Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 13th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 13th October 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire has now seen out the last complete week of the 2018 season in October for salmon fishing with continuing reasonable results in recent weeksdue rain and cooler weather conditions. The autumn has seen more typical weather patterns giving us far more rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature to produce some better sport. The current conditions have improved giving everyone a great chance of landing a salmon from the Tay in a difficult year and even possibly a fish of a lifetime with some of the multi sea winter fish currently being caught this season.

Beat catches reported

(week ending 13th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 8, Waulkmill 9, Lower Redgorton 3, Luncarty 1, Upper Redgorton 2, Fishponds 11, Upper Scone 2, Pitlochrie 1, Stobhall 10, Taymount 30, Ballathie 13, Cargill 24, Islamouth 12, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 13, Kercock 7, Delvine Burnbane 4, Murthly 1 2, Murthly 2 5, Newtyle 1, Dunkeld House 4, Dalmarnock 6, Lower Kinnaird 6, Edradynate 2, Upper Aberuthven 2, Lochlane and Laggan 1.
Total: 179 Largest: Cargill 23lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 5, Upper Redgorton 2, Taymount 2, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 2, Delvine Burnbane 2, Upper Aberuthven 1.
Total: 14 Largest: Waulkmill & Taymount & Meikleour and Upper Islamouth & Delvine Burnbane & Upper Aberuthven 3lbs

Salmon were landed last week in reasonable conditions. The catches were maintained after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were again encouraging after some good weeks in a difficult season, it finished with around 180 making it another consistent week so far signaling a reasonable summer run and even some autumn fish over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that the resident fish continued to be more active and they made up a large proportion of the catch. The spring run is a memory, and frustratingly only small runs have come into the river this year but with good conditions catches have been made in reasonable numbers. 

On the Lower river most beats have had another reasonable week with the bottom of the river continuing to catch. In the first few beats of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish but in lesser numbers than the previous weeks. It has been a better period for these beats with improving catches compared with previous years. Fishponds had another reasonable week with 11 fish up to 16 pounds. The beats around Stanley only had odd fish. Taymount and Stobhall had reasonable weeks with Taymount amassing an impressive 30 fish up to 21 pounds. Ballathie and Cargill continued to do well during the week with the best part of 40 fish between them up to 23 pounds in weight. 

On Cargill Neil French captured his 50^thfish off the beat catching several during the week. 

Other successful rods included 

Gavin Mason, Christian Lassielle and some guests from Strutt and Parker. Islamouth had 12 during the week and just above them 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour caught 13 up to 20 pounds which was landed by Nick Bell. Other successful rods included Scott Sykes and the Stanton party. 

The Middle river had been really struggling but catches have improved dramatically in the last few weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 7 in the week up to 14 pounds. 

This included 3 caught by the Dattas on Saturday. Delvine Burnbane continued their good fortune in recent weeks with 4 in the week. This included fish for Willie Cumming, a first ever for Martin Furness weighing 18 pounds and Stan Nicol landing a couple. The Murthly beats had 7 between them and Newtyle had a single. Dunkeld House had 4 up to 18 pounds which included a first for Robert Ewart on the fly. Dalmarnock landed 6 up to 13 pounds and the Lower Kinnaird beat had a similar score with a biggest of 16 pounds. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded atEdradynate. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2630 fish through the ladder. 

The Earn is seeing some fish running in the recent water with fish recorded last week at Upper Aberuthven and Lochlane and Laggan. 

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures improving sport in an extremely difficult year.  

The Tay is certainly the place to come to for the chance of a fish of a lifetime. The sheer size of the river produces very powerful large salmon and the possibility of a 40 pounds fish must be on the cards now. The food source for Atlantic salmon is moving further away from our shores with sea temperatures rising and salmon are spending longer away in the ocean before they are returning making the possibility of much bigger fish finding its way back. The fish that are being caught now is further evidence of that phenomenon. 

There have been some encouraging signs in the past few weeks or so and the sheer class of the fish caught continues to be outstanding. 

