(River Tay weekly report week ending 14th August 2021)
Catches on the River Tay finally began to gain some momentum last week. Heavy thundery showers last weekend led to a lift in water at the beginning of the week. On Monday the lower river was still quite coloured as the River Isla came up on Sunday. Despite this, there were excellent numbers of fish caught at the beginning of the week. Heavy showers led to further lifts in water during the middle part of the week and the lower river remained quite coloured. Towards the end of the week the water dropped and cleared nicely. The lift in water coupled with cooler temperatures of late made it comfortably the most productive week of the season so far on the Tay system which was great news for anglers.
There was numerous hard fighting grilse landed as well as several larger summer salmon. Many of the fish landed were sea liced and a high proportion were caught on the fly. The water temperature last week was 61.0 degrees Fahrenheit which is 16.1 degrees Celsius.
On the upper river, Mr David Turpin caught a lovely fifteen pounder from the Croys at Edradynate on Wednesday. On the River Tummel, Mr Janos Muranyi landed a grilse on the spinner at Portnacraig on Thursday. There was also a Sea trout caught from the beat on Thursday. Next on the scoresheet was Mr Massimo Castelvecchi who caught a lovely fifteen pounder from Portnacraig on the fly on Friday evening.
It was good to see catches on the middle river improve through the course of last week. Dalguise regular Mr Bob Barclay caught a fine twelve pounder from the beat on Friday. The fish was caught on a Kinermony Killer. This one of two fish caught on Friday from the beat. It was a super Saturday at Dalguise with four more fish landed.
Other successful beats on the middle river through the course of last week included Lower Kinnaird, Dalmarnock, Dunkeld, Newtyle and Murthly 2 amongst others.
Mr Robert McFarlane enjoyed a few days fishing at Kercock last week. Mr McFarlane had some good sport landing two fish weighing nine and twelve pounds. Well done sir!
Mr Ian Shaw had a nice fish from Kercock on Friday as did Mr Tony Griffiths caught on the fly. There was a creditable five fish caught from the beat on Friday as well as five on Saturday.
Further downstream it was a great start to the week at Meikleour & Upper Islamouth on Monday. Father and son duo Adam and David both caught fish from Boxwood Bush. Adam got family bragging rights when he landed a cracking nine pounder whilst Dad’s fish weighed in at six pounds!
Mr Neil Broughton caught a nice Sea trout also from Boxwood. There was another fish caught from the beat in the afternoon. There were six fish caught at Meikleour on Thursday as anglers enjoyed some fantastic sport as well as a few more towards the end of the week.
At Islamouth the Philips party enjoyed some great sport with twenty fish landed during the first half of the week. Mr Will Haggis landed a magnificent eighteen pounder. The good sport continued as the week progressed and Islamouth finished with twenty two fish for the week.
Anglers at Ballathie caught two nice fish on Tuesday including a magnificent twenty pounder and a further three were landed from the beat on Friday. There was some good sport to be had at Cargill. Mr Richard Penrose banished away those Monday morning blues when he landed two lovely fish despite the coloured water.
On Tuesday Ms Grace Gluckenstein enjoyed some great sport hooking three fish, unfortunately only one stayed on. Next on the scoresheet at Cargill was Ms Nikki Wallbank who caught a lovely deep fish on Wednesday morning. Mr Neil French enjoyed some good sport through the course of last week at Cargill. On Thursday he caught two fish in two casts which is no mean feat! The great sport at Cargill continued towards the end of the week as more cracking fish were landed from the beat
Anglers at Stobhall caught some nice fish last week including an eighteen pounder on Monday. The Taymount Beat finished with twenty five fish for the week including eight on Saturday.
It was a good end to the week at Upper Scone with four fish caught on Friday. Mr Steve Gordon caught a lovely fresh grilse on Tuesday from Pitlochrie on the fly. On Monday Mr Jim Mclanaghan had a great day at Benchil. Mr Mclanaghan caught a lovely thirteen pounder on the fly from the Long Shot. Mr Stuart Mclanaghan went one better when he landed a stunning fifteen pounder on the fly again from the Long Shot.
