Early birds at newly-reopened Newlands Tweeddale Fishery near Gifford have enjoyed great sport with over 50 fish caught by one man.
Other reports have indicated catches of over 40 and into the 30s and bosses aim to make Tweeddale, once dubbed one of Scotland’s favourite small water fisheries and a popular venue for anglers in the Lothians, a destination fishery.
Sport is available seven days a week from 9am to 9pm and Derek Plenderleith, who is overseeing the project on behalf of the Derbyshire-based owner, confirmed that the first anglers to cast a line have been impressed since opening day and on trial days which saw one angler hook into 46 fish and another 45.
Anglers have come from Northumberland and all over the Lothians and Edinburgh to try the once popular water near Gifford which closed last October.
Groundwork to improve the road and car parking has been completed, the banks have been cut and tons of rubbish collected.
Caravans, which were on site, have been moved and Derek, who also looks after shooting on the 800-acre estate on which the fishery sits, confirmed that the fishery hut has been repainted both inside and outside to blend in with the surrounding landscape. A wood burning stove will be installed.
The site is covered by the latest high-tech surveillance gear to ensure it is well protected.
There are three lakes at the site, two for fly fishing, and they are open, but the bait pond is closed at the moment.
The new boss said: “We held a poll on social media and 99 per cent were in favour of making the first pond for fly fishing beginners and bait anglers with the other two ponds for fly fishermen.
“We have been surprised by the amount of work we have had to do since taking over, however, we have been really pleased with the interest there is in the fishery which has been re-stocked with fish from 3lb to 5lb around two weeks ago.”
He added: “Overall, our aim is to bring this back into a really good fishery once again and that will take time, but anglers who have been here already are really pleased with the sport they have had.
“Two guys came from Morpeth for one of our test days and they came back a few days later for another session, that is a testament to the quality of the sport and the fish here.”
For the record, floating lines have been favoured by anglers and best patterns so far have been hawthorn, buzzer, diawl bach and blue flash damsel.
PICTURE: The top loch at Tweeddale, historically the most popular at the fishery. Picture by Nigel Duncan
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