When you hook a salmon it's important to know how to play the fish properly to gain control of proceedings. This perfect Spring salmon was caught on the middle area of the Tay during early June and is typical of the quality of fish found in the Scottish rivers at that time. The fly in this salmon's mouth is the deadly Jock's Shrimp salmon fly pattern.

This weapon of a salmon fly was created by myself over a few seasons of testing on the River Tay when serving as Head Ghillie and salmon fishing guide on the Newtyle Beat. This is a deadly late Summer and Autumn salmon fly. Enough said!

I designed this deadly salmon fly pattern 20 years ago while working as the Head Ghillie and salmon fishing instructor on the River Tay's Newtyle Beat. Here's the exact dressing before anyone asks;
Hook: 1

This Ally's Shrimp salmon fly hybrid with it's green pearlescent body is an absolute salmon magnet during duller salmon fishing days and especially if tied with Artic fox fur in the tail & wing as you see here. On an overcast day this fly has serious presence in the stream and often cannot be ignored by salmon.

This is a very deadly salmon fly throughout the salmon fishing season in Scotland. This 'Jock's Shrimp' pattern I developed over a 5 year period of daily riverbank salmon reaction observations on the River Tay while working as a professional Scottish salmon ghillie in Perthshire.

Here's my most deadly weapon salmon fly pattern the Copperass. I built a thriving salmon fishing guide business on the back of this pattern such is its salmon attracting potency. For anyone who would like their salmon fly rod pulled out of their hands here's the correct fly dressing materials;
Hook: 1

This salmon fly pattern was designed by myself 20 years ago as a professional salmon fishing guide and has accounted for hundreds of salmon for me personally of the years and for many of my salmon fishing trip anglers too. Here's the dressing information;
Hook: 1

This perfect salmon fly was designed by myself on the River Tay 20 years ago and is an absolute salmon magnet when fished properly. Many experienced salmon anglers swear by the effectiveness of this pattern and it's sometimes wrongly referred to as the Newtyle Shrimp however it's proper registered name is the Jock's Shrimp as a credit to its creator. Here are the exact dressings for this deadly Scottish salmon fly pattern;
Hook / Tube: as required
Thread / Silk: Uni Thread 6/0 or 8/0, Red
Tag / Butt: Oval silver as for Rib
Tail: Orange Arctic Fox or equivalent with pearl flashabou accent or mirage over, just 2 or perhaps 3 strands max.
Tying note: it's important to set the Tag / Butt in place first, this helps lift the Fox tail slightly, increases movement and helps avoid

Here's a look at my own personal salmon fly box which includes my main 2 salmon fly patterns which are the Jock's Shrimp & Copperass salmon fly patterns. These 2 patterns have been responsible for over 80% of the salmon I've caught in the last 2 decades. This shot was taken at the River Tay/Tummel confluence near the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.

Here's a shot of a team of Copperass & Jock's Shrimp salmon flies that have just come off the fly tying vice. These 2 patterns are highly effective at all times of the Scottish salmon fishing season in varying sizes to cover all water & temperature conditions.

This is the brown winged version of the Jock's Shrimp fitted with a Partridge Nordic No 6 tube fly hook. This is a true weapon of a salmon fly and lethal for attracting salmon on the famous River Tay and other Scottish salmon rivers.

Salmon Fly Waggle & Sparkle Is Important

By Jock Monteith 25th July 2026

There's a huge difference between a cast & hope specialist and a precision bomber when it comes to properly fishing a salmon fly.

Here's a few basic fly movement thoughts to consider while presenting a salmon fly to the Scottish rivers.

A Scottish Spring salmon is the most perfect creature of all and their physical beauty is something truly splendid especially when you have the tactical fishing awareness to create an up close inspection like this. This fine Springer I caught on the fly rod during April near Dunkeld on the River Tay in Perthshire. Look at the perfect marine colours this fish is still wearing while lying on this sand bar immediately before its quick release.

