Here's a picture of River Tay professional salmon fishing ghillie legend Willie Laird in a pondering pose beside the river. Willie was a career ghillie and boatman on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld for all of his adult life.

This little sand marten landed on my salmon fly rod while I was out fishing the Cottar Pool of the River Tay at Birnam when I was working there as a professional salmon fishing guide & Head Ghillie. Every time I flicked the bird off my rod between cast it returned again immediately afterwards. Quite an amazing experience really for a salmon guide to encounter as it felt like the bird didn't want to leave me.

Here's a picture of River Tay legend Willie Laird ready for action in his traditional Tay coble boat. Willie was a career ghillie on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld and Willie was an exceptionally talented and renowned salmon fishing guide in Scotland.

I met Willie Laird on the River Tay back in 1970 when my father took me salmon fishing for the first time. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Newtyle Beat of the River Tay for 50 years before retiring in 1986.

Here's a picture of River Tay legendary salmon guide Willie Laird with a perfect February caught 42lbs Spring salmon and happy student fishing guest! Willie was a career ghillie on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld.

Here's a picture of River Tay legend Willie Laird with a perfect 36lbs Spring salmon. Willie was a career salmon ghillie on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld and over his lifetime he inspired thousands of salmon fishers.

Here's 3 River Tay salmon fishing professional ghillie legends. Willie 'the ghillie' Laird, Ian Redford & Calum Gillies were 3 of the most renowned salmon fishing men in the 70's on the Tay. This was a 15th of January opening day picture taken at lunchtime in front of the Newtyle Beat fishing hut in Birnam.

If you look closely between my fingers you'll see the carefully positioned Willie 'the ghillie' Laird lucky charm on my Monteith salmon fly rod. This lucky charm works well for me and it always pays to be aligned with the spirit world while fishing for salmon in Scotland.

Here's a picture of River Tay salmon guide legend Willie Laird out in the boat on the river. Willie was a career ghillie on the Tay for 50+ years before his retirement in 1986. Willie was the Head Ghillie on the Tay's Newtyle Beat near Dunkeld which is still a very popular Tay salmon fishing beat.

Salmon River Spirits

By Jock Monteith 7th April 2024

Some fantastic experiences have happened to me on the riverbank throughout my professional career which could only be described as paranormal but never in a scary way.

Over the next few paragraphs I'll enlighten you to a few of them which I dare say a few of you will be able to relate to.

My late mother Peggy was an amazing mother who was strict & fair on myself, brother & sister. She also had a 6th sense and could accurately read people and predict things with amazing accuracy. I took this selfie with her a few years ago at her Milngavie home in Glasgow,

Having The Second Sense

My late mother had an uncanny knack of sensing things that others couldn't see and as an example my late father while building a significant builder's merchant business in Scotland throughout the 60's & 70's used her skill for recruitment purposes. If he ever ignored her astute & instant advice it would always 'back fire' on him! I wish I'd picked up my mother's astute character assessment skills and not entertained those I gave 'full throttle' support to during the last few decades with nothing but betrayal in return however I guess that's just part of life's rich educational process that most of us have to go through.

Beginning An Amazing River Friendship

My relationship with my late colleague and professional Tay ghillie Willie Laird began in 1970 when I was just a mere salmon parr! He steered me to my first salmon that year and many thereafter however I still believe that long after his passing in 1991 he lead me to many more. Call me insane if you wish and I would take that as a form of promotion from many but here are a few classic examples of what I'm referring to which I've never been able to fully explain but my gut feelings tell me it was my late friend's doing.

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.

Knowing Before You Really Know

About 1 week before I was offered & accepted the Head Ghillie's job on the Newtyle beat of the Tay where Willie had spent his entire life I recall being down at the fishing hut late one night. Something had drawn me there even though I hadn't been staying in the area at that time and it involved a 90 minute drive from Glasgow. There was an intense full moon sending the most 'amazingly' charged beam of light straight across the shimmering Tay almost as if it was pointing straight at me like a spot light. The message I was receiving 'loud and clear' was get ready for action Jock! All I could do was stand there absorbing this intense moonlight in a state of sheer elation even though I couldn't see what was about to unfold as a new ghillie had only recently been appointed on Willie's beat. Within 2 weeks I was called by one of the beat owners and was offered the job and within point eighth of a second I accepted!

Here's the old traditional Orange & Yellow salmon tube fly which is a deadly salmon fly pattern especially during the higher water levels of early Spring on the River Tay and other big Scottish rivers. All serious River Tay boatmen and professional fishing guides know how effective this pattern of salmon fly during Springtime when salmon fishing in Scotland.

That Old Orange & Yellow Salmon Tube Fly

On another occasion soon after starting on Willie's beat my first clients were a team of guys up from the south who fished one week every year during February. I was on boat harling duty that week and while giving serious thought as to which harling fly to tie on I found an old 'Orange & Yellow' 2 inch bodied tube fly Willie had given me 20 years prior that had been tied by local taxidermist Hugh Dale. I used to get frequently sent up to Hugh's Birnam shop as a boy to collect salmon flies that Willie had ordered. So on day one of my appointment as the Newtyle Beat's Head Ghillie and within 6 swings of the boat that old salmon fly was seized by the most perfect 16 pounder which was one of 2 beautiful Springers taken that week on that very same fly!

