River Tyne - East Lothian - HELP!

[Steve Richards]

Looking for the help from the forum members!

Any advice on good areas to fish on this river at all?  Heard its a good wee trout river and am going to head for a cast on sunday I think.

Hows the fishing early in the season here, any flies that work particularly well on the water etc?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Cheers Guys

Stevie

[ChildOfTheMist]

The Tyne's my "home" water Steve, I'll be happy to help if I can.

I'm on a customers site just now so I won't post in detail but I'll post a wee summary for you in a couple of hours.


A' the best,

Daibhidh

[Steve Richards]

That would be excellent -- would be really appreciated.

[ChildOfTheMist]

Hi Steve,

sorry for the delay there.

Johny is spot on with his choice of flies - add to that wee klinkhammers/adams if the fish are rising. I generally fish a wee adams to rising fish - waiting until you see a rise then targeting it. As long as the water's at a decent level, they rise regularly and can be crept up on.

When I see nothing, I tend to fish across and down with wee trad. wets such as black pennel, silver butcher and Kate Mclaren. Even, dare I mention it on here  :lol: a Peter Ross. There are several good (and often deep) runs and a wee GRHE does well here.

In terms of locations, because you're fishing on Sunday, some sections will be unavailable (marked on the permit). Essentially, these are upstream of Haddington (Samuelston / Nisbet) and immediately downstream of Haddington to about just short of Hailes Castle.

With that in mind, I would recommend Clerkington immediately upstream of Haddington, parking at the Burns monument at Lennoxlove. You can park in the 4 spaces, two further down and the wide grassy area opposite. This will give you access to all the water from Samuelston Bridge down to Haddington. (You can't get through to Haddington town section from here though because of high walls). If you know the weir at this section (very near the monument) then that's as good a place as any to start. There's little cover upstream of the weir (but some good fish) so ca' canny as you approach. Downstream of the weir, you'll find some lovely wee runs, a good deal more cover down here and a wider variety of water. It's helpful if your wearing waders as often in this section , it helps to be able to cross back and forth as you move down. Look out for a long deep run running towards high bankings and sharp bends. This area is worth spending a bit of time on.

You can also fish the Haddington town stretch on Sunday, this wee stretch can be a bit busier and the fish a wee bit more wary but it holds some crackers. Again, it pays to approach carefully from downstream upwards - watch for wee bloops close in and offer them something small and grey or black. There's a large area of parkland behind St Mary's church (park in Church Street) that gives good open access to some nice water. Look for a wee channel (formerly running the mill) and fish at the downstream end of this.

East of Haddington, there's no Sunday fishing down to about Nether Hailes - that's a pity as the area around Stevenson can be grand.

Not to worry though, if you like, carry on further down to East Linton. Park in the main street just short (west) of the railway bridge - before you actually enter the town centre - and you'll find a path leading down to the water (it looks as though you're walking down through some gardens but you'll find the bridge carrying the old A1 (now the A199) over the river. Follow the [decent] path upstream from here and you soon leave the town behind. The path rises a falls a bit but persevere - it leads to some cracking areas. You'll come upon the new A1 bridge (way up high) and the area both sides of this is excellent. The stretch from the new road bridge up to Hailes castle has good paths and great fish.

As the Stevenson section is off, I would probably recommend the East Linton to Hailes castle area first. This stretch will hold over-wintered fish and wildies - there has been no stocking down there thus far (to my knowledge). My best fish have all come from this section. If that's a wee bit too far down though, try Clerkenwell - it can be a bit busier as it's closer to Hadd'ton but it rarely fails to produce fish.

I hope that's some help to you Steve, but any questions, fire away.

A' the best,

Daibhidh

PS: East Lothian Angling Association

[Steve Richards]

Daibihidh,

that really is excellent information.  Thanks for taking the time to write all that -- very much appreciated.

Have you managed out for a cast on the Tyne yet since the 15th?

I look forwad to giving it a bash on sunday -- will let you know how I go!

Cheers again

Stevie

[ChildOfTheMist]

I'm ashamed to say I haven't yet Steve - I'm graftin' up in Angus just now so I'm getting home and collapsin' in front of the telly 

I'm hoping to get down at some point over the weekend, wife and bairns permitting.

Hope you have a good day on Sunday though, tight lines.


Daibhidh

[Dunbar]

Had a nice day on the Tyne past Friday - nice hatch of dark olives up at Samuelston and ended up with a couple, and lost a couple - best fish was about a pound and a quarter, all on an olive deer hair emerger. Shouldn't be long till the sea trout are about.