Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 28th May 2016.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 28th May 2016.

Spring salmon fishing on the Tay in Perthshire is now about to enter June after another successful May. The river has fallen back to summer levels giving excellent conditions for fishing plus warming temperatures are seeing catches improving rapidly. Expectation is high on the river for 2016 with now over 1500 fish recorded so far and after successful springs in 2015, 2014 and 2013 plus hopefully settled weather will continue with an improving run in June to give everyone a chance of landing a late spring “Bar of Silver”.

Spring salmon were landed throughout last week with better weather and catches have spread with higher river temperatures. It was another productive week especially towards the end with over 100 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 23 pounds from Lower Redgorton. Spring is disappearing but improving runs are coming into the river and better weather is making fishing easier with lower water last week and a bit of fresh water last weekend may have encouraged more fish to run the river as the run strengthens. The spring fish that have been caught so far have been superb quality and of a good size overall.

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows are all over the skies, Ospreys are being seen, Ducks have their first broods of young and Sand Pipers are on the river banks. Blue bells a coming out in the woods and the Loopins are starting to bloom as well as all the other wild flowers, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay.

Beat catches reported

The majority of the salmon were caught in the lower river in early spring, which is understandable with the cold conditions but that has changed with warmer water allowing fish to run further giving improving results up the river including fish from Loch Tay, Loch Faskally and beyond now as fish start to spread in the system. Recently the boats come off the lower river below Stanley with summer bank fishing now available. The middle river is now the barometer for the runs as water temperatures rise to the mid 50’s.

This past week saw a few fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with Islamouth area again proving the best beat as fish hesitate at the mouth of the Isla. The beats at Stanley and below are seeing limited sport but the small spate last weekend may just spice things up by encouraging Sea Trout into the river. The very lower part of the river saw some sport at the end of the week with fish caught at Waulkmill and Lower Redgorton including a superb 23 pounds fish caught by John Hogg in the Bleachings. This was one of 3 fish caught by him on the fly and others lost. Further fish were also caught form the Stormont Angling club water. Stobhall had 2 in the week but fish seem to be travelling fast through the lower areas up to Islamouth. Ballathie and Cargill had fish in the week and should see even better sport with the lower water levels prevailing now and suiting the beats. On Ballathie Fred Harrison caught in the Pot Shot. Friday saw fish caught on the fly from the Bridge Stream by Garry McErlain and Bob White and on

Saturday Derek Strachan caught an 11 pounds fish from the Cradle. Islamouth had another excellent week with the owner’s party enjoying success in the last 3 days of the week. This included Richard Schuster landing several fish up to 14 pounds on the fly. In the previous week an elderly gentleman in Richard Collett’s party enjoyed a memorable time on the beat.

Geoff Cooper, 92 years young caught 4 fish in 3 days casting the fly from the boat under the guidance of Billy Campbell and Alistair Scott. Motivation for all of us fishermen and women! Great story.

The middle river is fairing much better with rising river temperatures over recent weeks. The Murthly beats are fishing extremely well with 24 fish between them for the week. Glendelvine had a better end to the week with 3 on Saturday. It was the same for Newtyle with 4 fish on the same day as there appeared to be a healthy run going up the river.

Ronnie Fraser had an 11 pounds fish on the fly from the Deans Burn, Andy Gunn caught a cracking 18 pounds fish and

Mick Bell landed a 13 pounds beauty from the Steps.

Dunkeld House had a much better week with 9 fish, this included Peter Sproston landing 3 fish in the Cathedral Stream on a size 10 fly casting from the boat. He also had other fish in the week again on fly. Dalmarnock also had 9 in the week. The week got off to a good start with 3 fish and Scott Ferguson landing a 10 pounds fish from Clachantaggart on the fly.

John Watson, Michael Turner and Stuart Binns caught fish. Stuart Graham had a good day on the beat with a couple on the fly up to 14 pounds. Late in the week David Oversby caught a 9 pounds fish on the fly in the Rams Horn. Dalguise had a better week with 5 fish. The Kinnaird beats finished with 9 in the week. This included Jock Monteiths guests

Pete Judson and

John Crehan both catching off the Upper beat.