The Salmon Take

To start with you should view your salmon fly as your extended right hand as an offering of a 'hand shake' to a salmon! That offer to a salmon needs to be an open one and delivered with consistency, persistency and a 'genuine' belief that your salmon fly is optimally swimming throughout the full course of the fishing day to a degree where you can actually visualise its glinting, darting & tantalising waggling under the waterline. If you start to adopt this 'fly mentality' you'll already be in the top 5% of Scottish salmon fly fishers and you'll have now entered a new dimension in salmon fly fishing.

Here's one of my own Wheatley aluminium salmon fly boxes with a few choice patterns in it and a spare coiled up salmon leader. Once your salmon fly faith levels rise then you'll always know what fly to tie on during each month of the salmon fishing season.

Tank Test Your Salmon Flies

This process of visualisation should in all cases start at the riverside before final salmon fly selection time if you're taking this business seriously. Don't just tie on any old fly just because it's the correct pattern and size as that's telling you nothing about the fly's actual in-stream movement. Before you commit to any fly tie it onto a leader and get it wet at the side of the river to see how it moves in the stream. If it's not got a 'live bait' style movement of its own then put it in the bin and try another one! Be brutally ruthless as the bottom line in this game is you only ever need 2 or 3 vey good salmon flies to have a 'bumper' salmon fishing season! If you're not absolutely brimming with excitement with what you've just tied on the end of your leader your quality of salmon fly needs a serious re-think. Remember that a blind dog in a snow storm can catch the easy fish but there's much more satisfaction in this game being the 3rd or 4th rod through a pool to produce 1 or 2 fish that the preceding anglers haven't even had a sniff of!

Faith Is The Number One Fly Tying Ingredient

You must have complete and utter 'faith' in the fly you're using for it to become a trusted member of your salmon fishing approach & kit. When you establish that professional bond with your salmon fly nothing will stop you from catching salmon as long as you're reasonably well presenting it to the river in a methodical and well spaced fly swing manner and at the right depth & pace as dictated by the prevailing water conditions. Honing in on your salmon fly's natural stream movement then maximising a carefully thought out water coverage plan is without any doubt the most lethal approach for breaking the boredom of your landing net!

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.

Comparing Salmon Fishing Robotics Against Astute Salmon Psychology

Don't be robotic in salmon fly fishing and just go through the motions as your success rate will be minimal. Don't think it's all about a perfect D-loop or leader/fly turn-over elegance as I can assure you salmon aren't interested in those 2 things. Go to the next level of salmon fishing curiosity and intimately know your fly's natural stream movement and its 'glint ratio' from any bling that the fly's wing has tied into it. The best 'glint ratio' I've personally found is an occasional glint once every 3 seconds so don't fish a fly that's been overdressed with the glittery stuff that looks like it's permanently got its head lights full on! Go for the more subtle lesser 'bling'ed version as the occasional glint not only catches a salmon's eye better but I'm convinced it is the defining 'trigger' moment as a salmon is tailing the fly that seals the deal via inducing a positive final fly attack! On-beat salmon intel is something you should be subtly scanning for when you arrive at any salmon beat when the going is tough. 'Seen anything' or 'anything showing' were my choice words to the beat ghillie if that intel wasn't readily forthcoming. All you need to know is which pool(s) salmon are mainly holding in before you start digging deeper about methods, skill sets or fly patterns that haven't worked if these fish are not readily being caught.

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.

Improve Your Salmon Fly Fishing Success

In these recent times of mass media scare mongering that would have you believe there are no salmon left in our rivers made worse by the fact we have no main stem 'in-river' fish counters therefore fluctuating and often 'ineffective' rod pressure is the only salmon stock measuring tool which is as reliable as a chocolate fire guard! Negativity was significantly increased on the back of the recent low warm water fishing seasons but anyone with half a clue about this game will know that salmon don't like low warm water and nor do anglers! It's important to not only ignore negativity but to also tune into methods that will show other anglers that there are indeed salmon there to be caught. Nothing inspires other anglers more on the river than witnessing a fine fish being landed right in front of their own eyes. With that fact in mind the above thoughts on making sure your salmon fly is one 'sexy mover' in the stream (prior to fishing with it) and that it's fishing at the correct depth, speed & swing spacings which should all be taken as seriously as you know how!