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.

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.

Look for unusual riverbank markers like a pile of stones as sometimes these are placed there by anglers to mark the location of salmon that have been showing. This shot was taken on the Meetings Pool of the River Tay near the Perthshire town of Pitlochry which is a popular salmon fishing location for anglers.

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.

This is one of the salmon fishing middle River Tay hot spots. This stretch of water is known as the Ash Tree Pool which accounts for 40% of the salmon caught on the Lower Kinnaird beat. This salmon fishing guest is fishing the tail of the Ash Tree pool with a professional River Tay salmon guide who took this photograph.

Effective Salmon Fly Swim Time

By Jock Monteith 22nd July 2026

Effective salmon pool water coverage and a sound understanding of how to react to the inevitable take from a salmon are the biggest two misunderstood aspects of Scottish salmon fishing.

The next few paragraphs will maybe cause you to adjust your strategy if these points differ from what you're currently doing.

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.

Deploying Sub Surface Salmon Fly Thoughts

Once you've mastered the art of Spey casting or whatever cast you use to deliver a reasonable length of line consistently to the salmon river it is crucial that your thoughts not only become 'sub surface' but also focus on covering as much water effectively & consistently as you can throughout the full salmon fishing day. It's never been too easy to catch salmon (except for the odd occasion!) so make sure you're bringing to the table the necessary water coverage strategies required for success.

Knowing how and where to wade through a salmon pool like this fisher is doing for minimal disruption is a vital skill to master in Scottish salmon fishing. Most anglers think that wading deeper is better but the true facts about wading are quite the opposite. Observe that this salmon fisher is only at knee depth so as not disturb the salmon pool which is essential for salmon fishing success.

Effective Salmon Pool Water Coverage

Logic should tell you that the more water you effectively cover the more you are raising the odds of swinging your fly in front of a taking fish. Showing a salmon too much of the fly from what I've seen throughout my professional career will only diminish the chances of a salmon reacting positively to it. With that in mind make sure each & every swing of your salmon fly is spaced at exactly 3 feet which is normally the length between the butt cap on your rod and the first butt ring on a normal sized salmon fly rod if you need an approximate measuring tool. Look for a riverbed feature directly under the rod's butt ring before casting then simply move to that exact spot if you want real wading boot precision movement!

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.

Separate Your Salmon Fly Swing Spacings Effectively

Any less than 3 feet and you're showing salmon far too much of the fly and reducing your effective water coverage by hundreds of metres over the full course of the fishing day. Any more than 3 feet and you're possibly going to miss swinging the fly into the 'taking range' of a salmon that's keen to cooperate. I've personally found 3 feet to be the perfect fly spacing measurement which equates to 3 small steps between each cast which is much safer than 1 big step while wading!

Here's an Autumn salmon in its dark flanked Autumn river colours. I caught this fine fish which was captured at Kinnaird on the River Tay which is between the Perthshire towns of Dunkeld & Pitlochry. Look at the small rubberised landing net mesh which is safely supporting and protecting this Autumn salmon.

Focus On What The Salmon Are Seeing

Imagine you were a salmon watching a salmon fly swing closer and closer separated by 6 inches to a foot. By the time the fly was over or in front of you you'd already have been too used to seeing it and likely not react through boredom! On the other hand if all of a sudden the fly is right on top of you and you haven't been able to see too much of its approach there's much more likelihood of a solid predatory reaction. The worst case scenario if the fish doesn't take is that that you've warmed it up for your fishing buddy who's 60 yards behind you which automatically gives you a credit from our Salmon God!

Here's a nice spin fishing shot I took of salmon fishing guest on the River Tay having a serious attempt at catching a salmon while on his fishing break. This slow moving deep pool near the village of Stanley is a great fishing area on the Tay. You can see the salmon fishing hut tucked in below the trees on the far side of the river.

What To Do When A Salmon Takes

Most of the salmon fishing books are full of utter nonsense with this 'let the fish draw line and slowly lift into it' guff. If you do that you'll find that the majority of fish will shake the hook out soon into the fight. Don't take a chance after all the effort and tactical astuteness you've deployed to get to the critical magical moment when a salmon cooperates. Logically, all hooks require pressure to be properly set so if you think the soft action of a fly rod and lightly set fly reel clutch are going to convert the majority of these hard earned hooking opportunities into landed salmon then think again!

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.

How To Effectively Set A Salmon Fly Hook

Let the salmon take the fly past the early 'dunts & nudges' stage which often lasts for several seconds until you're well into the steady 'draw of line' (peeling off the reel) stage. Keep the rod tip down and firmly clamp your fly reel's face until the line tightens up solidly. Directly feel the weight of the salmon for a further 3 to 5 seconds with the rod tip pointing down in the direction of the fish as that weight you're now feeling applies the logical hook point pressure needed to set the hook properly. Once you've felt the fish's weight release your hand from the reel face, raise the rod and say to yourself thanks Jock I owe you a large Macallan! I guarantee you the fish won't drop off if you do exactly that at the correct moment. Just beware that you don't alllow the 'instantly released' salmon take adrenalin get the better of you making you come in too early with your hook set attempt as the take from a salmon is the only thing in this world that can effectively speed up time!