Professional guides take care of their own individual salmon fishing beats for the enjoyment and safety of their visiting salmon fishing guests. Here's a perfectly cut riverbank on the River Tay near Pitlochry which is a popular salmon fishing area in Scotland.

Look at this shimmering River Tay fly water perfection and think about what could be lying up in here and ready for a careful salmon fly presentation. This is the perfect March Pool on Scotland's famous River Tay which is one such perfect fly pool in this middle River Tay fishing area between the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld.

A River Tay salmon guide will take you to the best fishing areas and will make sure you're fishing through them optimally. If you are new to the sport a guide will teach all of the basic fly fishing skills and will supply all of the required fishing equipment and permit access. This is an upstream shot of the March Pool on the River Tay opposite the River Tummel mouth. Look at the perfectly strimmed riverbank I completed for the benefit & safety of our many visiting River Tay salmon fishing trip guests.

Here's a downstream shot taken in front of the Upper Kinnaird Beat salmon fishing hut on the River Tay. This lovely Tay salmon beat is located directly upstream of the Tummel Tay confluence and is a fantastic salmon beat for a quality River Tay fly fishing experience. The salmon pool 50 yards downstream of the boat id called Daffodil Lie and is marked with a big bunch of daffodils which appear each Spring when the pool fishes its best.

Here's a fine shot of a beautiful oak tree that's located right at the River Tummel confluence of the River Tay. These perfectly cut riverbanks are important for the general enjoyment and safety of visiting salmon fishers. This perfect area of the River Tay Valley is located close to the Perthshire towns of Dunkeld & Pitlochry.

This little sand based bay is a great location to steer a hooked salmon to when it's ready to be landed as it has deep snag free water that's away from the main current. Learn how to hook and land salmon here via a guided River Tay salmon fishing experience. This fishing spot is located directly between the Perthshire towns of Dunkeld & Pitlochry which are an hour north of Edinburgh & Glasgow by car.

Salmon Beat Satisfaction

By Jock Monteith 26th August 2025

From years of personal experience operating as a Head Ghillie on the Tay there's huge self satisfaction in getting your salmon beat riverbanks just right in addition to the nice surprise visiting salmon fishers will receive when they turn up for their special day on the river.

Take Real Pride In Your Salmon Beat

As a youngster up visiting the Tay on any opportunity I got through the Summer school holidays and seeing my late mentor with a pot of paint or out with his shirt sleeves rolled up cutting the riverbanks was a common sight. The Summer months were the time to get everything in order for the big weekly Autumn lets that were common back in the 70's. Boat maintenance through the Summer months when the low water conditions permitted the boats to be taken off the river was logically perfect too due to the dry warm Summer air conditions that were perfect for glossing or varnishing the boats. There is nothing that positively impacts salmon fishing visitors more than seeing a salmon beat in perfect order within minutes of arriving as first impressions go a very long way in this business.

This lovely early Spring photograph shows a lone salmon fishing trip fisher over casting their fly at the mouth of the River Tummel where it enters the Tay. This is a perfect lowish water sunlit day for increased chances of catching a prized Spring salmon. I took this upstream facing photograph while serving as a salmon fishing guide.

The Unlet Salmon Fishing Week Opportunity

The Summer fishing these days on most Scottish beat's usually always throws up a week or two where there are no anglers booked on. This is the perfect time for an undistracted riverbank blitz to strim the banks and deal with any saplings or bigger branches that are in need of a trim. It's truly amazing what can be achieved in a week of hard graft if a ghillie has planned his duties and set his watch with each daily objective in mind. I've often amazed myself at the end results of slipping into mental strim mode for long daily shifts with a pocket full of sweets for energy and a litre or two of water or flask of tea on standby in the boat!

Look at these salmon beat operational standards. You can see the cut the riverbank grass and strimmed riverbanks that keep the salmon beat looking immaculate. These are tell tale signs that a top professional guide is running the salmon beat. This is the Daffodil LIe Pool on the Kinnaird Beat on the River Tay.

Basic Riverbank Time Management Strategy

When you're a ghillie and running a busy salmon beat that doesn't necessarily mean you've no time to take care of the required annual riverbank maintenance side of things during working hours. Most fishing guests will understand that these things need to be attended to and when a ghillie has experienced anglers on who know the pools they've bought their permit to fish then slipping into riverbank maintenance mode is usually expected during late Summer. Personally I used to grab a few hours here and there over a few weeks when fishers were on the beat so as not to sicken myself or take my eyes off the fishing guests for too long each day but never where the sound of the strimmer or lawnmower would shatter the ambiance of the guest's fishing experience.