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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 perfect example of God's finest marine creature the Atlantic salmon. These fish are amazingly powerful and awesome to look at once your skill levels are high enough to place one in the landing net for a close up inspection. This fine specimen was caught near Pitlochry on the River Tay by one of my salmon fishing trip guests.
This upstream shot of the River Tay was taken from the 200 year old Telford Bridge and shows a traditional River Tay salmon fishing boat out in the Cathedral Stream pool with 2 salmon fishing holiday guests. This perfect shot was taken during the month of May which is an exceptionally beautiful time of year in the Tay Valley for a salmon fishing holiday as you can clearly see here.
The is the Gauge Tree Pool at Dunkeld on the River Tay. Salmon love to stop here after powering up through the fast streamy water below the Dunkeld Bridge you can see in this distance making this a serious salmon fishing hot spot on the middle Tay. This lovely green grassy bank makes for easy spin fishing for salmon fishing guides and their fishing trip guests.

Salmon Pool Perfection

By 28th December 2018

Of the many quality salmon pools on the middle River Tay the Gauge Tree on Dunkeld House has to one of the most beautiful and tactically positioned 'stoppers'.

Running salmon love to nose in here after the exertion of powering up through several hundred yards of the downstream faster streamy water.

Here's a perfect example of God's finest marine creature the Atlantic salmon. These fish are amazingly powerful and awesome to look at once your skill levels are high enough to place one in the landing net for a close up inspection. This fine specimen was caught near Pitlochry on the River Tay by one of my salmon fishing trip guests.

Perfect Middle Tay Fly Water

This beautiful Dunkeld House salmon beat pool to my mind represents a quality 100 yards of perfect fly water for those who have mastered the Spey cast with precision anchor point placement ability. The Tay runs deeper down this highly scenic left hand bank in medium to low water levels which encourages salmon to run up this left bank and stop on arrival here in the Gauge Tree pool's slower flow. I've been involved in the capture of 2 simultaneous 'Springers' from the riverbank at once while fishing with a colleague in this pool however if a pod of fresh run 'sea licers' come snooping up through the downstream Cathedral Stream and pause in the main Gauge Tree Pool salmon lie then a blind dog in a snow storm could score here!

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.

Fly Only River Tay Salmon Pool Areas

The lower half of the 'Gauge Tree Pool' on the Dunkeld House Beat is a 'fly only' pool which is the most effective way to cover its main salmon lies. To swing a Toby 'Salmo' or Vision Oneten through this pool would be the same as smothering a Black Angus fillet steak with HP sauce! The Dunkeld House beat is fortunate to benefit from both high quality spinning water and fly water so keeping both apart is currently part of the daily fishing operation. Whether it makes a difference to a salmon or not 'the jury is out' but it is the 'kiss of death' for most dedicated fly fishers if they're allocated a pool to fish that has already been bombarded with spinners that morning.

There's something magical about fishing the Cathedral Stream on the Dunkeld House Beat of the River Tay. Maybe it's something to do with the old ley lines that run through this location. This natural energy can be felt by anglers and salmon! I took this shot of the salmon beat head ghillie in his boat while serving as the accompanying guest's salmon fishing guide. I took this upstream shot from the mid section of the 200 year old Telford Bridge at Dunkeld.

An Easy Short Cast Salmon Fishing Approach

From my own personal experience in the 'Gauge Tree Pool' salmon often lie within 2 to 10 yards of the riverbank so a long line is not really required. The problem psychologically on the Tay for many salmon fishers is that they are put off by the typical 80 to 100 yard width of the river making them focus only on distance and not the more important and effective topic of 'fly control'. The entire salmon fishing tackle industry is mainly geared for 'distance of fly' and not 'control of fly' which means the short range salmon lies are rarely taken seriously or targeted effectively enough.

The is the Gauge Tree Pool at Dunkeld on the River Tay. Salmon love to stop here after powering up through the fast streamy water below the Dunkeld Bridge you can see in this distance making this a serious salmon fishing hot spot on the middle Tay. This lovely green grassy bank makes for easy spin fishing for salmon fishing guides and their fishing trip guests.

River Tay Catches Early Catches

The recent 'catch stats' & fishing reports from the 2018 salmon fishing season (which was logically due to the hot weather and exceptionally low warm water this year) could almost make you feel like calling the Samaritans! In saying that you can bet your bottom dollar there will yet again be perfect Spring salmon in the Tay over the next 3 months even if few anglers are out 'effectively' searching for them. One of the main reasons April & May always looks better on paper is because the daily rod pressure increases. The reality on the Tay during the early Spring months of the season is that the ghillies are accounting for many of the salmon landed while out covering their beats by boat (if they are keen enough) when no or few fishing guests are present.

