The early-running Spring fish should have finished spawning by now, but later running Autumn fish can be seen spawning up until March in some places. With the low water conditions it is normally quite easy to spot spawning fish. Look out for light coloured substrate at the tail of pools, which is a sign that the substrate has been turned over by a hen fish cutting a redd.
The Tweed Foundation Assistant Biologist, James Hunt, is currently trying to capture some underwater footage of Salmon spawning adjacent to the Foundation's offices at Drygrange on the Leader Water. As with most wildlife photography, this is far from easy!
The pictures show the camera set-up:
an extendable pole (normally used for window cleaning!), underwater CCTV camera and,
the hand-held device which converts the analogue picture into digital.
This link to a video clip shows the results so far.