Salmon Fishing Scotland Stanley beats, Tay, Perthshire Report and Prospects for W/C 17th February 2020.
Well what a week it has been! A spate running off at the start following storm Ciara, a superb spring salmon on the fly on Thursday and then storm Dennis and a massive water up to 15 foot by late Saturday night. Wow!!Monday saw a dirty water just below 10 feet which cleared a bit by Tuesday but was not really fishable until Wednesday.
On Thursday I had Kenny Johnstone's party fishing the Catholes with 4 rods so all the boxes were covered after the water had dropped to around 6 feet. The beat was fished hard with fly and spinner but it was not until the last hour that the action started. Peter Duncan was in the boat with me anchored in the Back Dam, a great high water pool, and casting out an Rio iflight with a fast 15' tip with a turbo tube that i tied when all hell broke loose. Probably a large exaggeration as the fish took very quietly on the last coil of my 80 yard rope. Peter immediately said "its probably a kelt" but anyway I took the boat to the side of the pool and went away from the tail of the pool trying to bring the fish well upriver.
The fish fought well be it was obviously tired as it did not take any violent runs. at one stage it came close to the boat and rolled on the surface, then i knew it was a fresh run springer and everything went up a notch!
Friday saw good water but alas nothing despite my best efforts and on Saturday we saw the start of storm Dennis. A South African client Eugene tried hard with the fly under the Weir in the Woodside but alas only a spirited Brown trout only took his fly. At lunch time we called it a day and consoled our spirits with a lovely dram of Jura Whisky.
Tackle advice on 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.
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. Rio Game Changers plus a tip of choice attached are currently a great 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.
The Stanley beats are steeped in history and this year we have reduced the available rods to 4 giving you far more opportunity and value for money. We are fly fishing friendly as well. Look forward to seeing you on the beats. Feel free to contact us direct on robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com or 07979528134/01738827416.
Tight lines!
Salmon Fishing Scotland - By Robert White
No comments:
Post a Comment