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Here's a group of new fly fishers testing out their newly taught skills with a double handed salmon fly rod during the Summer. Many larger groups come to me for a crash course in salmon fishing and this was one such party that I guided for on the River Tay near Pitlochry.
Here's some anglers receiving expert Spey casting tuition at Dunkeld on the River Tay. Learning to use a double handed salmon fly rod is easy when instructed by a professional salmon fishing guide who's fully tuned in to the traditional Scottish Speycast. This was a group lesson that was being given to a team of salmon fishing holiday guests who wanted to learn how to fly fish for salmon. Learning to fly fish for salmon is easy when you have the best salmon fishing guide instructors.
Here's a salmon fishing angler mastering the power stroke which is the final part of the 3 stage Spey cast. This shot was taken by myself while serving as a salmon fishing guide at the neck of the Rock Pool on the Lower Tummel Beat of the River Tummel not too far away from the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.
Learning to use your left non dominant hand with a Scottish Spey cast opens up a much bigger tactical range for your salmon fishing approach. This salmon fishing tour angler was learning how to do this from his professional salmon fly fishing instructor on the Oak Tree Pool near Meikleour on the River Tay.
The action of your Spey rod is best optimised via proper line loading and if done correctly is virtually effortless like what you see here in this photograph. This salmon fishing trip guest is out on the River Tay practicing his Spey cast power stroke forward delivery near the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.
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 salmon fly pattern was designed by myself 20 years ago as a professional salmon fishing guide and has accounted for hundreds of salmon for me personally of the years and for many of my salmon fishing trip anglers too. Here's the dressing information; Hook: 1

Salmon Fishing Tuition

By 23rd June 2026

Salmon fishing is like anything else in life when it comes to knowing exactly what you are doing and a solid understanding of what makes an effective river approach will separate you from the vast majority of UK salmon fishers.

I am 100% certain that Scotland would produce double the amount of salmon annually if the general salmon fishing standards were 'fine tuned' amongst anglers.

Here's a shot of a team of Copperass & Jock's Shrimp salmon flies that have just come off the fly tying vice. These 2 patterns are highly effective at all times of the Scottish salmon fishing season in varying sizes to cover all water & temperature conditions.

Salmon Fishing Tackle

It is simply not enough to go out and buy what a tackle dealer is pushing as the latest best kit and then turn up at a salmon river and expect instant results. In saying that there's nothing in this sport that beats being in exactly the right place at the right time but these occasions are very few and far between. Normally your fly selection, water coverage & general salmon pool approach has to be correct to give you a good chance of success in salmon fishing.

Here's Scottish salmon guide Jock Monteith showing a group of Canadian salmon fishing holiday guests how best to tie on a salmon fly. Much salmon fishing technical information is delivered to the fishing guests on a guided salmon fishing day including Spey casting lessons, how to move effectively between each cast and how to set the hook when a salmon takes the fly.

Hire A Professional Salmon Guide

Few people bother to take proper salmon fishing instruction and rely on advice from their fishing colleagues or snippets of advice from salmon beat ghillies who in many cases are busy doing their jobs in looking after multiple guests on any one fishing day so often unable to focus effectively on one particular guest. It is important that you seek proper personal salmon fishing tuition & advice from those who have served their time on the salmon rivers of Scotland.

Always carry a few coiled up spare leaders in your fly box like you see here just in case needed while out on the river. Learn how to prepare your salmon fishing approach via tuition from a professional salmon guide. This Wheatley fly box includes my main favourite salmon flies like the Jock's Shrimp & Copperass salmon fly patterns.

Full Time Salmon Fishing Experience

There is nothing that beats career river experience whether it be astute advice on how to read a salmon pool or fine tuning the loading ability of your fly rod when performing the Spey cast. A 'professional' ghillie will have seen it all thousands of times and that supersedes any advice a 'part time' guide/riverbank companion or tackle dealer could logically ever be expected to deliver. A professional salmon guide who knows this business intimately will transform a guest into a fly fishing water coverage machine after an effective yet brief crash course in Spey casting where he will also simulate exactly how the new fisher should respond to a take from a salmon should one occur. 

Look at the lovely condition of this little Summer salmon which are referred to as grilse. This was one of 4 fish landed that day but was by far the most beautiful to observe. Catching salmon like this on the River Tay is great fun and super exciting when a salmon takes your fly. This grilse was caught by one of our fishing guests assisted by myself while serving as their salmon fishing guide.

The Elusive Salmon

The business of catching an astute creature that has swum blind folded to and from its rich oceanic feeding grounds navigating on its extra sensory perception, scent & the magnetic fields has to be given credit for being an intelligent creature with its added ability to avoid predation from birth in the river and all throughout its adult life in the sea. With this in mind you need to know exactly what you're doing to be in with a reasonable chance of success and again that starts with mastering the Spey cast, proper riverbank fly swing spacings & movement & knowing exactly how to set the hook should you earn a salmon take. These are the main 3 crucial components of a guided salmon fishing introduction.

Here's my most deadly weapon salmon fly pattern the Copperass. I built a thriving salmon fishing guide business on the back of this pattern such is its salmon attracting potency. For anyone who would like their salmon fly rod pulled out of their hands here's the correct fly dressing materials; Hook: 1

Salmon Fly Avoidance

Don't underestimate a salmon ability to avoid your fly or lure or even if you're fortunate enough to hook one how it will easily escape capture if you don't play the fish correctly. Taking proper tuition and salmon fishing advice from one of Scotland's professional salmon guides or ghillies will significantly and effectively accelerate your start in this amazing pursuit and will likely keep you in this magnificent pursuit for life.

