Here's an early Spring shot of the Gauge Tree Pool at Dunkeld on the River Tay. Look at the fast water in the distance which running salmon have to navigate before taking a well deserved rest in this productive salmon fishing pool. This lovely shot was taken at dusk by myself while working as a salmon guide when the final day's sunlight was perfectly illuminating this left hand bank of the river.

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.

Here's Jock Monteith powering upstream in a traditional larch built River Tay salmon fishing 'coble' boat at the confluence of the River Tay & River Tummel during the month of May. Jock has his cold weather clothing on and Tweed cap in addition to his life jacket which is essential for all boat or riverbank duties.

Here's some anglers receiving expert Spey casting tuition at Dunkeld on the River Tay. Learning to use a double handed salmon fly rod is easy when instructed by a professional salmon fishing guide who's fully tuned in to the traditional Scottish Speycast. This was a group lesson that was being given to a team of salmon fishing holiday guests who wanted to learn how to fly fish for salmon. Learning to fly fish for salmon is easy when you have the best salmon fishing guide instructors.

Salmon fry are often abundant in the margins of the River Tay during late Spring when the eggs hatch from the gravel. This shot of these fry on the gravel riverbed was taken near the Perthshire town of Dunkeld while I was working as a salmon fishing guide.

This salmon fisher had just been taught how to use a double handed salmon fly rod and had just started to fly fish unassisted in his chest waders when I took this shot on the Mike's Run Pool of the River Tummel.

This family fishing party came to the Tay for an introduction to Scottish salmon fishing during July. The young lady with the white cap landed her first ever fly caught salmon that day much to the amazement of her onlooking family members. Look at the perfectly cut riverbank to the right hand side of the traditional Tay salmon fishing boat.

Salmon Management Complacency

By Jock Monteith 2nd June 2018

What a bunch of 'time wasters' our Scottish salmon rivers have been afflicted with over the decades on the scientific and general management side of things.

Talk about 'pulseless' poke it with a stick wafflers and my goodness you wouldn't want any one of them on the other oar of your lifeboat!

Here's the beautiful head of a perfect fresh run Scottish salmon which I caught on the fly during Springtime on the River Tay. Note how the head of this silver flanked fresh run Spring fish has turned beige to match the riverbed terrain of the river. This fine salmon took a fly near Dunkeld on the River Tay as was quickly released by me immediately after this shot was taken.

Salmon Ocean Mortality

Mother Earth is an ever changing 'work in progress' so unless you're God what the hell were you all thinking about trying to blame oceanic plankton densities and all the other nonsenses that make such convenient distractions from the task you've been well paid to consistently fail at. A District Salmon Fishery Board has the word 'District' in it and that boys is your remit so stop making excuses that are linked to ocean mortality as there's always been mortality issues at sea. The way to overcome ocean mortality is to throw more 'mud at the wall' or is that scientific concept too much for your brains to effectively grasp! My advice is you'd better be showing 'logic based' effective plans very soon as the time for more bullshit or distraction tactics is well and truly over!

Salmon River Management Brilliance

The Scottish salmon rivers don't need individuals of insular 'control freak' status or do they need individuals who won't pioneer proven simple science for guaranteed stock regeneration & 'control'. This industry needs true stock management specialists that can see ahead of time and understand the 'exact' daily tasks required to make 100% certain that projected stock target objectives are not just reached but absolutely obliterated! And if you boys ever see in the ranks of Scottish salmon river management a 'live wire' with the balls and tenacity to break from your sheep pen mentality then don't you dare ignore it and don't you ever categorise that 'live spark' as an 'out cast' type of maverick as 'independent' thinkers are 100% necessary and won't tolerate bullshit and will usually always move ahead with or without you!

Overdue Salmon Management Shake Up

There will very soon be no hiding place left for you guys so forget the easy & brief annual exposure to serious questions of concern at the AGM where you'll side track & duck the questions of importance and come up with some 'flawed' nonsense to counter act your general failures and to divert from the answers being sought. You have done some serious damage by your 'inactivity' in areas that could have been true national game changers for the sport and the conservation of wild Scottish Atlantic salmon and you have taken your positions of national trust far too lightly! Move on and do our wild Atlantic salmon asset and everyone involved in this magnificent pursuit a huge favour!

Here's my own trusted silver friend of 20 years. This is a Van Staal C-vex 9-11 salmon fly reel with the 9/10 spool fitted paired up with the brilliant Monteith 9/10 Speycaster Multi System fly line. These 2 items fished of my bespoke built Bruce & Walker 16ft 9/10 Spey rod is Spey casting perfection and that's my firm professional opinion. As a professional Scottish salmon fishing guide you need to have quality salmon fishing equipment like this fly reel.

Please Just Exit Salmon River Management

You all know who you are and your abysmal river stock crashing CV's that you seem to be so proud of. Step down or just 'beat it' boys as you're very likely going to be removed if you don't. Enough nonsense please and you all should be completely embarrassed about your lack of vision, effective action or general ability to embrace worthwhile initiatives when all of the now required action would have been so much easier to implement had you not previously made a point of ignoring it! Imagine pointing the finger at the ocean when you don't even know your adult of juvenile stock position is! What other serious business anywhere in the world doesn't know or at least doesn't prioritise the technology to be able to provide that essential 'starting point' stock management data!

Ineffectiveness Is Killing Wild Salmon

Ideally this rant should have been to celebrate the 'legends' that have pushed the boundaries of successful salmon stock regeneration to take 'Bonnie' Scotland to the very top of the worldwide salmon fishing premier leagues and not hanging by the thread of relegation at the bottom of the table! On the 'legend' status side of things the only one I see is the outstanding Bob Kindness over on the River Carron who's mysteriously managed to regenerate a 'more street wise & astute' wild Atlantic salmon population that doesn't seem to be affected as much by ocean mortality! I wonder where the salmon ocean survival school is located on the River Carron that's teaching Bob's fish to survive the perils of life at sea!