Just One Week

Tweed Tweed - the picture says it all Horncliffe 1 looking downstream We had an extraordinary week on the Bottom Tweed, the complete opposite of last year when we were spated off for 4 of the 6 days.

Maybe Airlines Maybe we fly, maybe we don't Maybe we crash, maybe we don't Maybe we die, maybe we don't Sarajevo 1995 This faithful hat has been with me for every step of my salmon-fishing journey, through rain, shine, snow and ice.

.......it couldn't get worse, it did.

The title of this post has a simple explanation.

It's been a full 6 months since I last wrote, primarily because I didn't have anything useful to say, and when the time came to think about the annual MCX Christmas Stocking article, I was completely lacking in motivation, and far more concerned with gran…

Lower Inver morning view upstream from the Scrambles Over the years I have been privileged to fish in many beautiful places, but nowhere else moved me as much as these two small Highland rivers.

In my last post 'Rain, Beautiful Rain' I was buoyed by optimism, with great hopes for the season to come.

I haven’t written anything since Christmas because, as is so often the case in winter, I didn’t have anything useful to say.

Salmon Behaviour Taking a fly https://mcxfisher.blogspot.com/2013/01/revelation.html Feeding impulses Fast Food & Broad Beans https://mcxfisher.blogspot.com/2013/02/fast-food-broad-beans.html The Dynamics of the Take Crash!

The dullness of this season's salmon fishing is clearly evidenced by how few posts I've written since the last Christmas Stocking.

Stanley Fishings Panorama from Summerhill Pitlochrie centre and left, Benchil downstream to the right The Tay is unlike the other Scottish salmon rivers I've described on this blog: It's huge: the average width in the panorama above is around 140 metres (a

First exposure to fishing Grandson on the Rye August 2023 I haven't written anything in a long time, simply because I had nothing original to say.

It's that time of year again when I try to give readers of this blog some ideas to plant with Father/Mrs/Mr Christmas.

The 2022 record drought River Rye at Helmsley August 2022 Surface temperature 30C 2022 was the driest and hottest spring and summer in my lifetime, worse even than 1976 and 2003.

Dawn view over the Spey from Tominachty First morning - Piles Right Through the kindness of a friend I spent three days in mid-September on the beautiful Arndilly beat on the Spey.

One of the biggest challenges for any salmon fishing novice is getting through the fog of jargon.

The Joys of Spring Fishing Farewell Tomatin Last spring we decided that the time had come to leave Tomatin House, the home of Just One Week for the past 20 years and the source of so many happy memories.

My experiment with Maxcatch was influenced by the needs of a week on the Spey (the next post).

Two Classic reels Back view It is said that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".

I'm not someone given to complaining, being a life-long optimist who travels (and fishes) hopefully.

The ruins of Jervaulx Abbey The spiritual home of Wensleydale cheese The Abbey Beat comprises almost 2 miles of single bank fishing within the boundaries of the Jervaulx estate on the south side of the River Ure.

Moving Targets Looking back over the past decade or so of Just One Week, it always seems to be the case that no sooner have I tested and reviewed a Vision rod than it becomes obsolete and is withdrawn from sale.

Sleningford Falls Finally, after many months of drear lockdown, I've got something to write about and the inspiration to do so.

In the final days of this peculiar season, courtesy of Guide Fly Fishing, I managed to get my hands on a Sage Igniter 12' 6" #7 demonstrator, matched with a Spectrum C reel (described at the end of this report) and Rio Scandi VersiTip #7 line.

I've now become inured to uncertainty.