(River Tay weekly report week ending 18th July 2020)
We are now into the height of the Scottish summer. Over the past few days, it has remained mainly dry and thankfully it has not been too hot. It was good to see the River Tay continuing to produce some top quality summer salmon and grilse last week. Unsurprisingly anglers that fished early in the morning and then again at dusk enjoyed the best of the sport. River levels were settled for much of last week and the water temperature was 14.5 degrees Celsius which is 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit.
A beautiful summer scene at Edradynate
On the upper river, the Upper and Lower Bolfracks Beats produced fish through the course of the week and Upper Farleyer tasted success on Friday and Saturday. There were three fish landed from Upper Kinnaird on Thursday. On the River Tummel, Mr Martin Wilson continued his productive season when he landed a beautiful fifteen pounder from the Portnacraig Beat on Friday. The fish was caught on the fly. On Saturday Mr Gary Waugh enjoyed double success at Portnacraig when he caught a nice grilse weighing three pounds on the fly and then followed it with a six pounder caught on the spinner.
Back on the main river, the Lower Kinnaird Beat had a fine brace on Thursday when two nice fish were landed with a further fish caught on Friday. It was a good end to the week at Dalguise with two fish caught on Saturday. Dalmarnock had a fish on Thursday and another fish on Saturday.
At Dunkeld it was a memorable day for Mr Gary Laing when he netted a superb double on Wednesday. Mr Laing caught a lovely fish on the fly from the Rock Pool. The fish weighed twelve pounds. He then followed that up with a fine eight pounder. Well done sir! On Thursday a lovely seven pound grilse was caught from the Lady Pool and there was also a fish lost from the Grotto. There was another grilse caught from the beat on Saturday.
Back on the main river, the Lower Kinnaird Beat had a fine brace on Thursday when two nice fish were landed with a further fish caught on Friday. It was a good end to the week at Dalguise with two fish caught on Saturday. Dalmarnock had a fish on Thursday and another fish on Saturday.
At Dunkeld it was a memorable day for Mr Gary Laing when he netted a superb double on Wednesday. Mr Laing caught a lovely fish on the fly from the Rock Pool. The fish weighed twelve pounds. He then followed that up with a fine eight pounder. Well done sir! On Thursday a lovely seven pound grilse was caught from the Lady Pool and there was also a fish lost from the Grotto. There was another grilse caught from the beat on Saturday.
Mr Gary Laing's lovely 12 pounder caught from Dunkeld on Wednesday
There was a fine hat trick landed at Newtyle on Monday. Young Mr James Wynn who is only ten years old had a day to remember when he landed a lovely grilse on the fly from the Cotter.
10 year old James Wynn with a fine Newtyle salmon
Then it was a family affair at Newtyle. First Mr Lloyd Stevenson caught a nice grilse on the fly from St. Mary’s. His father then went one better landing a ten pounder from the Stepps Pool. There were two more fish caught from the beat on Saturday.
Mr Craig Stevenson with a nice fish caught on Monday
It was good to see the Glendelvine Beat produce a couple of fish on Saturday. There was success for Mr Steve Brown at Kercock on Thursday when he landed a sparkling fresh grilse. The beat has been fishing very well since lockdown measures have been eased.
A lovely fresh grilse for Mr Steve Brown caught from Kercock
The good fishing continued at Meikleour and Upper Islamouth last week. Mr Hair and his party had a couple of cracking fish on Monday and lost two others. Mr Robertson had a stunning grilse on Tuesday. Mr McCallum also had a fine grilse from the beat during the first half of the week as did Mrs Weaver. There was another fish caught from the beat on Thursday and a brace on Friday.
A sparkling grilse caught from Meikleour last week
It was a fantastic week at Islamouth. The Skeoch Party were fishing during the first half of the week and all party members were successful. The beat had nineteen fish on Monday and a further nine on Tuesday. All the fish were caught on the fly. Mr Angus Johnston had a great morning hooking eight fish and landing seven. On Wednesday Mr Robin Valentine had a fantastic sixteen pounder. There were three more fish landed on Thursday with a single fish caught on Friday and a couple on Saturday.
It was good to see the Ballathie Beat back amongst the fish post lockdown. The beat produced a fine hat trick on Friday and another fish on Saturday. Cargill produced a couple of nice fish during the first half of the week. Mr David Harington was one of the successful anglers landing a lovely fresh fish on Monday. There was a further fish caught at Cargill on Friday and Saturday.
