This is the Article to appear in the Press today written by Angling correspondent Arnott McWhinnie for the Daily Record.
One of the biggest events in the Scottish game angling calendar gets underway tomorrow (Sat) with the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay.
Anglers from all over the UK and further afield will gather on the banks of this mighty river, each one hoping for one of the most prized salmon of all – a beautiful opening day Tay springer.
In the days of old, opening day fish were rushed by train from Perth down to Billingsgate fish market in London to be sold for enormous amounts of money.
Nowadays, with the scarcity of spring run salmon in nearly all rivers, things are different and most anglers abide by a catch and release policy and put them back.
The opening coincides with confirmation that the Tay’s rod catch of salmon in 2010 was over 11,000, a 50% increase on 2009, most of them caught in late summer and autumn.
For many beats 2010 was one of the best seasons for over 15 years and some recorded their best autumn catches for over 20 years.
William Jack, chairman of the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board said he was “delighted” with last season’s improved catches and also “particularly heartened and encouraged” by conservation minded anglers releasing almost 90 per cent of spring salmon and 71 per cent of all salmon caught in the year.
You can’t talk about the opening day of the Tay without mentioning the Redford Trophy in the same breath.
This handsome cup named after the late Ian Redford who was a very popular angler and beat owner on the river, is awarded annually for the heaviest opening day springer.
In addition to the Trophy, its winner will also receive a valuable tackle prize courtesy of Robert Jamieson, a staunch opening day supporter who also owns the famous James Crockart and Sons fishing tackle and gunmakers shop in Blairgowrie.
Anglers who think they may have caught a winning fish will have to register their claim by phoning Crockarts at 01250 872056.
Most ghillies have weighing nets, but if there isn’t one available you can use a well tried formula for calculating a salmon’s weight by measuring its length from the nose to the fork of its tail, and the girth at a point just above the dorsal fin.
You just type in the length and girth measurements, press a button and up comes the weight, so make sure you carry a measuring tape with you, and if you don’t have access to a computer, Crockarts will do it for you.
To add further spice to the occasion the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board, in conjunction with the Dunkeld and Birnam Tourist Association, will be staging an opening day ceremony tomorrow. (Sat)
It will start with a breakfast reception in a marquee at Dunkeld’s Taybank Hotel, followed by a grand procession of anglers, ghillies who will be piped to the banks of the river.
There the season will be opened by MSP John Swinney, a keen supporter of angling in Scotland.
At night there will be a ceilidh supper in the Birnam Hotel during which the name of the Redford Trophy winner will be announced.
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