Here's one of my own Wheatley aluminium salmon fly boxes with a few choice patterns in it and a spare coiled up salmon leader. Once your salmon fly faith levels rise then you'll always know what fly to tie on during each month of the salmon fishing season.

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.

Here's a salmon fishing angler mastering the power stroke which is the final part of the 3 stage Spey cast. This shot was taken by myself while serving as a salmon fishing guide at the neck of the Rock Pool on the Lower Tummel Beat of the River Tummel not too far away from the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.

This salmon fly pattern is the 'Cascade' with boar bristle tied into them which make this pattern even more effective. The hooks these flies are tied on are black Partridge Salar doubles in size 9 which is a popular hook size for most water conditions. This pattern is a favourite for professional Scottish salmon fishing guide to use.

Here's the ultimate Scottish rural pursuit challenge. This is the capture of a perfect River Tay salmon on a fly rod which is easy to say but not easy to achieve without astute tactical awareness, casting skills and patience. This salmon was caught at sunrise by one of our River Tay salmon guide team members during late July.

Here's my favourite River Tay salmon fishing pool near Dunkeld in late Spring. This is the March Pool on the opposite side of the river which is shrouded in these lovely riverside oak trees. Look at the perfect tapered riverbed that leads over to the deep salmon water. I have assisted many salmon fishing guests to catch salmon on this fine pool over the years while serving as their salmon fishing guide.

The most famous of the bigger Scottish rivers are the Tay, Spey, Dee & Tweed and this perfect fish of around 14 lbs was caught on the fly on the River Tay during July near the Perthshire town of Dunkeld. Look at the perfect deep bodied build of this perfect salmon as it lay in the landing net prior to being released.

Once you've got enough faith in a specific salmon fly pattern then look for the fly that outperforms it's replica associates. Here's a selection of my 'Jock Shrimp' & 'Copperass' patterns with a few other aces that I sometimes fish with too. I love these old aluminium Richard Wheatley fly boxes too and have many of them which I've collected over the decades.

Fly Leader Length & Strength

By Jock Monteith 10th June 2026

I've heard much interesting nonsense spoken about this topic so I just want to clear a few things up as this was always a question asked by fishing guests on a near enough daily basis when working as a professional salmon guide on the River Tay.

This was my Monteith Sunk line salmon fly fishing system which was a sunk line Speyline that allowed anglers to fish their fly as deep as necessary. This Speyline Multi tip system came with a pouch of braided core sink tips of varying sink rates as you can see here.

Floating Line Salmon Leaders

On a floating line where you're fishing a high fly in the water column a leader of between 10ft & 12ft is generally more than adequate. Personally I've never ever fished a 15ft plus leader for salmon in my life and have done well enough at catching fish on a full floating line when the occasion to use a full floater arose. I cannot see the sense or benefit in huge long leaders where a salmon is only logically 'ever' going to see your salmon fly first! Nor do I ever want even the slickest leader knot in my rod rings at salmon landing time if avoidable!

This lovely tapered salmon Spey line was designed to turn over fast sinking tips with ease where other floating main belly lines would struggle. This line system came with 8 tips to cover all salmon fly fishing applications and was a firm favourite with thousands of UK salmon fishers.

Intermediate Salmon Fly Line Leaders

With an intermediate sink tip or full intermediate fly line I'd reduce the leader length down to approx 6ft as you do not want a longer leader which will allow most salmon flies to ride up higher which negates the sinking effect you're trying to achieve for your salmon fly in the first place. I've always been a fan of lightish flies as I've always admired their superior stream movement better than heavier less 'life like' equivalents so let the sinking tip or sinking fly line place your fly where you want it and not the weight of the fly.

This was my Monteith Sunk line salmon fly fishing system which was a sunk line Speyline that allowed salmon anglers to fish their fly as deep as necessary. This Speyline Multi tip system came with a pouch of braided core sink tips of varying sink rates which were carefully thought out by myself while working as a professional River Tay salmon fishing guide.

