Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 14th October 2017.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 14th October 2017.

Salmon fishing season on the Tay in Perthshire has now ended with changeable autumnal conditions, slightly colder weather plus reasonable water levels from rain at times and catches have been steady with autumn arriving. The temperatures had started to drop making the resident salmon more aggressive, a few more fresh fish were being seen, giving everyone a chance of landing a good Tay salmon before the season ended.

On the nature front as autumn arrives the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have departed quickly, the Ospreys have already gone for warmer climes, Ducks have their broods of young growing up steadily and Kingfishers dart past on the river banks. Even the odd Sea Eagle can be seen if you are very lucky. Recent weeks have seen the first Geese arriving. Odd wild flowers are still in bloom, the autumn colours are now showing, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay where a salmon was a bonus.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 14th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 10, Waulkmill 1, Lower Redgorton 2, Luncarty 1, Upper Redgorton 1, Fishponds 6, Benchil 2, Catholes 1, Upper Scone 3, Pitlochrie 1, Stobhall 12, Taymount 22, Ballathie 11, Cargill 11, Islamouth 8, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 5, Kercock 4, Delvine Burnbane 1, Murthly 2 1, Newtyle 1, Dunkeld House 1, Dalmarnock 1, Lower Kinnaird 7, Edradynate AA 4, Findynate 1, Keithick Mains 9, Strathfillan AA 3.
Total: 130 Largest: Stobhall 20lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 2, Lower Redgorton 3, Upper Redgorton 1, Fishponds 2, Catholes 1, Upper Scone 2, Stobhall 2, Taymount 3, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 1, Lochlane and Laggan 1, Keithick Mains 1.
Total: 19 Largest: Catholes 4lbs


July was the rivers best month so far for fresh fish running and August was steady with more salmon landed in warmer weather and river conditions have improved as the weeks have gone with plenty of fresh water. Settling river levels after rain recently and water temperatures dropping had improved catches with autumn well underway and a few more fresh fish were being seen as last week of the season got underway. Recent rain has helped to spice things up. It was another reasonable week despite fairly unsettled conditions with around 130 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 20 pounds from Stobhall. Spring is now a distant memory for 2017 and Summer has disappeared as we move deep into Autumn. Some of the fish that have been caught are memorable as typical Tay specimens due to their size and depth with only a few grilse caught so far.

This past week again saw more fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with a spread in catches mainly due to water temperatures dropping and resident fish becoming more aggressive. The beats at Stanley and below are seeing sport and the rise in water levels in recent times may just have spiced things up by encouraging salmon into the river however fresh fish were a premium as there has only been a very weak autumn run. The very lower part of the river is producing consistent catches with Almondmouth, Waulkmill and Lower Redgorton all catching in the week but in disappointing numbers for the time of year. The beats further up were not fairing any better as everyone hoped for some form of autumn run which did not materialise. On Luncarty Max Cole managed a last day fish caught on a vision.

On Fishponds the Horlock party enjoyed a bit of success landing fish throughout the week. At Stanley Simon Smedley enjoyed a few days earlier in the week land 3 salmon up to 12 pounds including a lovely fresh fish from the little Shot on Benchil. Austrian visitor, Harold Neumueller enjoyed success on the Catholes with a 15 pounds fish from the Catholes Stream on the fly. Taymount and Stobhall had just over 30 between them in the week with Ray Bailey’s party having a good week on Stobhall. Ballathie had a reasonable week with fish most days and a 19 pounder on the last day.

Cargill was similar with Ian Jardine, Neil French and Gavin Mason being amongst the action.

Islamouth had a quieter week as the season drew to a close however it was another very successful year for the Tay’s most productive beat with just short of 500 fish.

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour finished their season with 5 fish which included Des Beirne landing a personal best at 15 pounds on the fly, Kevin Reed landing a couple and Scott Sykes landing 2 on the last day up to 18 pounds.

The middle river continued to be extremely disappointing despite dropping river temperatures and more water not producing good sport however there have been odd exceptions.

Kercock finished the last week with 4 which included a good fish for Samantha Datta assisted by beat ghillie Gary Harkin.

