to 3 lb class once on the Dee and he had to run 80 yards downstream to keep with it, it went so far. Fortunately, this one only went maybe 20 yards, but it did so very fast, and was using its dorsal as a kite in the current. I had made my way over near the bank to shallower water and was trying to get downstream of the fish but it was hard with the vegetation around.
I did my best to capture a few moments on the iphone in my pouch but the best bits I never had it recording- my bad- could not see in the light and my mind was elsewhere!
Got some for posterity though. I did have a heart stopper when it suddenly run at me and the line went totally slack and I had no free hands to take in the loose line! I got there though and it stayed on, eventually coming to the net under some strain- it barely fitted into my Hardy marksman net (the Large size ).
Red Tag Jig hook nymph
I was shaking with the adrenaline I have to say and it was tremendous fun- so took a few snaps – weighed it in the net and released it back and it swum off none the worse. The bug was the point fly, a jig hook, red tag, one of John Emersons Jig hook Czech patterns from uniqueflies.co.uk on a barbless hook.
I fished the rest of the stretch to about 70 yards below the bridge and other than a few salmon moving- one which seemed to lunge at me from less than 6 feet away- (nearly shat myself!) never touched a thing again.
Have to say that one fish made my day and was not that bothered.
As I was packing up a couple of other Anglers came by. they had fished from the Bridge right down to the town and had two smaller fish, but were saying a friend caught 17 2 days before.
Anyway great fun, most pleasurable!