There were three more fish caught from the beat on Monday. Mr Jim Mclanaghan enjoyed more success at Benchil on Wednesday when he caught a lovely fresh grilse as well as a larger summer salmon again from the Long Shot. Mr Walter Duckett caught a lovely twelve pounder from Benchil on Friday this was one of six fish caught that day.
Upper Redgorton has fished well in recent weeks and last week was no different with some nice fish caught from the beat including six on Friday and four on Saturday.
On Monday Sandy Datta managed a fresh grilse just before the final whistle was blown at Fishponds from the Luncarty Pool. There were two more fish caught from the beat on Tuesday and the good sport continued towards the end of the week.
Anglers at Waulkmill enjoyed some great sport last week. There were thirteen fish caught from the beat on Monday. Mr Iain Law landed seven fish for the day. His son, eleven year old Roan also had a memorable day landing two lovely salmon. It’s just great to see the younger generation enjoying a day on the river. Well done young Sir! Anglers fishing at Waulkmill during the rest of the week continued to enjoy some great sport with good numbers of fish being caught on most days including fourteen on Saturday. Almondmouth produced fish consistently last week and finished with forty two fish for the week.
Currently, the Tay is at a great height for many beats and there does seem to be a good head of fish in the river. So why not book a day's salmon fishing on the famous River Tay next week? It could be the place to provide you with that riverbank fairy-tale!
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 15th August)
SALMON & GRILSE:
Upper Farleyer 1, Edradynate 1, Upper Kinnaird 4, Portnacraig Pitlochry 1, Lower Kinnaird 3, Dalguise 7, Dalmarnock 2, Dunkeld 1, Newtyle 3, Murthly 1, Murthly 2, 14, Glendelvine 3, Kercock 20, Meikleour & Upper Islamouth 19, West Grange 2, Kethick Mains 3, Islamouth 28, Ballathie 11, Cargill 29, Stobhall 20, Taymount 25, Burnmouth 1, Pitlochrie 6, Upper Scone 6, Benchil 16, Upper Redgorton 17, Fishponds 8, Luncarty 2, Waulkmill 49, Almondmouth 42, Lochlane & Laggan 1
Total: 346 Largest: Waulkmill 21lbs
SETTLED WEATHER AND WATER COULD BE THE PERFECT TONIC FOR GOOD CATCHES!
(River Tay salmon fishing prospects week commencing 16th August 2021)
There were some lovely fish caught from the river last week with numerous salmon weighing well into double figures. This made it comfortably the most productive week on the Tay system so far this season. We are now well into August and this is when historically many beats on the River Tay start to make big catches. Hopefully in the next few weeks, there will be plenty of good fishing to be had on the river.
It was quite a mixed bag of weather especially during the first half of last week with some heavy showers and longer spells of rain. This led to the lower river becoming quite coloured at times. However, towards the end of the week, the water cleared and dropped nicely. The weekend has seen a few showers mainly over the western side of the catchment area with temperatures around average values for the time of year.
Looking ahead to next week, the weather is set to be much more settled as high pressure gradually builds in from the Atlantic. There is a chance of few showers on Monday. From Tuesday onwards winds should be light and it should be mainly dry for the rest of the week. Temperatures will be around average values for the time of year but the nights are likely to be cooler than of late.
The mainly settled weather forecast for the next week should lead to steady river levels and this could be the perfect tonic for some good catches in the upcoming days. The fish caught last week were mostly a mixture of larger summer salmon and hard fighting fresh grilse and many were sea liced which was great to see. Salmon were caught on the main river from Upper Farleyer down to Almondmouth with the bulk of the action coming from beats situated on the middle and lower river. There were also fish caught from the River Tummel and Ericht.
There is good availability next week so why not wet a line and chase some Tay summer silver? There is no better feeling when the line tightens and that reel sings!
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 summer period (June-August)
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.
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.
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.
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 summer months, the Floating Devon and Flying C can be particularly productive. The Flying C lure can be fished upstream especially when water temperatures start to rise 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. These lures can be excellent during the summer months.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment