I took this picture of this beautiful perfectly shaped River Tay Spring salmon is probably my most favourite one of all time even though I've photographed thousands of salmon over my professional salmon guide career. This perfect River Tay Spring salmon I caught during the month of May near Dunkeld.

Look at this soft fine mesh landing net bag material which protects and supports all net landed fish against scale or mucous membrane damage. This landing net was an original Sharpes Of Aberdeen gye net which is easily carried over your shoulder on a leather sling while salmon fishing then easily activated when a salmon needs landing for one of our salmon fly fishing guests.

What a perfect fresh run Spring salmon this one was which I captured directly outside the Upper Kinnaird fishing hut near Logierait on the River Tay. Look at its perfect ocean hunting colours and how it shows up so magnificently against the dark Spring water of the Tay. Note the landing net being used to stabilise the fish for this fine salmon photograph.

This fine salmon took a 'Copperass' tube fly in the Ash Tree Pool of the River Tay near Dunkeld. A few professional salmon fly fishing instructors understand just how deadly controlled salmon fly presentation is during the cold high water level of Spring so they prefer to use a spinner.

Here's another fine heavyweight salmon of 24lbs which was caught from the boat on the Dunkeld House salmon beat. Salmon of this caliber are always present in the Tay during the early months of the year for those astute enough to realise that. Catching one of these is a dream come true for most salmon fishers. Note the fine 'fish friendly' mesh landing net & padded landing mat to protect the salmon during the unhooking stage prior to release.

Here's a beauty of a fresh run River Tay salmon that came to inspect my fly on the River Tay during early June while working as a professional salmon fishing guide. This bright light day assisted my camera in picking up the perfect silver flanks of this beautiful fish before it was returned back to the Tay. Look at the fine rubberised fish friendly landing net mesh from my landing net to the rear of the salmon ensuring zero scale or mucous membrane damage to the salmon before releasing it.

Salmon Landing Net Mesh

By Jock Monteith 15th May 2025

While fishing for salmon it's very important that you carry at all times a suitable landing net that can be used to protect and stabilise your salmon prior to releasing.

However even the very best landing net manufacturers are often found lacking when it comes to the choice of the net bags they fit to the frames of their salmon nets. I suspect that many net designers will have never caught a salmon to know what's needed!

It takes skill, patience and a sound understanding to obtain a close up inspection of one of these fine creatures. This fish was caught on the famous River Tay between the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld. You can see the fish is sitting in a salmon friendly net mesh landing net which is important for releasing the fish unscathed back to its river home.

Look After Your Atlantic Salmon

It wasn't that many years ago when knotted net bags were banned as the the knotted versions were causing too much damage to the flanks and mucus membrane of fish. That was definitely a step in the right direction even though only a half way measure. A good net bag should have a soft knotless fine mesh bag which avoids tearing a salmon's fins unlike the often larger meshed versions you see on most salmon nets. I was once told (by a 'sweating' angler who'd been chasing a salmon up and down the riverbank for several minutes well before the fish was ready to be landed) that fine mesh was no good as it dragged too much in fast water when trying to land a fish but he shouldn't have been be trying to land the fish early in fast water and should instead have been looking for some slack water to steer the salmon to when the time was right to reach for the net.

Protecting The Salmon Fins

It's just not good to return a salmon that has had its fins split and 'logic' should endorse that so take the large meshed net bag off your net's frame and throw it in the fire! Those large gauged mesh bags if used will cut through a salmon's fins like a hot knife through butter. The best thought out landing net bag designs are ones that have a small mesh gauge that support the salmon's fins and a flat base but unfortunately too many nets currently do not have these sensible features. A flat based net when the salmon is lifted to the waterline will turn the salmon onto its side which makes it much more stable for unhooking purposes.

Landing Net Mesh Bags

The triangular shape of the net bag you see here is another excellent feature as the head of the salmon will inevitably find one of the corners of the net bag which again helps with stabilising the fish for unhooking purposes. Soft mesh with a flat base are the two main features you should be looking for and some nets these days are now coming fitted with mesh that's rubber coated which again is much kinder on the salmon's flanks. These are the features to look out for when buying a landing net (or new mesh bag) for the protection of your salmon and it maintaining the best chance to successfully reproduce. Every spawning pair of salmon are a vital investment in the Scottish rivers so it's crucial that salmon fishers do all they can to ensure the well being of the salmon they catch.