Cast an eye over this fishy opportunity!
ANYONE who’s ever wanted to try fly fishing and not known where to start will welcome the free ‘have a go’ day for adults later this month.
It’s the brainchild of Tweedstart, the local non-profit making organisation which passes on the skills of the sport. Usually the group’s angling development officer Eoin Fairgrieve is teaching children and teenagers. But in a new move – scheduled for September 22 – he is inviting adults to come and try fly fishing at the Roxburghe Hotel’s lake at Heiton, near Kelso.
Mr Fairgrieve said: “The bulk of interest and focus and funding is allocated towards working with schools but we do believe there are people who have an interest but are slightly unsure how to go about it. It’s free, and open to everybody to come and participate. We are trying to get a broad range of adults from their 20s to 80s so they can have a shot and learn a bit more about the river and technique.”
Those interested will learn fly casting, fishing techniques and find out about tying flies. An expert will talk about the entomology of the river, when participants will learn about fish life cycles and the insects they feed on.
Eoin was one of the one of the youngest ever instructors to qualify in both the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors trout and salmon disciplines while he was a ghillie on the Tweed. He first set up an angling development programme to encourage more children to take up fishing in 2000 and in 2005 became Scotland’s first angling development officer. He has since taught more than 7,000 children to fish.
He said: “There’s the joy of catching the fish, of being outside, learning the skill of fly casting and what insects are on the water at any given time and selecting flies, even specific to different time of the day.”
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Weather for Duns
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 5 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 3 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North east
