Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 27th August 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 27th August 2018.

The Salmon fishing season now about to see August out on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland.  We have had rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking similar with cooler temperatures and a little rain. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather and a summer run seems to be happening however in lesser numbers giving far more optimism following disappointing catch figures. The Tay has the largest flow of any river in the country and although low, still has enough water to attract fish in. Hopefully the current run will improve following the rain and trigger off some more good weeks. 

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows are in the skies with their young, Ospreys are being seen in numbers, Ducks, Dippers and Sand Martins have broods of young on the river banks and you could see the flash of a Kingfisher if you are lucky, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay and a salmon would be a bonus.

Currently the river is up a bit and slightly unsettled following the rain but clear. It is at Caputh (11”) and similarly on the lower river (1’9”) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a bit more settled for the coming week with cooler temperatures and some more rain at times but then settling again by the end of the week. The warmer temperatures would have encouraged salmon to run the river and get into the upper areas as fish continue to shoot through the ladder at Pitlochry. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 degrees Celsius for the start of the week. These are now typical temperatures for this time of year but hopefully rain will cool it further and improve sport. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water warming, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. 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 25th August 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 25th August 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is into the later part of August for salmon fishing with encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions in our current outstanding summer. In recent weeks the weather pattern has changed giving us some rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature by around 10F to produce some far better sport. The current conditions have improved dramatically giving everyone a great chance of landing a salmon from the Tay 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 25th August)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 16, Waulkmill 14, Lower Redgorton 8, Upper Redgorton 4, Fishponds 7, Benchil 2, Upper Scone 10, Pitlochrie 2, Stobhall 4, Taymount 9, Ballathie 14, Cargill 16, Islamouth 11, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 22, Kercock 5, Delvine Burnbane 1, Glendelvine 1, Newtyle 2, Dunkeld House 5, Dalmarnock 3, Dalguise 5, Findynate 1, Farleyer Lower 1, Keithick Mains 2, Portnacraig Pitlochry 3, Strathfillan AA 1.
Total: 169 Largest: Cargill 28lbs
SEA TROUT: Lower Redgorton 1, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 1.
Total: 2 Largest: Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 2lbs

Salmon were landed last week in again more favourable conditions with improving numbers after the change in conditions in recent weeks. The numbers were again encouraging in a difficult season with around 170 salmon recorded making it another best week of the season signaling a reasonable summer run and a few more grilse. The improving conditions meant some of the resident fish became more active also and made up a good 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 better numbers. Hopefully there will be a lot more of them to come as we go deeper into the summer period and enter autumn. 

On the Lower river most beats have had some better sport last week. At the bottom of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish confirming a run entering the river in recent weeks and in reasonable numbers. Almondmouth had a good week with 16. Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill had a good week also with 22 between them. 

On Waulkmill local rods proved effective with fish caught most days. Upper Redgorton and 

Fishponds had fish during the week but in lesser numbers with a guest from Panama landing a 7 pounds fish with lower Scone. 

Upper Scone had 10 for their week the Toby doing well especially for Silvio Erne who landed fish up to 17 pounds. 

On Stanley Ronnie Fraser caught a small grilse from the Long Shot on the fly and on Saturday Gleneagles guest, 

Roby Burch caught a 15 pounds fish on a Toby from the Plain Water. On the Pitlochrie beat owner, Francis Jennings caught a fresh grilse from the Woodside on the fly. Further upstream Taymount and Stobhall amassed 13 between them. Cargill and Ballathie had better weeks with some good catches during the week with a mixture of older fish and some fresh ones up into the late twenties in pounds. Both beats got off to a flying start in the week with 5 a piece. On Ballathie it was a local party that enjoyed success early in the week with Jim Ferrie, Barry Ward and Simon Furniss fishing meanwhile on 

Cargill it was Steve Curnow that had a day to remember with a 28 pounds monster. Other successful rods included Steven Coles, Andrew Martin, John Campbell, Graham Raffan and 

Iain Jardine. Up on Islamouth another consistent week was achieved with Tim Greenfields party doing well early in the week which included fish for Brian Giles, Cath Giles, Ian Muir and Tim up to 15 pounds then later in the week John McElroy’s party caught as well. Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had a superb week with 22 fish. Fish were caught all week up to 16 pounds with some memorable days. 

The 16 pounder was caught by Joe Beale, Darren Matheson caught his first ever salmon, Roger Jackson had 4 up to 15 pounds, Chris Lyon had a couple and Simon Littlejohn had 5 in a day up to 10 pounds on Wednesday. 

The Jackson party enjoyed success over 2 days with 12 year old 

Ben capturing his first ever fish. 

The Middle river had a few fish in the week with fresh water spicing things up. Kercock had 5 for their week with Delvine Burnbane and Glendelvine managing singles. A couple came from Newtyle and Dunkeld House had 5. Fish were also reported at Dalmarnock and Dalguise with Robert Wilson being successful on the later beat. 

