There had been quite a lot of rainfall across the country on the Wednesday night and so I decided to have a session on one of the many rivers that were running off during the course of Thursday. Having noticed that the Cree had begun to record improved catches, I was eager to investigate the possibility of fishing Linloskin or the association water at Newton Stewart. A later than expected departure time from the Borders meant that the two and half hour journey time would limit how much fishing was possible and so I instead elected to set off for the Urr, which flows into the Solway Firth between the Nith and the Kircudbrightshire Dee. I had fished the river before, during it's particularly disappointing November of last season (only 4 were caught - for context, the 4 year average from 2009 to 2012 was 45.25), and had picked up a 10lb coloured fish, so I had fond memories and a good degree of confidence in my choice of water.
Pictured: One from Raikes in early November 2013, caught on a Gold Bodied Willie Gunn 1" copper tube. Safely returned.
Arriving at around 4pm, I took a look at the river conditions from the bridge at the bottom of the lower beat; the river had been up at 2' 1" and rising the night before, and was at around 1' 8" on arrival, dropping to 1' 4" by the end of the session. It was quite cloudy, but clearing, and so I stuck with a small fly, a Cascade, confident that it was bright enough to counteract the clarity issues. For those that know the river, I fished Raikes, Old Weir, Auchenbrae, Stock Pool, Duncan's, Boat Pool, Castle Pool and finished with two further runs down Raikes (once with a slightly bigger Ally's Shrimp and once with a good sized Junction Shrimp fished deeply as the darkness set in).
Pictured: Old Weir - the topmost pool of the Craignair beat. The water above is private.
Pictured: Stock Pool - a large pool, which must require a very big spate to get moving fully. My Sea Trout was taken from mid-stream, where the river begins to widen.
The score for my session was one small Sea Trout, at about 1lb to 1.5lbs. This was taken from Stock Pool (pictured above) - the biggest of the lower beat's pools - on the aforementioned Cascade, fished in the gentle flow with a slow figure of 8. I had been hoping that I would strike the water just right and that it might have been a more productive session, with a moderately-sized spate running off, although I understand that two grilse were lost earlier in the day. Perhaps the first spates of the season across the country are not proving as productive as hoped because the water running off is warm and is carrying the dust and debris of another particularly dry Summer. I certainly hope so and I'll have opportunity to investigate whether this is correct when I return to the Urr in September.
Pictured: Not the biggest, but it put up a good fight, as Sea Trout are known for.
It's certainly a great wee river with some lovely glides for the fly on light tackle. With a season running until the end of November and fishing available at modest cost, its a good option if booking back-end Tweed fishing is taking its toll on your bank account, like it is mine!
Tight lines
Calum
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