So much nonsense is spoken about how to hook a salmon on the fly which results in the loss on thousands of Scottish salmon each year. Book a professional guide to get you into position and then show you exactly how to set the salmon fly hook effectively. This salmon in the landing net was hooked properly on the River Tay near the rivers Tay & Tummel confluence which is a great fishing area near Dunkeld in Perthshire.

This was my first fish of the 2024 River Tay salmon fishing season and a fine fish too as you can clearly see here in this photograph. Look at its beautiful oceanic colours as they highlight against the dark browns of the river environment. I caught this fine at the Rock Pool on Kinnaird Water which has always been a good Spring salmon fishing area.

I caught this fine 16lbs specimen Spring salmon in February on the River Tay near Dunkeld as hard proof that early run Scottish salmon certainly do exist. Look at the caliber of this perfect fish which is exceptional and easily caught too for those who know how & where to fish during the early Spring months in Scotland.

This is a perfect pristine example of what a River Tummel bound fresh run Spring salmon looks like. This perfectly shaped salmon was caught right at the Tummel/Tay confluence between Pitlochry & Dunkeld during late May. These perfect fish are present in this area of the River Tay from late March through to early June. I caught this salmon on the Monteith Copperass salmon fly which is a particularly effective pattern.

Here's the beautiful head of a perfect fresh run Scottish salmon which I caught on the fly during Springtime on the River Tay. Note how the head of this silver flanked fresh run Spring fish has turned beige to match the riverbed terrain of the river. This fine salmon took a fly near Dunkeld on the River Tay as was quickly released by me immediately after this shot was taken.

These fresh run Scottish salmon look as if they've been forged from molten silver and are often referred to as 'bars of silver'. This perfect Spring salmon took a 'Jock's Shrimp' salmon fly near the River Tummel & River Tay confluence during late May which is a great time to intercept a fish of this calibre. I took this perfect up close shot while this beautiful fish was still in the landing net before releasing it back to the river.

The most famous of the bigger Scottish rivers are the Tay, Spey, Dee & Tweed and this perfect fish of around 14 lbs was caught on the fly on the River Tay during July near the Perthshire town of Dunkeld. Look at the perfect deep bodied build of this perfect salmon as it lay in the landing net prior to being released.

Personally I love to use the Partridge Nordic tube fly hooks as they are micro barbed, very sharp and very strong. A single hook also hooks salmon better and does almost no damage to the mouth of a fish with 'Catch & Release' in mind. A good strong single hook also keeps the fly on an even keel when it's fishing. Once you've landed a few salmon on a single hook you'll be unlikely to ever go back to doubles or treble hooks. These are 3 Jock's Shrimp salmon tube fly patterns which is of my own design.

Setting A Salmon Fly Hook

By Jock Monteith 10th July 2026

There's nothing more guaranteed in Scottish salmon fishing than watching salmon fishers waste great hooking opportunities.

This happens especially during the early Spring or late Autumn when the heavier gauge wire hooks typically used on tube flies don't get enough hook point pressure to be set when a salmon takes.

This is the brown winged version of the Jock's Shrimp fitted with a Partridge Nordic No 6 tube fly hook. This is a true weapon of a salmon fly and lethal for attracting salmon on the famous River Tay and other Scottish salmon rivers.

Use Strong Salmon Fly Hooks

During the warmer water periods of the salmon fishing season where smaller gauge hook wire is used on the smaller flies you'll maybe get away with this nonsensical 'lift into it' theme but even through the fine wire hook months of the year I always want to make sure that a hard earned 'take' reaches the landing net and is not squandered leaving the most awful feeling of 'adrenalin enhanced' loss behind. A little chemically sharpened fine wire hook may allow the water pressure on the belly of your fly line to squeeze the hook home for you during the take without doing anything but that's not the sort of hook you want if that 'fish of a lifetime' shows up as it will likely send it back to you like a buckled safety pin!

Salmon Tube Fly Hooks

To correctly balance a one to two inch bodied tube fly you really are usually talking about a size 6 or 4 hook which means there's typically going to be a good few millimetres between the hook point and the micro barb on your hook. If that hook isn't properly set at the right moment during the take then 'rest assured' that salmon is going to get rid of the fly shortly into the fight and normally in well under 60 seconds. What's the point of fishing smart & hard to give the salmon a free exit pass before you've had the chance to properly inspect it! Soft rubber tube fly sleeves that allow the hook to pivot at the critical hooking moment are also inviting disaster so take them off and throw them in the fire and replace them with more 'rigid' plastic equivalents that will keep your hook perfectly aligned with the tube fly body.

Here's a lovely Tay Spring salmon that fell for the deadly Jock's Shrimp tube fly near the River Tummel mouth where it enters the River Tay. Fly fishing in Scotland is great fun and is highly satisfying when salmon are outsmarted. This fine salmon took the Jock's Shrimp salmon which you can see in the photograph.

Use Effective Logical Hook Point Pressure

Let logic work on your mind if you're currently a rod lifter. Lifting a salmon rod to set a hook in most cases is going to jag the fish as it's pulling away or half set the hook as the soft action of a fly rod and softly set clutch logically isn't going to exert enough hook point pressure. Keeping the rod tip down at the hook set moment and clamping the fly reel face will logically put the forward momentum weight of the salmon directly onto the initial micro hold hook set driving it properly home. If you feel the weight of the fish by doing this for 2 or 3 seconds (low core stretch fly line) it will never ever come off and you can relax while playing the fish. If you're fishing one of these stretchy core fly lines feel the weight of the fish for a further few seconds to counteract this flawed fly line design feature. The other key to hooking salmon effectively is giving them long enough to turn properly on your fly which is usually at least a 'minimum' of several 'slow' seconds into the take but as time speeds up with a shot of adrenalin wait until you're almost feeling you're giving the fish too much time and you'll be about right.

Don't be a 'launch & hope' specialist and adopt salmon fly thought mentality as to your fly's speed & depth as that's what will give you a huge advantage while fishing for salmon anywhere in the world. This lovely River Tay salmon was caught with a perfectly controlled Jock's Shrimp salmon fly near Dunkeld. This shot was taken while the fish was lying in the landing net prior to unhooking and its safe release back to the river.

Salmon Fishing Instruction

No matter what type of fly hook I'm using I always give the salmon plenty of time to let it think it owns the fly before putting the brakes on it! Once I've felt the weight of the fish for a few seconds with the rod tip pointing at the fish (and there's no bendy rod or slack clutch coming into play) then & only then will I lift the rod. Always remember a salmon's mouth is mainly made up of tough tissue and gristle so proper hook point pressure is essential to set a hook effectively. On many occasions I've hooked salmon and walked them 60 yards down a pool and handed the rod to another fisher and told them to lift the rod knowing fine well the fish is already properly hooked. While wading down the river I've known that hook hold is guaranteed and there's no way that salmon is coming off. This proves there's even no real rush to lift a rod in the early stages of proceedings once you've set the hook properly even though it's logical to play a fish with a high rod tip to avoid the line being drowned and potentially getting snagged on a sub surface obstacle unless of course you want to gift a nice surprise to someone!