It was good to see the Ballathie Beat back amongst the fish post lockdown. The beat produced a fine hat trick on Friday and another fish on Saturday. Cargill produced a couple of nice fish during the first half of the week. Mr David Harington was one of the successful anglers landing a lovely fresh fish on Monday. There was a further fish caught at Cargill on Friday and Saturday.
Mr David Harrington with a Cargill cracker!
At Stobhall there was success on Monday. On Wednesday, Tay regular Mr David Turpin had a nice fish from the upper beat. Mr Geoff Coates was also successful, landing a fine fresh salmon.
Mr David Turpin with a fine salmon caught from Stobhall
Next in the catch book at Stobhall was Mr Steve Watt who caught a lovely fresh grilse on Thursday which was covered in sea lice. It was a great end to the week at Stobhall with three more fish caught on Saturday. The Wilson party enjoyed a great day on the lower beat. Mr Lloyd Garvie got the party started with a lovely grilse. Not long after Mr Rob Doig enjoyed Tay success with another sparkling grilse. After lunch, Mr Gavin Wiseman made it three for the party when he landed a fine salmon.
Mr Steve Watt with a lovely grilse caught on Thursday from Stobhall
The Taymount Beat fished consistently well during the first half of last week with a total of eleven fish landed. There were three more fish caught from the beat on Thursday and Friday. The Benchil Beat produced a fish on Saturday. It was good to see the Upper Scone Beat taste success on Friday. Further downstream the Upper Redgorton beat produced a couple of fish on Monday and another fish on Wednesday and Saturday. Anglers at Fishponds enjoyed some decent sport midweek with three fish landed. On Thursday the beat produced a cracking thirteen pounder. Luncarty produced a fish on Monday. There were four fish caught from Waulkmill during the first half of the week including a stunning seventeen pounder on Tuesday and a fine brace on Thursday. Friday saw another three fish landed from the beat. It was a good start to the week at Almondmouth with four fish caught on both Monday and Tuesday and a further three on Wednesday. The beat finished with seventeen for the week.
As we move through July and into August more fresh fish will enter the river on a daily basis. It could, therefore, be the perfect time to book a few days fishing on the River Tay, so why not have cast? There is no better way to finish July than by landing some hard fighting River Tay silver!
We would like to thank all the ghillies and beat owners on the River Tay system who have contributed to this report by providing their time and information as the weekly report would not be possible without your help and support. If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Tay for the purposes of this report, please free to contact us at info@salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com
Good luck to all those anglers fishing on the River Tay next week.
As we move through July and into August more fresh fish will enter the river on a daily basis. It could, therefore, be the perfect time to book a few days fishing on the River Tay, so why not have cast? There is no better way to finish July than by landing some hard fighting River Tay silver!
We would like to thank all the ghillies and beat owners on the River Tay system who have contributed to this report by providing their time and information as the weekly report would not be possible without your help and support. If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Tay for the purposes of this report, please free to contact us at info@salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com
Good luck to all those anglers fishing on the River Tay next week.
Tight lines,
Samantha & Sandy Datta
Beat catches reported
(week ending 18th July)
SALMON & GRILSE:
Upper Farleyer 2, Upper Bolfracks 1, Lower Bolfracks 1, Upper Kinnaird 3, Portnacraig 3, Dalguise 2, Lower Kinnaird 4, Dalmarnock 2, Dunkeld 4, Newtyle 5, Glendelvine 2, Kercock 1, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 10, West Grange 1, Islamouth 44, Ballathie 4, Cargill 4, Stobhall 8, Taymount 15, Upper Scone 1, Upper Redgorton 4, Luncarty 1, Fishponds 5,Waulkmill 10, Almondmouth 17.
Total: 155 Largest: Waulkmill 17lbs
DECENT WEATHER AND WATER CONDTIONS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE END OF JULY!
(River Tay salmon fishing prospects week commencing 20th July 2020)
It was mainly dry across Perthshire last week with just the odd shower. The weekend has also been dry and this has meant that water levels on the Tay have been steady over the past few days. The fish caught last week were mostly a mixture of larger summer salmon and hard fighting grilse and many were sea liced which was great to see. In the upcoming weeks, more salmon should enter the Tay system on a daily basis giving anglers the chance of making contact with the king of fish.
