This group of Canadian salmon fishers were fascinated by the different knots we use in Scotland when tying flies onto our leaders. This shot was taken near Murthly on the River Tay with salmon guide Jock Monteith pictured here in full highland regalia

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 group of new fly fishers testing out their newly taught skills with a double handed salmon fly rod during the Summer. Many larger groups come to me for a crash course in salmon fishing and this was one such party that I guided for on the River Tay near Pitlochry.

Here's a fine shot of the 'swing' which is the middle section of the Spey cast between the 'lift' and the 'power stroke'. Look how perfectly taut the salmon fly line is for perfect energy transfer and full fly line energy power retention. This fantastic action photograph was captured by at the Meetings Pool on the Lower Kinnaird salmon beat near Dunkeld. I was working as a professional salmon fly fishing instructor when this fine shot was taken on the River Tay.

Keith had been trying to catch a salmon for a number of years before he was pointed to myself on the River Tay for his Sky TV Tight Lines programme. It took all of 10 minutes to put him into this fine River Tay salmon as his personal salmon fishing guide at the Boat Pool on the Glendelvine Beat. The Sky Sports cameras captured all of the footage and everyone went home happy and even the fish too which was released after this fine photo was taken. Note Keith is wearing a life jacket with his chest waders which is essential for safe wading reasons.

This zoomed in shot was taken by me from the Rock Pool on Upper Kinnaird looking downstream to a party of 2 fishers accompanied by their professional salmon guide the moment a perfect 12lbs Spring salmon was landed which is barely visible in the landing net in this shot. The River Tay is a great Scottish salmon river even in low bright water conditions and this guest went on to land another salmon of similar size moments after this fine river shot was captured.

Salmon Fishing Instruction

By Jock Monteith 3rd June 2019

I'm going to get straight to the point on this subject as you'd expect from a direct talking River Tay ghillie and successful promoter of Scottish salmon fishing.

Like any field in life if you search about enough you'll find those professionals who are operating on a much higher frequency than others.

Cyclical Salmon Runs

Catching a salmon is a tricky proposition no matter who you are and that is a big part of the excitement & challenge of fishing for them. While the masses often 'moan & groan' about declining Atlantic salmon stock numbers many anglers and ghillies have seen it all before. The first lesson is understanding the 'cyclical' nature of these fine fish and blotting out the negativity from this sport that is often so rife. This doesn't mean that we've not seen a stock decline in recent decades but don't let negativity creep into your game as I'm 100% convinced salmon can sense that and will steer well clear of that frequency.

Proper Salmon Fishing Instruction

Without proper meaningful instruction where all relevant fishing points are successfully taught you will more than likely be heading for a blank day or season. Getting your fishing approach just right is so important and sadly the marketing of Scottish salmon fishing without proper qualification has destroyed the chances for thousands of would be salmon fishers staying in this amazing pursuit. Follow this link to book tuition from a top performing Scottish salmon guide. This year I know professional guides and anglers who've already caught dozens of salmon to their own rod in what has been generally regarded as another poor season by many brainwashed anglers and the 'Fake News' media who know less than nothing about salmon fishing.

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.

Top Performing Salmon Fishing Guides

Search for the guide who you know fully understands salmon and the river and can hook fish for fun and remotely make his guests do the same which is what 'real' salmon guides shine at delivering. A true professional salmon guide will view his guests as a 'remote control' for catching a salmon and will get a buzz when he succeeds at having a guest do the job themselves with limited yet 'effective' instruction and fishing time. Don't listen to anyone unless you already know for certain they have the above ability as misinformation is just as rife in this game as it is with everything else in life.

Understand The Basics Of Salmon Fishing

Success in this game is all about grasping the relevant small details from getting a consistent line out to making sure each swing of the fly is spaced correctly to training the guest through 'salmon take simulation' on exactly how to deal with a cooperating salmon if & when that magical moment appears. If any of these vital components are missing the chances of success are diminished. From what I've seen over the decades is that the general angling skill set is very poor as the majority of salmon anglers have never taken professional instruction or even knew where to find it. There is also a distinct lack of effective mentoring these days as many of the new breed professional ghillies through no fault of their own just haven't had the experience of observing true 'master craftsmen' professional old school ghillies in action who used to be far more plentiful on the rivers of Scotland.

Book A Professional Salmon Guide

Invest in a day on the river with one of Scotland's most renowned salmon catching machines and do so with your ears fully open and in 'dry sponge' mode. If you do so you'll more than likely come away with a completely different view on how to approach the salmon river and increase your chances significantly of becoming consistently successful at catching these fine fish. The real things that matter in salmon fishing are all very logical therefore easy to understand, retain and implement. Remember the fact that if you think there are no salmon to be caught you'll be right!