Delvine saw the Thompson party land a 12 pounds fish. Murthly, Newtyle, Dunkeld House, Dalmarnock and the Kinnaird beats had odd fish in the week.

The upper river was seeing steady sport with fish recently caught and reported last week at Edradynate and Findynate including one at 18 pounds. Further fish were reported from the Dochart at Strathfillan.

The Tummel has been quiet from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club but there are now well over 4000 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally and odd fish up the system at Ruan Ruarie. Further upstream fish have also been caught in the Tilt.

The Isla is seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht. 4 came off Keithick Mains.

The Earn has seen a run of salmon and sea trout progress up the river with a good few fish caught in the system over recent weeks.

The Salmon fishing season is finally over for 2017. It had been a difficult season but there still have been quite a few memorable fish caught. We now look forward to 2018 and what it will bring!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 7th October 2017.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 7th October 2017.

Salmon fishing on the Tay in Perthshire has seen out September with changeable autumnal conditions for fishing in now slightly colder weather and reasonable water levels from rain at times plus catches are steady with autumn arriving. The temperatures have started to drop making the resident salmon more aggressive, a few more fresh fish are being seen, expectation and optimism are still high on the river with summer fast disappearing and autumn arriving to give everyone a chance of landing a good Tay salmon before the season ends.

On the nature front, as autumn arrives the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have departed quickly, the Ospreys have already gone for warmer climes, Ducks have their broods of young growing up steadily and Kingfishers dart past on the river banks. Recent days have seen the first Geese arriving. Odd wild flowers are still in bloom, the autumn colours are now showing, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay where a salmon is now a bonus.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 7th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 12, Waulkmill 7, Lower Redgorton 8, Luncarty 1, Upper Redgorton 5, Fishponds 3, Benchil 3, Upper Scone 5, Pitlochrie 3, Stobhall 9, Taymount 10, Ballathie 4, Cargill 14, Islamouth 7, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 7, Kercock 2, Murthly 1 1, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 6, Newtyle 4, Dalmarnock 4, Lower Kinnaird 4, Upper Kinnaird 1, Edradynate AA 1, Lochlane and Laggan 5, Keithick Mains 2, Loch Faskally 1, Ruan Ruarie 1, Strathfillan AA 7.
Total: 138 Largest: Murthly 2 25lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 6, Lower Redgorton 1, Upper Redgorton 4, Fishponds 7, Upper Scone 3, Taymount 1, Newtyle 1, Lochlane and Laggan 3.
Total: 26 Largest: Lochlane and Laggan 4lbs

July was the rivers best month so far for fresh fish running and August was steady with more salmon landed in warmer weather and river conditions have improved as the weeks have gone with plenty of fresh water. Settling river levels after rain recently and water temperatures dropping should hopefully continue to improve catches with autumn now well underway and a few more fresh fish being seen as the last week of the season gets underway. Recent rain has helped to spice things up. It was another reasonable week despite fairly unsettled conditions with around 140 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 25 pounds from Murthly 2. Spring is now a distant memory for 2017 and Summer has disappeared as we move deep into Autumn. Some of the fish that have been caught are memorable as typical Tay specimens due to their size and depth with only a few grilse caught so far. Hopefully there will be a good last week of the season.

This past week again saw more fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with a spread in catches mainly due to water temperatures dropping and resident fish becoming more aggressive. The beats at Stanley and below are seeing sport and the rise in water levels in recent times may just have spiced things up by encouraging salmon into the river. The very lower part of the river is producing consistent catches with Almondmouth, Waulkmill and Lower Redgorton all catching in the week but in disappointing numbers for the time of year. The beats further up are not fairing any better but improved slightly last week as everyone hopes for some form of an autumn run. Upper Redgorton produced 5 fish last week for a Swiss party of keen fishers.

At Stanley the Upper Scone rods finished with 5 meanwhile the Foster party had fish from Benchil and Pitlochrie which included a first ever fish for Louise Foster from the Long Shot at Benchil. Mick Beham caught 3 in the week and Peter Varney landed the largest fish weighing in at 16 pounds. Stobhall and Taymount had 19 between them and Ballathie had 4.

Cargill ended up with 14 salmon up to 21 pounds in weight. Jim Connel, Neil French, David Sands, Mike Howells and Kevin Gibson all featured in the catches.

