Dawn grayling on the Tweed
Upper River Tweed, Peebles: dawn grayling and early trout update
At first light on the upper River Tweed around Peebles, Large Dark Olives and lingering March Brown activity set the tone; Baetis and blue-winged olive trickles persist in sheltered runs. Subsurface takes dominate—nymphs and emergers produce the bulk of action before dries earn their keep.
What is biting and where
Grayling and early trout hold the soft current edges, inside bends and the meeting lines where slick glides meet riffle. Calmer glides and gravel-bedded pool heads are busiest at dawn. In clearer, low water fish 6–18 inches down in slicks; in deeper glides present flies nearer the bottom.
Practical tackle: a 9–12 ft leader finishing 4X–6X suits most upper Tweed beats—4X–5X for March Brown-style nymphs, 5X–6X for wary olives. A simple 2-fly team pays off: a weighted point such as a Pheasant Tail, Frenchie or Hare’s Ear (size 12–16) with a smaller emerger or nymph 12–18 inches above.
Local reports from selected upper stretches downstream of Peebles note clearer flows after spring spates and firmer takes on soft hackles. Fish the emerger early; switch to small dries or spent patterns only when splashy rises appear. May forecasts keep PMD-style timing later in the season on these beats.
A grayling taking an emerger in the left-hand soft seam as dawn light ghosts across gravel is the morning picture anglers on the Tweed expect to see.
Recommended: 9–12ft fly leaders