This is a cold water weir stopper for early run River Tay Spring salmon at the lower end of the River Tay near Stanley. Salmon fishing enthusiasts often wait here like like fisher for the arrival of Spring salmon knowing fine well the concrete weir will stop these fish for a while. Good ambush tactics often pay dividends as was the case here on this bright early Spring salmon fishing day.

Here's the freezing conditions of January on the River Tay in Perthshire. Salmon at this time of year are found in the slightly milder upper water column thermals and not down deep as per popular belief. When the Scottish rivers are running cold like this you need to think outside of the box and let logic be your compass and not general hearsay as to where to target cold water salmon.

This salmon fishing holiday angler is fly fishing through the Mike's Run Pool of the River Tummel during a cold & wet early Spring day. I just had to grab this shot as his salmon guide when the sun appeared through the clouds as it was far too spectacular a light show moment to ignore.

This salmon angler is out fishing the Dean's Burn Pool of the Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld which is a great fishing area in the Tay Valley. 1 hour prior to this photograph being taken this angler's colleague landed a perfect 15lbs Spring salmon slightly downstream of where the angler is fishing. I took this sparkly light shot while working as a salmon guide for this River Tay fisherman.

This early Spring sunlight shot was taken by myself at the tail of the Upper Kinnaird Beat's Rock Pool during late January as the low Winter sun was flickering its rays through the leafless riverbank beech and oak trees.

Cold Water Salmon Fishing

By Jock Monteith 24th February 2026

With the vast majority of Scottish salmon fishers believing that deep and slow is the correct early Spring tactical salmon fishing approach it's no wonder few fish are caught during the early months of the salmon fishing season.

In near to freezing river water conditions and with briefly pausing running salmon they will both be holding approx 2 feet under the surface of the river where the warmer thermals are to be 'logically' located. God made a salmon's back dark in colour for camouflage as they hunt in the sea from below and also to act as a sunlight heat receiver during freezing water conditions.

Early Season Salmon Fishing Advice

In the early Spring fishing months of January, February and March my consistent message to all fishing guests was to stay focussed on your fly's swing spacings and make sure your salmon fly is swimming approximately one foot under the surface and not too fast or deep in the cold water. The logic behind these 2 main points are that if your water coverage was good enough you'd eventually present your fly in front of a fish and if that fly was swimming nice and steadily at that depth you'd be making it easy for a salmon to intercept it in the cold Spring water conditions.

Meeting The Salmon Fishing Guests

As a head ghillie on the River Tay I used used to love the first hour of the day when guests were arriving and equipment was being built up over a coffee or sometimes even a dram. Discussing salmon fishing tactics was also something that fascinated me and quickly assessing and playing each guest to their fishing strengths was my daily objective to maximise the beat's 'effective' salmon pool coverage.

I took this shot of this salmon fishing guest spinning through the Green Bank pool on the River Tay near Pitlochry. You can see from the bare trees this shot was taken during early Spring. The spinner offers a salmon fisher the ability to cover much more water on a big river than what could realistically be achieved with a fly rod. This significantly increases the chance of a salmon take on big rivers like the River Tay in Perthshire but only if good riverbank cast spacings are added to the tactical spin approach.

Back On The Salmon River In January

It's always a welcome relief to get the salmon rod back in your hands after the Winter shutdown and to feel the magnetic pull of the Scottish salmon rivers once again. Personally when I'm commuting to any salmon river there's a great sense of excitement to see what the water conditions are doing and meet other professional ghillies and fishing guests. This social side is a big part of salmon fishing as being in the company of like minded people in the most amazing river environments truly beats any other form of social life I've ever seen.

I caught this perfect River Tay Spring salmon in February on the Kinnaird salmon beat near Pitlochry. These fish are in a true class of their own and are the objective of most knowledgable salmon fishers who appreciate their brilliance. February isn't generally regarded as a prime Scottish Spring salmon fishing month but experienced Tay fishers know better. I was resting this lovely fish in the landing net for a few minutes when I took this shot before releasing it back to the river.

Salmon Hold High In The Water Column

Contrary to popular belief an early Spring salmon in very cold water conditions will be holding in the top 2 feet of the water column where the warmer water thermals are to be found. If salmon are on the move they will also be running at this depth range so your fly will also be in front of a fish if it pauses for a rest. A deeper holding position for non running salmon will only be found when the river warms up usually once April and May arrive.

Here's salmon fisher Chris Blandford with a perfect fly caught River Tay Spring salmon which he caught near the Perthshire town of Stanley during March while I was his salmon fishing guide. The bright clear sky Spring sunlight illuminated this salmon's beautiful silver flanks for this perfect salmon capture shot which I took.

Spring Salmon Fishing In Scotland

Spring fishing in Scotland has in recent years has become the most desirable part of the season for many salmon fishers for various good reasons and the capture of a hard fighting fresh run Atlantic salmon on a fly rod is indeed a true pinnacle for any fisher. The perfect condition of these fine specimens are in a league of their own and on a bright day like what you see here where hooking a salmon is a good possibility the silver flash and adrenalin shot you'll receive from hooking a 'Springer' will become a permanent feature in your memory banks.

Here's the shimmering sunlight dancing across the River Tay near Pitlochry during early Spring. Even early Spring has some amazing scenery like this well before the leaves appear on the riverside trees. There's much more to Scottish salmon fishing trips than just catching salmon.

Sunlight Is Good In Early Spring

This beautiful picture of the River Tay was taken during February on a perfect settled water Spring salmon fishing day. This kind of bright sunlight is a 'gift from God' on the Tay at that time of the year and especially if there's been a hard frost the night before as the warmth on a salmon's back makes a huge difference to its state of alertness to take a fly. This sunlight also brings to life any type of sparkly features that have been tied into your salmon fly like a Christmas tree with its fairy lights switched on!