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.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 24th September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 24th September 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now into the end of September 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 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 and Swallows are in the skies with their young, Ospreys have been seen in numbers but 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, 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 is settling back after last week’s heavy rain and should settle back further. It is at Caputh (2’ 6) and similarly on the lower river (4’) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a bit more autumnal for the coming week with cooler temperatures but fairly settled. The warmer temperatures have disappeared fast to more typical weather patterns for September. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of 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 Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 17th September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 17th September 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now well into September and 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 similar with cooler temperatures and more rain. Catches have improved in recent weeks due to cooler weather and a summer run has brought more fish into the river 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 and Swallows are in the skies with their young, Ospreys are being seen in numbers but are all about to start migrating away in the weeks to come, last week 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, 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 is unsettled and a bit dirty from heavy rain but should settle back quickly. It is at Caputh (2’) and similarly on the lower river (3’ 6”) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a bit more autumnal for the coming week with cooler temperatures and some more rain. The warmer temperatures are disappearing fast to more typical weather patterns for September. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of around 54 degrees Fahrenheit or 12 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 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 15th September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 15th September 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is now 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 more rain to freshen the river up and dropping the river temperature to produce some far 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 15th September)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 24, Waulkmill 10, Lower Redgorton 13, Upper Redgorton 4, Fishponds 3, Upper Scone 10, Pitlochrie 1, Stobhall 21, Taymount 21, Ballathie 11, Cargill 20, Islamouth 20, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 18, Kercock 14, Delvine Burnbane 6, Newtyle 1, Dunkeld House 2, Dalmarnock 3, Dalguise 2, Lower Kinnaird 3, Keithick Mains 1.
Total: 208 Largest: Upper Scone 25lbs
SEA TROUT: Lower Redgorton 6, Upper Redgorton 1, Stobhall 1, Taymount 1, Cargill 1, Delvine Burnbane 1, Dalmarnock 1, Lower Kinnaird 1.
Total: 13 Largest: Lower Redgorton 5lbs

Salmon were landed last week in favourable conditions with improving numbers after the change in conditions in recent weeks. The numbers were encouraging after some good weeks in a difficult season, just over 200 salmon were recorded making it the best week of the season so far signaling a reasonable summer run, a few more grilse have been caught which may be down to the lower river levels in 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. There have been some fresh fish caught as well with small runs entering the river but fish dropping back to prepare their run to the Almond have helped sport. Lower Redgorton saw a few fresh fish caught on fly with Ian Muir having 4 in a day and on Almondmouth Bill Jack had an 18 pounds fish on the fly on Friday. The beats above there found life hard but still caught fish during the week in lesser numbers. 

Upper Scone had a reasonable week catching 10 fish with Gary Perks landing a monster 25 pounds fish on a red Devon being the highlight. At Stanley Ann Emsens caught an 8 pounds fish on the fly form the Woodside on the Pitlochrie beat. The water heights have improved slowly helping Taymount and Stobhall, giving them a far more productive week with 42 fish. Ballathie and Cargill also did well with 31 fish up to 22 pounds. 

On Cargill good fish were caught by Neil French, Peter Jacques, David Sands, William Sinclaire, Alan Muir, the 

Robertsons and John Boreboom to name a few. Islamouth had a good week with 20 and Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had a similar score with 18 up to 10 pounds recording fish every day. 

Successful rods includedJohn Cameron, George Thomson, Ross Coker, Ryan Bunyan, Eric Young, Bill Robertson, Stewart Morris, Mr Tripp, Ken Halbet and 

Claire Mercer-Nairne.

The Middle river have been really struggling but catches started to improve last week with a steady rise in water levels. 

Kercock had a good week with 14 fish including 7 caught on Saturday. 

Delvine Burnbane had a few fish as well with 6 in the week including 

a 7 pounds fish for Harry Hutchison. The Murthly area was quiet however Newtyle had one and Dunkeld House had a couple up to 14 pounds. Dalmarnock reported 3 and up at Dalguise 2 were caught up to 18 pounds. Lower Kinnaird had 3 for the week. 

The Upper river did not report any fish last week. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2420 fish through the ladder. 

A single fish was reported off the Isla at 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. 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 Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 10th September 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 10th September 2018.

The Salmon fishing season now in September at the start of autumn on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland with far more autumnal weather conditions.  We have had rain and cooler temperatures recently helping the fishing improve. The coming week is looking similar with cooler temperatures and some 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 but are all about to start migrating away in the weeks to come, 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 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 is settled and much lower. It is at Caputh (4”) and similarly on the lower river (6”) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a bit more autumnal for the coming week with cooler temperatures and some more rain. The warmer temperatures are disappearing fast to more typical weather patterns for September. The river has cooled helping matters with a current river temperature of around 58 degrees Fahrenheit or 14.5  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.