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's a guided River Tay salmon fishing guest fishing his way methodically down through the Meetings Pool on the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat which is a perfect holding area for salmon in medium to low water levels from mid March through to October each year. Look at the beautiful fully leafed oak trees on the far side of the river.

The River Tay's Newtyle Beat has many good salmon fishing pools that can be fished with a fly or a spinner. This fly fishing angler is just approaching one such hotspot at the tail of The Trap Pool. I took this shot while working as a salmon fishing guide for this salmon fisher. This fine photograph was taken during August when many fish are present in this lovely Tay salmon pool.

Here's a fabulous action photograph of Jock Monteith loading up a perfect Spey cast for long range salmon fly delivery across the River Tay with his tweed jacket and chest waders on. This shot was captured on the Meetings Pool of the Lower Kinnaird Beat by top Scottish photographer Louise Bellin.

Here's an angler out fly fishing the renowned Meeting Pool on the River Tay's Upper Kinnaird salmon beat which is a perfect salmon fishing hot spot and one where many new salmon fishers are launched into the sport each year. This is the confluence of the rivers Tay & Tummel and the Tay is the river that goes up to the left hand side of frame. Look at the beautiful big riverbank oak tree to the left of frame.

If you look closely at this perfect Spring salmon you'll see the little piece of arctic fox tail that was responsible for luring it from the depths of the River Tay. If you choose the correct salmon fly pattern and learn how to fish it effectively this is the end result. I caught this perfect Spring salmon while working as a salmon guide on the Tay.

Salmon Fishing Assumptions

By Jock Monteith 29th July 2026

You know what they say about assumptions being nine tenths of all errors! I can tell you for certain that assuming there's no chance of a salmon is a direct line call to our 'Salmon God' who's always tuned into careless words on the riverbank!

I took this beautiful downstream shot of the River Tay in Perthshire which is a famous Scottish salmon river. This lovely shot was taken a few miles upstream from the Perthshire town of Dunkeld. You can clearly see my salmon fishing guest a few hundred yards below me. The dark shadowy water just off the main current is a great Tay salmon holding area and is always worth fishing through.

Drop The Ego On The Salmon River

Don't let your ego trick you into thinking there's no 'taker' in the pool you've just perfectly covered just because you've been unsuccessful. Salmon fishing is a great 'soul stretcher' and often a great 'ego leveller' too when a novice appears at the back of you to catch the only fish of the day!

I took this shot of one of the most famous River Tay salmon fishing huts which dates back to 1970 when Willie Laird the ghillie and a few colleagues sited this local Victorian golf course hut on the banks of the Tay as the fishing hut for the Newtyle Beat. Look at the lovely woodland to the rear of the hut and the perfect grass bank in the foreground for salmon anglers and salmon guides to fish from.

Salmon Pool Coverage Timing

Caw canny with your assumptions when near any salmon river would be my personal advice as even if there wasn't a 'taker' there to intercept your fly on your last swim through a pool there's absolutely nothing to say one hasn't swum in and has now taken a holding position there ready for the next angler who fishes through the pool or you've just woken up a resident fish for them!

I took this photo of the stone build Newtyle Beat jetty which dates back to 1970 when it was constructed by Willie Laird who was the Newtyle Beat ghillie at that time. I served as Head Ghillie on Newtyle from 2001 to 2009 which was a fantastic period for me as a professional salmon guide. You can see the boathouse I built in 2008 on the opposite bank if you look closely. You can also see one of our traditional River Tay harling boats just upstream of this famous jetty.

No Jumpers Doesn't Mean No Salmon

Many fishers turn up on a salmon beat and allow their heads to go down because no fish are showing. I recall many excellent catch days over the years where the only time salmon were showing was once you'd hooked them so often they'll keep their heads down which you cannot really blame them for! Don't expect instant results from your day on the salmon river either and manage your aspirations & energy levels to last through the entire day and not fizzle out after an hour or so as is often the case with salmon fishers.

I can vividly recall the amazing thrill of landing this perfect fish during late May on the River Tay near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire. Spring salmon in Scotland are always in perfect condition like you see here as this salmon lay beside my salmon fly rod and reel in the landing net before I released it back to the river.

Always Assume Salmon Are Present

Always assume there are salmon present as 95% of the time on most Scottish salmon beats they will be. Stay focussed and thoughtful regarding your salmon fly choice, depth & speed of swim and don't be shy at changing tactics if you feel the slightest inner urge to do so. On a riverbank your mind should be 'alive' to the sub surface side of operations and great success in this business is achieved from developing that 'sub surface' water column sixth sense mindset.

Here's a great shot of Jock Monteith's Tweed jacket and favourite Monteith salmon fly rod. The salmon fly rod was hand built by Harrisons of Liverpool and the light blue fly line was produced by Airflo in Brecon, Wales. My Tweed jackets were always made by Haggarts of Aberfeldy who used to supply all of the fishing & shooting estates in Scotland.

Become A Salmon Fishing Psychologist

After you've experienced enough hard evidence of what can happen on the riverbanks of Scotland (and often when you least expect it!) you'll approach the river with an inner self confidence that will keep you going throughout the full course of the fishing day. Training your hands to get the best out of your Spey rod is one thing but what is more important is training your head to remain positive (& patient) and making sure you stay confidently focussed on the task in hand via thoughtful tactical agility. Total consistency of your water coverage spread over the entire fishing day is also a very important factor for success in this business.

The Best Rural Pursuit In The World

Let's not kid ourselves on that there's no real magic to be felt on the banks of a Scottish salmon river or that there's no soothing & tranquilizing effect from the flow of the stream. This is the king of all rural pursuits as the components that make it so special are not present in any other pursuit. Catching a fish that's not in the river to feed has always been challenging with no guarantees given and respecting that challenge also plays a big part of the attraction. Allow your mind to start focussing in closer on exactly how you're going to hit objective when salmon fishing and drop the 'robotics'. If you're effective at doing so a whole new tactical thought dimension will open up which comes via a confident and expectation 'paced' state of mind.