Learning how to fish with a salmon fly rod is important but learning how to hook a salmon on the fly is important too. This lovely Summer salmon was caught on the River Tay near Dunkeld and is typical of Summer run salmon. This fish was caught by one of our salmon fishing holiday guests during July with the assistance of his salmon fishing guide.

Look at this for perfect River Tay salmon fly fishing water under this lovely mature oak tree. The River Tummel joins the Tay just to the left of frame and all river confluences are natural stoppers for running salmon. The River Tay has many salmon fishing hot spots like this perfect one.

Here's a truly amazing piece of salmon water on the Kinnaird Estate near Pitlochry which is a firm favourite for visiting salmon anglers. Salmon love to sit close in to this riverbank beside the broken water riffles you can see in this photograph. Personally I seldom fail to hook a salmon while fishing through this perfect River Tay salmon pool.

Here you can see a perfect upstream shot from the Kinnaird Meetings Pool to the mouth of the River Tummel which flows in on the right hand side of frame directly behind the boat. This area of the Tay is fantastic for fly fishing and especially during March, April & May when the Spring salmon are running the River Tay & Tummel as they always hold up in this area and are easy to cover with a fly rod.

This shot was taken on the River Tay near Pitlochry during the Summer while I was the salmon guide for this fishing trip fisherman. Many anglers think salmon fishing is mainly about how well they can cast a fly but the truth of the matter is that the important thing to learn is how to move properly between each cast of the fly as that's logically what will place your fly in front of a cooperating salmon if your water coverage is good enough.

I caught this fine 16lbs specimen Spring salmon in February on the River Tay near Dunkeld as hard proof that early run Scottish salmon certainly do exist. Look at the caliber of this perfect fish which is exceptional and easily caught too for those who know how & where to fish during the early Spring months in Scotland.

Here's a beautiful May shot showing a lone angler out on the River Tay near Dunkeld in search of a prized Scottish Spring salmon. The shadow of the trees on the far bank is a great salmon lie for fish that have powered up through the fast water immediately downstream.

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 a salmon fishing guest fly fishing their way down through the Gean Tree Pool of the River Tay's Kercock salmon beat. This guest was under the supervision of a professional salmon guide resulting in 2 salmon being caught by this fisher that day even though it was a very bright July day. Look at the lovely sunlight sparkle coming off the water.

Salmon Fishing Experts

By Jock Monteith 25th December 2024

Have you ever truly wondered why a small minority of Scottish river salmon fly fishers just about always come up with a fish even though the normal batting average is nothing like that.

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.

En Route To The Salmon River

The finely tuned thought processes going on in the expert's head even before they reach the river would probably astound most fishers. These guys are already playing over their tactical approaches to each pool and have more or less chosen the fly they're going to be fishing with even though their fly box is still in the boot of the car! This is however only a small part of the 'automatic pilot' side of their salmon fishing approach.

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.

Scanning The River For Salmon Movement

On arrival at the river these guys are already scanning the river for areas of the pools where salmon are likely to be holding and are tuned into their peripheral vision for 180 degree radar for the identification of any signs of salmon movement. In all cases they'll be low key with their vocals but will be operating with a highly confident look in their eyes. These are the river vibe specialists of Scotland and they're a rare breed but so much can be learned if you're smart enough to recognise real talent when it's in front of you and are astute enough to observe!

Here's a photograph of myself out surveying the Meetings Pool on the Lower Kinnaird salmon beat of the River Tay at dusk. As a professional salmon guide I always like to watch the river during the last hour of daylight for any signs of salmon movement.

Observing The Salmon River At Dusk

Bringing your salmon fishing skills up to a level of intuition that can more or less alert you to the feel of the river atmosphere immediately preceding a take is where you want to be. This salmon fishing skill level is not obtained in any tackle shop with a credit card but takes time in the game to open its realms of brilliance. To obtain this skill level a flask of tea is the best learning tool of all if taken to the river for the last few hours of light to observe everything that's happening and 'tune into' and learn genuine appreciation for the subtleties of Mother Nature.

Here's a lovely Summer salmon which took a fly in the neck of the Mike's Run Pool of the River Tummel which is a tributary river of the River Tay in Highland Perthshire. Look at the perfect proportions of this fine fish. This shot was taken moments before the fish was released from the landing net.

Tune In To The Salmon River

You'll learn far more about the salmon river vibe as the light starts to fade by watching the movement of the water and how the river often comes alive. Blending in to that environment that we're so fortunate to have and getting yourself tuned to the vibe of the salmon river is this most important fishing skill of all. Once you obtain this level of interaction you'll be resonating like a 'tuning fork' for salmon attention!

Salmon River Vibe Compliance

Don't take what I've just stated lightly as the most important thing in salmon fishing is fitting into the environment which is a completely different pitch to what normal modern day society enforces. If your fishing skills are good enough and you're fully at one with the river then my money is on you for producing the silverware! Nothing beats river environment alignment where every riverbank step and cast of the fly has been 'earthed' for total salmon river vibe compliance.