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 1stJune 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.
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