Golf and Fishing

Fishing

Fishing in the Scottish Borders presents many options and for the beginner or the expert we can recommend Tweed Guide. There is no better way to fish some of Europe’s finest Salmon Rivers. With Tweed Guide they organise the whole day so all you need to do is enjoy your fishing.

Clerklands Fly Fishery

This beautiful small fishery of around 4 acres in size has a very good reputation for hard fighting quality fish. With a natural head of wild brown trout and weekly stockings of rainbows to double figures this is one of the best put and take fisheries in the Scottish Borders. The loch is very deep up to 25ft in places so it is sensible to carry a varied selection of sinking lines to cover all of the depths.
Boat can be hired and this method of fishing can be very productive as you can cover the Road Shore side of the loch which has no bank access.
Tactics during the spring and summer are floating and intermediate lines with skinny buzzers a top pattern also pheasant tail nymphs, hares ears, damsel nymphs, suspender buzzers, cdc buzzers in small sizes. Hi D lines can be used to search out the depths and may pick up a specimen trout that feeds on the large population of snails that frequent the loch at certain times of the year.
The loch holds a good head of Minnows and Sticklebacks and late in the season you can often see the rainbows crashing into the shoals and gorging on the wounded and dead fry.
Top lures are Peach Rabbit, Cats Whiskers, Orange Fritz, Black Fritz and Humungous to name a few.
There is fantastic fly life on the loch throughout the year with large daily hatches of buzzers and sedges along with damsel nymphs.
The fishery is only 3 miles from us here at New Woll Estate and fishing can be arranged through us at short notice, for a small fee we will hire out tackle if you feel like a days fishing and don’t have any gear with you.
The loch is open from March through to the end of October.

The River Tweed

Sometimes you want to experience a river where no one is in a hurry, the scenery is outstanding and the fish plentiful.
Easy wading or more challenging, beginner or experienced angler, young or old.
Tweed Guide has river fishing packages from 3 hours to all day with all equipment, waders, permits and guide for Salmon, Trout and Grayling.
All year round ( subject to legal requirements)  7 days a week.
Packages from £80.

Guided (all equipment, waders, permits, instruction included)
Salmon,Trout and Grayling fishing packages on the River Tweed System,
Europe’s Premiere Salmon River.

Tweed Guide “ Guide, instructor, tackle provider and company for the day.
I can’t imagine a more perfect day”   
Tamsin Leach (The Independent )

" Tweed Guide. I would tell anyone from any background that has an hour, a day or a week to see them for an out of this world experience." 
H. Franz Hostalka (USA  Fishing Guide Montana)

" Thank you for your kind and professional service that resulted in me landing my first salmon on fly! The memory will remain with me forever! In particular, I was very pleased with your meticulous planning, local knowledge and organisation (including equipment loan) that provided me with a splendid and varied programme on three different beautiful rivers. "
Adrian Jones ( Lancashire)

www.tweedguide.com
A  local company bringing tourists from around the world to the beautiful Scottish Borders
Contact
info@tweedguide.com or 07962 401771 and 01750 2279 8.00 - 21.00 7 days a week

Below is a guide to some of the nearby Lochs and some tips on fishing in the local area:

HAWICK ANGLING CLUB LOCHS

A day ticket costing £10 is available to visitors, which allows them to fish any of the lochs.
We can arrange for visitor day tickets at short notice.
We can also provide if you were staying for a week with us here at New Woll Estate, a full visitors season ticket at a cost of around £45 this is recommended if you intended to fish all of the Hawick waters.

Williestruther Loch

Just on the outskirts of Hawick this loch of around 8 acres is one of the busiest lochs simply through its position being next to the road. The loch is about a 15-minute drive from us here at New Woll Estate.
This loch is strictly a bank only fishery but it is open to any fishing method and is stocked regularly with rainbow trout from one of the local fish farms.
Favourite baits include worms and maggots either fished on the bottom or under a float.
This loch can get a weed problem depending on how warm the summer months are but it still has many fishable areas.
The Dam Wall is a popular starting point with the top of the South and North shore proving good catching areas. Another tip is to fish in or around the weed beds as often the better trout are lurking under the cover of the weeds.
Fly Fishing is also recommended with killing patterns as follows Peach Rabbit, Humungus along with Daddy Long Legs and Orange and Amber Hoppers, favourite nymphs and buzzers include Hares Ear, Olive Buzzers, Black Buzzers, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Diawl Bach. 