Islamouth had 7 as did Upper Islamouth and Meikleour where the Taylor party had a good day landing 4 fish on Friday, Nick Bell and Colin Watts both landed their first ever fish and Tony Taylor and Simon Graydon weighed in with fish up to 9 pounds as well.

The middle river continues to be extremely disappointing despite dropping river temperatures and more water not producing good sport however there have been odd exceptions. Fish came from Kercock, Murthly, Glendelvine, Newtyle, Dalmarnock and the Kinnaird beats but in small numbers for the time of year.

There was a lovely fresh fish caught by Jenny Alton on Kercock. The Scruton party fished hard on Murthly 1 but had only 1 fish to show for their efforts meanwhile Murthly 2 produced a 25 pounds fish in the week.

The upper river was seeing steady sport with fish recently caught and reported last week at Edradynate. Further fish were reported from the Dochart at Strathfillan.

The Tummel has been quiet from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club but there are now well over 4000 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally and a fish caught further up the system at Ruan Ruarie

The Isla is seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht. 2 came off Keithick Mains.

The Earn has seen a run of salmon and sea trout progress up the river with a good few fish caught in the system over recent weeks and reported fish from Lochlane and Laggan.

The current week has got off to a good start with over 20 fish reported up to 20 pounds and hopefully that will continue as the week goes on.

The Salmon fishing season is in its last week now with Autumn here. It had been a difficult season but there have still been quite a few memorable fish caught. Let us hope the last few days go out with a bang. Tight lines!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 9th October 2017.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 9th October 2017.

The Salmon fishing season is now well into the Autumn on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland as we enter the last week of the season in mid-October and we have been encountering some rain at times resulting in fresh water in the river. The river has been a bit unsettled for quite a period with regular rain showers but the rain has brought the river up and it is now dropping back nicely. The lower river levels have not stopped some fish running and triggering off reasonable catches, however, the increased flows should have helped even further. We have had some unsettled conditions in recent times with rain raising the river but that has now settled which hopefully will continue to give more optimism plus a reasonable summer run entered the river since July with the hope of some more autumn fish to come. The nighttime temperatures have dropped as well cooling the river and triggering off more aggression in the resident fish resulting in improving catches. The weather hopefully will remain reasonable to give a greater chance of producing improving sport and good fish.

On the nature front, as autumn arrives the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have now departed quickly, the Ospreys have already gone for warmer climes, Ducks have their broods of young growing up steadily and Kingfishers dart past on the river banks. Recent weeks have seen the first Geese arriving. Odd wildflowers are still in bloom, the autumn colours are now showing, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay where a salmon is now a bonus.

Currently, the river has dropped back after rain recently and settling with improving conditions (around 3’ on the Ballathie gauge) however rain from the west will maintain heights to hopefully encourage more salmon to run.

The weather has been again unsettled over parts of last week with rain and that theme will continue for this coming week with some rain forecast but mainly in the west which hopefully will not upset the river too much. Some heavy downpours have given the river some water from rain in recent weeks but the river has steadily dropped back to just above summer levels again. This current week continues to look a bit unsettled with some rain forecast at times. Calmer weather will settle the river back to good levels and make ideal autumn fishing conditions. The water temperature is now cooling to 52 degrees Fahrenheit or 10.5 degrees Celsius at the start of this week and should remain at that level in the current weather conditions with colder nights. This is good news making the resident salmon more aggressive and more likely to take. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. Hopefully, there might be a chance of a fish anywhere in the river.
Popular hotels to stay in the area are the Tayside Hotel in Stanley, Ballathie House, The Meikleour Arms, Murrayshall Hotel, Scone and the Royal Dunkeld Hotel.

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 Salmon. 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 should 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 and into summer. Harling is also a favoured method on the river to cover the lies for the less experienced.

