Jock monteith Salmon Fish Scotland logo
Here's young Johnny Monteith with a perfect Autumn hen salmon that he hooked under the bridge on the Cargill Beat of the River Tay which is a very good salmon fishing hot spot. This salmon took an ABU Toby Salmo lure and I was his salmon fishing guide that highly memorable day.
Here's young Johnny Monteith with a perfect Spring salmon which he caught at the Rock Pool on the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat while under my instruction as his father and his salmon fishing guide. This Spring fish was caught during low water in April and was quickly returned to the river.
This is my son Johnny Monteith with a perfect fresh run Spring salmon from the Green Bank Pool on the Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay which was caught during April. I was honoured to be Johnny's salmon guide that day and managed to capture this fine photograph of the fish which was one of 3 fish he landed over his 3 day River Tay salmon fishing holiday.
Here's Johnny Monteith with another fine Spring salmon which he hooked opposite the sand bank at the Upper Kinnaird Beat's Rock Pool during April. This perfect salmon weighed 14lbs and took an ABU Toby silver & copper coloured spinning lure which was selected and tied on by his professional salmon guide.
The water gauge on a salmon beat's most important function is to advise the salmon beat ghillie on how safe certain areas of the beat are for visiting salmon fishing trip anglers to wade in. It also serves a function in alerting salmon fishers whether the river is rising or falling and therefore where the best fishing areas are likely to be found. This is my son Johnny painting the black digits into a newly delivered water gauge which was made from recycled white plastic lumber.
This superb Autumn cock salmon took me 50 minutes to tame on the fly rod on the Newtyle Beat of the River Tay near Dunkeld while I was serving as a professional salmon guide & Head Ghilie. With big salmon like this you just need to take your time as they cannot be rushed.

Never Say Never In Salmon Fishing

By 4th September 2025

Unless you wish to set yourself up for the inevitable fall never use the word 'never' in Scottish salmon fishing.

If you're a 'negative' ghillie or a 'negative' type of occasional salmon fisher the same applies if you're ever advising other fishers it's a waste of time. 'You'll never catch a salmon' is a dangerous, stupid & thoughtless remark if there ever could be one spoken on any salmon river.

Here's Johnny Monteith with another fine Spring salmon which he hooked opposite the sand bank at the Upper Kinnaird Beat's Rock Pool during April. This perfect salmon weighed 14lbs and took an ABU Toby silver & copper coloured spinning lure which was selected and tied on by his professional salmon guide.

Memories From The River Tay

Although there are hundreds of riverbank incidents that come to mind on this topic from many years of riverbank life I'll relay an amusing one to you that happened to my own son Johnny right under the viaduct on the Cargill Beat of the Tay. As a young lad my son landed many salmon including a day of 7 from the boat with me when he was just 4 years old. Many of his early salmon had a significant bit of 'dad assist' tagged onto them which he was always naturally aware of!

I caught this superb 42inch Tay salmon which took a size 9 salmon fly in the Cottar Pool on the River Tay's Newtyle Beat during October. What an amazing battle this fish put up before I could steer it to the landing net. Book a professional River Tay salmon fishing guide to assist you to connect with specimen River Tay salmon like this.

High Quality River Tay Salmon Fishing

It was a very expensive 'exclusive use' October booking on the lower Tay which an annually returning party of Dutch fishers had booked for 6 rods but only 2 of them turned up due to unforeseen last minute business commitments. This booking also included 2 boats and 2 boatmen which left the riverbank completely un-fished as the 2 guests wished to mainly fish from both boats. I called my son and said 'Johnny get yourself up here' as we need some additional riverbank coverage as 4 of the fishing guests hadn't appeared.

Here's young Johnny Monteith with a perfect Autumn hen salmon that he hooked under the bridge on the Cargill Beat of the River Tay which is a very good salmon fishing hot spot. This salmon took an ABU Toby Salmo lure and I was his salmon fishing guide that highly memorable day.

You Never Truly Know The Moment

Having watched his old man consistently pull the 'rabbit out of the hat' whether under pressure for a TV company or magazine writer or for numerous clients when the going was tough he was starting to get jaded with me continually passing him a bent rod to deal with. We were 10 yards below the Cargill viaduct & I was watching him spinning a Toby 'Salmo' lure which I knew was right in amongst many salmon. As he turned to me near the end of a retrieve he started to say 'Dad I'll never hook a salm....Dad, dad, dad!!!!

 

The water gauge on a salmon beat's most important function is to advise the salmon beat ghillie on how safe certain areas of the beat are for visiting salmon fishing trip anglers to wade in. It also serves a function in alerting salmon fishers whether the river is rising or falling and therefore where the best fishing areas are likely to be found. This is my son Johnny painting the black digits into a newly delivered water gauge which was made from recycled white plastic lumber.

Promising Signs From Young Monteith

Over the years he's caught many salmon and even managed to put clients into the 'only' fish of the day when his father & other professional Tay ghillies failed to hit objective during bigger corporate salmon fishing event days. Yes, he definitely seems to have a natural nose for it and he must get that from his mother! That particular day though he developed a different mental mindset that is a key factor that's missed by many in this amazing Scottish rural pursuit.

Here's young Johnny Monteith with a perfect Spring salmon which he caught at the Rock Pool on the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat while under my instruction as his father and his salmon fishing guide. This Spring fish was caught during low water in April and was quickly returned to the river.

Make Your Own Luck In Salmon Fishing

Like anything in life those who try the hardest & don't give up usually receive their lion's share of luck. On the Tay where there's a colossal volume of water you really need to know what you're doing and be calculating all the time as you're fishing. Where in the water column are you targeting, how fast a fly or lure, move, push on, keep going, check your fly, bigger mend, slow the fly down, keep going, move, cast, mend, move..... If you're not strategically aligned with a meaningful battle plan your chances of success will be significantly diminished. Enjoy the hours of searching as that first shot of adrenalin from contact with a perfect River Tay salmon will instantly bleach all search efforts from your mind!

 

More Salmon Fishing Articles

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.
More Articles