Apologies to Game of Thrones for that title. I will probably get bombarded by loads of fantasy box set enthusiasts looking for pictures of Sean Bean for that one! The old tootsies have been the factor limiting my fishing recently ( along with the weather at weekends). The rheumatologist took pity on me at my last visit and gave me a steroid shot and it seems to be having some effect and I felt I ought to take advantage of the marbles having been removed from under my feet, to get out and fish. But where to go? The Grayling season is now underway, the weather was actually unseasonably warm at the tail end of the week. What was happening there? I went for a wee walk on Friday night around 8pm and you would have been comfortable in a thin sweater. It was like a warm summers evening but dark!
My best chance to get out for a day on a river was Saturday so I packed the car and decided the River Leader would be graced with my presence. I had bought a season ticket early in the year and had enjoyed my wee outing there albeit I never located the ladies of the stream. Maybe this venture would be better, I would try somewhere else on this wee river. There had been some reasonable rainfall recently so there ought to be enough water to make it worthwhile.
Alas the day was not to go smoothly. The journey down into the eastern borders was uneventful enough until I reached Lauder. You will know I am sure, what its like when you spend sometime in your car, that you get to know the familiar sounds and any variance from the norm. As I drove along Lauder main street, I became aware of a slight ticking sound. What was it? I wasn’t sure if it was emanating from my car or was it outside. I opened the window. In the narrow streets I could clearly hear it. A ticking sound like you would get if a fan blade was catching on its radiator housing, or a wheel bearing was a bit noisy. There were motors in front and behind, was it me or them? As soon as I left the enclosed street the sound appeared to dissipate and fade. Maybe nothing?
I wasn’t sure where I was going to access the river from but had noted some names from the permit and the OS map, however the first location shot by as it was a narrow unmarked road and I was on it and past before I could signal and turn in. The next opening though I seen a short distance off, I quickly signalled and braked to turn in, then I heard it again this time clearer- the ticking was louder. I pulled into the junction and stopped leaving the engine running and got out to peer under the bonnet. The noise was very clear here, like a cylinder wasn’t firing. I stopped the engine and started it again and for a second it seemed to clear. What do I do? A minor glitch that will clear when the car has cooled? If I went fishing I could take it easy heading for home and stop off at the dealers on the way back. I went to look at the river, it had a bit colour but looked fine but a closer inspection of my permit revealed I probably couldn’t fish here.
I started the car again, it sounded a little better for a minute and I turned to return to the main road, however as I reached the junction the noise got much worse. Stopping for another look, I opened the bonnet catch but before I got it open the engine cut out. It wouldn’t start. No warning lights, everything reports as fine but a totally dead engine.
Very dead Disco on back of the transporter. Bang goes my fishing,
I don’t have AA/RAC cover. The car was covered by manufacturer recovery cover until the warranty expired in May past. The next hour was a bit of a night mare trying to arrange recovery. However I was lucky a young lad stopped to ask if I was Ok and gave me the number of a local garage. After many phone calls the motor was uplifted by Adam Purvis mechanics in Lauder and transported to the dealers in Edinburgh. Though it was a hassle it was still cheaper than AA cover had been quoted!
I am now dreading the call from the dealers about what’s wrong with the car!
I was taken home by my wife from the dealers, and she was obviously taking pity on me, offering me the use of her car to go out on Sunday as long as I stayed local. I had a few chores to take care of first thing, so once that was done ad seeing the weather seemed still fairly mild though a bit showery, I found out my son wasn’t using his wee car and borrowed it to pop round the corner to Swanswater for the afternoon. The fishery car park was packed, all the fair weather fishermen getting out for the day! As I was getting tackled up a few other anglers arrived for an afternoon amongst them Jim Craig, a Swanswater regular and good company while out fishing, so I went round the banks with him. He had fished there at the back end of the week and had located fish behind the island and being that the rest of the fishery was full it seemed a logical choice to head for as it was quiet there.
It seemed a fair day at Swanswater but when the wind got up it bit deep ( unlike the fish)
We fished and blethered, I haven’t seen Jim for a while so we had a seasons worth of tall tales to catch up on, and be both were getting lots of pulls but no solid hook ups on mostly flies like Kate McLaren and Bibio Snatcher fished below the surface in a floating line. There were a few fish now and then topping but they were proving hard to hook. The wets seemed the most enticing tot he fish but we tried various buzzers and colours and sizes, but never got anything to fully take, I had a couple of knocks on buzzers but not as regularly as on the wets, Jim managed to land a perch and a small wild brownie about hand size but we were getting the pulls from bigger fish all the same.
Jim trying up the channel to the shallower water behind the island. Pulls aplenty
We moved and he went to fish on the bottom end of the main basin while I went to the peg by the bridge. After a short spell I decided to change to an intermediate line and opted to go over to the dark side by putting on a lure I tied a week or so ago. A White zonker fry style pattern with a Cats Whiskers coloured body. First cast I had tug after tug. This continued and I was getting fish following all the way in and clearly tugging at the tail of the fly. I was considering taking a bit off the tail when finally a fish took but it was as I lifted and I didn’t have enough leverage to get a decent hook set, the fish swirled in front of me and managed to free the barbless hook and it was off.
I still kept getting the odd pull. However as I fished Jim shouted over that there was an indicator swimming by me still attached to a fish ( something like at Orchil a few weeks back). I couldn’t see it at first in the glare even with glasses on, but eventually it moved into a shady area and right enough it swam into the bridge then back out. I did think I got a slight pull from the fish but it might just have been me snagging the trailing bit of nylon. A few minutes later Jim shouted he was into a fish, but what had happened was his hook had become entangled in what transpired to be a very long leader that connected indicator to fish. He did manage to land it and put the tangled up fish out its misery.
PS. Not telling tales out of school, Alastair the fishery owner was notified of the circumstances! I had a final move to the east bank and got a number of pulls and follows before my fly became snagged in a tree on my back cast and made the decision for me that it was time to go.
I enjoyed my afternoon but what was really noticeable was how bitterly cold the wind turned after lunchtime and I needed all the winter gear on for the first time in a long time. Everyone was feeling it.
Winter is coming.