Here's a group of salmon fishing holiday guests testing out their newly learned Spey casting and riverbank movement techniques on the left bank of the River Tay's Cottar Pool on the Newtyle Beat. This perfect green grassy bank makes a perfect salmon pool for teaching salmon fishing guests.

A River Tay Baptism

Not long after that experience I recall the most beautiful sunlit Spring day later that February when I was out with my waders & fly rod fishing down through the neck of the Cottar salmon pool. I looked downstream to the jetty at the fishing hut some 300 yards below my position and noticed a 30ft high water spout forming which was amazing as there didn't appear to be any wind where I was. This whirling swirling wall of watery magnificence immediately and within about 2 seconds shot straight up the Tay and hit me head on before I turned to watch it instantly disappear upstream in the distance at the Deans Burn Pool. That water spout mini tornado of Tay water was the quickest thing I'd ever seen and left me completely drenched and wondering if my late pal was laughing at me!

The dark glassy water shown here at the tail of the Trap Pool on the Tay's Newtyle Beat is one of those hot spots where salmon love to stop after powering up through the faster water below. This pool and the downstream Cottar Pool are a delight to fly fish through with always a real chance of some salmon action. I took this shot while working as a salmon fishing guide on this lovely River Tay salmon beat.

How Did The Other Salmon Fisher Get On

Another event not long after that I had a very keen salmon fisher up on the beat from Edinburgh who liked to fish on for a few hours after 5pm. He walked downstream to fish from the fishing hut as I went to strip down the boat for the night. When he arrived back at the fishing hut he asked me did the other guy you were with catch anything! I quickly informed him that no one else was on the beat but he knew what he'd seen and swore that he'd seen me in the boat at the jetty with what he was certain looked like an older chap beside me!

Here's an upstream shot of the 200 year old Telford Bridge in Dunkeld which is a popular fishing town in the River Tay Valley. This lovely fast streamy water goes right up under the bridge to the Dunkeld Cathedral which is located slightly upstream of the bridge. I took this shot while I was the Head Ghillie and main salmon fishing guide on the immediately downstream Newtle salmon beat.

Clairvoyant Salmon Ghillie Reading

My partner at the time was a great girl but struggled with the time restrictions of being in a relationship with an 'obsessed' career ghillie who was virtually invisible from January to October each year except for coming home most nights in a state of absolute exhaustion following the hosting of up to 12 guests or from massive unassisted riverbank maintenance activities. As our relationship was deteriorating she went to a well known claire voyant for any kind of insight. She was asked in no uncertain manner as to who my older male friend was!

A Salmon Fishing Lucky Charm Indeed

I recall fly fishing 'The Boil Pool' which was one of my late colleague's favourite Newtyle salmon pools with a little picture of Willie which had been copied from a lovely oil painting of him that one of the local Birnam lady artists had painted in the 60's. As I was fishing the pool I thought to myself I wonder what that little picture would look like on my fly rod positioned just above he cork handle as a lucky charm. Within a split second of me placing it into position above the cork handle of my rod the fly was instantly taken! There's a better account of that if you fast forward to 22.40 minutes on the brilliant Chris Webster produced Turus A Bhradain 'The Tay' STV masterpiece.

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.

Watch Mid Summers Night On The River

My mentor was a great man who had only ever left the Tay on one occasion to go and fight in North Africa in the desert during the 2nd World War. He had received one of the highest military honours for his bravery but seldom showed or told anyone about it as it had involved the loss of many of his closest army colleagues. I recall Willie telling me about being out on mid Summer's night fishing for sea trout at the bottom of the beat and as he approached an old fence in the darkness on his way back the entire fence started 'dancing violenty' forcing him to drop his rod and the sea trout he had caught and run like hell. He told me that the only other time in his life he had been as scared was when the incoming German artillery shells were destroying his battalion in the heat of battle. He also advised me it was only the picture in his mind's eye of the Dunkeld hills that got him through that dreadful war experience. He warned me sternly that I should never kill a wild creature on mid Summer's night as that was the spirit world's annual night out!

Friendly Sand Martin On The River Tay

On another occasion I recall a sand martin circling and chirping away as it 360'ed me while I was out fishing opposite the fishing hut with my fly rod. The bird appeared from nowhere and there were strangely no other sand martins around. It landed on my rod several times and I was finding it difficult to fish so I even took a video of me telling this wee bird to get off my rod as I was laughing at it. On one of these occasions I flicked the bird off my rod after dipping its tail feathers in the Tay and it flew around behind me and re-landed on my rod a few inches above the cork handle! On reflection and with further thoughts of that highly unusual experience I just wonder if it was my old pal saying hello again!

My Personal Thoughts On All Of This

I personally believe that those good hearted men of Scotland who are no longer with us and who chose the professional ghillie route in life that their spirits are never too far away from the river and often in a state of subtle 'overwatch'. The river without a doubt is good for the soul so when the human body has had enough the soul is only heading to one place! Call me 'Mystic Monteith' if you wish and the above are only a few of the more believable encounters I have had the good fortune to experience on the fabulous River Tay!