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This perfect early Spring River Tay salmon took a Copperass tube fly neat the River Tummel River Tay confluence which is a renowned salmon fishing area near Dunkeld. Early Spring salmon like this are always perfect specimens to catch and there's huge fishing satisfaction from outsmarting them. As a professional Scottish salmon fishing guide I love to show visiting fly fishing guests these fine fish up close like this.
I took this shot of the beautiful Lower Blackhall salmon beat on the River Dee near Banchory. Our River Dee salmon fishing guides bring our Dee salmon fishing trip guests to this pool and they fish it from the opposite bank where you see the sand and then cast their salmon fly across to this riverbank letting the current swing the fly back across the river.
Here's a group of Canadian salmon fishers who had come to fish the River Tay learning how we tie our salmon flies onto the leader. This photo was taken near Murthly on the River Tay in Perthshire while professional salmon guide Jock Monteith was teaching these salmon fishing holiday guests the basic salmon fishing skills.
There's nothing more inspiring than the low Scottish sun appearing through the clouds on a cold early Spring fishing day to warm up the surface layer of the freezing cold river water as you can see in this photograph. This warmth is often an indicator trigger preceding the capture of an early Spring salmon so whenever I see this my expectation levels soar. I took this selfie during the early Spring month of February on the River Tay while out fishing from the boat near the River Tummel mouth.
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.
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 was my first fish of the 2024 River Tay salmon fishing season and a fine fish too as you can clearly see here in this photograph. Look at its beautiful oceanic colours as they highlight against the dark browns of the river environment. I caught this fine at the Rock Pool on Kinnaird Water which has always been a good Spring salmon fishing area.

Happy New Year

By 1st January 2026

Happy New Year to each and everyone of you and may 2026 bring you all the joy & happiness you could have ever dreamed of.

The 1st day of January always marks the start too of the new salmon fishing season as the big Scottish rivers prepare to open up over the next month or so.

This was my first fish of the 2024 River Tay salmon fishing season and a fine fish too as you can clearly see here in this photograph. Look at its beautiful oceanic colours as they highlight against the dark browns of the river environment. I caught this fine at the Rock Pool on Kinnaird Water which has always been a good Spring salmon fishing area.

Catching A Perfect Spring Salmon

The fine 'Springer' in the photograph was caught on the River Tay during February in an apparent 'quiet spell' for Spring salmon when no salmon fishers turned up to fish the beat I was operating from that day. In the early months of the season there are plenty of salmon of this calibre in the Scottish rivers however they will never obviously be caught if there's no fishers there to catch them.

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.

Beautiful Early Spring Fishing Conditions

On that particular February morning I waited until 11am just in case the guests who had booked onto the venue appeared late for whatever reason. At 11.30am I grabbed my fly rod, locked up the fishing hut and took the boat downstream to the beautiful Rock Pool neck on the Tay's Upper Kinnaird salmon fishing beat which was now bathed in the most inviting early Spring sunlight. River conditions were absolutely perfect that day and although I was seeing no signs of life I just had that inner feeling that Spring salmon were present. After about a dozen properly spaced casts I felt a gentle nudge on my 'Copperass' tube fly which slowly developed into a very positive draw to confirm my suspicions!

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.

Spring Salmon Fishing Mind Set

In early season Scottish salmon fishing you must always make the assumption that Spring salmon are present as they always will be whether they show their salmon pool holding positions or not. Once you've gained confidence in what I've just stated your approach during the early months of the season will be just as thorough if not more so than the fishing effort you'd be applying during the more popular Spring months of April & May. This is particularly true because there's even more satisfaction in catching a fish like this when others think there's little or no chance and the pools are fished less which is always a good thing in salmon fishing.

There's nothing more inspiring than the low Scottish sun appearing through the clouds on a cold early Spring fishing day to warm up the surface layer of the freezing cold river water as you can see in this photograph. This warmth is often an indicator trigger preceding the capture of an early Spring salmon so whenever I see this my expectation levels soar. I took this selfie during the early Spring month of February on the River Tay while out fishing from the boat near the River Tummel mouth.

Salmon Fishing In February

Over the many years that I've been professionally involved in this amazing pursuit I've always loved February on the Scottish rivers and I'm always very watchful for the little signs that are indicators that Spring salmon are about. One of the nicest indicators is when the oyster catchers start to show up which normally commences with one or two birds appearing before their numbers start increasing by the day. That early year 'flute like' call sends my senses into overdrive as to the possibility of catching a perfect fresh run Spring salmon as often the capture of these pristine salmon coincides perfectly with the arrival of these beautiful wild birds.

Here's a group of Canadian salmon fishers who had come to fish the River Tay learning how we tie our salmon flies onto the leader. This photo was taken near Murthly on the River Tay in Perthshire while professional salmon guide Jock Monteith was teaching these salmon fishing holiday guests the basic salmon fishing skills.

Salmon Fisher Pack Mentality

Salmon anglers ultimately set the patterns as to the popular fishing months of the season and when salmon are ultimately caught via catch stats graphs. This industry afflicted 'rod pressure' measuring tool barely functions when a Scottish salmon beat is being fully fished assuming the angling quality is of a reasonable standard but cannot function at all when a salmon beat is completely un-fished. Traditionally on the River Tay anglers choose not to fish the river during February which to my mind is crazy as this is a true Spring month and the amazing cold water fight and perfect condition of salmon at that time of year has always been superb.