The Spring Salmon fishing was slow as we saw out May with the end of that run this year. The summer was difficult with extremely hot weather but in recent weeks after rain and cooler temperatures catches have picked up as we see out the season. Tight lines!

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.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 8th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 8th October 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now in the last full week finishing next Monday and the autumn is well underway on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland with far more typical weather conditions for the time of year.  We have had rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking far more unsettled with ranges of temperatures. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather plus much more rain and a summer run has brought more fish into the river with just a hint of some autumn fish running however in lesser numbers giving far more optimism following disappointing catch figures. The drop in temperature has also triggered off resident fish to become more active and make up a large proportion of the catch. Hopefully the current run will improve following the rain and give a good last few days. 

Currently the stunning autumn colours are now clearly evident and it is truly always magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay and a salmon would be a bonus.

The river is a bit unsettled following rain over the weekend. It is at Caputh (3’ 3) and similarly on the lower river (4’11) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a lot more autumnal for the coming week with varying temperatures and fairly unsettled at times. The warmer temperatures have disappeared fast to more typical weather patterns for October. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of just around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius for the start of the week. These are now typical temperatures for this time of year and will improve sport as it triggers off the resident fish to become more active and aggressive. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water cooling, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay salmon. The recommendations are set out below for different times in the season. Harling is also a favoured method.

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. Why not try a Hitch fly in summer low water conditions?

Finally, there has now been a bold change in policy following poor catches so far this season and you are reminded that the Tay's policy from 1^stJune until the end of 2018 season is that all salmon should be released, i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% catch and release of all salmon caught in this period. salmon are a scarce and precious resource currently. Please preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following this request from our current board. 

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 good catch and 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 included in the reports.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 6th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 6th October 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is now in October for salmon fishing with continuing encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions as we go deeper into autumn and the last full week of the season. In recent weeks the weather pattern has changed giving us far more rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature to produce some better sport. The current conditions have improved giving everyone a great chance of landing a salmon from the Tay in a difficult year and even possibly a fish of a lifetime with some of the multi sea winter fish currently being caught this season.

Beat catches reported

(week ending 6th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 15, Waulkmill 19, Lower Redgorton 12, Luncarty 4, Upper Redgorton 11, Fishponds 8, Benchil 1, Upper Scone 4, Pitlochrie 3, Burnmouth 1, Stobhall 4, Taymount 13, Ballathie 23, Cargill 27, Islamouth 22, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 13, Kercock 12, Delvine Burnbane 1, Murthly 1 6, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 14, Newtyle 2, Dunkeld House 3, Dalmarnock 2, Dalguise 3, Lower Kinnaird 4, Edradynate 1, Farleyer Upper 3, Farleyer Lower 6, Keithick Mains 3.
Total: 241 Largest: Waulkmill 26lbs
SEA TROUT: Lower Redgorton 1, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 1.
Total: 3 Largest: Glendelvine 4lbs

Salmon were landed last week in reasonable conditions after very heavy rain and a big spate washed the river out in the previous week. The catches were maintained after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were again encouraging after some good weeks in a difficult season, it finished with around 240 making it another consistent week so far signaling a reasonable summer run and even some autumn fish over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that the resident fish continued to be more active and they made up a large proportion of the catch. The spring run is a memory, and frustratingly only small runs are still coming into the river this year but with improving conditions catches are being made in reasonable numbers. Hopefully there will be a few more of them to come as we go deeper into the last week of the season. 

On the Lower river most beats have had another reasonable week with the bottom of the river continuing to catch. In the first few beats of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish but in lesser numbers than the previous weeks however there was odd fresh fish caught and some into the twenties of pounds in weight with Waulkmill catching a 26 pounds fish on Saturday. Luncarty continued to catch with Steven Crossland’s party landing 4. 

Fishponds had a reasonable week with fish caught up to 14 pounds. On Upper Redgorton Walter Soland’s party had an enjoyable week with 11 including young 10 year old Lewis landing his first ever salmon weighing 5 pounds. Upper Scone had 4 for the week with Stanley rods having a similar score. 

