Book A Salmon Fishing Guide

By Jock Monteith 11th May 2019

When you've been in this business long enough you'll start to be aware of a rare breed of salmon guide who have a special skill set when it comes to catching salmon. Just because someone is a professional guide does not guarantee the presence of this rare skill set and on occasion you'll see it in regular salmon fishers when they come to fish on the river.

Top Performing Salmon Fishing Guides

What makes the difference between a regular salmon fisher or guide who catches the ocassional salmon or a fisher or guide who cannot help hooking salmon on most visits to the river ? There are a few basics that make the difference and I'll cover a few of these in the next few paragraphs.

Reading A Salmon River

Having the ability to read the water especially on a big river is a very important part of condensing the fishing effort to those areas of the river where salmon are likely to be holding. This skill cuts out many hours from the daily fishing effort that would otherwise be squandered fishing the less likely areas of the river.

The Salmon Fly Depth And Speed

Tuning into a thought process that thinks primarily about the depth, speed & the spacings of each swing of the fly between casts and not one that is only focussed on the arial performance of the fly line presentation. 'Fly mentality' is a very important part of salmon fishing that is not taught and requires a natural fascination of the sport for a salmon fisher to give any real thought or attention to.

The Perfect Salmon Fly

The final part of this from what I've personally seen over decades of daily professional river life is when a guide or fisher really studies the materials he's tied his salmon flies with to ensure a life-like movement in the water unlike the normal mass production flies that are mainly sold in tackle shops. It's this natural movement when delivered correctly that will grab a salmon's attention even if it has been in the river for a while and has seen many other salmon flies.

Salmon Fishing Guide Selection

When selecting professional salmon fishing guides to host guests I'm always bypassing the masses and looking for the team who fit the above criteria and have the personality to entertain fishing guests even when the going is occasionally tough. All of the above attributes benefit the client's experience and maximises their Scottish salmon fishing experience. Follow this link for guided salmon river locations and fishing day details or to book a salmon fishing guide in Scotland.