Salmon Fishing Scotland Superb Spring Salmon Fishing on Stanley beats of the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Superb Spring Salmon Fishing on Stanley beats of the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland.

The weather has at last relented and spring salmon have started to run the Tay in Perthshire, Scotland with more settled conditions. The Stanley beats have been renown for good spring fishing in the past and it is proving the case currently with good catches over the last few days as the Tay spring season really kicks off. To qualify the Stanley beats you would include Taymount, Stobhall, Burnmouth, Catholes, Pitlochrie and Benchil. All these beats have caught over the last few days as the salmon run up the river and take a breather at Stanley. The water temperature has a large baring as well and currently sits at 39F/4C slowing the fish down on their journey to the headwaters.

The Pitlochrie beat landed another 6 spring salmon today on the Upper Scone rotation. This was Brian Corn releasing a 16 pounds springer from the Wash House.


Guy Oliver with another silver beauty form the Tarr Tank.


A Tay beauty form Benchil caught by John Bennett in the boat.


A lovely 10 pounds spring salmon caught on a Devon in the Back Dam on the Catholes beat.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Spring Starts February 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Spring Starts February 2014.

The extreme weather abated today on the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland and after only 10 spring salmon registered last week there was over 10 registered today. Is this the start of a good spring run of salmon. Hopefully!

The Linn pool was the place on Taymount today with 4 springers landed. This is Ghillie, Cohn O'Dea and Stewart Voce with a cracking 13 pounds beauty from the pool. Stewart landed all 4 salmon which in anyone's eyes is a fantastic result. Well done all.


Stevie McGrandles had a memorable day as well landing 3 spring salmon from the boat in the Pitlochrie pool.


A superb 13 pounds beauty landed at last light from the most famous spring pool on the Tay.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Report for week ending 8th February 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Report for week ending 8th February 2014.

The river Tay opened on the 15th January undeterred by the dreich conditions, however the unsettled conditions continued over the last few weeks making spring fishing impossible on several days. Around 30 spring salmon were landed on the river in those first few days making it a good start to the 2014 season. The catches have been limited since then giving the river a disappointing January as a whole. The first week in February saw similar conditions and another disappointing week followed. If the river had good conditions there would have been a reasonable total as the first few days indicated. Let us hope the weather settles in February and we can see the full potential of the Tay as last year proved.

This past week continued to see extreme weather and very unsettled water levels making spring salmon near impossible on most days. The Jet stream continues to pull large wet weather systems over us. Colder and more settled weather are now required if we are to try and achieve the heights of last spring. The spring period from January to May 2013 was the big talking point with well over 2000 salmon landed, showing a staggering 82.5 % increase on 2012 and a 98% increase on the 5 year average. Expectation is high on the river for 2014 but we need settled weather to come in to give everyone a chance of landing a spring “Bar of Silver”.

Spring salmon were landed last week despite the horrible weather. Stobhall had the best week landing 2 spring salmon on Tuesday and Saturday.

On Saturday John Anderson caught a lovely 13 pounds salmon from the Linn pool, which is a favoured pool in big water in early season on the Tay. Further downstream Brian Stobie caught an 11 pounds salmon from the Catholes on Saturday as well with another lost.

Islamouth produced springers last week as well with John Thomson landing a superb 17 pounds fish from the Finnford pool.

Brian McIntosh had a good Saturday with 2 cracking fish from the Meikleour beat weighing 15 and 20 pounds from the boat. Further up river Gordon Pollock caught a 17 pounds salmon on the fly on Dalmarnock earlier in the week. At Dalguise, Laimonis Zuglis caught his first ever Scottish salmon weighing 13 pounds and safely returned it to the river.

Last week saw 10 salmon registered then as the river settled for Monday of this week more than 10 spring salmon were landed in one day with the Linn pool and Pitlochrie pool producing 4 each. Hopefully this is now a sign of what is to come and everyone can do well over the coming months.