Tackle recommendations for fishing the Tay throughout the season.
Fly Rods.
The Tay is a large river, especially when running at a normal level and even in lower levels you are fishing another river within the mighty one so, therefore, a 15 foot fly rod for a 10 weight line is certainly a minimum requirement for much of the season. Do not come under gunned. In some parts of the river where it is especially wide even longer rods are used. It should be noted however that it is better to cast a shorter controlled line than try to cast out with your capabilities and have the lines end up in a mess and decrease your chances.
Fly Lines.
In early season when the water is cold you need to cast larger flies and get them deeper in the water to fish them slowly. There is a tremendous choice on the market nowadays which can be quite confusing to many anglers. Any type of Skagit line that can easily cast a 15 foot sinking leader of various depths is a good choice especially to the less experienced. Iflights and a tip of choice attached are another good bet as these lines enable you to cast a longer line than normal with ease. For more experienced anglers, there is a vast array of shooting heads of different sinking abilities available as well. These tactics can be used in late season as well when the water starts to cool down.
Once the water temperature starts to climb by April then tactics change to mainly floating lines and sink tips with much smaller conventional flies. Again, the choice of lines is incredible from longer belly Spey lines to shooting heads. If you go to shooting heads, then it is important to choose a good shooting backing as line management can be a big issue casting longer lines on a river such as the Tay.
Spinning Rods.
Rods.
You should have a minimum of a 10 foot rod for casting baits of 20gm to 60gms.
Line.
The main line of 20 pounds in nylon or 30 pounds in braid. You should use a lesser poundage far a cast such as 15 pounds so if you get caught up on the bottom you do not lose a large part of your main line.
Baits.
Tobies from 18gm upwards. Toby Salmos are very popular in 30gms. Conventional weighted Devon’s are good, especially in the Spring. Rapalas and Vision 110’s are very effective and of course, Kynochs are popular for harling.
What flies should I take?
In early season bigger flies such as Tube Flies, Temple Dogs and Monkey type flies up to 2 inches in body length and larger conventional patterns in 4’s and 6’s in lower water are required. A point of note is that a lighter Tube such as an aluminium or plastic body is far easier to cast than brass. Current line technology enables you to get these lighter flies to the correct depths. Ask your ghillie for tip advice on the day.

As river temperatures rise to a more conventional approach than a size range in your box should be from 6 in higher water to 12 in lower water and even smaller on exceptionally low conditions. Cascade type patterns seem to be the most popular and recently feeler flies have come to the fore. It is always worth a go with a Sun Ray type fly with a long wing whether casting normally in colder conditions to stripping it fast in warmer water.

Finally, you are reminded that the Tay's policy from June to the end of 2017 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.
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.

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.

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 Salmon fishing report w/e 30th September 2017.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 30th September 2017.

Salmon fishing on the Tay in Perthshire has seen out September with changeable autumnal conditions for fishing in now slightly colder weather and reasonable water levels from rain at times plus catches are steady with autumn arriving. The temperatures have started to drop making the resident salmon more aggressive, a few more fresh fish are being seen, expectation and optimism are still high on the river with summer fast disappearing and autumn arriving to give everyone a chance of landing a good Tay salmon before the season ends.

On the nature front, as autumn arrives the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have departed quickly, the Ospreys have already gone for warmer climes, Ducks have their broods of young growing up steadily and Kingfishers dart past on the river banks. Recent days have seen the first Geese arriving. Odd wildflowers are still in bloom, the autumn colours are now showing, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay where a salmon is now a bonus.

On Saturday the Tay Ghillies Association held a race night in the Tayside Hotel in Stanley. There was an excellent turnout and £3325 was raised which will go back into the river for the Hatch and Release project. A big thanks go out to all who attended, George McInnes’s family members for the administration and Gary McErlain.

Beat catches reported
(week ending 30th September)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 9, Waulkmill 11, Lower Redgorton 21, Luncarty 1, Fishponds 3, Benchil 2, Upper Scone 4, Pitlochrie 1, Stobhall 7, Taymount 7, Ballathie 2, Cargill 10, Islamouth 8, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 7, Kercock 4, Murthly 2 2, Newtyle 2, Dunkeld House 1, Dalmarnock 1, Lower Kinnaird 1, Farleyer Lower 1, Lochlane and Laggan 2.
Total: 107 Largest: Lower Redgorton 29lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 3, Lower Redgorton 2, Fishponds 1, Upper Scone 2, Stobhall 1, Taymount 3, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 1, Lochlane and Laggan 6.
Total: 19 Largest: Lochlane and Laggan 5lbs

