I fished the Bemersyde beat on the river Tweed for the first time the other day.  I arrived about 7.30 am after a three and an half hour drive to get there.  Now that’s dedication!

I was soon met by Ian Farr,  the ghillie.  After greeting me to the beat he soon got the fire lit and the kettle on in the fishing hut.  I had five minutes introducing myself to his black lab Holly,  then quickly got my kit on and was ready to go.

Eager to fish after the long trip and knowing this was my last Salmon fishing trip of the season Ian quickly got me fishing through a gorgeous stretch of water in front of the fishing hut.  He gave me great advice, pointing out fly choice, depth etc. I saw a few fish as I fished down the pool but I never touched a thing.  The water was at a perfect height for this beat Ian told me,  but,  at this time of year there are not large numbers of fish about.  I was just going to put a heavier tube fly on and go back through the pool when Ian shouted me to go with him,  I quickly followed him up river where he put me in a boat and proceeded to wade backwards up river pulling me through a long stretch of river that had fish written all over it.  He constantly offered advice on where the taking zones were and at what pace to swing the fly etc. We thoroughly fished this part of the river with no joy and then moved to another stretch which in all honesty did not look as fishy but it was nearing lunch time and it was not a long stretch so I thought I would press on up to lunch.  I changed my fly to a Gary Dog just to try something different and bingo after a few casts I caught a fish, all be it a very badly damaged kelt cock fish.

I then stopped for a quick drink at the hut then Ian put me in another great stretch of river a little lower down the beat again offering great advice. The day soon passed and it was time to pack up and drive home.  Oh the joys of the A1 on a Friday night!

This was the first time I had met Ian and I can honestly say he worked overtime trying to get me a fish and he is probably the hardest working  ghillie  I have had the pleasure of spending a day on the river with. His knowledge of the beat was exceptional and he was a gentleman throughout the day.  If you want to fish a beautiful stretch of water on the river Tweed,  I can recommend Bemersyde.  I will definitely be back to fish here again!