Monday saw Sam and Sandy Datta catching fish from Horsey on the Pitlochrie beat then 

Sandy caught on Benchil on Saturday. Burnmouth had a single fish and just above Taymount and Stobhall had another reasonable week with fish most days including a 25 pounds fish on Taymount. On Ballathie and Cargill it was similar situation with a consistent weeks fishing and some big fish as well. 

On Cargill there was 27 fish landed up to 25 pounds which included success for Graham Ritchie, Neil French, Steve Curnow and Robert Dawson. 

There was also a first ever for Norwegian visitor Venja Holt. Islamouth had a consistent week with 22 up to 19 pounds. 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had 13 for the week up 18 pounds which included fish for Scotia fishings clients, Claire Fuller, Cliff Davies, Steven Hulme, Bradi Hulme and Terry Davies.  

The Middle river had been really struggling but catches have improved dramatically in the last couple of weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 12 in the week up to 23 pounds. 

Delvine Burnbane had a single fish at 13 pounds. The Murthly beats had a much better week with around 20 fish up to 20 pounds with Glendelvine landing a single. 

Newtyle had odd fish but the story of the week must have been 82 year old Mrs Hedges landing her first ever salmon weighing 20 pounds with a little help from Andy Gunn through the Salmon Fishing Surgery team. Up at Dunkeld House 3 were landed up to 13 pounds and Dalmarnock had 2. Dalguise caught 3 with the Kinnaird beats having 2. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded at Farleyer Upper and Farleyer Lower. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2600 fish through the ladder. 

The Earn is seeing some fish run with the recent water but nothing was recorded last week. 

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures improving sport in an extremely difficult year so far, so let us hope that continues.  

The Tay is certainly the place to come to for the chance of a fish of a lifetime. The sheer size of the river produces very powerful large salmon and the possibility of a 40 pounds fish must be on the cards now. The food source for Atlantic salmon is moving further away from our shores with sea temperatures rising and salmon are spending longer away in the ocean before they are returning making the possibility of much bigger fish finding its way back. The fish that are being caught now is further evidence of that phenomenon. 

There have been some encouraging signs in the past week or so and the sheer class of the fish caught continues to be outstanding with hopefully a settled river in the coming weeks we should see improved catches with a settled forecast as well.  

The Spring Salmon fishing was slow as we saw out May with the end of that run this year. The summer was difficult with extremely hot weather but in recent weeks after rain and cooler temperatures catches have picked up which hopefully will continue as we see out the season. Tight lines!

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.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 1st October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 1st October 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now into October and the autumn is well underway on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland with far more typical weather conditions for the time of year.  We have had rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking settled but with cooler temperatures. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather plus much more rain and a summer run has brought more fish into the river with just a hint of some autumn fish running however in lesser numbers giving far more optimism following disappointing catch figures. The drop in temperature has also triggered off some of the resident fish to become more active and make up a large proportion of the catch. Hopefully the current run will improve following the rain and give some more good weeks. 

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts, Swallows and Ospreys are all starting to migrate away in recent days, the last weeks saw the first Geese arrive from the north to overwinter here, Ducks and Dippers have broods of young on the river banks and you could see the flash of a Kingfisher if you are lucky, the autumn colours are now clearly evident and it is truly always magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay and a salmon would be a bonus.

Currently the river has settled back with only a little rain. It is at Caputh (1’ 10) and similarly on the lower river (2’11) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a lot more autumnal for the coming week with cooler temperatures but fairly settled. The warmer temperatures have disappeared fast to more typical weather patterns for October. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of just over 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius for the start of the week. These are now typical temperatures for this time of year and will improve sport as it triggers off the resident fish to become more active and aggressive. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water cooling, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay salmon. The recommendations are set out below for different times in the season. Harling is also a favoured method.

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. Why not try a Hitch fly in summer low water conditions?

