Here's my favourite River Tay salmon fishing pool near Dunkeld in late Spring. This is the March Pool on the opposite side of the river which is shrouded in these lovely riverside oak trees. Look at the perfect tapered riverbed that leads over to the deep salmon water. I have assisted many salmon fishing guests to catch salmon on this fine pool over the years while serving as their salmon fishing guide.

Look at this shimmering River Tay fly water perfection and think about what could be lying up in here and ready for a careful salmon fly presentation. This is the perfect March Pool on Scotland's famous River Tay which is one such perfect fly pool in this middle River Tay fishing area between the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld.

Here's an angler out fly fishing the renowned Meeting Pool on the River Tay's Upper Kinnaird salmon beat which is a perfect salmon fishing hot spot and one where many new salmon fishers are launched into the sport each year. This is the confluence of the rivers Tay & Tummel and the Tay is the river that goes up to the left hand side of frame. Look at the beautiful big riverbank oak tree to the left of frame.

Here's a truly amazing piece of salmon water on the Kinnaird Estate near Pitlochry which is a firm favourite for visiting salmon anglers. Salmon love to sit close in to this riverbank beside the broken water riffles you can see in this photograph. Personally I seldom fail to hook a salmon while fishing through this perfect River Tay salmon pool.

Here's an upstream shot of the neck of the Boatlands salmon pool with the Dunkeld Hills visible in the background which is typical of the perfect scenery on the middle area of the River Tay. This salmon fisher shot was taken by myself as I was this angler's salmon fishing guide for the day.

Here's a salmon fishing guest fly fishing their way down through the Gean Tree Pool of the River Tay's Kercock salmon beat. This guest was under the supervision of a professional salmon guide resulting in 2 salmon being caught by this fisher that day even though it was a very bright July day. Look at the lovely sunlight sparkle coming off the water.

Salmon River Religion

By Jock Monteith 16th October 2025

The answer to the question of whether God is a fanatical salmon fisher or not lies in a few of the following River Tay photographs of the big man's finest salmon river landscapes!

Isn't it also more than a coincidence that Scotland has always been referred to as God's country.

A River Tay salmon guide will take you to the best fishing areas and will make sure you're fishing through them optimally. If you are new to the sport a guide will teach all of the basic fly fishing skills and will supply all of the required fishing equipment and permit access. This is an upstream shot of the March Pool on the River Tay opposite the River Tummel mouth. Look at the perfectly strimmed riverbank I completed for the benefit & safety of our many visiting River Tay salmon fishing trip guests.

Jock Tamson Was A Ghillie Too

You're maybe thinking I've become a bit of a bible basher but inflicting my own carefully considered religious beliefs on others is not my game and I like to keep my intimate salmon river related thoughts to myself (most of the time). The infliction of regular religious beliefs has caused more than enough issues on this troubled planet over the centuries and at the end of the day we are all Jock Tamson's bairns! I do believe in a 'good intentioned' higher spiritual being though and you should be able to call him whatever you wish without herding, incrimination or persecution.

Here's a perfectly coloured traditional River Tay cobble salmon boat blending in with the riverbank stones slightly upstream of the River Tummel/Tay confluence. This is the tail of the Rock Pool which lies between the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld. The riverbank trees in the shot are primarily oak trees.

Salmon River Spirituality

If you ever need to place yourself in an environment where you can talk to your creator then if you really think about it there couldn't be a better environment than to be standing in or near a 'living' moving magnificent Scottish salmon river with a 15ft carbon fibre transmitter in your hands! The salmon river environment also has a huge calming effect on anyone who spends time there. The sounds of nature and the river movement are truly hypnotic and within an hour even the most overly stressed 'commercial warrior' will fall completely under her spell.

Our Salmon God

There is one God that I've had the pleasure of being around on numerous occasions over the decades and I've often felt his presence before he's kindly turned one of his finest creations in the direction of my salmon fly or lure. This God is always present and ever watchful over the salmon fisher who exudes quiet confidence and who maintains a humble yet tactically logical approach to the salmon river. If you put your faith in this God he'll develop you into an Atlantic salmon magnet and give you enough 'feel' for the river to fill a classroom of otters!

Unleash Your Ancient Hunting Skills

The more quality time you spend immersed in the magic of our Salmon God's arena the more you'll start seeing his rivers in fascinating new dimensions. Your eyes will be able to translate to your mind what's going on under water and even though you're only seeing the river's surface you'll already have detected the riverbed features, depths and potential salmon holding areas with the briefest glimpse of a pool. Subtle surface boils & swirls, the edge of the main current where there's some depth and the V shaped pool tails will become your primary focus and these visible likely salmon holding area features paired with the varying pace of the currents will tell you all you'll need to know. Becoming at one with our Salmon God in his special 'natural' arena will focus your mind and fishing effort to stand you a great chance of that next special 'adrenalin inducing' Atlantean encounter!