The Upper river had single fish reported from Lower Farleyer and Findynate. Well up the Tay system a fish was reported from the Fillan by the angling club up there. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2150 fish through the ladder and there was some action below the dam with fish caught by Jim Fisher and Martin Wilson on the fly. 

A couple of fish were reported on the Isla from Keithick Mains.

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures greatly 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. June had picked up probably due to some fresh water and the emergence of some summer fish a couple of weeks ago, but we now need the current hot weather to break and it has so let us hope that the summer run builds further in the weeks to come. It has been a quiet start but let us hope the season lives up to every one’s expectations over the coming weeks and months and when you visit the Tay you catch a fish of a lifetime. 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 20th August 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 20th August 2018.

The Salmon fishing season now well into August on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland.  We have had rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking similar with cooler temperatures and more rain especially at the start. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather and a summer run seems to be happening however in lesser numbers giving far more optimism following disappointing catch figures. The Tay has the largest flow of any river in the country and although low, still has enough water to attract fish in. Hopefully the current run will now improve following the rain everyone has been praying for and trigger off some more summer salmon and grilse to run the river. 

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows are in the skies with their young, Ospreys are being seen in numbers, Ducks, Dippers and Sand Martins have broods of young on the river banks and you could see the flash of a Kingfisher if you are lucky, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay and a salmon would be a bonus.

Currently the river is up a bit and slightly unsettled following the rain but clear. It is at Caputh (1’) and similarly on the lower river (1’9”) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a bit unsettled at the start of the coming week with cooler temperatures and some more rain at times but then settling again by the end of the week. The warmer temperatures would have encouraged salmon to run the river and get into the upper areas as fish continue to shoot through the ladder at Pitlochry. The river has cooled slightly helping matters with a current river temperature of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 degrees Celsius for the start of the week. These are now typical temperatures for this time of year but hopefully rain will cool it further and improve sport. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water warming, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. 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 18th August 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 18th August 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is now well into August for salmon fishing with encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions in our current outstanding summer. In recent weeks the weather pattern has changed giving us some rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature by around 10F to produce some far better sport. The current conditions have improved dramatically giving everyone a great chance of landing a “Bar of Silver” and even possibly a fish of a lifetime with some of the multi sea winter fish currently being caught in recent weeks.

Beat catches reported

(week ending 18th August)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 19, Waulkmill 6, Lower Redgorton 17, Upper Redgorton 4, Fishponds 2, Benchil 4, Upper Scone 7, Stobhall 6, Taymount 11, Ballathie 3, Cargill 6, Islamouth 14, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 5, Kercock 7, Murthly 2 1, Dunkeld House 7, Dalmarnock 2, Dalguise 1, Lower Kinnaird 1, Farleyer Lower 1, Keithick Mains 1.
Total: 125 Largest: Lower Redgorton 18lbs
SEA TROUT: Taymount 1, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 3, Dunkeld House 1, Lochlane and Laggan 1.
Total: 6 Largest: Dunkeld House 4lbs

Salmon were landed last week in far more favourable conditions with improving numbers after the change in conditions. The numbers were again encouraging in a difficult season with around 125 salmon recorded making it a positive week signaling a reasonable summer run and a few more grilse. The improving conditions meant some of the resident fish became more active also. 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 better numbers. Hopefully there will be a lot more of them to come as we go deeper into the summer period and enter autumn. 

On the Lower river most beats have had some better sport last week. At the bottom of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish confirming a run entering the river at long last and in reasonable numbers. Almondmouth had a good week with 19 mostly on the fly. Lower Redgorton had a good week with 17 including a superb day of 10. Upper Redgorton and Fishponds had 6 between them and on Upper Scone there was 7 accumulated during the week by various methods. 

Benchil produced most of the fish for Upper Scone and on Stanley days the fly produced 4 fish up to 14 pounds with Stuart Davies catching 2 fish in 2 casts on his birthday from Lundie. 

Later in the week James Annesly caught a 12 pounds fish in the tail of the Long Shot on one of his own tied flies on a very windy day making casting difficult. Stobhall and Taymount had a better week with 17 between them with fish into the teens. Ballathie had 3 and 

Cargill faired a bit better with 6 including Andrew Watkins catching a 9 pounds fish on the fly from the Pot Shot, Rory King landed a good fish, Peter Reichwald caught a grilse in the Bridge Stream and 

Mike Howells had a superb 17 pounder from the Cradle on the lower beat. Islamouth had another consistent week with 14 on the fly. 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had 5 in the week with youngsters Sandy Lumsden and Ryan Donnelly having success and a couple of 

Canadian guests catching their first ever salmon with Tom Brown. 

The Middle river had a few fish in the week but would dearly love more water to spice things up. Kercock had 7 for the week as did Dunkled House however the other beats in the area only produced odd fish with Murthly 2, Dalmarnock, Dalguise and Lower Kinnaird all picking up fish. 