The upper river is seeing steady sport with fish caught on Fyndynate, Edradynate and the Farleyer beats.

The Tummel is continuing to see sport from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club with 5 landed last week and there are now well over 2000 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally. It was a better week at the Dam with fish caught towards the end of the week.

Thursday saw 3 fish caught on the fly by Graham Fyfe, Michael Ross and Gordon Nichol. Graham then had another the following day and Jim Fisher caught an 8 pounds fish again on the fly. Loch Faskally saw a quieter week as well with only 1 fish.

The Isla are seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht with 7 fish being reported last week from the lower Ericht.

Fish have been reported running the Lyon as well but low water levels have curtailed sport. No news from that part of the river last week.

Fish have also been running the Earn with Lochlane and Laggan recording 1 fish.

The Spring Salmon fishing season is now at the end of May and expectation remains very high after previous good springs. Last week’s catches were again heartening and more fish are running with warmer weather. Let us hope this is a sign of an upturn in catches as we go into June. It has been a reasonable start with well over 1500 fish recorded so let us hope the season lives up to every one’s expectations over the coming weeks and months. Tight lines!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire prospects w/c 30th May 2016.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire prospects w/c 30th May 2016.

The Salmon fishing season on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland is now about to enter June and we have been encountering some lovely settled sunny weather last week giving excellent conditions for anglers to enjoy the elements in pursuit of that magical spring salmon with a settled dropping river after a small spate due to heavy rain at the start of last week which hopefully will continue to improve catches.

Spring salmon are running the river in better numbers and catches continue to improve from last month giving another reasonable week. The weather is to remain settled in the coming week which should help and give the river more settled conditions and benefit to give a greater chance of producing some sport and some "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements.

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows are all over the skies, Ospreys are being seen, Ducks have their first broods of young and Sand Pipers are on the river banks. Blue bells a coming out in the woods and the Loopins are starting to bloom as well as all the other wild flowers, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay.

Currently the river is settling back after a small spate last week to a summer height (around 10” on the Ballathie gauge) and will drop back slowly now to a relatively low level for the Tay but you are now fishing a river within the mighty Tay and there is always enough water in this vast system to hopefully encourage more spring salmon to run.

The weather has been settled and much warmer over the last week with rising temperatures at long last with a touch of summer and this will continue with high pressure this coming week. Look out the sun cream! Milder temperatures have given the river some water from snow melt but the river has steadily dropped away to summer levels last week. There was water from heavy rain at the end of the last week which may helped to spice things up as catches showed in the last few days. This current week remains settled. Settled weather will settle the river back to good levels and make ideal late spring fishing conditions. The water temperature has risen back to around 54 degrees Fahrenheit or 12 degrees Celsius by the end of most days last week but may rise with a warmer forecast encouraging fish to run. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. The temperature has risen slightly with no frosts at night and higher day time temperatures, this may encourage more salmon to run resulting in fish being caught well up the system. The middle river is currently the hot spot in the warmer conditions and this confirms historical results in the past but as the temperature rise and fish run further the catches will spread. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river.

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method will have to be a bit quicker with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. 20 pounds main line with a 15 pounds leader plus favoured lures include Devons, Toby Salmos, Vision 110’s and Rapalas, for spinning and smaller Temple Dogs, Tubes, normal dressed flies and Monkies for fly fishing. The Tay is a large river but modern lines such as Skagits or iflights make turning over and casting larger flies easier and the fish tend to be near the bank in larger waters. Floating lines and sink tips are now on the agenda as we go over the magical 48 degrees. Harling is also a favoured method on the river to cover the lies for the less experienced.

The Tay Ghillies Association are continuing their popular FISH OF THE MONTH AWARD to encourage good catch and release practice on the Tay. Each month the winner will receive 2 personalised crystal Whisky glasses engraved with details of the catch and they will automatically be entered into the fish of the year competition for a Stylish Crystal Engraved Decanter. Full details of this initiative.

Popular hotels to stay in the area are the Tayside Hotel in Stanley, Ballathie House, The Meikleour Arms, The Anglers Inn in Guildtown, Murrayshall Hotel, Scone and the Royal Dunkeld Hotel.

