Spring salmon are the real prize in Scottish salmon fishing due to their perfect physical condition and powerful fighting qualities. The river Tay, Tweed, Dee & Spey all have a run of these special creatures between March & June so if you're planning a salmon fishing trip to Scotland try to make it while these Spring salmon are in the river. This perfect example of a Spring salmon was caught by one of our River Tay salmon fishing guide team members.

This was a perfect River Tummel salmon of 11lbs caught that I caught while working as a salmon guide in May near the mouth of the River Tummel. You can see the light blue floating fly line on my fly rod which was fitted with a 15ft sinking tip just to get the fly down a foot or two in the water column. Note the fine meshed landing net bag the salmon is lying on.

This fine salmon took a 'Copperass' tube fly in the Ash Tree Pool of the River Tay near Dunkeld. A few professional salmon fly fishing instructors understand just how deadly controlled salmon fly presentation is during the cold high water level of Spring so they prefer to use a spinner.

Here's a prefect wee River Tay 'springer' which was hooked and landed at the Kinnaird Beat's Rock Pool tail during February. There's not many anglers who fish the Scottish rivers in February these days even though there's always fish like this to be caught.

I took this picture of this beautiful perfectly shaped River Tay Spring salmon is probably my most favourite one of all time even though I've photographed thousands of salmon over my professional salmon guide career. This perfect River Tay Spring salmon I caught during the month of May near Dunkeld.

This is God's finest marine creature in a salmon landing net moments before it was released back to its River Tay habitat. This fine fish was caught during late March near Dunkeld and weight exactly 23lbs. The fish took a pearly pink 4 inch Classic Tomic lure in colour code 341. These lures are ordered from Tomic Lures in Canada especially for use on the River Tay by many professional salmon fishing guides.

If you look closely at this perfect Spring salmon you'll see the little piece of arctic fox tail that was responsible for luring it from the depths of the River Tay. If you choose the correct salmon fly pattern and learn how to fish it effectively this is the end result. I caught this perfect Spring salmon while working as a salmon guide on the Tay.

I caught this fine 16lbs specimen Spring salmon in February on the River Tay near Dunkeld as hard proof that early run Scottish salmon certainly do exist. Look at the caliber of this perfect fish which is exceptional and easily caught too for those who know how & where to fish during the early Spring months in Scotland.

Atlantic Salmon Individuality

By Jock Monteith 18th May 2026

One of the fascinating things in Scottish salmon fishing is getting a close up look at these amazing creatures before setting them free.

All salmon are individuals and even if from the same shoal as they all have their own individual markings and shape variances.

Here's myself with a fine Spring salmon in the landing net immediately prior to its release. A good landing net with fish friendly mesh is an essential piece of salmon fishing equipment. I caught this fine salmon at the Daffodil Lie Pool on the beautiful Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay in Highland Perthshire.

Skill Is Required For Catching 'The King Of Fish'

The thrill of catching one of these beautiful creatures is indeed amazing however the tact, skill and patience levels required should never be underestimated. Catching a perfect creation like a wild Atlantic salmon is a completely different proposition from a stocked rainbow trout so anyone looking for instant gratification in this sport is usually in for a rude awakening! If you're struggling for success in this pursuit or are looking for an introduction then get with a professional salmon fishing guide who's got a solid track record for teaching & catching success. This will get you off the starting block quickly and effectively and save much frustration.

I took this photo of the stone build Newtyle Beat jetty which dates back to 1970 when it was constructed by Willie Laird who was the Newtyle Beat ghillie at that time. I served as Head Ghillie on Newtyle from 2001 to 2009 which was a fantastic period for me as a professional salmon guide. You can see the boathouse I built in 2008 on the opposite bank if you look closely. You can also see one of our traditional River Tay harling boats just upstream of this famous jetty.

The Salmon Fishing Pursuit

From what I've personally witnessed over the decades there's been a colossal wastage of new anglers who have initially entered this sport on a 'permit only' approach which in many cases is a false economy. Too many anglers who were initially interested enough to purchase that permit (and probably all the required salmon fishing kit too) missed out on the most important entry level component of all which is a professional guide to teach them how to 'effectively' fish for salmon and gain true value from their salmon fishing permit and fishing equipment outlays. Make no mistake about the fact that turning up with even the most expensive kit isn't going to be effective for catching a wild salmon without the vital salmon fishing skills.

I took this beautiful downstream shot of the River Tay in Perthshire which is a famous Scottish salmon river. This lovely shot was taken a few miles upstream from the Perthshire town of Dunkeld. You can clearly see my salmon fishing guest a few hundred yards below me. The dark shadowy water just off the main current is a great Tay salmon holding area and is always worth fishing through.

The Basic Salmon Fishing Skills

Knowing how to effectively use a double handed salmon fly rod is not where an angler's skill set ends as many would believe but definitely only where the learning curve begins. Reading and adapting the fly's size and depth presentation to the prevailing water conditions is very important as is spacing each swing of the fly correctly to ensure good 'daily' water coverage is achieved. Many anglers think hammering a fish that's been constantly showing in a pool is the best way to make it take but my experience has been that if a salmon wants to have a go at your fly it'll more than likely identify itself the first or 2nd time your fly gets close enough to it.

This was one of my fishing guests fishing the River Tay in June after being taught to Speycast with this 15ft double handed salmon fly rod. The Tay is Scotland's biggest salmon river which is popular for salmon fishing trips. Look at the lovely riverbank and wooded Perthshire hillside on the far bank.

Scottish Salmon Catch Number Potential

I often wonder what the Scottish river catch numbers would look like if a crack team of seasoned professionals were deployed on each salmon beat of every Scottish river on each fishing days of the season. I've have little doubt that this would at least quadruple the salmon catch numbers that everyone is so tuned into these days. The reality is that often no salmon anglers turn up to fish a beat at all or whoever does turn up to fish isn't necessarily experienced enough to notch up a fish for the beat's record book. As previously mentioned there's a colossal difference when it comes to success in this game between being able to throw a nice line and being able to fish effectively.

Here's a nice spin fishing shot I took of salmon fishing guest on the River Tay having a serious attempt at catching a salmon while on his fishing break. This slow moving deep pool near the village of Stanley is a great fishing area on the Tay. You can see the salmon fishing hut tucked in below the trees on the far side of the river.

What You Need To Know To Salmon Fish Effectively

For success in this business to acquire you a close up inspection of one of these fine creatures you need to know how to use your fly rod properly and ideally with both hands to give you the versatility to be able to confidently fish from either side of the river in any wind condition. You must also know how to space each swing of the salmon fly correctly for maximising your chance of a predatory reaction from a fish that isn't in the river to feed. The big one that I see that would at least double the Scottish salmon catch records overnight is knowing how to set the hook properly when that hard earned take eventually commences. Thousands of salmon hooking opportunities are squandered each year in Scotland by anglers not dealing with the salmon take effectively enough which is a polar opposite from what's required when fly fishing for other species. Make the effort to introduce yourself properly to this amazing game and stay in this truly magnificent pursuit for life!