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These wild lupins are a great sight to behold during late Spring on the riverbanks of Scotland. These's so much fascinating natural beauty to be observed on the riverbanks of Scotland catching salmon is only one dimension of a day out salmon fishing. This is the neck of the Boat Pool on Glendelvine Water which is a perfect River Tay salmon fishing venue near Perth.
Keith had been trying to catch a salmon for a number of years before he was pointed to myself on the River Tay for his Sky TV Tight Lines programme. It took all of 10 minutes to put him into this fine River Tay salmon as his personal salmon fishing guide at the Boat Pool on the Glendelvine Beat. The Sky Sports cameras captured all of the footage and everyone went home happy and even the fish too which was released after this fine photo was taken. Note Keith is wearing a life jacket with his chest waders which is essential for safe wading reasons.
I was fortunate to be invited to contribute quality footage for this popular TV programme series back in 2007. We managed to stop 2 perfect Spring salmon that day in front of the TV cameras which propelled my ghillie career and the profile of the Newtyle Beat where I worked. This programme is still occasionally being aired after all of these byears due to its viewership popularity. This fine fish was one of these Spring fish and was captured at The Trap Pool on the fly.
Georgina Ballantine's 64 lbs salmon from the Glendelvine Beat of the Tay was caught on the 7th of October 1922. This British record salmon was finally landed in the darkness downstream of the then old iron Caputh Bridge after and epic battle that lasted over an hour. The fish was hooked in the Boat Pool neck a few hundred yards upstream of the Caputh Bridge. The old Iron Caputh Bridge was dismantled 20+ years ago and now there's a slick new modern road bridge there. If you look over the upstream side of the new bridge you can still see the stanchion foundations of the old bridge on the riverbed.

Special River Tay Moments

By 3rd May 2026

While fantastic moments appear on the salmon rivers of Scotland on a daily basis when any fisher hooks and lands and perfect salmon it's always even more special as a ghillie when you've assisted guests in landing their first ever fish or when the TV cameras are running!

I was fortunate to be invited to contribute quality footage for this popular TV programme series back in 2007. We managed to stop 2 perfect Spring salmon that day in front of the TV cameras which propelled my ghillie career and the profile of the Newtyle Beat where I worked. This programme is still occasionally being aired after all of these byears due to its viewership popularity. This fine fish was one of these Spring fish and was captured at The Trap Pool on the fly.

You'll Never Know If You Don't Have A Go

As a professional salmon beat ghillie I took a few chances to raise the profile of the beat I took commercially from 'zero to hero' on the Tay and part of that success (in addition to perfect riverbank grooming, immaculate fishing hut operational standards and huge intelligent positivity to inspire all fishing guests) was due to sticking my head above the parapet when the original 'Turas a Bhradain' series was kicking off in 2008. That May day on the Tay was the finest sunlit May day for filming and 2 truly perfect sea liced Spring salmon were landed by expert salmon fishers Jim Fisher & Donnie Whiteford which not only kicked off the series supremely well (Jim's 20 pounder was used as the trailer) but also instantly catapulted the beat and my own professional profile into a higher realm of awareness.

Here's a shot of me teaching Angus how to Spey cast on this popular Scottish salmon fishing show at the neck of the Cottar Pool on the Tay's Newtle Beat. This was me demonstrating D Loop formation for Neen, Angus and the cameraman while I was working on Newtyle as the Head Ghillie.

Turas A Bhradain Salmon Journey Series

The 'Turas A Bhradain' series as many of you'll know has since been recommissioned several times and full credit goes to top producer Chris Webster and presenter Neen Mackay and their brilliant film production team along with all the Scottish salmon professionals who stood up and participated. For me in 2008 the dark side of being involved would have been the risk of the beat I was in charge of blanking on National TV which was probably why more cautious ghillies shied away from grabbing this massive potential 'profiling' opportunity. Since the original 'The Tay' episode was filmed in 2008 it has been replayed many times so truly a fantastic memory of a great Spring day out on the middle Tay's beautiful Newtyle salmon beat.

Keith had been trying to catch a salmon for a number of years before he was pointed to myself on the River Tay for his Sky TV Tight Lines programme. It took all of 10 minutes to put him into this fine River Tay salmon as his personal salmon fishing guide at the Boat Pool on the Glendelvine Beat. The Sky Sports cameras captured all of the footage and everyone went home happy and even the fish too which was released after this fine photo was taken. Note Keith is wearing a life jacket with his chest waders which is essential for safe wading reasons.

Keith Arthur 'Tight Lines' Sky TV

A few seasons ago another fantastic opportunity arose to host the UK's most famous angler Keith Arthur (who is one of the nicest & knowledgeable fellow fishers I've ever met) on the River Tay for his highly viewed Sky TV 'Tight Lines' show. Keith has caught more fish than some of the North Sea trawlers have but our silver friends had always alluded him for one reason or another for several years but seven minutes was all that was required when I entered the ring! I'm not taking full credit for that one though as any good ghillie occasionally needs a quality 'tip off' from a fellow professional.

 

These wild lupins are a great sight to behold during late Spring on the riverbanks of Scotland. These's so much fascinating natural beauty to be observed on the riverbanks of Scotland catching salmon is only one dimension of a day out salmon fishing. This is the neck of the Boat Pool on Glendelvine Water which is a perfect River Tay salmon fishing venue near Perth.