Finally, there has now been a bold change in policy following poor catches so far this season and you are reminded that the Tay's policy from 1^stJune until the end of 2018 season is that all salmon should be released, i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% catch and release of all salmon caught in this period. salmon are a scarce and precious resource currently. Please preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following this request from our current board. 

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 good catch and 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 included in the reports.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 29th September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 29th September 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire has now seen out September for salmon fishing with more encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions as we go deeper into autumn. In recent weeks the weather pattern has changed giving us far more rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature to produce some better sport. The current conditions have improved dramatically giving everyone a great chance of landing a salmon from the Tay in a difficult year and even possibly a fish of a lifetime with some of the multi sea winter fish currently being caught this season.

Beat catches reported

(week ending 29th September)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 31, Waulkmill 31, Lower Redgorton 60, Luncarty 5, Upper Redgorton 11, Fishponds 15, Upper Scone 7, Pitlochrie 5, Burnmouth 4, Stobhall 29, Taymount 27, Ballathie 19, Cargill 18, Islamouth 19, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 19, Kercock 10, Delvine Burnbane 7, Murthly 1 10, Glendelvine 4, Murthly 2 4, Newtyle 5, Dunkeld House 7, Dalmarnock 8, Dalguise 6, Lower Kinnaird 1, Upper Kinnaird 1, Edradynate 1, Lower Grandtully 1, Findynate 2, Farleyer Upper 4, Farleyer Lower 6, Lochlane and Laggan 1, Portnacraig Pitlochry 1, Strathfillan AA 1.
Total: 380 Largest: Fishponds 27lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 1, Lower Redgorton 7, Upper Redgorton 1, Murthly 1 1, Murthly 2 1, Newtyle 1, Upper Kinnaird 1, Lochlane and Laggan 3.
Total: 16 Largest: Waulkmill & Murthly 2 & Upper Kinnaird 3lbs

Salmon were landed last week in improving conditions after very heavy rain and a big spate washed the river out in the previous week. The catches continued to increase after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were again very encouraging again after some good weeks in a difficult season, the week started off with a couple of memorable days a little under 100 but finished with just under 400 salmon recorded making it another best week of the season so far signaling a reasonable summer run and even some autumn fish over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that some of the resident fish have become more active also and they make up a large proportion of the catch. The spring run is a memory, and frustratingly only small runs are still coming into the river this year but with improving conditions catches are being made in reasonable numbers. Hopefully there will be a few more of them to come as we go deeper into the autumn. 

On the Lower river most beats have had another good week especially at the bottom of the river. In the first few beats of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish and in far better numbers into the twenties of pounds in weight with Lower Redgorton having a bumper week with 60 fish. Almondmouth and Waulkmill had excellent weeks also which included some good fresh fish caught as well with small runs entering the river but fish dropping back to prepare their run to the Almond have helped and dominated sport. A run has now started to ascend the Almond as well. Luncarty saw a few fish landed as well with fish preparing to run the Shochie and Ordie. At Luncarty Ian Muir had a couple of fish up to 12 pounds on fly then later in the week Graham Blackledge had a couple on a Devon up to 14 pounds. At the start of the week the Robbins party had success on Upper Redgorton and 

Fishponds had 11 fish up to 27 pounds. JCB clients enjoyed the early part of the week on Upper Scone with Gordon Hyslop having an excellent day in Horsey on the fly landing 3 good fish on the Pitlochrie beat. On Stanley Peter Annan had a couple of fish from the same pool also on fly and later in the week the Rutherfords, Simon and Jane had 3 fish in Horsey spinning. Stobhall and Taymount had good weeks again with Donald Normans party having a productive week on Stobhall and both beats had a combined catch of over 50. Ballathie and Cargill again had consistent weeks with good catches. On Ballathie John Milligan had a good day with a couple on fly up to 14 pounds. 

On Cargill the week got off to a good start with Barry Ward catching a few, then other successful rods included David Sands, Don Bell, Donald McNicol, William Sinclaire and 

Lionel Turner. 

