Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Report and Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 28th January 2019

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Report and Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 28th January 2019.

The Salmon fishing season is well and truly underway now on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland as we enter the third week.  We have been encountering some varied conditions with very cold wintery weather and then milder days over the last week and prior to the Opening. The river is settling back to normal levels after a milder couple of days. We have had some settled low water conditions over last week in a cold spell however there was only one fish recorded from Findynate which was disappointing. Currently the water is running off after the milder days and hopefully that bit of fresh water will improve sport in the coming week, but colder weather is at the back to hopefully give us more settled water and a chance of good fishing. On the opening weeks several anglers braved the elements in pursuit of that magical spring salmon. The cold weather hopefully will give a greater chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements as any fish progress slowly through the system.

Currently the river is running at medium levels from some rain and melt for the time of year (just under 4’ on the Ballathie gauge and 2’ at Murthly).

The Weather is to remain reasonably settled over the next few days turning colder again. Colder conditions certainly benefit the river at this time of year slowing the spring salmon run down and giving everyone a chance to catch as they run up the river slowly. The milder weather forecast has given us more water and would have encouraged salmon to run the river. Colder weather will settle the river back to a good level and make ideal spring fishing conditions. The water temperature was cold last week at 36 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius at its lowest but has risen to 40 on Saturday. This will drop again with the colder forecast. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. There will no doubt be quite a few kelts about on many beats and possibly some later run fish, which have yet to spawn. Should you require guidance on salmon identification in early season please see this salmon identification for some help.  

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method should be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method in early season but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience. 

Tackle recommendations for fishing the Tay throughout the season.What rods and l    FlyRods. 

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.

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. 

Finally, you are reminded that the Tay's policy for January – 1st April 2019 is that all spring salmon must be released, i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% mandatory release of all salmon caught under the new Scottish Government Statutory Conservation Regulation. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the release of salmon as it is a now legal requirement during this period even if a fish has died. The Board's bailiff team will be enforcing this new legislation.

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. good catch and release practice guidance.

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 21st January 2019.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 21st January 2019.

The Salmon fishing season is well and truly started now on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland and we had been encountering some milder conditions and colder winter weather occasionally over the last week and prior to the Opening day. This has settled the river back to much lower levels. We have had good settled conditions over the last week and that looks like continuing with a much colder forecast. On the opening week several anglers braved the elements in pursuit of that magical elusive spring salmon. The weather hopefully will remain colder to give a greater chance of producing sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you are prepared to brave the elements.

Currently the river is running at a medium to lower height for the time of year following the colder weather (just over 2’ on the Ballathie gauge and just over 1’ at Murthly).

The <b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2645519">weather</a></b> is to remain settled over the next few days and remain colder towards for the week. Colder conditions certainly benefit the river at this time of year slowing the spring salmon run down and giving everyone a chance to catch as they run up the river slowly. The milder weather prior to the start gave us more water and would have encouraged salmon to run the river. Colder weather will settle the river back to a good level and make ideal spring fishing conditions. The water temperature was as high as 42 degrees Fahrenheit or 6 degrees Celsius but has fallen back to below 40/4.5 and may fall further in the coming days. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. There will no doubt be quite a few kelts about on many beats and possibly some later run fish, which have yet to spawn. Should you require guidance on salmon identification in early season please see this <b><a href="http://salmon-fishing-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/salmon-fishing-scotland-spring-salmon.html">link</a></b> for some help.  

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method should be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method in early season but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience.

Tacklerecommendations for fishing the Tay throughout the season.What rods and l    FlyRods. 

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.

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. 

Finally, you are reminded that the <b>Tay's policy for January – 1st April 2019 is that all spring salmon must be released, i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% mandatory release of all salmon caught under the new Scottish Government Statutory Conservation Regulation. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the release of salmon as it is a now legal requirement during this period even if a fish has died. The Board's bailiff team will be enforcing this new legislation.</b>

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. <a href="http://salmon-fishing-scotland.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/salmon-fishing-scotland-mandatory-catch.html"><b>Further information on the policy and good release practice. </b></a> 

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 <a href="mailto:robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com ?subject=Email from Blog">robert.salmonfishing@googlemail.com</a> to be included in the reports.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay Report for Opening Week 2019.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay Report for Opening Week 2019.

The river Tay opened on the 15^thJanuary in slightly milder conditions for this winter after a warmer few days putting river levels on the rise, scores of anglers flocked to the banks of the river to mark the opening of the salmon season with great publicity in the press and on television. The various issues and activities appeared on Television, Radio and Press giving the river extremely high exposure that was invaluable with major emphases of asking anglers to only take occasional fish when applicable in the season after poor returns again in 2018 with an increasing priority on conservation. It has been another quiet start to the season so far however there seem to be a good number of Kelts following a very late run prior to opening. 