The Upper river had 1 fish reported from Lower Farleyer. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2080 fish through the ladder. 

A single fish was reported on the Isla from Keithick Mains.

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures greatly 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. June had picked up probably due to some fresh water and the emergence of some summer fish a couple of weeks ago, but we now need the current hot weather to break and it has so let us hope that the summer run builds further in the weeks to come. It has been a quiet start but let us hope the season lives up to every one’s expectations over the coming weeks and months and when you visit the Tay you catch a fish of a lifetime. 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 National electrofishing sampling July / August 2018

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland National electrofishing sampling July / August 2018.

TDSFB board staff have been completing the National electrofishing sampling sites which have been issued from Marine Scotland Science (MSS). Each local salmon fisheries district has 100 designated sites from 30 are chosen annually. We have almost completed our allocation for 2018.

"A new national electrofishing programme has been developed to assess and monitor the status of juvenile Atlantic salmon in Scottish rivers using a common set of standards. The protocols have been designed to collect as much information as possible to (1) explore opportunities for assessing the status of regions and rivers (2) improve existing fish density models (3) explore alternative measures of population health (e.g. biomass) (4) ensure that the collected data can support future developments in other areas e.g. National Eel Plan and Water Framework Directive." MSS

Each site covers an area of approximately 100m2 and should provide an accurate cross section of the randomly selected habitat type. Sites are randomly selected and cover a wide range of habitats across the whole Tay District. Not all sites chosen are good salmon sites and the random method of selection allows for a much wider range of waters to be fished and it was very informative to access ares of the catchment not often surveyed.

As well as accurate recording of salmon and trout densities, freshwater eel numbers were recorded. Other species encountered were lamprey, minnow, stoneloach and flounder. A water quality sample was also taken from each site.

Some were good parr sites with plenty of large structure such as the 2 Errochty water sites below. 

Errochty water near Blair Atholl

Errochty water near Blair Atholl

The Ruchill water also has good parr habitat around Cultybraggan and upstream.

Ruchill salmon parr

The very bottom end of the Ruchill has fine gravels and is very mobile during spates. High densities of salmon fry are present here. The pic below has the fish captured from a 100m2 site.

Bucket of fry and parr from lower Ruchill water

The water of May which flows into the lower Earn at Forteviot is also a very mobile burn at the bottom end. A wide bed width in which the water course often changes. Downstream of this photo the burn had completely changed course over last 2 years. On 3 run sites which are less than 3m wide stop nets are used. In this site as well as others high densities of Stoneloach were found. The warm and low conditions this year seem the suit some species well. Flounder were also found here.

Water of May @ Forteviot on River Earn

The habitat on the Eden reflects its water course through Fife farmland with slow water and large beds of Ranunculus providing good habitat for larger fish. The salmon parr here grow to substantial proportions quickly and a 1 year old parr could be 150mm before smolting the following spring.

Eden @ Ladybank

Some sites were quite remote like this one which required a 4km paddle by kayak and 3km walk from Glencoe to access. The are no barriers to salmon access to these water and while none were captured on this trip a few miles downstream good juvenile densities are found.

A well loaded kayak perfect for navigating shallow loch Ba

We had to be resourceful with carrying the heavy kit across Rannoch moor

As the river leaves loch Laidon at the eastern end good fry densities are found

This site which is located from Spittal of Glenshee is 400m above sea level. Again reasonable densities of salmon were found with 2 age groups of parr reflecting the slower growth rates at the altitide.

Allt Ghlinn Thaitneich (Dalmunzie)

Next we are surveying sites stocked eyed ova and fry in the spring time.

Mike

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 13th August 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 13th August 2018.

The Salmon fishing season now in August on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland.  We have rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking similar with cooler temperatures and more rain. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather and a summer run seems to be happening however in lesser numbers giving far more optimism following disappointing catch figures. The Tay has the largest flow of any river in the country and although low, still has enough water to attract fish in. Hopefully the current run will now improve following the rain everyone has been praying for and trigger off some more summer salmon and grilse to run the river. 

On the nature front the Sand Martins, Swifts and Swallows are in the skies with their young, Ospreys are being seen in numbers, Ducks, Dippers and Sand Martins have broods of young on the river banks and you could see the flash of a Kingfisher if you are lucky, it is truly magical to be salmon fishing in Perthshire on the banks of the silvery Tay and a salmon would be a bonus.

Currently the river is slightly unsettled following the rain but clear. It is at Caputh (6”) and similarly on the lower river (10”) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a lot more unsettled over the coming week with cooler temperatures and some more rain at times. The warmer temperatures would have encouraged salmon to run the river and get into the upper areas as fish continue to shoot through the ladder at Pitlochry. The river has cooled slightly helping matters with a current river temperature 63 degrees Fahrenheit or 17.5 degrees Celsius for the start of the week. These are not typical temperatures for this time of year but hopefully rain will cool it further and improve sport. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water warming, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. 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.