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.

Here's the most perfect classroom of all for learning how to fish for salmon with a double handed fly rod. Many salmon are caught on this perfect area of the River Tay which is located just over an hour north of Glasgow & Edinburgh.

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.

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.

The dark glassy water shown here at the tail of the Trap Pool on the Tay's Newtyle Beat is one of those hot spots where salmon love to stop after powering up through the faster water below. This pool and the downstream Cottar Pool are a delight to fly fish through with always a real chance of some salmon action. I took this shot while working as a salmon fishing guide on this lovely River Tay salmon beat.

This lovely shot was taken at the Ash Tree Pool on the Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay which is located between the Perthshire towns of Dunkeld & Pitlochry. This perfectly tapered gravel riverbank makes wading safe & easy for visiting salmon fishing guests.

The Salmon River Vibe

By Jock Monteith 19th July 2026

Far too much attention these days is spent trying to work out when the best time would be to visit a certain beat or salmon river.

The reason I state this is because a wild Atlantic salmon operates over a completely different frequency and set of rules than we could ever fully understand or appreciate.

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.

Forget Salmon Catch Statistic Nonsense

Logically if your a religious 'catch statistics' follower and only book your salmon fishing once you see salmon being caught then in many cases you'll have missed the boat (or there could be no actual rod availability left to purchase when your moment to book arises). Many salmon fishers forget the fact that often when a salmon is caught that it was one fish from a run of salmon that were heading up river and not necessarily a fish from a shoal that has taken up residence in a beat. Rod pressure has never been a reliable or consistent enough measuring tool for quantifying salmon river stock levels (or fishing potential) and until the Scottish rivers apply some type of reliable main stem digital technology fish counters this industry will continue to be based on complete salmon stock guesswork.

I took this shot of a traditional River Tay salmon fishing boat coming in for lunch with a salmon fishing guest and his professional ghillie. This shot was taken on the lovely Dalmarnock Beat near Dunkeld in Perthshire during the month of June. This sandy bay is a great low water location to keep the boat at.

The Attraction Of Scottish Salmon Fishing

Our business is sometimes a case of about being in 'the right place at the right time' and having the experience to understand these likely taking areas while deploying a consistent and well thought out tactical salmon fly fishing approach during the full fishing day. Opportunities to catch salmon arise on the vast majority of Scottish salmon beats on a day to day basis. Half the battle for success is being able to recognise these 'windows of opportunity' when they open and knowing exactly how to hook, play & land a salmon in order to take full advantage of these moments. Many opportunities to hook and land salmon are squandered on the Scottish rivers than are successfully concluded by fishers who have never taken the time to take professional tuition to obtain a firm grasp of the basic salmon fishing skills.

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.

Salmon Fishing Senses

When you spend enough time on the salmon rivers of Scotland you'll develop a 'sixth sense' for knowing where & when the time is just right for a cooperating salmon during the fishing day whether you see a salmon move or not. It is this 'sixth sense' that is the real attraction for me and for those who've been in the game long enough to appreciate what I'm saying here. Enough time spent on the riverbanks will develop and fine tune this skill and switch you onto a completely different observational awareness mode than the average salmon fisher will be aware of. This is a vibe type or feeling that'll sometimes be triggered by a shift in the light or weather conditions during the course of the fishing day but sometimes with no physical indications at all.

Scottish Salmon Fishing Brilliance

Salmon fishing in Scotland is a truly magnificent pursuit which is far more in depth than just understanding the various tackle systems and vast array of salmon flies that are on offer these days. The 'vibe' of the salmon river & understanding its moods is when you really start to develop 'real' salmon fishing skills and your 'attempts to catch' ratio will start to increase significantly. Time on the salmon rivers is the only way to gain this skill and it's a completely different thing from learning how to use a salmon fly rod which our industry seems to mainly focus on these days.

Here's a close up shot of the head of the most sought after marine creature otherwise known as a fresh run Spring salmon. This fine fish was caught in May on the River Tay near the Tummel & Tay confluence which is a renowned holding area for Spring salmon near the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld.

Develop The Nose Of A Salmon

Developing the nose of a salmon and understanding its preferred movement times through different water & temperature conditions is a skill certainly worth learning too. When we have low warm water don't think that dusk isn't worth a serious shot as salmon love to move as the light starts to fade. Dusk movers are usually easy to see coming as they are high flyers in the water column so you'll usually always see the bow wave approaching. You might only get one shot at them before they disappear upstream but 1 shot should be all you need if you're alert and your salmon fishing skills are good enough.

Appreciating The Scottish Salmon Rivers

Fine tune your appreciation of the Scottish salmon rivers and the very subtle air and light changes and other relevant factors that can all of a sudden bring a fresh head of salmon up into the pool you're fishing or switch older resident salmon on where they'll wake up and be ready to take your fly. Whatever you do though don't let your head go down or think this business is only about a digit on a daily catch return marketing system as that often bears zero relevance to the actual fishing potential. Reduced rod pressure has always equated to reduced catch figures but remember also that reduced rod pressure on any salmon beat also equates to 'well rested' salmon pools which always provide an advantage for those who have the ability to think more deeply!