Acreknowe Reservoir

Just over the hill from Williestruther sits Acreknowe Reservior, this is a fly only water and very popular with visitors and the locals.
The feature of this water is its clarity; on a summer day you can see the bottom over 30 feet down.
Boat Fishing can be very productive with standard wet fly patterns such as Invicta’s, Greenwells, Blae & Black, Black Pennel, and the Soldier Palmer.
Popular bank tactics include floating lines with daddy long legs, hoppers, shiphams buzzers, CDC buzzers, pheasant tail nymph, and hares ear nymph along with the usual lures such as peach rabbit, cats whiskers, humungus and Montana’s.
Top areas are the South Shore and Hawthorn Bay along with the burn entrance at the top of the Reservoir.
All areas are fishable except within the area of the two marker posts and the Dam Wall and also please note that wading is not allowed.
Many of the trout can be caught close in to the bank-side and it is recommended that you use Fluorocarbon tippets, as the water is so clear.
This loch is stocked as Williestruther with rainbows it has a natural stock of brown trout with wild of up to 3.5lbs having been caught already in 2004
For a small charge 2 Boats are available for hire through the local club, tickets and keys for the Boats can be obtained from Rudkins paint shop in Drumlanrig Square in Hawick.

Hellmoor Loch

This is a natural loch set in the hills above the village of Roberton not to far a drive from New Woll Estate and The Woll Golf Course. Access to the loch is along a forestry road it’s a twenty minute walk from the road but for a small returnable deposit you can access keys for opening the padlocked gate at the entrance to the forest, you can then drive to within 50 yards of the loch side.
The loch water has a peaty colour to it and is stocked only with hard fighting Brown trout; the fish are never far out from the edge so wading is not essential.
The North and East and West Shores are the most productive with the North Shore end holding what would seem to be the larger fish. It’s not unusual to be wading up to 30 yards out in the loch (as it is very shallow in places) and to turn around to see fish rising behind you.
Also in the loch are 2 species of coarse fish perch, pike and also there have been some very large eels caught in years gone by.
This is an any method fishery but the fly fisherman has always had the edge over the bait fisher.
Its not unusual for brown trout of up to 3lbs to be caught as the loch has fantastic natural feeding
Standard Scottish wet flies rule the roost here such as Kate Mclaren, Wickhams Fancy, Invicta, Greenwells Glory and Daddy Longlegs, Blae & Black, Black Pennel, Soldier Palmer along with a secret tying of the famous Worm Fly. Beware of the infamous biting midge; so always pack a repellent during summer a visit.

Alemoor Loch

Just below Hellmoor is the scenic loch of Alemoor; the loch is split in two by the Road Bridge.
This is the biggest of the Hawick Angling Club controlled waters with main species in the loch being Pike although there is a natural stock of brown trout.
Pike anglers mainly fish the loch with many coming from England to try to catch these hard fighting fish of up to 35lbs in weight.
Favourite tactics include dead baiting with mackerel, small rainbow trout and sardines.
Fly fishing during the summer with large lures in the shallow weedy areas can be very productive with lots of small jacks hammering into the flashy lures.
This is a fantastic way to catch pike as the takes can be seen as the pike ambushes the lure passing the edge of the weed beds.
Spinning with mepps and plugs are also recommended and with this style of fishing you will cover far more of the loch.
There are natural Brown Trout in the Loch but these are very rarely caught, as many never reach a decent size due to the Pike in the water.
A word of warning some parts of the loch are very deep with some banks shelving away very quickly, wading is not recommended.
The loch is only a 15-minute drive from the Woll Golf Course with stunning views along the way

