Salmon Fishing Scotland Salmon Fly Fishing History on the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Salmon Fly Fishing History on the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland.

This is a very interesting bit of salmon fishing history on the Tay at Stanley, Perthshire, Scotland. I got this from a picture framed in the Catholes hut at Stanley and it shows an extract from the Duke of Portlands book on Salmon Fly, Spinning Lure etc which is very interesting.
This was a Lady that caught all these spring salmon and using an 18 foot rod that would be incredibly heavy compared to the wands we use now.Just imagine how many fish must have been in the pools.

M Bedford Letter to Duke of Portland Nov 9th 1913.

Dear Sir,

There were two days when I landed thirteen salmon last spring, and, as generally happens, the one least written and talked about was the best.

The first day, April 2nd, they were taking very short, and fish after fish dropped off directly it had spun the reel out. I finished the day very depressed, as instead of thirteen, I felt I ought to have at least twenty, though I honestly don’t think it was my fault. On the 5th. I again landed thirteen fish, and I think I only had two other rises. The first thirteen weighed 191 ½ pounds, those on the 5th 191 pounds.

April 2nd – 6 ½, 9, 7 ½, 10, 19, 16 ½, 19, 15, 22, 16, 13, 22, and 17 pounds.
April 5th – 13, 18, 11, 10 ½, 10, 14, 22 ½, 23, 16, 13, 17 ½, 14, and 8 ½ pounds.

The whole of the above were taken casting from the boat, and all but three on the “Black Dog.” They were caught at Stanley, I forgot what the pools wee called, but I think Pitlochry and Washing Pools. Below the pool is a big rush of water, which the boat cannot go down, but down which it is always supposed that the fish can escape. The banks are high and wooded. The pool is not dark, but the sun goes off it fairly early.

My rod is an eighteen foot one.

I landed 102 fish in 23 days fishing all casting, total weight 1503 ½ pounds, larges fish 29 pounds, 18 of these weighed 20 pounds and over, and 51 weighed 16 pounds and over. I had three blank days between 21st March and 29th April.

I should probably not have made these good catches but for my lessons in casting, and a hint I helped myself to when watching a very well known angler, Sir H Maxwell. After making his cast he slipped the handle of the rod back so that the rod balanced evenly. Oh! The exhaustion this has saved me. When I asked him to improve my casting, by giving me hints, he said he could not teach me anything, but the hint I stole just made all the difference in a long days casting, in fact made it possible for me.

Yours truly,
M Bedford.


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