Here's a shot of me teaching Angus how to Spey cast on this popular Scottish salmon fishing show at the neck of the Cottar Pool on the Tay's Newtle Beat. This was me demonstrating D Loop formation for Neen, Angus and the cameraman while I was working on Newtyle as the Head Ghillie.

Here's my son Johnny spinning the neck of the Rock Pool on Kinnaird with his 10ft spinning rod. The use of a spinning rod is allowed on some of the Scottish rivers such as the River Tay in Perthshire. This lovely upstream shot was taken on the Tay near Logierait which is a salmon fishing hot spot that's close to the River Tay & River Tummel confluence.

Here's a perfectly coloured traditional River Tay cobble salmon boat blending in with the riverbank stones slightly upstream of the River Tummel/Tay confluence. This is the tail of the Rock Pool which lies between the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld. The riverbank trees in the shot are primarily oak trees.

Learning to use your left non dominant hand with a Scottish Spey cast opens up a much bigger tactical range for your salmon fishing approach. This salmon fishing tour angler was learning how to do this from his professional salmon fly fishing instructor on the Oak Tree Pool near Meikleour on the River Tay.

Here's a lovely Tay Spring salmon that fell for the deadly Jock's Shrimp tube fly near the River Tummel mouth where it enters the River Tay. Fly fishing in Scotland is great fun and is highly satisfying when salmon are outsmarted. This fine salmon took the Jock's Shrimp salmon which you can see in the photograph.

This is one of the salmon fishing middle River Tay hot spots. This stretch of water is known as the Ash Tree Pool which accounts for 40% of the salmon caught on the Lower Kinnaird beat. This salmon fishing guest is fishing the tail of the Ash Tree pool with a professional River Tay salmon guide who took this photograph.

Dunkeld Salmon Fishing Tuition

By Jock Monteith 18th June 2018

Like anything worthwhile in life if you're going to fish for salmon then do it right or not at all.

This same thought process applies to putting a fly through a salmon pool as there's little point or satisfaction unless it's done correctly.

No Prior Salmon Fishing Experience

Imagine walking onto a shoot with no knowledge of how a gun functions! It just wouldn't happen or be allowed to happen by the shoot staff. Or getting into a car with no one explaining about the clutch and how it functions in relation to the gear box or what the numbered gears even mean. So why then in salmon fishing are guests allowed to fish through a salmon pool who have little or no knowledge of how to fish. Scottish salmon fishing is serious national business and with the arrival of the internet it's been made completely 'catch statistics' driven so if you're new to the sport then get the basic skills mastered quickly or get 'fine tuned' if you're success rate is disappointing you.

Learning How To Load A Salmon Fly Rod

Getting the best out of a double handed salmon fly rod is all about understanding how to 'load' it properly and the techniques that are required for successful loading are therefore vital for Spey casting. If a beat ghillie is a Spey casting 'guru' and has time to show you how to use the kit properly then that's great but often a professional ghillie won't have the time to spend when there's other paying guests on his salmon beat to be attended to. Booking a professional guide who knows more than just how to cast is the easiest and the most effective way into this sport if you're serious and are even remotely results orientated.

Catching Atlantic Salmon Requires Skill

Make no mistake about it that catching a wild Atlantic salmon in the river takes skill and no fish will simply just surrender itself for an 'interview' without a carefully planned salmon pool coverage approach. The main problem in this business from what I've personally seen is that anyone can just walk into a tackle shop and stock up with the appropriate kit and then buy the salmon fishing permit access and turn up on the river with little idea of how to use it. While they'll definitely look the part their chances of actually catching a salmon will be at best a 100 to 1 shot!

More Than Just A Day Out On The Salmon River

While I understand for many anglers it's just about being out on the river and getting away from it all but equally they should be completely focussed on exactly what they are showing their quarry and making sure they have the ability to fish at reasonable range for effective and optimised salmon pool coverage. These skills are easy to pick up and if learned correctly will enhance any angler's salmon fishing experience ten fold. The teaching of these important salmon fishing skills usually does however need to be arranged separately from your day out on the river unless you hire a professional salmon guide to accompany you for a day.