During my 1st few years on the Upper Tweed, I was fishing the Traquair beat and staying at the Traquair Arms- when it was run by Hugh and Marion. In the bar on the Sunday night prior to kicking off our week, we got talking to an American at the bar over for his first ever trip after Scottish Atlantic Salmon.We got talking kit and flee's etc and he said he'd brought with him two 9 ft Saltwater rods of 10 ish weight and quite heavy salt water tapered floating lines.He was quite confident he could cover the river and would match us for fish!, so we were polite and happily got 1/2 cut with him and enjoyed a good blether.
Monday morning at the Bridge met up with Dereck Brown (the then Ghillie) and I got allocated beat 1 for the morning.Now back then most folk never went up there on their turn as it wasn't a favoured beat and not at all productive.However numb nuts here went up, I'd paid for it, I was going to fish it!.
Rigged up my 15ft 6 ins Hardy Sovereign and Marquis Disc reel to an Evans Wet 2 and a 1 1/2" Garry dog tube flee and took it for a walk through the water.Now as I pushed through the extensive rush's at the waters edge, our new American chum appeared on the far side to fish Glen Ormiston's bottom beat.Now the whole of that bottom beat is heavily rush lined (or it was then!)- folk from Glen Ormiston rarely fished there either!, and the rush's were higher and more overgrown than the Traquair side.I unclipped my flee from the keeper ring, stripped off the head of the line and rolled it to just past mid stream( or there abouts!), I could here our new chum go wow!.As it swung I started to strip line off a few yds at a time and slowly lengthened line untill I was covering bank to bank, and started to work down the pool, Spey casting away quite happily.He looked a little in awe!.I knew what would follow, he started to fish, and despite a pretty good steeple cast technique he couldn't get his flee in the water, and when when he did get a flee out there it wasn't very far at all.He was obsessed with trying to double haul and match me for distance and presentation.
That night back at the bar, the poor chap was absolutely foo-ked.He was so cream crackered he could barely walk n talk.
He'd had an horrendous day, lost a large proportion of his flee's and barely had a half doz. or so casts all day that hit the water and that were halfway fishable.Never have I seen such a turn round in a line of thought or belief. He'd been told what he needed, but was convinced he could show those who knew better (that wasn't us by the way but those who advised him on his trip in the 1st place) with his way and techniques.I know the next morning he sloped off to hire some kit for the rest of his week.Real nice chap too, good company, but sadly we never saw him again that week to find out how he went on.
Pedro.