Here's a lovely upstream shot of the famous Rock Pool of the River Tay's Upper Kinnaird Beat during the last hour of daylight and often salmon push on up river as the light starts to fade and especially during low water conditions like you see in this dusk photograph.

Here's a photograph of myself out surveying the Meetings Pool on the Lower Kinnaird salmon beat of the River Tay at dusk. As a professional salmon guide I always like to watch the river during the last hour of daylight for any signs of salmon movement.

Here's a lovely shot of the Tay/Tummel confluence at dusk during the Summer. Sometimes fishing the last few hours of daylight can be advantageous and I recall one night at this spot catching 3 perfect salmon before the light faded away into darkness. This area of the Tay is close to Dunkeld & Pitlochry so easily accessible for salmon fishers.

Here's a lovely upstream shot of the famous Meetings Pool of the River Tay's Kinnaird Beat during the last hour of daylight. Some anglers refer to this time of the day as the 'witching hour' and often salmon push on up river as the light fades and especially during low water conditions.

Here's a lovely sunset at Dunkeld on the River Tay. It's always nice to fish the Tay for salmon right up to this special time of the fishing day and often salmon will move as the light starts to fade so there's always a fair chance of a fish in addition to this beautiful natural light show. You can see this shot was taken during early Spring before the leaves appear on the riverbank trees.

This upstream dusk shot of the Cathedral Stream was taken from the middle section of the Telford Bridge in Dunkeld. You can see the salmon fishing guide with his fishing guest still out in the boat as the light is starting to fade in pursuit of an evening salmon.

Salmon River Dusk

By Jock Monteith 9th June 2026

While most of the Scottish salmon fishing ends at around 5pm on the fishing day it's always worth running past the beat's Head Ghillie the viability of an evening cast and especially in late Spring or during the long hot days of Summer.

Like all forms of wildlife the fading light brings excitement to fish too as trout come on the feed and salmon start to move.

Observing The River At Dusk

I recall many times in my professional career sitting observing the river during what my late mentor Willie Laird used to refer to as the 'witching hour' and seeing the water displacement surge of a shoal of salmon pushing up through the thin water at the tail of the main salmon pool on his Tay beat. I've personally seen this late evening movement of salmon on many Scottish rivers over the years and especially through the low water Summer months when it appears that there are not many fish about!

Here's a traditional River Tay salmon boat out fishing the Cathedral Stream at Dunkeld during the last hour of daylight. The sun is about to set over the Perthshire hills which it did 15 minutes after this lovely shot was taken from the Telford Bridge in Dunkeld.

Evening Salmon Movement

These running salmon will have been sat down all day and probably completely unobserved in one of the deeper holding areas downstream before being 'triggered' by the fading light to push on again. If you've been fishing on any salmon beat during bright light & low water conditions with nothing much showing it's important you treat each day with renewed anticipation as to what the darkness could have brought into the pools the night before. If salmon aren't showing or occasionally one shows don't be deceived into thinking there's only an odd fish in the pool.

Here's a shot from 2004 of the late Peter Anderson with myself in front of the Newtyle Beat fishing hut on the River Tay near Dunkeld. Peter was a colossal figure within Scottish salmon fishing and possessed exceptional skills with a fly or spinning rod which really had to be seen to be believed! You can see the Newtyle Beat jetty casting platform behind Peter.

A Peter Anderson Salmon Fishing Lesson

I recall a perfect incident in the early 90's where I was out fishing the River Forth in Summertime with my late friend and mentor Peter Anderson. We'd been systematically covering the pools perfectly all day with no signs of life other than one pool where 2 salmon had moved during the bright light and blown their cover! We went back to the neck of that long, straight & deep holding pool as dusk approached and fairly soon we could see the bow wave from the movement of fish heading our way. I literally hooked a fish right in the bow wave and as the wave approached Peter (who was fishing slightly upstream) he hooked one too. As we both were playing our salmon (both landed) I watched the bow wave continue on upstream and disappear into the pool above in the fading light. Had we not spotted the presence of fish earlier that day we'd not have known we had a deep lying audience who were 'naturally' going to move when the light started to fade. Peter knew this and that's why he advised we should hold back until dusk.

Trout Fishing The River Tay At Night

As a youngster I used to love fishing the River Tay through the night for brown trout near Dunkeld. If I waded out into the pool quietly and remained completely still for long enough I'd see the dimpling of surface feeding trout come right in to within a few feet of me as they picked away at the flies that were drifting down the river. There's definitely something magical in the air on any river when the light starts to fade and under certain river conditions the last hour or so of daylight will give you a good chance of a salmon too. When the light fades your senses tune into the river far better as this magnifies tenfold the feel and vibe of the river.

I took this shot of one of the most famous River Tay salmon fishing huts which dates back to 1970 when Willie Laird the ghillie and a few colleagues sited this local Victorian golf course hut on the banks of the Tay as the fishing hut for the Newtyle Beat. Look at the lovely woodland to the rear of the hut and the perfect grass bank in the foreground for salmon anglers and salmon guides to fish from.

Plan Your Salmon Fishing Approach

Many salmon beats like to rest their pools in the evenings as 'over fishing' is a major yet largely unspoken issue on the salmon rivers of Scotland. Showing salmon that are holding in the pools too much of the fly is a bad thing as every time a salmon sees a fly its chances of taking the fly diminish. With this in mind focus your fishing effort into well covered and tactically thought out approaches instead of just thrashing away without a 'true' battle plan. In the lower water, bright light periods of the season you should consider the 'witching hour' in your fishing plan if permitted on the venue you're fishing on.

The riverbank light shows on the Tay in Scotland are amazing as you see here with this fine shot which I took at dusk on an overcast day. Whatever the weather the Scottish salmon rivers are beautiful arenas to pursue wild Atlantic salmon. These trees to the left of frame are all oak trees.

Tune Into The Salmon River At Dusk

Once you move your game from advanced tactical mode into advanced spiritual mode that is when you'll truly excel in this delicately unpredictable yet glorious pursuit. When your mind becomes synced with the energy of the river and when these fluctuating river moods transmit fish catching possibilities to your brain then you've developed the same 'gut feelings' that top professional salmon river ghillies will operate with on a day to day basis. This is a snippet of the generally unspoken side of Scottish salmon fishing and becoming 'as one' with the river is of advanced salmon fisher skill status. Being out on the river during dusk will assist you in understanding the river and her subtleties and once that's been achieved then experiencing personal introductions to her most sought after inhabitants becomes much less of an issue!