These 2 River Tay salmon fishers have become great friends after meeting on the salmon river 20 years previously. The salmon rivers of Scotland are great meeting places for people with the same fascinating salmon fishing obsession. This photo of these 2 great salmon fishing buddies was taken on the Dunkeld House Beat during the Summer.

This family fishing party came to the Tay for an introduction to Scottish salmon fishing during July. The young lady with the white cap landed her first ever fly caught salmon that day much to the amazement of her onlooking family members. Look at the perfectly cut riverbank to the right hand side of the traditional Tay salmon fishing boat.

Here's a team of visiting Arabian guests who came up from London for a day of river therapy on Scotland's famous River Tay. This lovely group shot of them sitting in my traditional salmon fishing boat was taken at the mouth of the River Tummel which is a great fishing area close to the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.

Here's a few of my professional salmon guide friends from the famous Ballathie Beat of The River Tay near Stanley. The man with the green jumper is Geordie McInnes would I first met on the Tay back in the 70's on the Newtyle Beat. Geordie went on to be a famous Tay ghillie and before he retired a few years ago he was one of the Ballathie Beat ghillies.

Here's Scottish salmon guide Jock Monteith showing a group of Canadian salmon fishing holiday guests how best to tie on a salmon fly. Much salmon fishing technical information is delivered to the fishing guests on a guided salmon fishing day including Spey casting lessons, how to move effectively between each cast and how to set the hook when a salmon takes the fly.

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.

This is the Rock Pool on the River Tay slightly upstream of the River Tay & River Tummel confluence which is just visible in the background. This is a very good salmon fishing area in Scotland and worthy of a salmon fishing trip. I took this beautiful shot in low water conditions during June after commuting down in this traditional Tay salmon boat.

Salmon Fisher Individuality

By Jock Monteith 17th April 2026

After a good healthy fresh air day out on a Scottish salmon river 5 o'clock always brings about a 'deep felt' sense of satisfaction whether your memory banks and phone camera are full of salmon shots or not!

This sense of satisfaction should be felt by all types of salmon fishers at the end of their day if they've put in a reasonable shift.

I took this shot of a boat load of visiting salmon fishers being brought back over to the fishing hut for their lunch on the River Tay near Birnam. The boats on this beat have been kept on this sandy riverbank for over 60 years. You can see the boathouse on the far riverbank which I built in 2007 while I was working on this Tay salmon beat as the Head Ghillie.

Understanding Scottish Salmon Fishers

Success in Scottish salmon fishing has never truly been guaranteed and even the most prolific of salmon beats can be tough going for cooperating salmon on any fishing day of the salmon fishing season. So what are you actually buying into if guarantees cannot be given. They say 'different strokes for different folks' so here's a few differing angles of salmon fishing participant attraction to consider to see which category of salmon fisher you fit into. You may very well find that you fit into more than just one!

The True Escapism Salmon Fisher

For many Scottish salmon fishers the sheer excitement of getting out into a fascinating 'alive' & beautiful natural arena that's steeped in fishing history and casting their fly down through famous salmon pools is a big enough attraction in itself. Modern day society and the weekly stresses that accompany that 'more mental less physical' lifestyle has made many of us feel the need to 'bolt for cover' with our salmon rod when any opportunity arises. It is the excitement of getting away that so many of us crave and that buzz can easily interfere with a night's sleep before the fishing day finally arrives!

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.

The Salmon Encounter Adrenalin Addict

Many anglers whether they care to admit it or not are completely addicted to the physical beauty and sheer adrenalin buzz that goes hand in hand with the capture of a perfect salmon. These are the guys who are difficult to get off the water at lunchtime or at 5pm as the mere thought of one last cast becomes far too irresistible on the 'off chance' a salmon takes which can sometimes happen. There's little that beats getting a good look at a 'sparkling' fresh run salmon immediately following the adrenalin induced exhilaration of battle. They are not only the best looking fish of all but have a truly intriguing oceanic migrational life cycle.

The True Salmon Fisher Socialite

For many salmon anglers the real attraction is the camaraderie that's experienced on the Scottish rivers which is a truly brilliant interaction between fellow anglers and the professional salmon beat ghillies of Scotland. This is high level of interaction usually always accompanied by sharp witty and often hilarious banter that blends in well with the sheer excitement of the river like adding salt and vinegar to a good fish supper! Over the years I've been fortunate to experience some amazing fishing hut 'lock ins' that would have been blockbusters had they been played live on the big screen!

This was one of my fishing guests fishing the River Tay in June after being taught to Speycast with this 15ft double handed salmon fly rod. The Tay is Scotland's biggest salmon river which is popular for salmon fishing trips. Look at the lovely riverbank and wooded Perthshire hillside on the far bank.

The Salmon Fishing Perfectionist

This category of salmon angler is much more plentiful these days due to the exploding salmon fishing tackle industry. These guys are completely self confessed 'tackle tarts' and the acquisition of new and often very expensive salmon fishing equipment and massive selections of perfect salmon flies keeps their dream alive from one river visit to another. The sheer buzz from the purchase of kit where the perfectionist is already playing a salmon on the river as they're handing over their credit card shows you exactly how potent the power of the Scottish salmon rivers truly is and how this mind game of 'keepy uppy' works in salmon fishing!

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.

The True Salmon Fishing Expert

This breed of salmon fisher is fairly rare but they most certainly do exist. You'll maybe glance over at that ragged old fly they've just tied on at arrival at the river and have 'clocked' their old battered Bruce & Walker Spey actioned rod and dismissed him as an average Joe until he appears back at the fishing hut at lunchtime having landed the only 2 fish of the morning! Watch these guys like a hawk if you want to really learn how to make salmon open their mouths as these chaps are 100% tuned into the sub surface side of salmon fishing and exactly how close they can position their fly near the likely salmon holding areas with the optimal pace and depth of fly to match the prevailing water conditions.

Mixed Salmon Fisher Personalities

These are a few of the different types of character personalities that show up on the riverbanks of Scotland that make this 'people business' so fascinating in addition to the chance of the often 'elusive' quarry we seek. There's much more attraction in Scottish salmon fishing than just putting a fish in the landing net as at best that will only happen ocassionally from the time spent on the riverbank. Salmon fishing in Scotland has such amazing history paired with captivating riverbank scenery so enjoy the camaraderie and natural excitement that pulls you to the refuge of the river. Often it's when your mind has drifted far away from the true task in hand is when our Salmon God will give you the nudge!