It has always seemed strange, that the Tweed springers do not tend to apply to the theory of them filling the river from the top down. Apart from perhaps the ones that head up the Ettrick, where it is thought, the majority of our Springers spawn. However, a lot of the early fish just seem content to sit it out in the lower river and don’t head for the upper Tweed until October or November.
It’s a strange one, but apparently In the 60’s, when the Tweed used to be a predominately Spring river, the peak time for the upper river was May. I remember, an old angler from Peebles, telling us how he had caught two spanking fresh big spring fish from one pool above Peebles, in April during the 60’s. So at that time, it looks as though they did follow the, “fill the river from top down.”
Who knows what they will do moving forward. One thing is for certain, this season has proven, that despite a few poor years, they are more than capable of bouncing back again. Fingers crossed, 2021 will have similar numbers and that at least some of them will head up the top end a bit earlier.