Salmon Fishing Scotland.: Salmon Fishing Scotland Stanley beats, Tay, Perthshire Report and Prospects for W/C 20th January 2020.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Salmon Fishing Scotland Stanley beats, Tay, Perthshire Report and Prospects for W/C 20th January 2020.

We had a superb opening day on the beats with good conditions. Over the following days the river level fluctuated due to rain especially from the west putting the river up to 10' on Friday. By Saturday after a cold night the river dropped back to a far more manageable height giving us a good day in excellent conditions. Over the first few days several Kelts and young Sea Trout have been caught giving the anglers some early action.

The conditions for the coming week looks excellent with a dropping water opening up all the pools for fishing. The forecast is to be a little warmer but with no rain so it should be ideal for a chance of that early spring salmon. Currently the water temperature is 40F /4.5C which is certainly favourable for the Stanley beats.

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method should be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer.
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.

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.

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.