The Tay Ghillies Association has launched a 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.
• Catch a good Tay Salmon
• Weigh it carefully and photograph it with as little handling as possible.
• Verify with Ghillie
• Safely return the fish with a minimum of handling
• TGA Committee decision is final
Send entries with a photo and verification details to:-
Mike Hay, Sec of Tay Ghillies Assoc.
Mobile: 07762 464407
Email: tayhayurg@gmail.com

The Spring Salmon fishing was well and truly underway after all the excitement of opening day’s celebrations. All in all it was a truly memorable opening so let us hope the season lives up to every ones expectations. The past 3 weeks have not been ones to remember for most but things can only improve, hopefully! This Monday has given us that hope with the sudden appearance of an early run of quality spring salmon.

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.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Spring Salmon Season takes off on Tay with good conditions February 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Spring Salmon Season takes off on Tay with good conditions February 2014.

The Tay in Perthshire, Scotland at last presented us with good conditions today after big water most of last week and a run of spring salmon appeared.

This was Steve McGrandles playing one for the four spring salmon caught on the Pitlochrie beat in the famous Pitlochrie pool at Stanley.


A superb 14 pounds Tay bar of silver. Let us hope the river is going to settle and produce more sport like this in the coming weeks.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland week commencing 10th February 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland week commencing 10th February 2014.

The Salmon fishing season on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland is in February and we have continually encountered extreme conditions over the season so far with continued mild weather and heavy rainfall making life very difficult as river levels have remained very high and unstable making the pursuit of that magical spring salmon near impossible. The weather hopefully will ease soon as we prey for colder settled conditions.

Conditions similar to this would improve prospects. This is the river at Stanley.
Currently the river is running high again after more extreme weather over the whole of last week (approx 8’ on the Ballathie gauge). The lower river height did not go below 7 feet last week! The weather is set to improve over the next few days and hopefully get colder which should benefit the river and give a great chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements.

A typical Tay spring salmon.
The weather is at last looking slightly better over the next few days but hopefully get colder towards the end of the week. The colder temperatures will hopefully mean less rain and snow on higher ground, which should have less of an effect on the river heights and colour. 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. The milder weather will certainly give us more water and encourage salmon to run the river. Colder weather would settle the river back to good levels and ideal spring fishing conditions. The water temperature was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4.5 degrees Celcius. These are higher temperatures for this time of year. The temperature may come back further with the colder forecast at the end of the week ahead but there have been salmon running throughout the system after milder conditions prior to the opening day and resulted in fish being caught well up the system, the milder weather and increased river levels will continue to encourage spring salmon to run. 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. Spring salmon identification help for those not sure about the different types of fish in the river at this time of year.

Dalmarnock on the middle Tay taken by Gordon Pollock.
Finally you are reminded that the Tay's policy for January - May 2014 is that all spring salmon should be released, i.e. the Tay has adopted a policy of 100% catch and release for spring salmon. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please help preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the recommendations.

Upper area of the river on a brighter day taken by Jock Monteith.
The Tay Ghillies Association has launched a 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.

• Catch a good Tay Salmon
• Weigh it carefully and photograph it with as little handling as possible.
• Verify with Ghillie
• Safely return the fish with a minimum of handling
• TGA Committee decision is final
Send entries with a photo and verification details to: -
Mike Hay, Sec of Tay Ghillies Assoc.
Mobile: 07762 464407
Email: tayhayurg@gmail.com
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. Guidance on good Catch and Release practice.

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.



Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Report for week ending 1st february 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Report for week ending 1st February 2014.

The river Tay opened on the 15th January undeterred by the dreich conditions, however the unsettled conditions continued over the 2 weeks making spring fishing impossible on several days. Around 30 spring salmon were landed on the river in those first few days making it a good start to the 2014 season. The catches have been limited since then giving the river a disappointing January as a whole. If the river had good conditions there would have been a reasonable total as the first few days indicated. Let us hope the weather settles in February and we can see the full potential of the Tay as last year proved.

This past week we continued to see extreme weather and very unsettled water levels making spring salmon near impossible on most days. The Jet stream continues to pull large wet weather systems over us. Colder and more settled weather are now required if we are to try and achieve the heights of last spring. The spring period from January to May 2013 was the big talking point with well over 2000 salmon landed, showing a staggering 82.5 % increase on 2012 and a 98% increase on the 5 year average. Expectation is high on the river for 2014 but we need settled weather to come in to give everyone a chance of landing a spring “Bar of Silver”.

