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Here's a hand made work of art known as a River Tay 'coble' salmon fishing boat. This one was made by master boat builder John Ferguson of Stanley who's been making boats like this for 50 years for all of the River Tay salmon beats. Our Tay salmon guides utilise these fine boats to get our salmon fishing holiday guests closer to the long distance salmon holding areas.
Here's a brace of these special larch & oak built River Tay salmon fishing boats. These boats are known as the 'Tay coble' and are fantastic for assisting guests to catch salmon. These have numerous fishing applications such as harling, trolling, anchored up fishing which can often provide a salmon fishing advantage. You can see the long rope and anchor in addition to the blue padded comfortable boat seats.
Here's a hand made work of art known as a River Tay 'coble' salmon fishing boat. This one was made by master boat builder John Ferguson of Stanley who's been making boats like this for 50 years for all of the River Tay salmon beats. Our Tay salmon guides utilise these fine boats to get our salmon fishing holiday guests closer to the long distance salmon holding areas.
The River Tay boats offer a fishing advantage as they allow the salmon fishing holiday guests to cover distant salmon lies much more effectively. This salmon fisher was photographed on the Tay during Springtime on a nice bright settled fishing day.

River Tay Salmon Boats

By 29th April 2018

While many salmon beat owners have opted for the new fibreglass low maintenance salmon fishing boats.

I personally think nothing beats the beauty of a brand new Tay 'coble' handcrafted by the one & only John Ferguson in the Perthshire village of Stanley.

The River Tay boats offer a fishing advantage as they allow the salmon fishing holiday guests to cover distant salmon lies much more effectively. This salmon fisher was photographed on the Tay during Springtime on a nice bright settled fishing day.

Salmon Fishing Tradition Versus Convenience

Sure there's a bit of maintenance involved looking after clinker built 'coble' boats through the Summer months and sometimes a new boat will take in water until the boards swell after a few days but these boats play a big part of traditional boat fishing on the Tay. In my opinion tradition should be always chosen & preserved over convenience as nothing beats the visual beauty of River Tay larch built 'coble' when it's out on the river. As a boy seeing the boat out working used to fascinate me and assisting with Summer maintenance when the air was dry & moisture free was a task I used to enjoy when asked to assist.

Here's a hand made work of art known as a River Tay 'coble' salmon fishing boat. This one was made by master boat builder John Ferguson of Stanley who's been making boats like this for 50 years for all of the River Tay salmon beats. Our Tay salmon guides utilise these fine boats to get our salmon fishing holiday guests closer to the long distance salmon holding areas.

Traditional Scottish Salmon Fishing

Fishing tackle technology pulled us away from the greenheart, split cane & even the fibreglass era for materials that provided lighter & better casting advantages. I don't however see any salmon fishing advantage from the use of a new fibreglass boat design so why not preserve what is visually a far more beautiful craft even if it does requires a wad of sandpaper and a few pots or varnish or paint each year. A hand built Tay 'coble' is a true 'work of art' and I'd doubt many visiting Tay salmon fisher would choose fibreglass over larch for their day on the river if asked to choose their style of boat.

Here's a brace of these special larch & oak built River Tay salmon fishing boats. These boats are known as the 'Tay coble' and are fantastic for assisting guests to catch salmon. These have numerous fishing applications such as harling, trolling, anchored up fishing which can often provide a salmon fishing advantage. You can see the long rope and anchor in addition to the blue padded comfortable boat seats.

Dunkeld House Salmon Beat Boats

The above 2 beauties have recently been acquired for the Dunkeld House salmon beat and have assisted in raising the visual presentation of the beat. These boats replaced two older models that had been glossed however these 2 new boats will remain varnished as although the gloss also looks good to my eye nothing beats the varnished larch look. The many riverbank walkers who frequently stroll the path between Dunkeld and the Dunkeld House Hotel are in for a real treat this year while these boats are out searching for our silver friends. While many photographs were always previously taken of the Dunkeld House beat working boats I'm sure shots that are taken now will go much further & wider!

The Dunkeld House salmon beat fishing hut is positioned slightly upstream of the town of Dunkeld which can be walked to from Dunkeld Cathedral in 20 minutes. This fishing hut is located right beside the River Tay in front of the Dunkeld House Hotel.

A New Dunkeld House Fishing Hut

In addition to these 2 beautiful traditional boats there's a brand new fishing hut construction planned to commence as soon as the 2018 salmon fishing season ends in October. This new hut will be positioned at a far more appropriate & secluded location on the beat and overlooking one of the perfect salmon fly fishing pools. New beat maps have also been already drawn up and as of the end of this week every angler who fishes the beat will be given a copy in addition to seeing a large version (orientated to the river) on the fishing hut wall so all anglers will know exactly where to focus their fishing skills on. A new beautifully presented 'state of the art' Dunkeld House salmon beat booking platform is now performing well and many other new initiatives are in the pipe line too that will be announced shortly as progress permits.

 

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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.

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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.

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Salmon Lie Approach

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The Spey Cast Swing

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Salmon Fly Selection

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Important Riverbank Etiquette

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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.
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Spin Fishing For Tay Salmon

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Salmon Beat Ghillies

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