FRUSTRATION FOR ANGLERS WITH NO SHORTAGE OF FISH BUT THE SALMON APPEAR TO BE PLAYING HARD TO GET ON THE MIGHTY RIVER TAY!

(River Tay weekly report week ending 12th September 2020) 

We have now moved into the middle of September and there are just over four weeks of the 2020 Tay salmon fishing season remaining. To say it has been a strange season so far would be a bit of an understatement with the river being shut for a number of weeks because of the Covid19 pandemic. However, since the river reopened in late spring, there has been plenty of good sport to be had. Many ghillies have reported seeing decent numbers of fish in their beats and this can only be encouraging for the future. 
There was quite a lot of rain in the western side of the catchment area from Wednesday onwards last week and this led to a slow lift in water towards the end of the week and into the weekend. Conditions were decent but in spite of this last week proved to be a frustrating time for anglers. There was no shortage of fish on many beats especially on the lower river but they seemed to be playing hard to get. A change in conditions may do the trick whether that be a drop in temperature or a big lift in water. This may make some of the salmon in the pools more aggressive and more inclined into taking a fly or lure. The water temperature last week was 55.6 degrees Fahrenheit which is 13.1 degrees Celsius. 
It was nice to see the Upper Kinnaird Beat produce a couple of fish on the upper river on Thursday and one on Friday. Mr Greg Sinclair had a day to remember on Thursday when he landed a nine pounder on the fly from the Ruan Ruarie Beat of the River Garry. 

 

Mr Greg Sinclair with a salmon caught from Ruan Ruarie

On the River Tummel Mr Gordon Pollock landed a good fish from the Portnacraig Beat on Tuesday. The fish weighed twenty two pounds and was one of the biggest caught from the beat so far this season. Mr Ettore Amatori also landed a nice grilse from the beat on Thursday.

Mr Gordon Pollock with a fly caught salmon from Portnacraig

On the middle river, the Lower Kinnaird Beat produced a fish on Friday. Mr Kyle Forbes was fishing the beat on Saturday when he caught a nice eleven pounder on the fly from the Guay Pool. Dalguise also produced a fish on Saturday. Mr Steve Catto had a fantastic Friday at Newtyle. He had been fishing the beat for the previous two days to no avail. Whilst fly fishing down the Cotter Pool his fly line was ripped out of his hand. After a monumental tussle, Mr Catto landed a cracking twenty three pounder which took a size ten Girnal Shrimp. 
The Murthly 2 Beat produced a fine brace on Thursday and another fish on Friday and four on Saturday. It was great to see some nice fresh fish being caught at Murthly 2.

 A cracking fresh fish caught at Myrthly 2 last week

Mr Gordon McPherson got his rod bent at Delvine & Burnbane on Friday. He was fishing down the Corner Pool with the fly and at the tail of the pool, his line tightened. After a good fight, Mr McPherson landed a fine salmon. 

Mr Gordon McPherson with a nice fish caught at Delvine & Bunbane on Friday

Anglers at Kercock enjoyed some action with a couple landed on Wednesday, which was good to see and a fish on Saturday. The Meikleour Beat produced a couple of fish on Friday and also on Saturday.

A nice fish caught from Meikleour last week

It was the turn of the Moffat Party to wet a line last week at Islamouth. They enjoyed some decent sport landing a total of six fish including a cracking eighteen pounder on the fly. Islamouth finished with fourteen fish for the week. Anglers at Ballathie had no problem wiping away those Monday morning blues when they landed three fish for the day. There was further success at Ballathie on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A lovely fish from Cargill

At Cargill there was some good sport to be had with a couple landed on Monday followed by five on Tuesday. Mr Neil French got his rod bent numerous times through the course of the week and landed some nice fish including a cracking sixteen pounder on the fly on Wednesday morning. There were a couple more fish caught from the beat on Thursday. 

Mr Neil French with a Cargill cracker!

It was a great end to the week at Cargill with six fish landed on Saturday with Mr Gavin Mason and Mr Neil French back amongst the action again.

Mr Gavin Mason with a cracker caught at Cargill on Saturday

The Cornes party were fishing at Stobhall last week and Mr Sam Cornes wasted no time in getting in on the action on Monday when he landed a fine fifteen pounder. There was more success at Stobhall on Tuesday and Wednesday with a fine brace landed on each day. On Thursday the beat produced a cracking seventeen pounder which was great to see. This was one of four fish caught from Stobhall that day. On Friday there were three more fish caught at Stobhall with Mr Martin Cap being one of the successful anglers who landed a lovely twelve pound sea liced fish on the fly.

Mr Sam Cornes with a nice fish from Stobhall

The anglers at Taymount enjoyed some good sport during the first half of the week with a total of eleven fish landed including a lovely seventeen pounder. There were a couple more fish caught from the beat on Thursday and one on Friday. On Saturday there were more happy faces at Taymount with eight fish landed for the day.  
It was a good morning at Upper Scone on Monday for Mr Gary Perks. Mr Perks was fly fishing down to the Long Shot Pool when his line tightened. What ensued was a terrific battle after which Mr Perks landed a lovely fresh twenty one pounder. There were two more fish caught from the beat on that day. Upper Scone produced fish every day last week.

Mr Simon Furniss with a deep fish from Waulkmill caught on Wednesday

Anglers at Fishponds have enjoyed some good sport in recent weeks and there was some more rod bending action last week with three fish landed during the first half of the week. There were a couple more caught on Thursday and one on Friday. At Upper Redgorton there were a couple of fish caught on Monday and Wednesday. Mr Simon Furniss was fishing at Waulkmill on Wednesday and enjoyed some good sport on the fly rod. Mr Furniss was using his new Alta Vision reel which sung beautifully for him. After a great fight, Mr Furniss landed a nice eighteen pounder. The fish was caught on a size 10 Kinermony Killer. 

