Matt Hayes heads for the Scottish borders and finds a fast water paradise that tests his fishing skills to the max

As the racing water cascades across the rocky shallows behind me, the rushing, tinkling sound of the river is all I can hear. It is the first time that I have fished the Teviot, picking its way through the Scottish borderlands, and I've been totally thrown sideways by the sheer beauty and magnificence of the place.

The bright sunshine vividly lights up the far bank trees, making the skyline blaze with a mixture of burnished coppers, buttery golds and a thousand different shades of green, everything from the deepest emerald through to light limes.

The Teviot is also carrying a very slight olive green tinge brought on by the recent rains. The waterway's colour mirrors the green of the surrounding vegetation.

Added to this are a myriad diamond sparkles as the river's course breaks on jagged rocks and boulders strewn along this beautiful stretch.

Standing knee deep in this living jewel, I feel like I've been wired directly into nature's plug socket.

Like all the great Scottish game rivers, the Teviot presents the angler with a postcard vista every time you walk or wade around one of its many twists and turns before it terminates in the famous Junction Pool, where the Teviot meets the legendary River Tweed. Similar to the Tweed, the Teviot is literally loused out with salmon over its 30-mile course,but it is actually the salmon's poorer cousin, the grayling, that I'm looking to target today. Fishing on one of the many reasonably priced day-ticket stretches of the river - mine cost £7 - half a mile over the hill from where I'm currently standing there is a salmon beat on the Tweed that will cost you nearly £600 a day to fish - that's £4200 a week! Here, game anglers regularly target salmon returning to the river only to spawn - their feeding mechanism having shut down completely. And you thought carp Yes, beauty does come at a price, but fear not, there are a number of areas of the Teviot - and the Tweed for that matter - that are controlled by local angling clubs, such as Kelso Angling Association or the Jedforest Angling Association. These clubs offer fishing to anyone buying a day ticket, bringing this beautiful river within financial reach of all.

THE BEAUTY OF THE TEVIOT

If you just want to catch grayling you could easily go to one of the many upper reaches of wild river in England, such as the Cumbrian Eden, Wye or Derbyshire Derwent. You could also target them on southern chalk streams like the Test or the Itchen - catching them with relative ease all day.

The banks of these rivers have been manicured for game anglers, making them quite civilised places to fish, but, if you want to experience the real deal, grayling fishing as God intended it to be in its rawest, purest form, you need to come north of the border.

Rivers like the Teviot are classed as spate rivers, meaning they rise and fall very quickly with the influence of rainfall. Their powerful courses run over hard rock, boulder strewn stretches, gravel beds and areas of soft sand. There are bottlenecks, glides, channels, riffles and pools to explore. Unlike the southern chalk streams which tend to be gravel bottomed and uniform in depth, spate rivers have boulders the size of houses. One minute you can be standing in two foot of water, while two foot downstream there is a precipice that sees the river drop to 12 feet. All in all, it is a very different experience to anything you may have encountered previously, and you'll need new skills to tackle it.

The only way to do that is to get down and dirty with the river. Get in it, become one with it and hope that it accepts you for the day.

This is feral fishing. There are no cafés, tackle shops or numbered swims. This is the real deal. The Teviot is a man's river. It's an environment you can lose yourself in and the more you are prepared to lose yourself, the more pleasure you will derive from it.

You'll see and feel things like never before. A day on one of these rivers is the ultimate angling experience in my eyes, regardless of whether you catch or not.

You will also come across things during the day that will add to the adventure - roe deer otters, and even osprey.

There is nothing tame or false about a setting like this. Everything is uncertain. There's a constant threat of change. Sometimes you catch a load, other times it's a dry net. These Scottish rivers can be cruel mistresses.

There are no hard and fast rules as to where the fish are likely to be holed up. You may not find them, and if you do, they may, or may not, feed.

The skill of the angler is to become part of the river for the day. It is no place for the faint hearted.

The purest form of angling is to chase wild fish in their environment without the use of artificial stocking to tilt the balance in your favour. That is the beauty, the spirit and the essence of fishing rivers like the Teviot and the very reason that I am here today.

SHOWN HOW TO FISH - BY A REAL PROFESSIONAL

The thick 4AAA MAP Specci waggler float I'm using is made for coping with a river like this.