July was the rivers best month so far and August was steady with more salmon landed in warmer weather and river conditions have improved as the weeks have gone with plenty of fresh water. Settling river levels after rain recently and water temperatures dropping should hopefully continue to improve catches over the next few weeks with autumn now underway and a few more fresh fish being seen. Recent rain has helped to spice things up. It was another reasonable week despite fairly unsettled conditions with just over 100 fish landed and the biggest one recorded was 29 pounds from Lower Redgorton. Spring is now a distant memory for 2017 and Summer has disappeared as we move into Autumn. Some of the fish that have been caught are memorable as typical Tay specimens due to their size and depth with only a few grilse caught so far. Hopefully, there will be a lot more of them to come in the last 2 weeks of the season.

This past week again saw more fish from the lower river scattered throughout the beats with a spread in catches mainly due to water temperatures dropping and resident fish becoming more aggressive. The beats at Stanley and below are seeing sport and the rise in water levels in recent times may just have spiced things up by encouraging salmon into the river. The very lower part of the river is producing consistent catches with Almondmouth, Waulkmill and Lower Redgorton all catching in the week but in disappointing numbers for the time of year. The beats further up are not fairing any better but improved slightly last week as everyone hopes for some form of an autumn run. Lower Redgorton had a good week with over 20 fish landed including a 29 pounds fish for Martin Gilbert’s party. Will Bright from Ireland enjoyed success on Luncarty with a small fresh fish on Saturday falling to a spinner.

A client from Scotia Fishing had a good 16 pounds fish from Fishponds on a flying C. Upper Scone and Stanley had odd fish in the week with Mark Wyllie landing 2 fish on Benchil and Chris Cuthbert landing his first fish from the Wash House on the Pitlochrie beat despite adverse conditions. Donald Normans party enjoyed a hard week on Stobhall with fish landed most days. Ballathie had an odd fish and Cargill did a bit better with 10 fish up to 21 pounds.

Successful rods included Graham and George Raffan, Don Bell, David Sands and Carl Durrant. Islamouth had 8 in the week and further upstream upper Islamouth and Meikleour finished with 7 which included Michael Schoder from Alaska and John Moses catching on the fly.

Further fish were caught by Findlay Boyd and Adrian Howell caught a sea liced 8 pounder proving odd fresh salmon are still running the river.

The middle river continues to be extremely disappointing despite dropping river temperatures and more water not producing good sport, however, there have been odd exceptions. Fish came from Kercock, Murthly, Newtyle, Dunkeld House and the Kinnaird beats but in small numbers for the time of year.

The upper river was seeing steady sport with fish recently caught and reported last week at Farleyer.

The Tummel has been quiet from the Port-na-Craig beat administered by Pitlochry Angling Club but there are now well over 4000 fish through the Dam resulting in fish being recorded in Loch Faskally and a fish caught further up the system.

The Isla is seeing salmon run up the river and progressing to the Ericht.

The Earn has seen a run of salmon and sea trout progress up the river with a good few fish caught in the system over recent weeks and reported fish from Lochlane and Laggan.

The current week has got off to a quiet start because of a large spate but hopefully, that will stir things up for better success as the week goes on.

The Salmon fishing season is in its last few weeks now with Autumn here. It had been a difficult season but there have still been quite a few memorable fish caught. Let us hope the last few weeks go out with a bang. Tight lines!

Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 2nd October 2017.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 2nd October 2017.

The Salmon fishing season is now well into the Autumn on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland as we enter October and we have been encountering some rain at times resulting in fresh water in the river. The river has been a bit unsettled for quite a period with regular rain showers but the rain has brought the river up that much and it is now dropping back nicely. The lower river levels have not stopped some fish running and triggering off reasonable catches, however, the increased flows should have helped even further. We have had some unsettled conditions in recent times with rain raising the river but that has now settled which hopefully will continue to give more optimism plus a reasonable summer run entered the river since July with the hope of some more autumn fish to come. The nighttime temperatures have dropped as well cooling the river and triggering off more aggression in the resident fish resulting in improving catches. The weather hopefully will remain reasonable to give a greater chance of producing improving sport and good fish.