Mr Barry Ward with a big old warrior from Waulkmill

Mr Barry Ward was fishing at Waulkmill on Thursday when he landed a powerful cock fish, which put up a great fight.

Mr Gary Perks with a lovely fly caught salmon from Upper Scone

At Almondmouth there were fish caught on most days with the beat finishing with twelve fish for the week. 
Away from the fishing behind the scenes, hard work continues by the TDSFB. Recently they have been doing some genetic sampling on the upper River Garry. This involves collecting fin clip samples from salmon fry. These samples are then matched to genetic markers gathered from reconditioned hatchery broodstock held within the Almondbank kelt reconditioning unit. This then allows the differentiation between wild fry and hatchery derived fry. Hopefully, this will provide some very valuable information for the future. 

Genetic sampling on the River Garry

With just over four weeks of the salmon fishing season remaining on the Tay, time is running out to land that last big Tay salmon of the year, so why not have cast? Nothing beats landing some Tay September 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 12th September 2020)

SALMON & GRILSE: 

Lower Farleyer 1, Upper Kinnaird 3, Ruan Ruarie 1, Portnacraig Pitlochry 2, Lower Kinnaird 1, Dalguise 1, Newtyle 1, Murthly 2, 7, Delvine & Burnbane 2, Kercock 3, Meikleour & U Islamouth 4, Islamouth 14, Ballathie 6, Cargill 18, Stobhall 15, Taymount 22, Upper Scone 9, Upper Redgorton 3, Fishponds 7, Waulkmill 16, Almondmouth 12, Crieff AC 2.

Total: 151  Largest: Dalguise 24lbs

HIGH WATER AT THE START OF NEXT WEEK!

(River Tay salmon fishing prospects week commencing 14th September 2020)

Due heavy rain mainly across the western side of the catchment area from midweek onwards river levels on the Tay system rose gradually last week. It was also quite windy on certain days, which made fly fishing quite challenging at times. There was heavy rain on Saturday night mainly over the western side of the catchment area and this has led to many of the tributaries rising fast on Sunday. It is likely that the river will be quite high at the beginning of the week. It was also noticeably warmer on Sunday and this trend will continue over the next few days. Looking ahead to next week the weather is set to be mostly dry and settled. It is likely to get quite warm by Tuesday with temperatures reaching the early twenties. The dry weather will continue as we move towards next weekend but temperatures will start to drop as an easterly wind develops bringing in colder air from the near continent. 
There is currently no shortage of fish in the Tay system. However, catching them is proving to be quite challenging. What may make the difference is good big spate or a sudden sustained drop in temperature. Often at this time of year, this can make the fish more aggressive and more inclined into taking a fly or lure. The fish caught last week were mostly a mixture of hard fighting grilse and larger salmon and some were sea liced which was great to see. In the upcoming weeks, hopefully, more salmon will enter the Tay system on a daily basis giving anglers the chance of making contact with the king of fish before we draw the curtains on another Tay season. 
Last week there were fish caught from Upper Farleyer down to Almondmouth with the majority of the action on the lower river. There were also fish caught from the River Garry, Tummel and Earn. The best chance of success next week is likely to be on beats situated on the middle and lower river. As always, there is a good variety of salmon fishing available on the Tay system in the upcoming days with fishing to suit even the most discerning of anglers' tastes. So why not chase some autumn silver on the Tay next week? With just over four weeks of the season remaining, 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

 Tactics for the River Tay during the autumn period (September and October)

The ghillies on the River Tay are all highly experienced and have an intimate knowledge of their beats. Their advice and guidance are key to success. Please contact your ghillie for up to date advice on tactics and what tackle to bring prior to visiting the River Tay.

Fly Fishing

During the autumn months, water temperatures usually begin to fall on the river but much depends on the weather. The weather and water conditions can vary greatly during the autumn months with hot weather and low water coupled with high water temperatures especially if we have an Indian summer. Conversely, it can be quite cool with regular spells of wind and rain and even night time frosts. The fish also start to become a bit more aggressive especially when they turn their thoughts towards spawning. At this time of year, full floating lines coupled with polyleaders of various sink rates can often work well especially if conditions are more akin to the summer months.  
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, colder water a sink tip or intermediate line may be required to produce the best results.
Make sure that your fly reel has got 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 autumn period to use leader material with an adequate breaking strain, as there can be some large fish around towards the end of the season. Usually, a breaking strain of around fifteen pounds is ideal.

A lovely fly caught Tay salmon

During the autumn months depending on the water height and temperature smaller dressed flies can work well if river levels are low and temperatures are high. Small bottle tubes are also well worth ago. If there are frequent night time frosts and high water, tube flies of various lengths and weights may be the order of the day.

Spinning

A powerful spinning rod between ten and eleven feet 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. 
In terms of lures, spoons like the Toby, Salmo Toby and Blair variety work well on the river. These can range in weight from eighteen to thirty grams. Devon Minnows can also be effective on the River Tay. During the autumn months, the Floating Devon and Flying C can be particularly productive.

A Vision 110 lure can be very productive during the autumn months

The Flying C lure can be fished upstream especially when water temperatures are higher and often salmon will chase the lure before taking it. The Vision110 lures have also got a good reputation for producing fish on the river. In high cold water, it can often be more about fishing the lure that bit slower and at an adequate depth.

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 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 autumn months, good conditions arise on many beats for harling, especially in higher water. 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 15^th to 1^st 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.