The fat, buoyant body of the float allows it to ride the pacy waters beautifully.

Unlike most bottom-end only waggler floats, which would be swamped by the turbulent swirls, the Specci waggler remains afloat.

With its thick, highly-visible tip you can also see the float as it runs a long way downstream, picking its way between the competing currents.

It doesn't trot smoothly down the shallow stream, it tends to lurch along it.

The bubbling, rushing, sprinting water tosses the float between its shoulders like a drunk staggering home on a Friday night.

My worm hookbait just tickles the riverbed, bouncing over the large rocks and boulders. Each and every one of these spots could hold a grayling. Some will even house one of the kings of the river - a salmon.

Working my way up stream, I had thrashed four other pools to a foam, when I rounded a bend and waded out into my fifth swim of the day.

Now, four hours into my day - with nothing to show for my efforts - another Teviot angler suddenly appears to my right.

He glides in from the sky like a Special Forces paratrooper, touching down in the margin without a sound.

It is, of course, 'Old Joe' heron. Standing stock still, his beady eyes never leave the water, looking and always alert for his next meal to briefly make a mistake and stray into view.

With the targeted precision of a laser guided missile, Old Joe strikes!He then returns to his upright position, small trout in mouth, before taking to the skies to find a quiet perch to enjoy his meal.

Sadly, my day is yet to be as productive as his, but then again, he is a professional! Years of evolution and hard-wired fishing instinct being released in a sudden lightning fast strike. In comparison, I only play at it.

With half a dozen kernels of sweetcorn fed into the neck of a deep pool - maggots are banned - I'm confident of turning my fortunes.

Letting the float dance to the end of the pool - a good area for grayling, as they prefer the faster, shallow water found at the head and end of pools - the float's tip is gone in an instant.

After a hefty strike, the rod tip bends like a sapling in a storm. As I guide the fish towards me, it leaps from the river like a stray juggler's knife. For a small fish, it has all the courage of one five times its weight.

Was it? Could it be? After everything I'd been through did I have my first Teviot grayling?

No!Keeping a tight line, as much as I can with it leaping out of the water, I can see the fish is a small brown trout using every ounce of its strength to throw the rig.

Wetting my hand to protect the fish, I finally win the battle and guide the small 'browny' into my waiting palm.

CHOICE OF BAIT

Wild fish are not used to seeing conventional baits like corn, bread or even maggots.

These fish feed on water-born insects which makes catching them with conventional baits a tall order.

Grayling are also very fickle feeders. There are days when there is a hatch of an insect and the grayling will be preoccupied with this food item. It could be caddis or damsel larvae on the bottom, or as the insect is hatching from water to fly. At times like this it is impossible to catch, unless you use something that resembles the insect that they are eating. Fly fishing, then. But this is the beauty of fishing a river like this. Not only is it stunning, but it is one of the greatest challenges anglers can set themselves. Reverting back to a worm for my final assault, I let the waggler run through at current speed. You can't hold a waggler back like you can a stick float, as a waggler is only attached at the bottom, not top and bottom. A held waggler just pulls under. Sadly, it wasn't my day and later that afternoon, although it felt like three weeks, I begrudgingly admitted defeat and waded back towards dry land without my grayling.

The day had turned from bright sun to a cool evening - very poor grayling conditions.

And as I made my way back to the car, I had time to reflect on my day.

After such a grueller, with no grayling to show for my efforts, was I downhearted?

Hell, no! At the start of this series I promised to bring you an account of my adventures, warts and all.

I set myself stern challenges then pledged to bring you all the trials and tribulations associated with wild fishing.

Sometimes you catch and sometimes you don't - but that's why our sport is called fishing - not catching.

I'm only human and I'd just spent the entire day fishing in chocolate box scenery, so I really didn't care too much.

I had lived the past few hours soaking in the most delicious scenery that I've enjoyed in many a year - and I've fished all over the world.

Tackling the Teviot was a true 'Boy's Own' adventure. Here, you're angling for the fish on their terms, not yours. You need to accept the hand the river deals you with good grace.

If you're looking for easy access, lots of bites and easy fishing, this place isn't for you.

But, if you're a true angler and love open country and wild places, you've got to give it a go.

Our thanks to 'Improve your Coarse Fishing' magazine.