I took this shot of the beautiful Lower Blackhall salmon beat on the River Dee near Banchory. Our River Dee salmon fishing guides bring our Dee salmon fishing trip guests to this pool and they fish it from the opposite bank where you see the sand and then cast their salmon fly across to this riverbank letting the current swing the fly back across the river.

Think Outside Of The Fishing Box

The more I think about Scottish salmon fishing and all aspects of catching salmon it becomes apparently more obvious that you must be a 'possibility thinker' and not allow yourself to be herded into the 'heresy' nonsense that many anglers get caught up with. When I'm personally fishing a salmon beat I'm always on the look out for that un-fished pool or I'll be working my salmon fly down through a pool in a different manner from that of the other fishers. My timings to the river were never influenced by what the stats charts say either and often I've located 'silver' when the graphs and charts are saying it's not worth fishing. Don't let a city hatched catch measuring tool dampen your spirits regarding when your best chances of success are on the amazing Tay as there's few who truly understand early season salmon fishing let alone the highly complex Tay and when her beautiful transient silver inhabitants are present. 

 

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This perfectly timed photograph was taken by professional photographer Louise Bellin on the Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay at the famous Junction Pool which is directly where the River Tummel enters the Tay. Jock, dressed in traditional Tweeds and waders holds his fishing rod, demonstrating the perfect Spey cast required in this salmon fishing hot spot for maximum water coverage of the lovely Tay salmon pool.

Fine Tune Your Speycast

Jock Monteith

14th August 2026

The vast majority of Scottish Speycasters tend to cast like 'racehorses with blinkers on' with their heads only aligned to the target area and not to the crucial mid cast 'anchor point' which is vital for a perfectly timed power stroke delivery.
This perfect River Tay Springer was caught by myself on the 23rd of February from the Kinnaird salmon beat near Pitlochry. These early run Scottish salmon are perfect specimens and are guaranteed to get your heart racing. This fish was quickly returned and swam off strongly to continue its upstream migration to the upper reaches of the Tay. You can see the gold ABU Toby lure, Bruce & Walker Hexagraph spinning rod and Van Staal spinning reel used in the capture of this fine Spring run salmon.

Successful Salmon Spin Fishing

Jock Monteith

13th August 2026

Here's a few paragraphs on how to set a spinning lure hook based on practice not theory. Nothing beats professional time spent on a Scottish salmon river for observing the various aspects of this glorious pursuit.
This is the Steps Pool on the Newtyle Beat of the River Tay and I've drawn the optimal wade line in red which allows anglers to fish through the pool safely and effectively without spooking any salmon that may be present. I took this downstream shot while working as this guest's salmon fishing guide for the day.

Salmon Lie Approach

Jock Monteith

12th August 2026

Over the decades I've seen great opportunities for an easy 'early day' salmon completely blown by anglers who put on waders that go up to their chests and think they have to do the same while wading in the river!
Here's Jock Monteith amidst a Spey casting lesson on the River Tay under the historic Telford Bridge demonstrating perfect D Loop loading with the single Spey cast. The traditional Spey cast is the most effective and satisfying casts. This photo was taken by local Dunkeld photographer Charlie MacDonald. Jock is wearing his Graham of Menteith tartan kilt while demonstrating Spey cast with his 15ft Monteith salmon fly rod.

The Spey Cast Swing

Jock Monteith

11th August 2026

Understanding the value of a correct 'logical' line lift at the beginning of the Spey cast is crucial for negating the cast crippling 'water resistance' experienced by an incorrect line lift. Today I'll elaborate on what maintains this 'ease and smoothness' of cast through the middle section of the cast known as the 'swing' which is crucial for adequate rod loading in the D Loop.
I designed this deadly salmon fly pattern 20 years ago while working as the Head Ghillie and salmon fishing instructor on the River Tay's Newtyle Beat. Here's the exact dressing before anyone asks; Hook: 1

Salmon Fly Selection

Jock Monteith

10th August 2026

There's been millions of words written on this fascinating subject over the decades by many serious salmon fishers who all have their own take on what the best patterns are. At the end of the day it boils down to faith as we will never truly get permanently inside a salmon's mind.
This guest was fishing with me on the River Tay near Dunkeld. This pool tail is a renowned hot spot for running salmon so I waded out to this fishing position to make it easier to fish the main salmon lie between the fisher and the far riverbank. Directly in front of the big tree that you can see on the opposite riverbank is the main salmon lie hot spot.

Important Riverbank Etiquette

Jock Monteith

9th August 2026

For the daily operation of any salmon beat to run smoothly it is important that all fishing guests read & understand the beat rules which are there primarily for safety reasons and to ensure the enjoyment of all paying guests.
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.

Spin Fishing For Tay Salmon

Jock Monteith

8th August 2026

If your effective hooking rate with a spinner on the River Tay isn't close to 100% then there's a few different angles of thought to consider the next time you're out slinging cutlery across Scotland's biggest & deepest salmon river.
Here's the bow section of a hand built River Tay 16ft salmon fishing 'coble' boat with a Brady fishing back and Bruce & Walker salmon Spey rod fitted with a Van Staal salmon fly reel. Professional salmon guides in Scotland take their personal salmon fishing equipment seriously too!

Salmon Beat Ghillies

Jock Monteith

7th August 2026

Having served my time as a professional ghillie on the River Tay the next few paragraphs highlight a few of the finer points that I personally believe that makes a resident professional salmon beat ghillie stand out from the crowd.
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