Acremoor Loch

Acremoor Loch is only a 5-mile drive from New Woll Estate.
This natural loch is set up in the hills but requires a 25 minute walk to reach it, the walk alone is worth it.
The scenery is magnificent and is teaming with wildlife such as many birds of prey including the Hawks; Buzzards and the elusive Osprey have all been seen in the surrounding area.
The loch is around 8 acres in size and is a Brown trout only water although there are perch present.
A boat is available for hire through Hawick Angling Club; the boat has to be pre-booked through the Club Secretary.
This Loch does not open until 1st April every year unlike the rest of the Hawick waters which open on the 15th March.
Recommended flies are much the same as Hellmoor and tactics are casting close in to the shoreline. The best areas are the West and South Shore a particularly good area is where the old wooden fence goes into the loch at the bottom of the South Shore.
The loch in the summer months has some fantastic Caenis Fly hatches, when the trout will be totally preoccupied on feeding on this tiny mayfly; this is the time that you may catch one of the large specimen brown trout that frequent the loch.
A good tactic when the Caenis are about is to fish a floating line with low breaking strain fluorocarbon with a size 16 Pearl Thorax Pheasant Tail Nymph on the point and a Pearl Thorax Pheasant Tail buzzer on the dropper, this can usually pick up a fish or two. It can be frustrating seeing the Loch come alive with fish and you struggling to entice just one of them.
When the Caenis are not showing standard wets such as Greenwell’s, Wickhams, Blae & Black, Invicta, Soldier Palmer, Black Pennel and the Butcher should all pick you up fish no matter what the weather is like?
This is the only loch that is not available on a Day ticket, for the price of a season ticket (£40) in 2004 you can fish this lovely loch and is well worth the extra cost especially if you intend to visit with us more than once during the year.
The Loch is an any method fishery so you can spin or bait fish as well as fly fish, I would recommend fly fishing as the best tactic as you will not attract any of the perch.
It is recommended that when you fish Acremoor that you carry a packed lunch as you will spend the best part of the day here, also to carry some wet weather clothing as the weather can change pretty quickly in the early part of the season.

PRIVATELY OWNED LOCHS

The Hass Loch (near Jedburgh)

The Hass Loch is run by Jedburgh Angling Club and is set high up in the hills near the Scottish and English border area known as the Carter Bar. The Fishery is the good part of a 30-minute drive from us here at New Woll Estate. Tickets for the fishery can be obtained from Sandfords the local fishing tackle shop of in the market square in Jedburgh.The Fishery is fly only and is very popular with local anglers, patterns such as small buzzers and nymphs fished on floating lines are the best tactics. Again this is a fishery where during the summer I recommend that you carry midge repellent. The fishery is just a short walk down a track from where you park your car.  A day ticket costs no more than £12 which makes this is a very reasonable day ticket venue, the fishery is also stocked regularly. 

River Fishing for Grayling, Salmon and Brown Trout

Salmon Fishing
The months of October and November are the prime time for Salmon Anglers fishing the River Cheviot a tributary of the world famous River Tweed.
We can arrange midweek day tickets for visiting anglers to fish various beats on the River Cheviot and we will supply a detailed map of the river showing the named pools that visiting anglers can fish.
Every season Salmon over Twenty pounds are caught and landed by local or visiting anglers, a tip for all visitors is to pop into the Chadwick Angling Club bar on a week night to find out the killing flies and what lines to be used.
A typical day ticket is only £25 and is fantastic value considering that only 20 miles down the river at the world famous Junction Pool at Kelso you will be paying nearly a four figure sum for your fishing.
Up to the minute information regarding river conditions and can be accessed by phone or on the Web on the Tweed line the numbers are below
Fishing Reports and Prospects 09068 666 410.
New Woll Estate is the ideal base for your fishing as we are only 7 miles from the River Teviot.

Grayling fishing is available on the River Teviot from the 1st February until the 30th September and from the 1st January to the 31st January the following year.
As with all the other Hawick Angling Club waters we are able to supply visitors with day tickets for Grayling fishing.
Anglers from all over the UK are just starting to find out about this prolific river.
Upstream nymphing is the best tactic with those famous heavily weighted Czech nymphs the first choice on your cast.
Be warned that nylon with a breaking strain of 4lb or less can only be used for Grayling.
Neoprene chest waders are recommended as the river runs very cold in the winter months. We recommend that all anglers should carry a wading stick and wear a life jacket, as the river bottom can be quite slippery.