This fish was caught neat the Perthshire town of Murthly with this fortunate salmon angler's very first cast of the fly while I was serving as his personal salmon fishing guide. Sometime salmon can surprise the angler and his guide by showing up at the very start of the fishing day. This fine fish was caught in the Cottage Stream Pool on the Kercock salmon beat of the River Tay.

Here's Jock Monteith photographed with his black labrador dog 'Selkie' in the Cottar Pool of the Newtyle Beat during late Spring. This shot was taken by professional Scottish photographer Peter Sandground while Jock was in his tweed jacket and traditional River Tay salmon fishing boat near Dunkeld. You can almost make out the bluebells on the grassy slopes in the background.

Here is a traditional River Tay harling boat moored on the lovely sandbank at the Kinnaird Beat Rock Pool. The 2 salmon anglers on the right hand side of the river with their professional guide had just landed their 2nd salmon when I took this perfect shot. This fishing area of the Tay is between Pitlochry & Dunkeld where the River Tummel greets the Tay and is a renowned hot spot. The deep water to the right hand side of the boat is a serious salmon holding pool that our salmon guides love to take salmon fishing guests to.

Here's professional River Dee salmon guide John Fyfe holding 1 or 3 salmon that he landed on the River Tay near Dunkeld during the month of August. I personally guided him this day to eliminate him guessing where the salmon were holding and his professional salmon fishing presentation expertise did the rest. This Summer salmon was landed at the Green Bank Pool on the Kinnaird beat and you can see the Tay salmon boat in the background.

Here's a fine salmon capture photograph for River Tay salmon angler Martin Hunter at the famous Ash Tree Pool of the River Tay near Dunkeld. A personal guide always provides a salmon fishing advantage and even to experienced salmon fishers like Martin. I was Martin's personal salmon guide that day and took this perfect salmon capture shot.

Here's Jock Monteith powering upstream in a traditional larch built River Tay salmon fishing 'coble' boat at the confluence of the River Tay & River Tummel during the month of May. Jock has his cold weather clothing on and Tweed cap in addition to his life jacket which is essential for all boat or riverbank duties.

Professional Salmon Guides

By Jock Monteith 28th April 2019

If you're planning to come to Scotland on a salmon fishing trip here's some sound advice to give you the best chance of catching salmon.

It's essential that you understand Scottish salmon fishing tactics and have the correct salmon fishing equipment levels therefore it is best to book a professional guide to show you the correct tactics and supply the correct equipment levels.

Reputable Scottish Salmon Fishing Guides

A reputable professional Scottish fishing guide will have developed a 'sixth sense' of where salmon can be found on a salmon beat regardless of the prevailing water conditions. He will also be operating on a totally different thought frequency from the majority of salmon fishers and often the notions he'll act upon will result in the capture of a fish.

Top Performing Salmon Guides

A Scottish guide who is on 'top of his game' will fully understand the moods of the river and exactly when a bigger effort throughout the course of the fishing day should be made. This additional skill set increases your chances of salmon fishing success ten fold and a professional guide's intuition can only be learned from years of daily riverbank experience of which there is no substitute or short cut.

This professional guide from the River Dee is holding 1 or 3 salmon landed that August day. John Fyfe came down from the River Dee to be guided by Jock Monteith who is renowned for his excellent guiding abilities. This salmon was caught on the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat at the Daffodil Lie Pool which is immediately downstream of the Logierait Bridge which is clearly visible in this picture.

Hiring A Professional Salmon Guide

Take the guesswork out of how to approach the Scottish salmon beats and engage the services of a salmon guide to shadow your approach and make sure your chances of success are soaring high at all times. Having watched new salmon anglers not capitalising on salmon hooking opportunities through one reason or another I cannot stress the importance of acquiring the correct professional assistance & tuition while fishing the Scottish salmon rivers. Hiring a personal guide is the most effective way to achieve this valuable salmon fishing tuition.

Scottish Salmon Beats

All fully serviced Scottish salmon fishing venues will have a professional beat ghillie present but these men aren't often able to dedicate themselves to an individual guest(s) for the entire fishing day due to their other salmon beat operational & guest commitments so please do not misunderstand what the salmon beat ghillie's role is compared to that of a personal guide as these 2 roles are usually very different.

A Personal Scottish Salmon Guide

A personal Scottish salmon guide should always be a consideration for at least the first day or two of your fishing trip if you're new to Scottish salmon fishing. Follow this link for detailed information on how to book a Scottish salmon fishing guide on Scotland's big four salmon rivers Tay, Dee, Tweed & Spey.