The Glendelvine Salmon Beat Of The River Tay

My old chum and fellow professional River Tay ghillie Steve McIrvine at Glendelvine who I've been fishing with since boyhood days kindly got us on to his famous Glendelvine Beat after Keith blanked on another upstream beat during the day. I got hold of Keith that day at 6pm and put him straight into a fish which my pal Steve had assured me was there to be caught and that his beat had been lightly fished that day. I love to go onto a 'rested' salmon pool and quickly so to did Keith as his seven year jinx was well and truly over the split second his perfect 10lbs bar of silver was introduced to the landing net after only 15 minutes on the Glendelvine Beat's famous Boat Pool with the Jockster! For this to happen on the exact same pool the British record salmon was hooked in with the UK's most famous angler catching his first ever salmon was indeed the highlight of my career and will likely always remain so. Taking a chance on National TV can pay off if you've got the correct inner confidence levels and you've done your calculations thoroughly enough!

 

More Salmon Fishing Articles

This perfectly timed photograph was taken by professional photographer Louise Bellin on the Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay at the famous Junction Pool which is directly where the River Tummel enters the Tay. Jock, dressed in traditional Tweeds and waders holds his fishing rod, demonstrating the perfect Spey cast required in this salmon fishing hot spot for maximum water coverage of the lovely Tay salmon pool.

Fine Tune Your Speycast

Jock Monteith

14th August 2026

The vast majority of Scottish Speycasters tend to cast like 'racehorses with blinkers on' with their heads only aligned to the target area and not to the crucial mid cast 'anchor point' which is vital for a perfectly timed power stroke delivery.
This perfect River Tay Springer was caught by myself on the 23rd of February from the Kinnaird salmon beat near Pitlochry. These early run Scottish salmon are perfect specimens and are guaranteed to get your heart racing. This fish was quickly returned and swam off strongly to continue its upstream migration to the upper reaches of the Tay. You can see the gold ABU Toby lure, Bruce & Walker Hexagraph spinning rod and Van Staal spinning reel used in the capture of this fine Spring run salmon.

Successful Salmon Spin Fishing

Jock Monteith

13th August 2026

Here's a few paragraphs on how to set a spinning lure hook based on practice not theory. Nothing beats professional time spent on a Scottish salmon river for observing the various aspects of this glorious pursuit.
This is the Steps Pool on the Newtyle Beat of the River Tay and I've drawn the optimal wade line in red which allows anglers to fish through the pool safely and effectively without spooking any salmon that may be present. I took this downstream shot while working as this guest's salmon fishing guide for the day.

Salmon Lie Approach

Jock Monteith

12th August 2026

Over the decades I've seen great opportunities for an easy 'early day' salmon completely blown by anglers who put on waders that go up to their chests and think they have to do the same while wading in the river!
Here's Jock Monteith amidst a Spey casting lesson on the River Tay under the historic Telford Bridge demonstrating perfect D Loop loading with the single Spey cast. The traditional Spey cast is the most effective and satisfying casts. This photo was taken by local Dunkeld photographer Charlie MacDonald. Jock is wearing his Graham of Menteith tartan kilt while demonstrating Spey cast with his 15ft Monteith salmon fly rod.

The Spey Cast Swing

Jock Monteith

11th August 2026

Understanding the value of a correct 'logical' line lift at the beginning of the Spey cast is crucial for negating the cast crippling 'water resistance' experienced by an incorrect line lift. Today I'll elaborate on what maintains this 'ease and smoothness' of cast through the middle section of the cast known as the 'swing' which is crucial for adequate rod loading in the D Loop.
I designed this deadly salmon fly pattern 20 years ago while working as the Head Ghillie and salmon fishing instructor on the River Tay's Newtyle Beat. Here's the exact dressing before anyone asks; Hook: 1

Salmon Fly Selection

Jock Monteith

10th August 2026

There's been millions of words written on this fascinating subject over the decades by many serious salmon fishers who all have their own take on what the best patterns are. At the end of the day it boils down to faith as we will never truly get permanently inside a salmon's mind.
This guest was fishing with me on the River Tay near Dunkeld. This pool tail is a renowned hot spot for running salmon so I waded out to this fishing position to make it easier to fish the main salmon lie between the fisher and the far riverbank. Directly in front of the big tree that you can see on the opposite riverbank is the main salmon lie hot spot.

Important Riverbank Etiquette

Jock Monteith

9th August 2026

For the daily operation of any salmon beat to run smoothly it is important that all fishing guests read & understand the beat rules which are there primarily for safety reasons and to ensure the enjoyment of all paying guests.
Here's myself with a fine Spring salmon in the landing net immediately prior to its release. A good landing net with fish friendly mesh is an essential piece of salmon fishing equipment. I caught this fine salmon at the Daffodil Lie Pool on the beautiful Kinnaird Beat of the River Tay in Highland Perthshire.

Spin Fishing For Tay Salmon

Jock Monteith

8th August 2026

If your effective hooking rate with a spinner on the River Tay isn't close to 100% then there's a few different angles of thought to consider the next time you're out slinging cutlery across Scotland's biggest & deepest salmon river.
Here's the bow section of a hand built River Tay 16ft salmon fishing 'coble' boat with a Brady fishing back and Bruce & Walker salmon Spey rod fitted with a Van Staal salmon fly reel. Professional salmon guides in Scotland take their personal salmon fishing equipment seriously too!

Salmon Beat Ghillies

Jock Monteith

7th August 2026

Having served my time as a professional ghillie on the River Tay the next few paragraphs highlight a few of the finer points that I personally believe that makes a resident professional salmon beat ghillie stand out from the crowd.
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