Salmon Fishing Scotland River Tay Spring Salmon Fishing Report for week ending 23rd April 2011.

Salmon Fishing Scotland River Tay Spring Salmon Fishing Report for week ending 23rd April 2011.

River Tay Spring Salmon Fishing Report for week ending 23rd April 2011.

The third week of April on the Tay was again encouraging with settled water and ideal conditions for spring fishing. After a marked improvement in conditions the river is now yielding improved catches and some top quality salmon throughout the river. There has also been some top quality fly fishing throughout the river as well with superb conditions and enjoyable weather. The settled river will give us good prospects for this coming week.

The river remained settled for the entire week, and the river temperature moved up to around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius.

80 spring salmon were reported last week, with the best spring salmon of 30 pounds being caught fly fishing at Dalmarnock by Neil McGowan on Wednesday. This was all superb news for the Tay with more confirmation of multi-sea winter salmon running the river.

On the lower river 35 fresh spring salmon were caught. The river temperature is coming up now encouraging the salmon to run hard. The lower part of the Tay is certainly witnessing this with limited catches however above Stanley catches continue to improve.
Islamouth, Cargill, Ballathie, Stobhall and Taymount continue to catch throughout the week with some excellent sport. 15 salmon were caught on the Islamouth beat this week and all caught fly fishing.

John McElroy’s party at the end of the week accounted for 9 fish including a lovely 19 pounds spring salmon caught by Roger Moore on Saturday. Cargill had a good week as well landing several salmon. Earlier in the week Keith Schofield landed a lovely 15 pounds salmon and Bruce Campbell and Philip Wright both had fish around 10 pounds all caught fly fishing.

Tam Burt had a cracking 11 pounds springer from the Bridge stream on Friday from the boat. On Taymount Phil Cambers had a lovely 10 pounds spring salmon from Finford Head on the lower beat on Monday. In the middle of the week Jess James met with success fly fishing from the bank catching 2 salmon from the bank at Tam’s corner and the Holy Bush.

Shaun Betham.

Alexis Ward.
Stobhall also had a good week on the opposite days to Taymount. George Rae had a 9 pounds spring salmon caught fly fishing from the boat in the Alderns, Alexis Ward caught 2 fresh spring salmon from the boat on Stobhall, from the Finford Stream and in front of the Castle and Shaun Betham had a 13 pounds beauty from the Holy Bush on a Toby on Saturday. At Stanley Bob Hunter caught a spring salmon fly fishing from the boat in front of Stanley Mills on Tuesday which was his first salmon for 2 years and greatly treasured. At upper Redgorton John Tait, ghillie took his wife Margaret out for a go in the boat on Wednesday and after 15 minutes she landed her first ever salmon! Well done Margaret.

Lastly, down at lower Redgorton Jason Stratton landed 2 salmon fly fishing from the boat in the Girnal and lost 2 others in the same day.
Hopefully the river will remain settled this coming week, which should make for excellent prospects.

The middle river reported 30 which was very encouraging. This is a conservative total as the Murthly and Glendelvine beats are not reporting. After the temperature has come up the spring salmon are now running freely into the middle Tay with encouraging numbers being seen on a daily basis. The heaviest salmon of the week came from Damarnock fly fishing and was successfully landed by Neil McGowan with a superb 30 pounds sea liced Tay spring salmon that he caught in the Dalmarnock Bank Pool fly fishing. This is another Malloch Trophy contender. Dalmarnock had a successful week landing salmon every day.

This was a report sent by Liona at the East Haugh Hotel that runs the Dalmarnock Fishings.
“Neil McGown’s catch of a beautiful sea - liced salmon weighing 30lb on Thursday 21st of April marks the high point so far of what appears to be the return of the big fish, making a tally catch this week of 9 fish. The previous weeks have also produced some big fish, some of which weighed in @ 24lbs, 19lbs, 2 @18lbs and one of 15lb, proving that the 2/3 sea winter fish are returning to the Tay.
The fish was returned to fight another day, and may be the progenitor of more great salmon.
Dalmarnock has always been a beat renown for its big salmon. Fred Bullers ‘Domesday Book of Giant Salmon’ mentions a salmon of gargantuan proportions being caught in the Fernie Haugh pool in the early 1800s. A Mr R Anderson of Edinburgh wrote to the Fishing Gazette on the 8th of March 1902 to say that his father had been present when a member of the Atholl family took a 72lb salmon on the fly. This would make it the biggest salmon ever caught in Scottish waters, beating Georgina Ballantyne’s 64lber caught in 1922. Unfortunately it cannot be verified, there are no photographs and an investigation at Blair Castle found no records to confirm this. But if anyone knows otherwise.................
Perhaps this year we will see a return to the heady days of large fish and real competition for the Malloch Trophy!”
Thank you Liona.
Newtyle did well this week also. On Thursday they landed 7 salmon and all fly fishing.
George Portis caught 2 in 5 casts weighing 15 and 8 pounds and Welsh anglers Rene Alleyne and Lawson Jones caught sea liced springers up to 20 pounds. Salmon were also landed on Meikleour, Kercock, and Dunkeld House.
All of the Tay middle beats are having success and this should continue over the next few weeks. More information from this area would be welcome to expand on this report in the future.

On the upper river 11 were reported, with dropping river levels sport became a bit more difficult but there were still some good catches.

Jack Boyle from Blairgowrie caught a 12 pounds springer Upper Faleyer on Friday. The fish was taken on a Monkey and was in mint condition still carring mature sea lice - clearly running hard. Rob Booth caught a 22 pounds spring salmon from the Chinese Bridge pool ay Taymouth Castle. On Dalguise Fen Howieson caught a lovely 9 pounds salmon on Wednesday. The Salmon was a fresh run, silver, sea-liced fish, caught by Fen in the afternoon at The Tail of The Island.

Fen was using a floating line with a 10ft fast sinking poly leader. The Salmon was caught on a size 6 Cascade. Alistair Nellis, also on Dalguise caught a Silver, sea-liced 7 pounds cock salmon on Thursday in The Neck of the Otterstone Pool, in the morning on a black flying ‘c’.
Pitlochry Angling club continued to have catches on the Tummel despite dropping water levels. The rising temperatures have now enabled salmon to run the ladder at the Dam. The latest count is 261 and rising. Peter Finnie caught his first ever spring salmon at Portnacraig on a cone head and Jimmy Ross caught an 18 pounds beauty from the Sawmill. Bob White from Stanley managed to land a 13 pounds salmon on Thursday on his birthday on the town bank.
There has not been anything officially reported from Loch Tay but I understand there have been quite a few spring salmon landed. Hopefully some details will filter through.

The Isla reported 4 from Coupar Grange and Islabank.

Many thanks for all the pictures everyone sent me of spring salmon and all who have sent me their individual fishing experiences this and last season on the river.
I would be most grateful if you to do the same this season by emailing me at
robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com to be included in this report.

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