I can vividly recall the amazing thrill of landing this perfect fish during late May on the River Tay near Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire. Spring salmon in Scotland are always in perfect condition like you see here as this salmon lay beside my salmon fly rod and reel in the landing net before I released it back to the river.

Here's a late May example of a fresh run River Tay caught Spring salmon which was captured on the Kinnaird salmon beats near Dunkeld. This is the most sought after salmon of all and it's a delight to land a fish like this on a 15ft salmon fly rod.

Look at the shape and colours of this perfect marine feeding machine! This is a Scottish Spring salmon which was captured on the River Tay near Dunkeld during January. This fish fell to a carefully presented tube fly in the higher Spring water level even though most Tay fishers wrongly think spinning is the best method at that time of year. This fishing was captured by one of my salmon fishing holiday guests while I was assisting him as his personal fishing guide for the day.

Here's the perfect end result of a carefully presented River Tay salmon fly in the middle area of the Tay Valley near Dunkeld during May. Look at the physical perfection of this salmon and it's no wonder these Spring run fish are the most highly regarded of all the Scottish salmon runs. The fish is in the landing net beside my salmon fly rod & reel.

Here's a perfect example of God's finest marine creature the Atlantic salmon. These fish are amazingly powerful and awesome to look at once your skill levels are high enough to place one in the landing net for a close up inspection. This fine specimen was caught near Pitlochry on the River Tay by one of my salmon fishing trip guests.

Here's a perfect fresh run Summer salmon which one of my fishing trip guest's caught near Pitlochry on the River Tay while I was working as his salmon fishing guide. This fish took a small deep fished salmon fly and put up a great fight before being drawn to the fine green meshed landing net that you can see behind the salmon.

This perfect Spring salmon was caught by myself on the River Tay during late February after hours of searching the river for a fish. When you go salmon fishing it requires a solid logic backed fishing plan at the start of the day to catch salmon and this fish was the result of that type of detailed planning. Look at the perfect shimmer from this early Spring salmon's silver flanks lying beside my salmon fly reel & Spey rod.

This was a perfect River Tummel salmon of 11lbs caught that I caught while working as a salmon guide in May near the mouth of the River Tummel. You can see the light blue floating fly line on my fly rod which was fitted with a 15ft sinking tip just to get the fly down a foot or two in the water column. Note the fine meshed landing net bag the salmon is lying on.

This is God's finest marine creature in a salmon landing net moments before it was released back to its River Tay habitat. This fine fish was caught during late March near Dunkeld and weight exactly 23lbs. The fish took a pearly pink 4 inch Classic Tomic lure in colour code 341. These lures are ordered from Tomic Lures in Canada especially for use on the River Tay by many professional salmon fishing guides.

The Perfect River Tay Salmon

By Jock Monteith 11th May 2026

Catching a salmon at any time of the year is a truly amazing experience and regardless of how you've caught it and its condition.

However nothing comes close in my opinion to an encounter with a super fit pristine conditioned Atlantean in the cold Spring water of the Scottish rivers when lured on the fly.

Scottish Spring Salmon Perfection

To my mind there's little that compares throughout the Scottish salmon fishing season to the early Spring and that's nothing to do with detracting from the other fishing months of the year. Late February, March & April (once the majority of kelts have gone) is the time to search for these perfect Spring salmon which are present in the Tay and other Scottish rivers for those with enough faith to venture out in pursuit of them. Don't be put off by a generally low cost salmon permit price of early Spring as much in Scottish salmon fishing has altered in recent decades even if the majority of angler's thoughts haven't synchronised with these sometimes obvious changes.

During periods of high water like this on the River Tay you need to be searching for salmon close to the edge of the riverbank as fish will lie in close during these conditions. It's also safer for a salmon fisher not to wade into the river during such conditions. Learn how to catch salmon and approach the salmon river correctly with a professional Scottish salmon guide. This is my salmon fly rod and reel lying at the side of the river in this high water photograph.

Big Spring Water Salmon Fishing Tactics

If you're out in the high water of early Spring make sure you're seeing things as a salmon would. Look for the deep slow moving steady glides on each pool you fish and come through the water as methodically as you can and not too fast or not too deep in the cold water. If you cover a Spring salmon properly and make it easy for it to 'have a go' then 'have a go' it will. Beware though that sometimes the take can be gentle and don't get careless and assume it's just another kelt as the more rattles from kelts you receive the closer you're getting to the real prize and that's the mind set you must adopt. Let the kelts during the earlier weeks of the season be your indicator that your fly is fishing well enough.

Salmon Fishing Tours In Scotland

When you've been persistent and astute enough to place a carefully considered salmon fly in the mouth of one of God's finest aquatic creations the memory of the fight and subsequent close up inspection tends to stay in your memory banks more than than just about anything else you'll experience in life. Personally, when I've a perfect Spring fish under inspection in my landing net time stops dead for me even though I'll be charged with adrenalin. Their shape, colours and absolute general beauty will do this to any angler who's gone out into the cold wilderness of the Scottish river Spring environment to target this most special fish of all.