River Tay Report for week ending 30th January 2010.
The second week of the Tay season was an improvement on the first week with 28 spring salmon caught, being recorded.
The river cleared on Monday on the lower river and was good on Tuesday when 11 Springers were recorded. That night the temperature went up to 5C and the river rose rapidly with the snow melt to about 7 feet at Ballathie. Fortunately the temperature dropped at the end of the week and the river settled but the salmon disappeared with only 2 recorded for Friday and Saturday. The river temperature was as high as 38C on Wednesday but dropped back to 36C by Saturday, which should be good for the coming week especially for the lower Tay.
The lower Tay dominated the catches due to the low river temperatures, which was expected. However there were exceptions with the first salmon being recorded on Loch Tay. The Falls of Dochart recorded 5 and Fish n’ Trips caught 1. Newtyle and Kercock caught 3 salmon between them but the rest all came from the lower river.
Dave Young with a beauty from the Linn Pool on the Stobhall beat.
The Linn above Stanley continues to produce for Stobhall and Taymount and just below Burnmouth has caught 3 salmon this past week.
Lovely 13 pounds springer caught at Waulkmill by John Anderson of Bathgate.
Heartening for the lower beats also is that the beats just above the tide are producing with Waulkmill, Lower Redgorton and Almondmouth all catching. Newtyle and Almondmouth shared the largest salmon of the past week with 15 pounds spring salmon respectively.
Jim Mundell with a 15 pounds springer from Newtyle, Dunkeld, Perthshire.
Many thanks for all the pictures everyone sent me of opening week spring salmon and thanks to all who have sent me their individual fishing experiences over the last season on the river. I would be most grateful if you to do the same this season by emailing stanley.fishing@ukonline.co.uk to be included in this report.
River Tay Prospects for week commencing 1st February 2010.
As of Monday the river is settled and running at a good height.
The weather is to be more settled at the start of the week through to Wednesday with a high pressure. Thursday looks milder with the possibility of heavy rain.
John Lessels with a spanking 13 pounds Tay Spring Salmon from the Catholes beat at Stanley, Perthshire, Scotland on the lower Tay.
The water temperature is 36 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius meaning you have certainly to spin or fish a fly slow and deep.
With very cold water recently it is likely that most springers will have been bottled up in the lower river. However, this rise in water should encourage them to move, but with water temperatures still low they might not run that far, i.e. race through to Loch Tay. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the lower and middle river. There will no doubt be quite a few kelts about on many beats and possibly some later run fish which have yet to spawn. Hopefully the return to higher water conditions will see the spawning season wind up quickly but if you find such fish, please avoid gravelly areas where they might be spawning.
The river is running at a good height and cold, meaning the salmon will be running slowly and should favour the lower Tay beats.
There is good availability throughout the river so why not have a go.
As to methods, once the river settles fishing by any method will have to be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method at this time of year but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience.
Finally you are reminded that the Tay's policy for January - May 2010 is that all spring salmon should be released, i.e. the Tay has adopted a policy of 100% catch and release for spring salmon. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please help preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the recommendations.
If you have any news or pictures of catches or experiences on the Tay and you would like to share them please email me on stanley.fishing@ukonline.co.uk to be included in this report.
Tight lines.
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