The Tay in Perthshire is a prime spring salmon fishing destination so why not give it a go?

The Tay's policy for April and May 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. It is vital the river system follows these guides to ensure the draconian rules do not get extended in seasons to come.

Finally, you are reminded that the Tay's policy from June to the end of 2016 Season is that
• All hen fish of any size and all cock fish over 10 pounds should be released.
• All coloured and gravid fish to be released.
• No more than one clean fish weighing, where possible, less than 10 pounds should be retained per angler per day.
• Anglers should not use worms in September or October in any part of the district.

When releasing salmon please try to keep the fish in the water as much as possible to give them every chance to recover prior to release. Releasing fish from boats in the river is not recommended. Further information on the policy and good release practice.

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 robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com to be included in the reports.

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Traditional Wooden Boat Building.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Traditional Wooden Boat Building.

This is a traditional quality wooden boat building business run by John Ferguson at the Linton, Stanley PH1 4QQ. Tel 07759547324

John offers traditional wooden clinker boats, a repair service and advice.

The Clinker boats have Larch planking, Oak ribs, keel and bows with copper fastenings.
He does Cobbles for Salmon fishing in 16 feet for large rivers and smaller 14 foot boats for smaller rivers such as the Dee, Tweed, Ness and Spey.

The boats are very stable and comfortable to fish from in varying conditions thrown at them throughout the year.

John also does traditional Loch boats in a smaller way with deep keels to ensure a slow drift.

If this of interest please contact
John Ferguson Boat Building
The Linton
Stanley
Perth PH1 4QQ
Tel 07759547324

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 21st May 2016.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 21st May 2016.

Spring salmon fishing on the Tay in Perthshire is now in mid-May after another successful April equaling last year’s totals. The river has fallen back to summer levels giving excellent conditions for fishing plus warming temperatures are seeing catches improving rapidly. Expectation is high on the river for 2016 with now well over 1000 fish recorded so far and after successful springs in 2015, 2014 and 2013 plus hopefully settled weather will continue with an improving run in May to give everyone a chance of landing a spring “Bar of Silver”.

Spring salmon were landed throughout last week with better weather and catches have spread with higher river temperatures. It was another productive week with over 100 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 22 pounds from Cargill. Spring is disappearing but improving runs are coming into the river and better weather is making fishing easier with lower water last week and a bit of fresh water at the weekend may encoura more fish to run the river as the run strengthens. The spring fish that have been caught so far have been superb quality and of a good size overall.

On the nature front the first Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have arrived, Ospreys are being seen, Ducks have their first broods of young and Sand Pipers are on the river banks. Blue bells a coming out in the woods and the Loopins are starting to bloom, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay.

Beat catches reported (week ending 21st May)
SALMON & GRILSE: Benchil 1, Stobhall 1, Taymount 3, Ballathie 4, Cargill 7, Islamouth 33, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 1, Kercock 7, Delvine Burnbane 2, Murthly 1 3, Glendelvine 2, Murthly 2 7, Newtyle 4, Dunkeld House 3, Dalmarnock 6, Dalguise 1, Lower Kinnaird 6, Upper Kinnaird 4, Findynate 1, Farleyer Lower 1, Keithick Mains 2, Ericht Fishing 1, Portnacraig Pitlochry 3, Loch Faskally 3.
Total: 106 Largest: Cargill 22lbs

The majority of the salmon have been caught in the lower river in early spring, which is understandable with the cold conditions but that has changed with warmer water allowing fish to run further giving improving results up the river including odd fish from Loch Tay and Loch Faskally now as fish start to spread in the system. Recently the boats come off the lower river below Stanley with summer bank fishing now available. The middle river is now the barometer for the runs as water temperatures rise to the mid 50’s.

This past week saw a few fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with Islamouth area proving the best beat as fish hesitate at the mouth of the Isla. The beats at Stanley and below are seeing limited sport but the small spate at the weekend may just spice things up by encouraging Sea Trout into the river.

Benchil saw action on Saturday with Davie Grant landing a 10 pounds fish from the Little Shot. The warmer water is seeing fish shoot through the lower beats with Stobhall and Taymount catching odd fish between them. The lower water levels are benefiting Ballathie and Cargill with 11 fish recorded in the area.

On Ballathie Dennis Mortram and Neil Barcock had good success on the fly with fish up to 11 pounds.

On Cargill Peter Sheard caught his first ever salmon on the fly. Then Mark Schofield caught a superb 22 pounds fish as Keith Schofield’s party enjoyed a good week on the beat. Islamouth had a superb week with 33 salmon caught all on the fly. Richard Collett and Angus Johnson’s parties had a very enjoyable week with supreme sport. Meikleour and Upper Islamouth had a quieter week with just a single fish.

The middle river is fairing much better with rising river temperatures over recent weeks. Kercock had 7 in the week with some outstanding fish being caught on the beat recently. The Murthly and Glendelvine beats had a quieter week but still with consistent catches with 12 between them. On Delvine and Burnbane a couple of fish came off on the same day. John Ogden from the USA caught a 7 pounds fish and John Cranston landed one at 9 pounds. On Newtyle 4 fish were landed in the week with Jon Amos catching a couple on Thursday evening. Dunkeld House had a quiet week with 3 fish.

Dalmarnoch continue to do well with 7 fish caught. The beat is seeing a fair bit of action with James Creany landing an outstanding 14 pounds fish on the fly.

3 were landed on the beat on Wednesday with Will Park and Willie Paton being successful catching fish up to 12 pounds. Later in the week Michael Turner was successful on the fly from Clachantaggart. Dalguise had one in the week with Andrew Sutherland catching a 12 pounds fish from Calum’s Corner on a Flying C. Kinnaird had a good week with 10 fish off the beats.

The upper river is seeing steady sport with fish caught on Fyndynate and the Farleyer beats.

The Tummel is continuing to see sport from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club with 3 landed last week and there are now 1700 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally. It was a much quieter week at the Dam with only fish caught on Monday. Alun Williams, Steve Watt and Davie Stewart all caught fish on the fly up to 13 pounds but then the rest of the week was fruitless as fish raced through the dam at over 100 a day. Loch Faskally saw a quieter week as well with only 3 fish.

The Isla are seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht with 3 fish being reported last week from Keithick Mains and the lower Ericht.

Fish have been reported running the Lyon as well but low water levels have curtailed sport. No news from that part of the river last week.

The Spring Salmon fishing season is now in May and expectation remains very high after previous good springs. Last week’s catches were again heartening and more fish are running with warmer weather. Let us hope this is a sign of an upturn in catches as last May proved. It has been a reasonable start with well over 1000 fish recorded so let us hope the season lives up to every one’s expectations over the coming weeks and months. Tight lines!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire prospects w/c 23rd May 2016.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire prospects w/c 23rd May 2016.

The Salmon fishing season on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland is now in mid-May and we have been encountering some lovely settled sunny weather last week giving excellent conditions for anglers to enjoy the elements in pursuit of that magical spring salmon with a settled dropping river until Saturday when there was a small spate due to heavy rain which hopefully will continue to improve catches. Spring salmon are running the river in better numbers and catches continue to improve from last month giving another reasonable week.

The weather is to remain reasonably settled in the coming week which should help and give the river more settled conditions and benefit the river to give a greater chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements.

On the nature front the first Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have arrived, Ospreys are being seen, Ducks have their first broods of young and Sand Pipers are on the river banks. Blue bells a coming out in the woods and the Loopins are starting to bloom, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay.

Currently the river is settling back after a small spate at the end of last week (around 3’ 6 on the Ballathie gauge) but will drop back quickly to a relatively low level for the Tay but you are now fishing a river within the mighty Tay and there is always enough water in this vast system to hopefully encourage more spring salmon to run.

