Salmon River Conditions
If you're waiting for perfect river conditions for your salmon fishing trip you can wait a long time and still have zero guarantee of a fish or two!
Many anglers these days pay far too much attention to digital 'catch stats' and water level gimmickry which most definitely will have cost them plenty of salmon!
The Seasoned Salmon Angler
Unpredictability in this sport is one of its big attractions and turning up on the river where the conditions are perceived to be less than favourable doesn't mean salmon are not present or cannot be caught. The skilled salmon fisher will be excited by this challenge and will be quietly eager to prove a point. Don't make the mistake of 'writing off' the fishing day as I've seen our 'Salmon God' appear in horrible flat grey light conditions when a rotten easterly wind was blowing and when the nastiest 'face biting' north wind was howling all day long down the river. Bright light, low light, high water, low water, driving rain, thick fog, freezing cold or roasting hot you should always be aware that there's always a chance as long as you believe there's one and you're actually there displaying some reasonable riverbank form to prove that fact to yourself. Also, I'm not understanding the logic during periods of lower catch recordings either and why the 'apparent' scarcity of salmon is not perceived the same way as gold, diamonds, Bitcoin or any other commodity where the scarcity is indeed the very 'value' driver itself! Imagine if a blind dog in a snow storm could catch a salmon on every outing and how boring the challenge would become!
Success In Scottish Salmon Fishing
Success in salmon fishing is about knowing tactically what you're doing coupled with high persistency levels over the full course of the fishing day. Focussing your thoughts on the speed and depth of your fly or lure are crucially important factors too. The real advantage you need is that often unpredictable bit of 'self manufactured' luck that positions you in front of a taking fish via effective fly swing spacings riverbank movement and all of the above has got absolutely nothing to do with a water gauge readings or the vast majority of other river conditions. Look at the damage 'over thinking' has done in the scientific research side of this business so if you're an angler 'use your loaf' and get a 'controlled' fly out across the river with well trained wading boot movement between each salmon fly delivery! If you zoom in on the picture above with the boat on the sandbank, you'll see a fellow salmon guide team member with 2 new salmon fishing guests on the right hand bank of the river with a 12lbs Spring salmon being weighed in the landing net which shouldn't have happened during those bright low water conditions! That fish was immediately followed by a 2nd of 11lbs!
Salmon Think For Themselves
Salmon thankfully think for themselves and it often amazes me when I observe the most unlikely low water river conditions come alive when a run of fresh salmon cause commotion as they enter the pool. Often in the low water of Summer you'll catch fish with pink running marks on their bellies so these fish decided to run and not wait for a lift in the river or for the falling water levels on the back of a flood as they should have done! Don't be looking for river condition perfection in this business is what I'd suggest as salmon will often be present or will show up when you least expect them. There's way much more to enjoying this fine pursuit and at best catching salmon will only ever represent a small percentage of the hours you'll spend on the riverbank even when the river is full of cooperating fish!
Last Minute Salmon Fisher Bookings
These days many potential salmon fishing visitors wait until the last minute to see what the water is doing or what's getting caught before committing to a day on the river which is completely illogical as the 'only' Scottish salmon stock measuring tool are the anglers themselves! There are many factors that influence whether salmon are caught or not on any beat (and that even includes the angler's skill set ability) but one thing for certain is that no anglers will catch no fish and if no fish are being recorded then no anglers are coming and so this ridiculous poorly thought out self fulfilling marketing prophecy continues! Many salmon fishers are now last minute bookers which has 'amplified' the lack of fish being recorded by reducing their own fishing effort via holding back for their perception of perfect river conditions. The human mind also seems to favour the convienence of a negative thought rather than the buzz of positivite one when it comes to catching salmon which has never been consistently easy or guaranteed as far back as I can remember.