On the nature front, as autumn arrives the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows have now departed quickly, the Ospreys have already gone for warmer climes, Ducks have their broods of young growing up steadily and Kingfishers dart past on the river banks. Recent days have seen the first Geese arriving. Odd wildflowers are still in bloom, the autumn colours are now showing, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay where a salmon is now a bonus.

Currently, the river has dropped back after rain recently and settling with improving conditions (around 4’ on the Ballathie gauge) however rain from the west will put the river back up by Monday am to hopefully encourage more salmon to run.

The weather has been again unsettled over parts of last week with rain and that theme will continue for this coming week with some rain forecast which hopefully will not upset the river too much. Some heavy downpours have given the river some water from rain in recent weeks but the river has steadily dropped back to just above summer levels again. This current week continues to look a bit unsettled with some rain forecast at times. Calmer weather will settle the river back to good levels and make ideal autumn fishing conditions. The water temperature is now cooling to 54 degrees Fahrenheit or 12.5 degrees Celsius at the start of this week and should remain at that level in the current weather conditions with colder nights. This is good news making the resident salmon more aggressive and more likely to take. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. Hopefully, there might be a chance of a fish anywhere in the river.
Popular hotels to stay in the area are the Tayside Hotel in Stanley, Ballathie House, The Meikleour Arms, Murrayshall Hotel, Scone and the Royal Dunkeld Hotel.

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 Salmon. 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 should 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 and into summer. Harling is also a favoured method on the river to cover the lies for the less experienced.

Tackle recommendations for fishing the Tay throughout the season.
Fly Rods.
The Tay is a large river, especially when running at a normal level and even in lower levels you are fishing another river within the mighty one so, therefore, a 15 foot fly rod for a 10 weight line is certainly a minimum requirement for much of the season. Do not come under gunned. In some parts of the river where it is especially wide even longer rods are used. It should be noted however that it is better to cast a shorter controlled line than try to cast out with your capabilities and have the lines end up in a mess and decrease your chances.
Fly Lines.
In early season when the water is cold you need to cast larger flies and get them deeper in the water to fish them slowly. There is a tremendous choice on the market nowadays which can be quite confusing to many anglers. Any type of Skagit line that can easily cast a 15 foot sinking leader of various depths is a good choice especially to the less experienced. Iflights and a tip of choice attached are another good bet as these lines enable you to cast a longer line than normal with ease. For more experienced anglers, there is a vast array of shooting heads of different sinking abilities available as well. These tactics can be used in late season as well when the water starts to cool down.
Once the water temperature starts to climb by April then tactics change to mainly floating lines and sink tips with much smaller conventional flies. Again, the choice of lines is incredible from longer belly Spey lines to shooting heads. If you go to shooting heads, then it is important to choose a good shooting backing as line management can be a big issue casting longer lines on a river such as the Tay.
Spinning Rods.
Rods.
You should have a minimum of a 10 foot rod for casting baits of 20gm to 60gms.
Line.
The main line of 20 pounds in nylon or 30 pounds in braid. You should use a lesser poundage far a cast such as 15 pounds so if you get caught up on the bottom you do not lose a large part of your main line.
Baits.
Tobies from 18gm upwards. Toby Salmos are very popular in 30gms. Conventional weighted Devon’s are good, especially in the Spring. Rapalas and Vision 110’s are very effective and of course, Kynochs are popular for harling.

What flies should I take?
In early season bigger flies such as Tube Flies, Temple Dogs and Monkey type flies up to 2 inches in body length and larger conventional patterns in 4’s and 6’s in lower water are required. A point of note is that a lighter Tube such as an aluminium or plastic body is far easier to cast than brass. Current line technology enables you to get these lighter flies to the correct depths. Ask your ghillie for tip advice on the day.

As river temperatures rise to a more conventional approach than a size range in your box should be from 6 in higher water to 12 in lower water and even smaller on exceptionally low conditions. Cascade type patterns seem to be the most popular and recently feeler flies have come to the fore. It is always worth a go with a Sun Ray type fly with a long wing whether casting normally in colder conditions to stripping it fast in warmer water.

Finally, you are reminded that the Tay's policy from June to the end of 2017 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.

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.

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.

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