The weather has been settled and much warmer over the last week with rising temperatures at long last with a touch of summer. Milder temperatures have given the river some water from snow melt but the river has steadily dropped away to summer levels last week. There was water from heavy rain at the end of the week which may help spice things up. This current week remains reasonably settled. Colder conditions certainly benefit the river at this time of year slowing the spring salmon run down and giving everyone a chance to catch as they run up the river slowly. Settled weather will settle the river back to good levels and make ideal spring fishing conditions. The water temperature has risen back to around 54 degrees Fahrenheit or 12 degrees Celsius by the end of most days last week but may rise with a warmer forecast encouraging fish to run. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. The temperature has risen slightly with no frosts at night and higher day time temperatures, this may encourage more salmon to run resulting in fish being caught well up the system. The middle river is currently the hot spot in the warmer conditions and this confirms historical results in the past but as the temperature rise and fish run further the catches will spread. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river.

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method will have to be a bit quicker with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. 20 pounds main line with a 15 pounds leader plus favoured lures include Devons, Toby Salmos, Vision 110’s and Rapalas, for spinning and smaller Temple Dogs, Tubes, normal dressed flies and Monkies for fly fishing. The Tay is a large river but modern lines such as Skagits or iflights make turning over and casting larger flies easier and the fish tend to be near the bank in larger waters. Floating lines and sink tips are now on the agenda as we go over the magical 48 degrees. Harling is also a favoured method on the river to cover the lies for the less experienced.

The Tay Ghillies Association are continuing their popular FISH OF THE MONTH AWARD to encourage good catch and release practice on the Tay. Each month the winner will receive 2 personalised crystal Whisky glasses engraved with details of the catch and they will automatically be entered into the fish of the year competition for a Stylish Crystal Engraved Decanter. Full details of this initiative.

Popular hotels to stay in the area are the Tayside Hotel in Stanley, Ballathie House, The Meikleour Arms, The Anglers Inn in Guildtown, Murrayshall Hotel, Scone and the Royal Dunkeld Hotel.

The Tay in Perthshire is a prime spring salmon fishing destination so why not give it a go?

The Tay's policy for April and May 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. It is vital the river system follows these guides to ensure the draconian rules do not get extended in seasons to come.

When releasing salmon please try to keep the fish in the water as much as possible to give them every chance to recover prior to release. Releasing fish from boats in the river is not recommended. Further information on the policy and good release practice.

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 robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com to be included in the reports.

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 14th May 2016.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Report for W/E 14th May 2016.

Spring salmon fishing on the Tay in Perthshire is now in mid-May after another successful April equaling last year’s totals. The river has fallen back to summer levels giving excellent conditions for fishing plus warming temperatures are seeing catches improving rapidly. Expectation is high on the river for 2016 with now well over 1000 fish recorded so far and after successful springs in 2015, 2014 and 2013 plus hopefully settled weather will continue with an improving run in May to give everyone a chance of landing a spring “Bar of Silver”.

Spring salmon were landed throughout last week with better weather and catches have spread with higher river temperatures. It was another productive week with 160 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 21 pounds from Murthly. Spring is disappearing but improving runs are coming into the river and better weather is making fishing easier with lower water last week and a bit of fresh water which may have encouraged more fish to run the river as the run strengthens. The spring fish that have been caught so far have been superb quality and of a good size overall.

On the nature front the first Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have arrived, Ospreys are being seen, Ducks have their first broods of young and Sand Pipers are on the river banks. Blue bells a coming out in the woods, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 14th May)
SALMON & GRILSE: Benchil 1, Pitlochrie 2, Stobhall 7, Taymount 2, Ballathie 5, Cargill 5, Islamouth 27, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 2, Kercock 3, Murthly 1 13, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 23, Newtyle 12, Dunkeld House 3, Dalmarnock 2, Dalguise 2, Lower Kinnaird 7, Upper Kinnaird 6, Findynate 2, Farleyer Upper 4, Farleyer Lower 4, Loch Tay Fish n' Trips 1, Keithick Mains 5, Portnacraig Pitlochry 8, Loch Faskally 13.
Total: 160 Largest: Murthly 2 21lbs
SEA TROUT: Lower Kinnaird 2.
Total: 2 Largest: Lower Kinnaird 2lbs

The majority of the salmon have been caught in the lower river up to recently, which is understandable with the cold conditions but that has changed with warmer water allowing fish to run further giving improving results up the river including odd fish from Loch Tay and Loch Faskally now as fish start to spread in the system. Recently the boats come off the lower river below Stanley with summer bank fishing now available. The middle river is now the barometer for the runs as water temperatures rise to the early 50’s.

This past week saw a few fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with Islamouth area proving the best beat as fish hesitate at the mouth of the Isla. 3 salmon came from the Stanley beats with James McKay landing a lovely fresh fish from the bottom of the Skellies on the Benchil beat. On Saturday Canadian visitors Craig and Callum Cook caught a fish a piece from the Corner pool on the Pitlochrie beat on Tobies. Stobhall and Taymount amassed 9 fish between them with Stobhall having the loins share of 7. Ballathie and Cargill caught 5 each in better conditions for the beats.

On Ballathie Jean Norton caught a couple of fish from the boat up to 12 pounds and

Ryan McShane landed an 11 pounds beauty on the fly from the Cradle in the week.

On Cargill Bill Young had a 12 pounds fish on the fly from the Cradle, Andrew Callaghan caught a 13 pounds fish from the Sands on a Toby then later in the week Guy McCourt caught a lovley 15 pounds fish from the Bridge Stream. Islamouth had another very successful week with 27 fish landed and the owners enjoying some great days at the end of the week. The dropping water has not helped Upper Isalmouth and Meikleour with only a couple of fish landed in the week. Richard Kew had the beats 50th fish of the season with a cracking 10 pounds fish caught on the fly from the House pool and Mike Brown caught an 8 pounds fish on the fly from the Boxwood pool.

The middle river is fairing much better with rising river temperatures over recent weeks.

Kercock had 3 in the week with some outstanding fish being caught on the beat recently
including 16 pounds fish for Tomas Lundquist from Sweden and Sam Datta. The Murthly beats are doing very well currently with 36 fish between them in the week.

Phil Black enjoyed a superb evening with 2 cracking fish caught on the fly.

Malcolm Anderson and Iain Wilson also enjoyed success on the beat over a 3 day visit on the fly commenting on sheer quality of the fish caught. Newtyle continued the theme with 12 fish from the beat during the week. This included Roger Kerrison catching his first ever salmon, a minted 9 pounds beauty on the fly from the Boil. Dunkeld House had 3 in the week and Dalmarnock caught 2.

Mark French caught a lovely 10 pounds fish on the fly from the Ram’s Horn on the fly. Dalguise also caught a couple with Robert Andreson Brown catching his first ever salmon weighing 9 pounds.

The Kinnaird beats mustered 13 fish between them in the week which included a lovely fish for 13 year old Joep Swartberg on the fly from the top beat as well as a cracker for

Austrian Dr Fritz Seifert.

The upper river is seeing improved sport with fish caught on Fyndynate and the Farleyer beats. Ian Griffin from Cheshire reported success on the fly from Bolfracks and the Taymouth Castle beat catching several fish for him and his son up to 24 pounds during the weeks visit to the area. 1 fish was reported from the Loch this past week from Fish n’ Trips.

The Tummel is continuing to have good sport from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club with 8 landed last week and there are now over 1100 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally. It was a much quieter week at the Dam but still there was action most days despite the water levels collapsing back to summer levels. At the start of the week Graham Nichols, Neil McLellan and Ally Gowans all caught on fly. Later in the week the pattern was continued with Iain McLaren and Gordon Nichol landing fish up to 16 pounds.

2 fish came off the stretch on Saturday with Dave Stewart and Diarmid Harvey getting into the action with the fly being the successful weapon. Loch Faskally saw an upturn in sport with fish bolting through the dam in numbers with 13 landed in the week. Successful anglers included Campbell Dixon, Donna Davies and Kennith Parks catching fish up to 12 pounds all on Tobies.

The Isla are seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht with 5 fish being reported last week from Keithick Mains.

Fish have been reported running the Lyon as well but low water levels have curtailed sport. No news from that part of the river last week.

The Spring Salmon fishing season is now in May and expectation remains very high after previous good springs. Last week’s catches were again heartening and more fish are running with warmer weather. Let us hope this is a sign of an upturn in catches as last May proved. It has been a reasonable start with well over 1000 fish recorded so let us hope the season lives up to every one’s expectations over the coming weeks and months. Tight lines!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White