There were opening day events throughout the Tay district with the larger ceremonies taking place at Meikleour and Kenmore. 

At Meikleour the Tay Board official opening in conjunction with the Perth Chamber of Commerce took place with 

Perth and Kinross Depute Provist Willie Wilsonformally opening the river and the 

symbolic first cast in front of an enthusiastic crowd was made by Polly Murray-the first woman to climb Everst after introductions from Tay Board chairman Iain McLaren who raised all the issues and welcomed the new season on the mighty river. The ceremony at the Meikleour on Tuesday morning marked the official start of the 2019 season. A good crowd witnessed the event with television coverage by STV news plus double page articles in the national press. Anglers attending the event and a raffle for a Hardy Perfect 4” raised over the opening week £2095 for Angling for Youth Development. 

Ms Murray also presented the prestigious Malloch Trophy to local angler for catching a superb spring salmon from the river Teith weighing approximately 28 pounds on the fly. 

In a second opening ceremony, further upriver, a large crowd of anglers and local residents gathered at the Kenmore Hotel in Perthshire before Vale of Atholl pipe band led them to the water’s edge where they waited for the season to be officially opened by Fred MacAulay, who poured a dram into the river before the fishing got under way. The pouring of whisky is a symbolic gesture to keep the salmon “in good health”.

Further ceremonies took place on smaller scales up and down the river toasting the river and hoping we see far better success in the coming year.  

At Stanley Gleneagles Hotel welcomed the new season with guests enjoying a full day’s entertainment. At Dunkeld the Dunkled House Hotel hosted a similar celebration.  

The Opening day saw a couple of spring salmon registered in the best conditions for years on the river. Hopefully with more settled conditions over the weeks to come a few more spring salmon will enter the river and be landed to get our season off to a flying start. 

Stobhall saw a lovely fresh 14 pounds fish landed by Ian Davie which ended up being the recipient of the Redford Trophy. 

An older salmon, but none the less a very early run spring salmon was also recorded on the same day from the Pitlochry Angling stretch on the Tummel at the Dam caught by Steve Watt fly fishing. 

Friday saw a further fresh 18 pounds salmon caught at Ballathie by Ian Gray from the boat guided by birthday boy George McInnes. 

The Spring Salmon fishing was well and truly underway after all the excitement of opening day’s celebrations. It has been a slow start so let us hope the season lives up to everyone’s expectations over the coming weeks and months. Tight lines!

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Opening Day 2019.

Prospects for the Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Opening Day 2019. 

There are now only a few hours until the river Tay opens its salmon fishing season for 2019 on Tuesday this week. The excitement is building slowly with anticipated large crowds expected at Meikleour and Kenmore for the public opening day events.

The salmon fishing season on the River Tay will be opened at the Meikleour Fishings Boathouse on Tuesday 15 January. A ceremony, organised by the beat in conjunction with the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board (TDSFB) and the Tay Foundation, will mark the start of the 2019 season with guest of honour Polly Murray performing the symbolic first cast.

The riverside reception by the Meikleour Fishings is open to all from 9 am and the formal opening of the river, accompanied by music and pipers, takes place at 9.30 am. All anglers are welcome to fish Upper Islamouth for a £10 donation to Angling for Youth Development.

Expect a major announcements at this event to benefit the river for years to come.

“It is great to make the first cast of the salmon fishing season on the Tay.

Scotland is recognised across the world as the destination for salmon and freshwater fishing. Game and coarse angling is worth more than £100 million to the Scottish economy, and supports almost 3,000 jobs, which shows the importance of maintaining and enhancing the quality of our rivers and fish stocks.

Some clips from last years opening ceremony.
Salmon angling on the Tay is not just a pastime enjoyed by many from all walks of life but is also a significant contributor to the local economy in this area creating many jobs for ghillies and in the hospitality sector.

Dr David Summers, Director of the TDSFB,  "Despite some disappointing catch returns in the last couple of years, the number of larger 3 winter salmon returning to the river seems to be on the rise making it a real destination for a catch of a lifetime.”

Anglers enjoying their first casts last season.

At Kenmore a traditional opening of the salmon season on the River Tay will also be held with a parade of fishermen to the river bank with the Vale of Atholl Junior Pipe Band, the 1st cast of the season will be made to mark the opening of the River Tay and a speaker will wish the anglers 'tight lines' for the season.

Currently the river is running around 3 feet on the Ballathie gauge with a colder weather forecast. Colder and more settled weather is now with us giving the river a great chance of producing some good sport and some early "Bars of Silver" on the opening day and beyond.

A superb Tay bar of silver.

On the first day of the season anglers will be competing for the Redford Trophy, for the heaviest salmon caught and safely released from the River Tay on opening day was first fished for in 1986. It was named after the late Ian Redford of Errol, the then co-owner of the Newtyle beat who tragically died the year before.

