Here's another fine Spring salmon lying on the McLean landing net on the sand bar on the right hand bank of the Kinnaird Beat salmon beat's March Pool near Dunkeld. I love it when the sun pops out to illuminate my Spring salmon capture photographs. I've landed many salmon on this sand bank for salmon fishing holiday guests over the last few decades.

If you're serious about your salmon fishing you'll learn how to separate each swing of the fly effectively to achieve maximised water coverage over the full course of the fishing day. This lovely shot was taken of a guided salmon fishing guest on right hand bank the River Tay Kinnaird Beat's March pool while learning how to fish for salmon..

I took this photograph of this salmon fisher on the River Tay while serving as his salmon fishing guide. The former legendary Kinnaird Beat ghillie Bob Grant always described the Guay Pool as his favourite and most productive salmon pool. Having personally steered many fishing guests to salmon in this lovely pool I can only agree with Bob's evaluation. Nothing has changed in recent years as the Guay Pool is still the most productive Lower Kinnaird Beat salmon pool.

Here's 2 River Tay tactical salmon fishing approaches being deployed simultaneously. The traditional River Tay fishing boat is out covering the salmon lies as a riverbank salmon fisher is fishing down behind the boat with a spinning rod.

It's always best to try to get side on to a salmon when playing the fish. This salmon fishing holiday angler was playing this fish on the River Tay near Dunkeld. This salmon managed to get well below this salmon fisher which is not best practice as a side on position brings the fight to a far earlier close.

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.

Effective Salmon Fishing

By Jock Monteith 19th August 2026

The moments leading up to a salmon capture picture like this are some of the most exciting you can experience in the natural world.

From the initial tug on the fly reel indicating the presence of a fish you'll receive a shot of adrenalin which will enhance your focus on the magnificence of what's occurring.

Salmon Fly Fishing Composure

The key to catching salmon on the fly is that you don't react to these initial nudges on the fly reel. This can be particularly hard to do if you've come from a trout fishing background and are fully trained to immediately set the hook. In 99% of cases a salmon needs enough time to turn on the fly before the time it right to let the fish know who really owns the fly!

Don't React Too Soon To A Salmon

With the above in mind it's crucial you have the composure to wait until you're at least several seconds into the take before setting the hook. Don't start counting the initial tugs or nudges as you must wait for the steady draw of fly line off your reel before giving several seconds then simply clamp the face of the fly reel with the rod tip pointing down. This logical procedure allows the salmon's own bodyweight and forward momentum to properly squeeze the hook home for you. Also, don't doubt the accuracy or effectiveness of what I'm divulging here as I've witnessed enough takes over my lifetime to know so I'm not speaking from the often limited/lesser experience of a part time salmon fly fisher.

The Logical Salmon Hooking Approach

Logic will also tell you that the above hooking method will be far more effective than the normal 'lift into the fish' approach which engages the soft action of the fly rod & lightly set reel clutch which exerts little pressure on the hook point to set it effectively. If you don't set the hook properly a salmon will usually demonstrate how good it is at getting rid of an unwanted object from its mouth and will often demonstrate that within the first 60 seconds of contact. If you have the composure to wait until the right moment then clamping the reel face to feel the weight of the fish momentarily then the only thing coming off is the landing net from your shoulder!

Wait For The Salmon To Turn With The Fly

Wait until you're over the initial tugs stage and are well into the 'steady draw of line' part of the take and keeping the fly rod tip down clamp the fly reel face until you feel the weight of the fish for a few seconds. This way you'll know beyond doubt that your fish is hooked properly and at that point you can relax into the fight knowing that the fish has been properly hooked and escape is highly unlikely. I know I've repeated this effective salmon hook set procedure twice which is just my style of brainwashing! When teaching guests I'd simulate the take from a salmon at least 3 times after they'd convinced me they could consistently react properly (and at the right time) should a take occur. Often in my professional career a brand new salmon fisher would not only learn the Spey cast and effective riverbank movement but would 'self demonstrate' hooking and landing a salmon on day one of their salmon fishing career via this logic based hooking procedure.

Make Your Salmon Fishing Day Count

There's often a lot of water coverage skill and patience involved in manoeuvring yourself into that 'magical moment' during the salmon fishing day when you get that golden opportunity to put a fish on the scoresheet so making it count is of paramount importance to your own personal satisfaction. There's nothing worse than leaving the water after a day on the river dwelling on a careless reaction to a great take on the fly and wondering just exactly what size and condition of fish you felt before your fly line went slack. The above salmon fly hooking advice was hand carved over many years of professional daily involvement in this amazing pursuit where the vast majority (95%) of salmon takes were converted into a close up riverbank inspections. If you don't experience the same success rate with this proven hooking method you're very likely coming in too soon with the hook set so keep that 'Salmo' take adrenalin under control and sharpen up for clinical precision!