Here's 1 or 2 perfect fresh run early Spring salmon captured from the River Tay near the mouth of the River Tummel. This fisher caught both salmon on the fly with me as his personal salmon fishing guide late in the afternoon and both fish were caught within a few minutes of one another. It often pays to fish consistently hard until the 5pm end of the fishing day as often fish are on the move late in the afternoon during Springtime and can be caught if you're persistent enough to get your fly in front of them.

Here's the 1st of 2 perfect early Spring caught salmon from the River Tay in Perthshire by this salmon fishing vacation guest. This angler came up from England with the dream of catching a Scottish salmon on the fly and was rewarded with 2 fine specimens that were caught in rapid succession at the mouth of the River Tummel. I took this shot while serving as his Tay salmon guide that day.

This River Tay salmon fishing guest was sitting up on the bow of the boat to assist with the navigation of the boat through some downstream shallow water. This tactic lifts the outboard engine's propeller a few inches which makes a huge difference for shallow water navigation. This is a subtle navigational trick all professional River Tay boatmen will know and deploy while navigating through shallow water.

Here's a traditional River Tay salmon boat moored up at the March Pool sand bank immediately downstream of the Tay/Tummel confluence. This is a perfect low water sunlit early Spring fishing day which is always a pleasure to be out fishing for salmon in. A professional Tay salmon guide will always utilise the boat to commute salmon fishing holiday guests into the best fly fishing locations like this one.

Scottish Fishing Guides

By Jock Monteith 20th July 2026

Never underestimate the value of having a professional Scottish salmon guide overviewing & adjusting your salmon fishing approach even if you've been salmon fishing for years.

The difference between success & failure in this fine pursuit can often be a fine line!

This professional guide from the River Dee is holding 1 or 3 salmon landed that August day. John Fyfe came down from the River Dee to be guided by Jock Monteith who is renowned for his excellent guiding abilities. This salmon was caught on the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat at the Daffodil Lie Pool which is immediately downstream of the Logierait Bridge which is clearly visible in this picture.

The Importance Of A Salmon Guide

Unless a professional Scottish ghillie really focusses and advises accordingly on the effectiveness of your salmon pool coverage or the elegance of your Spey cast then often nothing will be said and an angler will be allowed to bed in bad habits and carry these throughout their fishing careers. There's way much more to salmon fly fishing than 'launching' a salmon fly out as far as you can and hoping something big and silvery intercepts it on its route back to your side of the river!

This perfect salmon was caught on the River Tay near Pitlochry in July via careful sub surface water column planning where a heavy sink tip was added to the fly line to put the fly down through a heavy flow area of the salmon pool. When salmon are lying deep you need to get your fly down onto them for the best chance of cooperation!

Get Your Salmon Fishing Tactics Perfected

If you're new to this fine pursuit then a professional salmon fishing guide's grounding is completely necessary to teach you the best tactical approaches as there's no guarantee a beat ghillie will have the time to deliver that level of 'one to one' service. To fish any of the Scottish rivers for the first couple of times without professional guidance is often a waste of time as salmon are not as easy as some may think to catch unless your salmon pool approach & water coverage is perfect. To obtain the best chances of success then having the right level of salmon fishing equipment and the necessary fishing skills are of huge importance and a personal guide's primary function is to provide both.

Here's a great fishing guide colleague of mine Kevin McKay with me on the River Tay at the Upper Kinnaird salmon beat near Logierait in Perthshire. Kevin is a highly skilled River Tay salmon fisher & Tay boatman. In the distance you can see the old Logierait Railway Bridge.

Professional Salmon Guide Fine Tuning

The important aspects of salmon fishing that really make a significant difference to the outcome of the fishing day only commences 'after' you've learned how to deliver a consistently fully extended fly line to the river! Many salmon fishers and instructors seem to think it stops there but the aerial performance of a salmon fly line is of zero significance to an Atlantic salmon. A good consistent 'fishing length' cast is completely wasted unless it's paired with perfect riverbank movement to separate each 'swing' of the fly correctly therefore making sure your water coverage is effective & maximised throughout the full course of the fishing day.

This is the lovely salmon pool directly downstream of the Grandtully Bridge on the River Tay in Perthshire. Many salmon are caught immediately above the white water each year by visiting salmon fishing guests. I took this shot during early June during low Summer water conditions.

Other Important Salmon Fishing Tactics To Learn

Important skills like training your ability to stay 'composed' when a salmon starts pulling at your fly is one of the hardest skills to master and thousands of anglers on the Scottish rivers each year react to the take from a salmon far too quickly and miss the hooking opportunity they've worked hard for. Salmon are true masters at catching an angler 'off guard' when they take a fly so unless an angler has been trained (brainwashed!) on composure tactics then his 'take to landed fish' ratio will remain low. There's always several seconds between contact from a fish and you tightening into it and if you're feeling that you've given the fish too long you'll be not far away as time speeds up significantly when a salmon is messing with your fly!

Knowing how and where to wade through a salmon pool like this fisher is doing for minimal disruption is a vital skill to master in Scottish salmon fishing. Most anglers think that wading deeper is better but the true facts about wading are quite the opposite. Observe that this salmon fisher is only at knee depth so as not disturb the salmon pool which is essential for salmon fishing success.

The Salmon Pool Wading Approach

Another big aspect of this business that I've seen many salmon fishers make errors with is the depth they'll wade through a salmon pool at. If you need to go out that deep to try to hit the far bank with your fly then logically you're fishing the wrong side of the river! In addition to that you'll more than likely have completely 'wrecked' your chances of success and the chances of all other salmon fishers who are fishing the same salmon pool that day! Salmon are highly sensitive creatures and although they may keep appearing after they've been 'rattled' by a deep wader they will become exceptionally difficult to catch after they've been disturbed. Stay back and wade carefully which includes a smooth slow pool entry and don't just charge in like a rhino!

Here's a close up shot of the head of the most sought after marine creature otherwise known as a fresh run Spring salmon. This fine fish was caught in May on the River Tay near the Tummel & Tay confluence which is a renowned holding area for Spring salmon near the Perthshire towns of Pitlochry & Dunkeld.

The Presence Of Your Salmon Fly Only

The only thing a salmon should be aware of is the salmon fly and not the angler so watch you're not casting a shadow over a pool or silhouetting yourself against the light sky while moving to the neck of a pool before fishing. A moving shadow to a salmon's mind equates to a predator and while working as a boatman on the Tay I observed salmon would only move off their lie the split second the shadow of the boat moved over them and seldom due to the noise of the engine or any other aspect of carefully conducted boating duties. Always be aware that salmon could be lying close to your side of the river so adjust your salmon fishing mindset to consider how salmon may be viewing you! Follow this link for full package details for booking Scottish fishing guides.