The angler who lands the biggest salmon on the day will not only be presented with the Trophy but will receive a £250 tackle voucher courtesy of James Crockart &amp; Sons, the famous Blairgowrie tackle and gun shop.

Anglers who land a witnessed opening day springer should contact Crockarts at 01250 872056 by no later than 5 p.m.

The weather is to be cold and settled as the week goes on. The water temperature is typical for the time year just around 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4.5 degrees Celcius, this could change by the end of this week with colder weather forecast. The temperature may come back further with the colder forecast during the week ahead but any salmon that are running may be spread throughout the system after some slightly milder conditions prior to the opening day giving everyone a good chance for the coming week. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. There will no doubt be quite a few kelts about on many beats and possibly some later run fish, which have yet to spawn. Spring salmon identification help for those not sure about the different types of fish in the river at this time of year.

As to methods, in settled conditions fishing by any method will have to be slow and deep with large lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. Harling is also a favoured method at this time of year but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience.

Finally you are reminded that the Tay's policy for January – 1st April 2019 is that all spring salmon must be released, i.e. the Tay has a policy of 100% mandatory release of all salmon caught under the new Scottish Government Statutory Conservation Regulation. Spring salmon are a scarce and precious resource. Please preserve both them and the long term future of your sport by following the release of salmon as it is a now legal requirement during this period even if a fish has died. The Board's bailiff team will be enforcing this new legislation.

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 the policy and good release practice.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 13th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 13th October 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire has now seen out the last complete week of the 2018 season in October for salmon fishing with continuing reasonable results in recent weeksdue rain and cooler weather conditions. The autumn has seen more typical weather patterns 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 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 13th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 8, Waulkmill 9, Lower Redgorton 3, Luncarty 1, Upper Redgorton 2, Fishponds 11, Upper Scone 2, Pitlochrie 1, Stobhall 10, Taymount 30, Ballathie 13, Cargill 24, Islamouth 12, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 13, Kercock 7, Delvine Burnbane 4, Murthly 1 2, Murthly 2 5, Newtyle 1, Dunkeld House 4, Dalmarnock 6, Lower Kinnaird 6, Edradynate 2, Upper Aberuthven 2, Lochlane and Laggan 1.
Total: 179 Largest: Cargill 23lbs
SEA TROUT: Waulkmill 5, Upper Redgorton 2, Taymount 2, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 2, Delvine Burnbane 2, Upper Aberuthven 1.
Total: 14 Largest: Waulkmill & Taymount & Meikleour and Upper Islamouth & Delvine Burnbane & Upper Aberuthven 3lbs

Salmon were landed last week in reasonable conditions. The catches were maintained after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were again encouraging after some good weeks in a difficult season, it finished with around 180 making it another consistent week so far signaling a reasonable summer run and even some autumn fish over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that the resident fish continued to be more active and they made up a large proportion of the catch. The spring run is a memory, and frustratingly only small runs have come into the river this year but with good conditions catches have been made in reasonable numbers. 

On the Lower river most beats have had another reasonable week with the bottom of the river continuing to catch. In the first few beats of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish but in lesser numbers than the previous weeks. It has been a better period for these beats with improving catches compared with previous years. Fishponds had another reasonable week with 11 fish up to 16 pounds. The beats around Stanley only had odd fish. Taymount and Stobhall had reasonable weeks with Taymount amassing an impressive 30 fish up to 21 pounds. Ballathie and Cargill continued to do well during the week with the best part of 40 fish between them up to 23 pounds in weight. 

On Cargill Neil French captured his 50^thfish off the beat catching several during the week. 

Other successful rods included 

Gavin Mason, Christian Lassielle and some guests from Strutt and Parker. Islamouth had 12 during the week and just above them 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour caught 13 up to 20 pounds which was landed by Nick Bell. Other successful rods included Scott Sykes and the Stanton party. 

The Middle river had been really struggling but catches have improved dramatically in the last few weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 7 in the week up to 14 pounds. 

This included 3 caught by the Dattas on Saturday. Delvine Burnbane continued their good fortune in recent weeks with 4 in the week. This included fish for Willie Cumming, a first ever for Martin Furness weighing 18 pounds and Stan Nicol landing a couple. The Murthly beats had 7 between them and Newtyle had a single. Dunkeld House had 4 up to 18 pounds which included a first for Robert Ewart on the fly. Dalmarnock landed 6 up to 13 pounds and the Lower Kinnaird beat had a similar score with a biggest of 16 pounds. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded atEdradynate. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2630 fish through the ladder. 

The Earn is seeing some fish running in the recent water with fish recorded last week at Upper Aberuthven and Lochlane and Laggan. 