 

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This perfectly timed photograph was taken by professional photographer Louise Bellin on the Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay at the famous Junction Pool which is directly where the River Tummel enters the Tay. Jock, dressed in traditional Tweeds and waders holds his fishing rod, demonstrating the perfect Spey cast required in this salmon fishing hot spot for maximum water coverage of the lovely Tay salmon pool.

Fine Tune Your Speycast

Jock Monteith

14th August 2026

The vast majority of Scottish Speycasters tend to cast like 'racehorses with blinkers on' with their heads only aligned to the target area and not to the crucial mid cast 'anchor point' which is vital for a perfectly timed power stroke delivery.
This perfect River Tay Springer was caught by myself on the 23rd of February from the Kinnaird salmon beat near Pitlochry. These early run Scottish salmon are perfect specimens and are guaranteed to get your heart racing. This fish was quickly returned and swam off strongly to continue its upstream migration to the upper reaches of the Tay. You can see the gold ABU Toby lure, Bruce & Walker Hexagraph spinning rod and Van Staal spinning reel used in the capture of this fine Spring run salmon.

Successful Salmon Spin Fishing

Jock Monteith

13th August 2026

Here's a few paragraphs on how to set a spinning lure hook based on practice not theory. Nothing beats professional time spent on a Scottish salmon river for observing the various aspects of this glorious pursuit.
This is the Steps Pool on the Newtyle Beat of the River Tay and I've drawn the optimal wade line in red which allows anglers to fish through the pool safely and effectively without spooking any salmon that may be present. I took this downstream shot while working as this guest's salmon fishing guide for the day.

Salmon Lie Approach

Jock Monteith

12th August 2026

Over the decades I've seen great opportunities for an easy 'early day' salmon completely blown by anglers who put on waders that go up to their chests and think they have to do the same while wading in the river!
Here's Jock Monteith amidst a Spey casting lesson on the River Tay under the historic Telford Bridge demonstrating perfect D Loop loading with the single Spey cast. The traditional Spey cast is the most effective and satisfying casts. This photo was taken by local Dunkeld photographer Charlie MacDonald. Jock is wearing his Graham of Menteith tartan kilt while demonstrating Spey cast with his 15ft Monteith salmon fly rod.

The Spey Cast Swing

Jock Monteith

11th August 2026

Understanding the value of a correct 'logical' line lift at the beginning of the Spey cast is crucial for negating the cast crippling 'water resistance' experienced by an incorrect line lift. Today I'll elaborate on what maintains this 'ease and smoothness' of cast through the middle section of the cast known as the 'swing' which is crucial for adequate rod loading in the D Loop.
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

Salmon Fly Selection

Jock Monteith

10th August 2026

There's been millions of words written on this fascinating subject over the decades by many serious salmon fishers who all have their own take on what the best patterns are. At the end of the day it boils down to faith as we will never truly get permanently inside a salmon's mind.
This guest was fishing with me on the River Tay near Dunkeld. This pool tail is a renowned hot spot for running salmon so I waded out to this fishing position to make it easier to fish the main salmon lie between the fisher and the far riverbank. Directly in front of the big tree that you can see on the opposite riverbank is the main salmon lie hot spot.

Important Riverbank Etiquette

Jock Monteith

9th August 2026

For the daily operation of any salmon beat to run smoothly it is important that all fishing guests read & understand the beat rules which are there primarily for safety reasons and to ensure the enjoyment of all paying guests.
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.

Spin Fishing For Tay Salmon

Jock Monteith

8th August 2026

If your effective hooking rate with a spinner on the River Tay isn't close to 100% then there's a few different angles of thought to consider the next time you're out slinging cutlery across Scotland's biggest & deepest salmon river.
Here's the bow section of a hand built River Tay 16ft salmon fishing 'coble' boat with a Brady fishing back and Bruce & Walker salmon Spey rod fitted with a Van Staal salmon fly reel. Professional salmon guides in Scotland take their personal salmon fishing equipment seriously too!

Salmon Beat Ghillies

Jock Monteith

7th August 2026

Having served my time as a professional ghillie on the River Tay the next few paragraphs highlight a few of the finer points that I personally believe that makes a resident professional salmon beat ghillie stand out from the crowd.
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