Lady angler from Germany Almut Mueller enjoyed a good day with 3 fish and Steve Curnow caught on the fly. Islamouth had a good week with 19 adding to their considerable tally for the season. 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had another good week with 19 fish also, Dario Ferrari caught a 19 pounds fish in the House Pool and we went on to finish the day with 8 fish landed and a further 6 lost! Marco Ferrari, Christian Mueller and Almut Mueller from Germany all featured in the catches as well. Alastair Robertson and Jeanette Robertson both had fish with Jeanette catching her first ever salmon from the tail of the March Pool, Andrew Toft also had two fish from the Castle Pool. Other successful rods included Mr. Corker, Nick Doyle, David Taylor, Brian McIntosh, Jim Eddie and Stephen Kilpatrick fishing with his son Blair, caught the 150th fish of the season from the beat.

The Middle river had been really struggling but catches have improved dramatically in the last couple of weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 10 in the week and 

Delvine Burnbane had 7 which is a good improvement which included fish up to 18 pounds for Robert Harvey and Willie Cumming. 

Other fish were caught by Brian Joseph and Colin Wighton. The Murthly and Glendelvine beats had better weeks as well with nearly 20 fish. Newtyle had 5 and 

Dunkeld House managed 7 which included a good day for Steve Brown with fish up to 21 pounds. Dalmarnock managed 8 and 

Dalguise with 6 which included several fish for Dr Malcolm Freeland throughout the week. The Kinnaird beats had a couple. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded at Edradynate, Lower Grandtully , Findynate , Farleyer Upper and Farleyer Lower. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2560 fish through the ladder. Pitlochry Angling Club recorded a single fish below the Dam caught by Jock Stewart on the fly. 

The Earn is seeing some fish run with the recent water and a single fish was recorded at Lochlane and Laggan. 

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures improving sport in an extremely difficult year so far, so let us hope that continues.  

The Tay is certainly the place to come to for the chance of a fish of a lifetime. The sheer size of the river produces very powerful large salmon and the possibility of a 40 pounds fish must be on the cards now. The food source for Atlantic salmon is moving further away from our shores with sea temperatures rising and salmon are spending longer away in the ocean before they are returning making the possibility of much bigger fish finding its way back. The fish that are being caught now is further evidence of that phenomenon. 

There have been some encouraging signs in the past week or so and the sheer class of the fish caught continues to be outstanding with hopefully a settled river in the coming weeks we should see improved catches with a settled forecast as well.  

The Spring Salmon fishing was slow as we saw out May with the end of that run this year. The summer was difficult with extremely hot weather but in recent weeks after rain and cooler temperatures catches have picked up which hopefully will continue as we enter autumn. Tight lines!

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.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 22nd September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 22nd September 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is now in the later part of September for salmon fishing with encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions as we welcome autumn. In recent weeks the weather pattern has changed giving us far more rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature to produce some better sport. The current conditions have improved dramatically giving everyone a great chance of landing a salmon from the Tay in a difficult year and even possibly a fish of a lifetime with some of the multi sea winter fish currently being caught this season.

Beat catches reported

(week ending 22nd September)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 26, Waulkmill 14, Lower Redgorton 12, Luncarty 8, Upper Redgorton 2, Fishponds 6, Benchil 3, Upper Scone 11, Stobhall 20, Taymount 15, Ballathie 20, Cargill 33, Islamouth 11, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 17, Kercock 6, Delvine Burnbane 1, Glendelvine 3, Newtyle 3, Dunkeld House 3, Dalmarnock 2, Dalguise 4, Lower Kinnaird 6, Upper Kinnaird 1, Findynate 1, Farleyer Lower 1, Loch Faskally 1.
Total: 230 Largest: Lower Redgorton 28lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 5, Lower Redgorton 3, Upper Redgorton 2, Stobhall 1, Cargill 7, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 5, Delvine Burnbane 1, Glendelvine 1, Newtyle 1, Lower Kinnaird 2, Loch Faskally 1.
Total: 29 Largest: Lower Kinnaird 5lbs

Salmon were landed last week in improving conditions after very heavy rain and a big spate washed the river out. The catches continued to increase after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were encouraging again after some good weeks in a difficult season, just over 230 salmon were recorded making it another best week of the season so far signaling a reasonable summer run over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that some of the resident fish have become more active also and they make up a large proportion of the catch. The spring run is a memory, and frustratingly only small runs are still coming into the river this year but with improving conditions catches are being made in reasonable numbers. Hopefully there will be a few more of them to come as we go deeper into the autumn.