Spring salmon were landed last week despite the horrible weather. Dunkeld House continued their good start to the season against all the odds. John Cranston braved the elements last Tuesday and successfully landed a 12 pounds spring salmon from the boat in the Chestnut pool on a 60 gram Toby harled from the boat with the beat gauge showing over 6 feet. John, who is a Dunkeld regular realized how lucky he was as normally you would never be able to harl a 60 gram Toby from the boat as it would just sink to the bottom of the river! Well done all concerned.

Dalmarnock caught their second spring fish of the season last week as high water encourages salmon to run up the river unimpeded. Ghillie Gordon Pollock accounted for a cracking 11 pounds springer from the boat harling. There was another spring salmon registered on Saturday from Upper Islamouth and meikleour weighing 12 pounds completing a disappointing week for the river.

The Tay Ghillies Association has launched a 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.
• Catch a good Tay Salmon
• Weigh it carefully and photograph it with as little handling as possible.
• Verify with Ghillie
• Safely return the fish with a minimum of handling
• TGA Committee decision is final
Send entries with a photo and verification details to:-
Mike Hay, Sec of Tay Ghillies Assoc.
Mobile: 07762 464407
Email: tayhayurg@gmail.com

The Spring Salmon fishing was well and truly underway after all the excitement of opening day’s celebrations. All in all it was a truly memorable opening so let us hope the season lives up to every ones expectations. The past 2 weeks have not been ones to remember for most but things can only improve, hopefully!

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.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland week commencing 3rd February 2014.

Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland week commencing 3rd February 2014.

The Salmon fishing season for January is now finished on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland and we have continually encountered extreme conditions over the last 2 weeks with continued mild weather and heavy rainfall making life very difficult as river levels have remained very high and unstable making the pursuit of that magical spring salmon near impossible. The weather hopefully will ease soon as we prey for colder settled conditions as we enter February.
Currently the river is running high again after more extreme weather over the whole of last week (8’ on the Ballathie gauge). The unsettled weather is set to continue over the next few days then hopefully get colder which should benefit the river and give a great chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements.

A magical scene from Dalguise.
The weather is to continue wet over the next few days but hopefully get colder towards the end of 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. The milder weather will certainly give us more water and encourage salmon to run the river. Colder weather would settle the river back to good levels and ideal spring fishing conditions. The water temperature was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4.5 degrees Celcius. These are higher temperatures for this time of year. The temperature may come back further with the colder forecast at the end of the week ahead but there have been salmon running throughout the system after milder conditions prior to the opening day and resulted in fish being caught well up the system, the milder weather and increased river levels will continue to encourage spring salmon to run. 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. Spring salmon identification help for those not sure about the different types of fish in the river at this time of year.

Let us all pray for some blue skies and some action like this from last year.
As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method will have to be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method at this time of year but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience.

Finally you are reminded that the Tay's policy for January - May 2014 is that all spring salmon should be released, i.e. the Tay has adopted a policy of 100% catch and release for spring salmon. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please help preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the recommendations.Guidance on good Catch and Release practice.

The Tay Ghillies Association has launched a 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.
• Catch a good Tay Salmon
• Weigh it carefully and photograph it with as little handling as possible.
• Verify with Ghillie
• Safely return the fish with a minimum of handling
• TGA Committee decision is final
Send entries with a photo and verification details to:-
Mike Hay, Sec of Tay Ghillies Assoc.
Mobile: 07762 464407
Email: tayhayurg@gmail.com

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.
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.

Fishing Salmon River, Salmon River, Fishing for Salmon, salmon Fishing Alaska, Fishing Alaska, Fly Fishing Salmon, Fly Fishing, Salmon Fishing Report, Trout Fishing, King Salmon Fishing, Salmon Fishing Forum, Salmon Fishing Scotland, Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland, River Tay Scotland, Scottish Salmon, Salmon Rivers Scotland, Fishing Tackle Scotland, Salmon Fishing Flies, Fly Fishing Flies.