Looking ahead to next week, the weather will start on a settled note with high pressure in charge at the beginning of the week. Monday and Tuesday should be mainly dry with light winds. There is a chance of some rain on Wednesday but it should be quite light and patchy in nature. Thursday and Friday should be mainly dry again with variable amounts of cloud. Temperatures will be mostly in the mid-teens.
Last week there were fish caught from Upper Farleyer down to Almondmouth with the majority of fish caught on the lower river. It looks like the weather is set to be decent next week and it is unlikely to be too hot. Currently, the river is at a great height for fly fishing on many beats. With the recent lift in water probably the best chance of success next week would be on beats situated on the middle and lower river. As always, there is a good variety of salmon fishing available on the Tay in the upcoming days with fishing to suit even the most discerning of anglers' tastes. So why not chase some summer silver on the Tay next week? You could have that day to remember!
Good luck to all those anglers fishing on the River Tay next week.
Looking ahead to next week, the weather will start on a settled note with high pressure in charge at the beginning of the week. Monday and Tuesday should be mainly dry with light winds. There is a chance of some rain on Wednesday but it should be quite light and patchy in nature. Thursday and Friday should be mainly dry again with variable amounts of cloud. Temperatures will be mostly in the mid-teens.
Last week there were fish caught from Upper Farleyer down to Almondmouth with the majority of fish caught on the lower river. It looks like the weather is set to be decent next week and it is unlikely to be too hot. Currently, the river is at a great height for fly fishing on many beats. With the recent lift in water probably the best chance of success next week would be on beats situated on the middle and lower river. As always, there is a good variety of salmon fishing available on the Tay in the upcoming days with fishing to suit even the most discerning of anglers' tastes. So why not chase some summer silver on the Tay next week? You could have that day to remember!
Good luck to all those anglers fishing on the River Tay next week.
Tight lines,
Samantha & Sandy Datta
As the Tay is a big river usually a powerful fourteen or fifteen-foot rod with a ten-line rating will cover almost any eventuality. In terms of lines whether that be a full Spey line or Shooting head system a floating line coupled with a selection of polyleaders of various sink rates is perfect for the job at this time of year. In higher water, during the summer months, a sink tip or intermediate line may be required to produce the best results.
Fly Fishing
During the summer months, water temperatures usually begin to rise on the river. The fish also start to become a bit more active. Often river levels are low but on the River Tay, they are never too low that fresh fish cannot run the system. At this time of year, full floating lines coupled with polyleaders of various sink rates can often work well.
A fine fly caught River Tay salmon
Make sure that your fly reel has got an adequate backing capacity and a good reliable drag system. On the River Tay when that line tightens the fish could turn out to be that one of a lifetime. It is also important during the summer period to use leader material with an adequate breaking strain, as there are some big summer salmon that run the Tay. Usually, a breaking strain between twelve and fifteen pounds is ideal.
Spinning
A powerful spinning rod between ten and eleven foot is usually more than adequate to cover the River Tay. The rod should be able to comfortably cast lures weighing anything from eighteen to thirty grams. A good fixed spool or multiplier reel with a reliable drag system is perfect for the River Tay. The reel should be able to accommodate a large amount of either nylon or braided line with an adequate breaking strain.
Spinning in the summer months on the River Tay
Harling
Harling is a method unique to the River Tay which involves fishing from a motorised boat. This method is employed on many beats and can be highly effective. 
Harling is a unique, effective method of fishing on the River Tay
Usually, two or three rods are placed in rod holders with various lures and then the ghillie skilfully combs the water by moving back and forth in the boat, whilst gradually dropping downstream, covering the likely lies on the beat. Often during the summer months, the water is too low to harl on many beats. However, if there is a decent spate this method can be highly productive. Harling is a method which is very much water height dependent and is practised at the beat ghillies discretion.
TDSFB conservation policy
All anglers fishing on the River Tay system are reminded that the TDSFB’s policy from January 15th to 1st of April is that all spring salmon must be released. This means that the TDSFB has a 100% mandatory catch & release policy of all salmon caught. This is in line with the Scottish Government Statutory Conservation Regulation. Even if the fish dies it must still be returned to the river.
It is also worthwhile remembering when releasing fish to keep them in the water for as long a period as possible and to use minimal handling. Please also give the fish plenty of time to recover before releasing them. It is important that anglers treat their quarry with the utmost of respect at all times.
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