The past weeks have seen better catches after rain and cooler temperatures improving sport in an extremely difficult year.  

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 few weeks or so and the sheer class of the fish caught continues to be outstanding. 

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 as we see out the season. 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 8th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay, Perthshire w/c 8th October 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now in the last full week finishing next Monday 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 unsettled with ranges of 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 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 a good last few days. 

Currently the stunning 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.

The river is a bit unsettled following rain over the weekend. It is at Caputh (3’ 3) and similarly on the lower river (4’11) on the Ballathie gauge.

The Weatheris looking a lot more autumnal for the coming week with varying temperatures and fairly unsettled at times. 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 around 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 Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 6th October 2018.

Tay Salmon Fishing Scotland Tay, Perthshire Salmon fishing report w/e 6th October 2018.

The Tay, Perthshire is now in October for salmon fishing with continuing encouraging results in recent weeksdue some rain and cooler weather conditions as we go deeper into autumn and the last full week of the season. 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 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 6th October)
SALMON & GRILSE: Almondmouth 15, Waulkmill 19, Lower Redgorton 12, Luncarty 4, Upper Redgorton 11, Fishponds 8, Benchil 1, Upper Scone 4, Pitlochrie 3, Burnmouth 1, Stobhall 4, Taymount 13, Ballathie 23, Cargill 27, Islamouth 22, Meikleour and Upper Islamouth 13, Kercock 12, Delvine Burnbane 1, Murthly 1 6, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 14, Newtyle 2, Dunkeld House 3, Dalmarnock 2, Dalguise 3, Lower Kinnaird 4, Edradynate 1, Farleyer Upper 3, Farleyer Lower 6, Keithick Mains 3.
Total: 241 Largest: Waulkmill 26lbs
SEA TROUT: Lower Redgorton 1, Glendelvine 1, Murthly 2 1.
Total: 3 Largest: Glendelvine 4lbs

Salmon were landed last week in reasonable conditions after very heavy rain and a big spate washed the river out in the previous week. The catches were maintained after a change in conditions over recent weeks. The numbers were again encouraging after some good weeks in a difficult season, it finished with around 240 making it another consistent week so far signaling a reasonable summer run and even some autumn fish over recent weeks. The improving conditions meant that the resident fish continued to be more active and they made 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 last week of the season. 

On the Lower river most beats have had another reasonable week with the bottom of the river continuing to catch. In the first few beats of the river Almondmouth, Lower Redgorton and Waulkmill all had fish but in lesser numbers than the previous weeks however there was odd fresh fish caught and some into the twenties of pounds in weight with Waulkmill catching a 26 pounds fish on Saturday. Luncarty continued to catch with Steven Crossland’s party landing 4. 

Fishponds had a reasonable week with fish caught up to 14 pounds. On Upper Redgorton Walter Soland’s party had an enjoyable week with 11 including young 10 year old Lewis landing his first ever salmon weighing 5 pounds. Upper Scone had 4 for the week with Stanley rods having a similar score. 

Monday saw Sam and Sandy Datta catching fish from Horsey on the Pitlochrie beat then 

Sandy caught on Benchil on Saturday. Burnmouth had a single fish and just above Taymount and Stobhall had another reasonable week with fish most days including a 25 pounds fish on Taymount. On Ballathie and Cargill it was similar situation with a consistent weeks fishing and some big fish as well. 

On Cargill there was 27 fish landed up to 25 pounds which included success for Graham Ritchie, Neil French, Steve Curnow and Robert Dawson. 

There was also a first ever for Norwegian visitor Venja Holt. Islamouth had a consistent week with 22 up to 19 pounds. 

Upper Islamouth and Meikleour had 13 for the week up 18 pounds which included fish for Scotia fishings clients, Claire Fuller, Cliff Davies, Steven Hulme, Bradi Hulme and Terry Davies.  

The Middle river had been really struggling but catches have improved dramatically in the last couple of weeks with a steady rise in water levels. Kercock had 12 in the week up to 23 pounds. 

Delvine Burnbane had a single fish at 13 pounds. The Murthly beats had a much better week with around 20 fish up to 20 pounds with Glendelvine landing a single. 

Newtyle had odd fish but the story of the week must have been 82 year old Mrs Hedges landing her first ever salmon weighing 20 pounds with a little help from Andy Gunn through the Salmon Fishing Surgery team. Up at Dunkeld House 3 were landed up to 13 pounds and Dalmarnock had 2. Dalguise caught 3 with the Kinnaird beats having 2. 

The Upper river had odd fish last week with fish recorded at Farleyer Upper and Farleyer Lower. 

The Tummel is seeing fish continue on their journey now with around 2600 fish through the ladder. 

The Earn is seeing some fish run with the recent water but nothing was recorded last week. 

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 see out the season. 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.