On the Lower river most beats have had better sport last week. At the bottom of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish and in reasonable numbers into the twenties of pounds in weight with Lower Redgorton recording a 28 pounds fish. There have been some good fresh fish caught as well with small runs entering the river but fish dropping back to prepare their run to the Almond have helped and dominated sport. A run has now started to ascend the Almond as well. 

Luncarty saw a few fish landed as well with fish preparing to run the Shochie and Ordie. Peter Annan caught a few on spinner throughout the week. Upper Redgorton and Fishponds saw odd fish in the week. Upper Scone had a good end to their week with 9 fish including a fresh 25 pounds fish caught by George Mason on Benchil spinning in the White Craigs. 

Saturday saw 3 fish caught from Benchil for the Stanley rods which included a double for Peter Annan on spinner up to 20 pounds and Hugh Coulson landed an 8 pounds fish from the Little Shot on the fly. Stobhall and Taymount had productive weeks with 36 fish between them. Ballathie and Cargill had excellent weeks with over 50 fish landed. 

On Ballathie the Sly party enjoyed a good week with 20 fish up to 22 pounds with some fresh fish as well. 

Success was shared by all members of the party throughout the week. 

On the opposite days Cargill enjoyed and similar week with 33 salmon up to 22 pounds. Successful rods included Gavin Mason, Stephen Gamlen, 

Neil French, Jim Biss and Stephen Blackladge to name a few. Islamouth had 11 in the week. 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour finished with 17 for their week up to 18 pounds. Successful rods included Neil Broughton and his father with 4 up to 13pounds, Terry Holli from Norway caught a cracking 17 pounder and John Frank caught one at 7 pounds. Saturday saw Rob Graham catch an 18 pounder, Craig Hodgson had one at 8, Finn Solberg caught one as well at 11 but special mention was given to Knut Ulvestad from Norway who caught his first and second ever salmon at 10 and 5 pounds.

The Middle river have been really struggling but catches started to improve in the last couple of weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 6 in the week and Delvine Burnbane had a single. Glendelvine got back on the score sheet on Thursday with 3 however the Murthly beats did not record a fish. Newtyle had a single fish meanwhile Dunkeld house caught 4 including a 29 pounds monster. Mike Ashton caught a couple from the boat up to 10 pounds. 

Dalmarnock had a better week with 6 which included a couple a superb fresh fish for Sandy Datta on Saturday. Dalguise had 4 in the week which included 3 on Monday and Lower Kinnaird had a similar result. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded at Upper Kinnaird, Findynate and Lower Farleyer. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2460 fish through the ladder. Loch Faskally recorded a single fish. 

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures improving sport in an extremely difficult year so far, so let us hope that continues.  

The Tay is certainly the place to come to for the chance of a fish of a lifetime. The sheer size of the river produces very powerful large salmon and the possibility of a 40 pounds fish must be on the cards now. The food source for Atlantic salmon is moving further away from our shores with sea temperatures rising and salmon are spending longer away in the ocean before they are returning making the possibility of much bigger fish finding its way back. The fish that are being caught now is further evidence of that phenomenon. 

There have been some encouraging signs in the past week or so and the sheer class of the fish caught continues to be outstanding with hopefully a settled river in the coming weeks we should see improved catches with a settled forecast as well.  

The Spring Salmon fishing was slow as we saw out May with the end of that run this year. The summer was difficult with extremely hot weather but in recent weeks after rain and cooler temperatures catches have picked up which hopefully will continue as we enter autumn. Tight lines!

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.