The Salmon fishing season
is now in late March on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland. We have been encountering some varied
conditions with cold wintery weather over the last week or so and prior to the
Opening. This has again unsettled the river from the middle of last week with
melting snow and heavy rain but it has settled nicely now back to lower levels
and excellent conditions as of Monday. The coming week is slightly milder to
start with then turning colder again. This may give us some more water from
melting snow but hopefully not colour the water especially on the lower river again.
Currently the colder weather will continue to give us more settled water and a
chance of good fishing. On the opening months several anglers braved the
elements in pursuit of that magical spring salmon. The cold weather hopefully
will give a greater chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of
Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements as any fish progress
slowly through the system.
Currently the river is
running settled and falling at Caputh in perfect condition (just over 2’) and similarly
on the lower river (just under 4’) on the Ballathie gauge but may rise further
with rain forecast on Tuesday.
The weather
is to remain reasonably unsettled over the next week with the pressure dropping
and a chance of some rain which may fall as snow on the hills. There will be odd
frosts at night early in the week. 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. A milder weather forecast
at times will give us more water and would have encouraged salmon to run the
river. Colder weather will settle the river back to a good level and make ideal
spring fishing conditions. The water temperature is cold at around 40 degrees
Fahrenheit or 4.5 degrees Celsius. These are typical temperatures for this time
of year. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the
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. Should you require
guidance on salmon identification in early season please see this
link
for some help.
As to methods, in
settled conditions fishing by any method should be slow and deep with large
lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method in
early season but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant
experience.
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 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 are 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.
You should have a minimum of a 10 foot rod
for casting baits of 20gm to 60gms.
Line.
A 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 then 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 for January - 1st April 2018 is that all spring salmon must be released,
i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% mandatory release of all salmon caught under
the new Scottish Government Statutory Conservation Regulation. Spring salmon
are a scarce and precious resource. Please preserve both them and the long term
future of your sport by following the release of salmon as it is a now legal
requirement during this period even if a fish has died. The Board's bailiff
team will be enforcing this new legislation.
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