Fast Sinking Salmon Fly Line Leaders

For the heavier 'artillery' range of sinking tips or sinking fly lines that are availably these days via the clever use of tungsten I'd shorten my leader right down to as short as 3ft with a very heavy 'type 7' (or heavier) tip or to a 4ft to 5ft leader with a regular 'type 3' tip as again you don't want your sink tip down and the salmon fly riding higher which it will do with a longer leader. Keeping a few coils of different weight leader material in your fly box is sensible so you know you've got spare leader material with you at all times as forgetting a spool of leader material is easily done.

A heart racing close up inspection with one of these fine Atlantic salmon and will remain in your memory banks for an entire lifetime. This perfect Summer salmon came to a deadly Jock's Shrimp salmon fly and was caught near to the River Tummel/Tay confluence which is located not too far away from Pitlochry in Perthshire. Note the fish friendly fine mesh of the landing net behind the salmon.

The Difference Between Stocked Trout & Wild Salmon

I get the long light leader theme if you're pursuing stocked trout that have been caught, released & educated on numerous occasions and that could be coming for your fly from any angle which means they are more than likely going to see your leader first and get a real chance to inspect the presentation of a trout fly or lure. If you think about working your salmon fly methodically 'down' through the pools of a river the only salmon that's going to object to your leader or fly line is a fish that has already objected to your salmon fly by completely ignoring it! It is logically much more difficult for a salmon to either see the leader or fly line when the fly is in front or is pulling away from the fish and any interested salmon will be far more preoccupied watching the rear end of the fly at that point.

I never buy cheap salmon fishing gear as it's often false economy and doesn't tend to last too long. What you see here is my own Bruce & Walker 16ft Spey actioned rod paired up with a Van Staal C-Vex fly reel, a Brady fishing bag and a McLean salmon landing net. All of these items I've owned for decades and use successfully each season on the River Tay. Buying cheap kit which needs replacing every few years costs more money in the long term.

The Salmon Fly Leader Breaking Strain

Once you've got the misconception of leader length out of your head based on the logic that it's too late to hook any salmon that's ignored your fly and is now seeing your leader or fly line the next very important fact to understand is the thickness, bulk or breaking strain of your leader and the purpose this important component serves.

Here's a deadly Scottish salmon fly that was designed up on the Aberdeenshire River Dee for use in the higher waters of Spring. This Dee Monkey fly also works well on the Tay, Spey & Tweed and Spring fish love to attack it. Most salmon fly fishing experts will carry this pattern and especially during the Spring months.

Energy Transfer Is Important For Salmon Fly Turn Over

The bulk of your leader should be chosen only based on the energy transfer you are looking to achieve to match the weight of the salmon fly you are fishing with. In other words on your forward cast delivery power stroke you want that energy effectively going all the way to the salmon fly and not cut short by some stupidly light leader material that has no bulk even though it may be badged as exceptionally strong. Energy transfer via leader bulk is all you should be thinking about and critically so if you're fishing a bigger salmon fly and wish an elegant turnover.

This Maxima monofilament line has stood the test of time and I've personally used it throughout my entire professional salmon fishing career and never once has it let me down when capturing Scottish salmon.

Maxima Salmon Fly Leader Material

Since I was a salmon parr I've always used Maxima Chameleon as my leader material and I know many other professionals who use this very same monofilament. Maxima can handle knots, abrasion and even starts to fade to a pinkish colour when it's degraded so 'visually' you always know if the material you're using is 'goosed' or not. Maxima Chameleon is also inexpensive and a bulk spool purchase for leader material use will last most anglers 100 years!

Here's a glimpse of the salmon fly patterns I have absolute faith in. Although I'll always experiment with different fly patterns my main 2 are the 'Copperass' & the 'Jock's Shrimp' patterns which account for 85% of the salmon I'm involved in the capture of each year. The Maxima spools you see is my favourite salmon fly leader material.

The Strength Of Salmon Fly Leader Material

With regular size 9 salmon flies on the Tay I'd be fishing with an 18 lbs test leader which may appear to some as overkill. On the deep heavy flow pools of the Tay and the real possibility of a heavyweight salmon at any time of the year going a bit heavier is always advisable. Rarely will I drop down in leader strength unless fishing the tiniest of low water Summer salmon flies. With heavier tube flies a short 3ft or 4ft length of 25 lbs Maxima Chameleon leader material is just about perfect for a 'bullet' type turnover at range when bigger big bulkier tube flies are required!