Here's a group of new fly fishers testing out their newly taught skills with a double handed salmon fly rod during the Summer. Many larger groups come to me for a crash course in salmon fishing and this was one such party that I guided for on the River Tay near Pitlochry.

Necessary Salmon Fishing Tuition

Most other sports or skills require formal tuition or proof that you're able to perform adequately prior to participation. Imaging getting into a car with no prior driving experience or turning up for some deer stalking and failing to hit a basic competence target for your stalker at the start of the day! On the salmon rivers of Scotland anyone can just turn up and participate but the reality of that is that their chances of success are very slim and in too many cases they soon lose interest in the sport.

This was one of 2 perfect Autumn salmon caught by 2 salmon fishing trip guests who drove from Switzerland all the way to Scotland to fish the River Tay. This was their first salmon which was caught on a fly and their 2nd fish was caught on a spinner.

Early Success In Salmon Fishing

Early success will bed you into this pursuit for life and ensure you gain value from your initial fishing equipment outlays so your kit doesn't become an Ebay casualty! In addition to that staying in this traditional Scottish sport will give you the most amazing natural dimension to your recreational life that's a polar opposite to the normal crap society has to offer. Book a professional Scottish salmon fishing guide to grasp all the required salmon fishing tactics to accelerate your personal multi faceted learning curve into this amazing, unrivalled and completely 'unique' pursuit.

 

More Salmon Fishing Articles

This salmon fisher is out presenting his fly on the lovely Meetings Pool of the River Tay at Kinnaird. This entire area of the Tay Valley is steeped in natural beauty and attracts many salmon fishers each year. Book a professional River Tay salmon get to show you all of these middle Tay fly fishing hot spots.

Doing Your Salmon Permit Justice

Jock Monteith

24th July 2026

What's the point in buying an often expensive salmon fishing permit to then turn up unprepared or unskilled on the salmon river. A basic level of tactical awareness should be mandatory in this business even though many fishers likely wouldn't understand it was for their own benefit and success in the sport.
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.

Fishing A Salmon Fly

Jock Monteith

23rd July 2026

There's far more to Scottish salmon fishing than simply launching your salmon fly out into the river and 'hoping for the best' as the current swings your fly back towards the riverbank. If you develop a sense of 'fly awareness' when you're fishing your success levels will increase significantly.
This shot was taken on the River Tay near Pitlochry during the Summer while I was the salmon guide for this fishing trip fisherman. Many anglers think salmon fishing is mainly about how well they can cast a fly but the truth of the matter is that the important thing to learn is how to move properly between each cast of the fly as that's logically what will place your fly in front of a cooperating salmon if your water coverage is good enough.

Effective Salmon Fly Swim Time

Jock Monteith

22nd July 2026

Effective salmon pool water coverage and a sound understanding of how to react to the inevitable take from a salmon are the biggest two misunderstood aspects of Scottish salmon fishing.
I took this picture of this beautiful perfectly shaped River Tay Spring salmon is probably my most favourite one of all time even though I've photographed thousands of salmon over my professional salmon guide career. This perfect River Tay Spring salmon I caught during the month of May near Dunkeld.

Setting The Salmon Fly Hook

Jock Monteith

21st July 2026

Catching salmon on a fly rod is the most satisfying and exciting method you can use and there's nothing that beats the sound of a fly reel under strain from a lively 'powerhouse' of a fish. Here's a few pointers well worth bearing in mind when you receive your next 'tug' from the underworld!
Here's 1 or 2 perfect fresh run early Spring salmon captured from the River Tay near the mouth of the River Tummel. This fisher caught both salmon on the fly with me as his personal salmon fishing guide late in the afternoon and both fish were caught within a few minutes of one another. It often pays to fish consistently hard until the 5pm end of the fishing day as often fish are on the move late in the afternoon during Springtime and can be caught if you're persistent enough to get your fly in front of them.

Scottish Fishing Guides

Jock Monteith

20th July 2026

Never underestimate the value of having a professional Scottish salmon guide overviewing & adjusting your salmon fishing approach even if you've been salmon fishing for years. The difference between success & failure in this fine pursuit can often be something minor!
This is the lovely salmon pool directly downstream of the Grandtully Bridge on the River Tay in Perthshire. Many salmon are caught immediately above the white water each year by visiting salmon fishing guests. I took this shot during early June during low Summer water conditions.

The Salmon River Vibe

Jock Monteith

19th July 2026

Far too much attention these days is spent trying to work out when the best time would be to visit a certain beat or salmon river. The reason I state this is because a wild Atlantic salmon operates over a completely different frequency and set of rules than we could ever fully understand or appreciate.
The River Tay's Newtyle Beat has many good salmon fishing pools that can be fished with a fly or a spinner. This fly fishing angler is just approaching one such hotspot at the tail of The Trap Pool. I took this shot while working as a salmon fishing guide for this salmon fisher. This fine photograph was taken during August when many fish are present in this lovely Tay salmon pool.

The Atlantean Encounter

Jock Monteith

18th July 2026

While it often appears as if it's getting tougher to catch wild Atlantic salmon on any salmon river over the last few decades there's nothing that beats that electric nudge & pull on the fly reel when the 'Atlantean' does appear!
Here's a fabulous action photograph of Jock Monteith loading up a perfect Spey cast for long range salmon fly delivery across the River Tay with his tweed jacket and chest waders on. This shot was captured on the Meetings Pool of the Lower Kinnaird Beat by top Scottish photographer Louise Bellin.

Spey Running Line Management

Jock Monteith

17th July 2026

When fly fishing for salmon with a Spey line it is important that you understand the logical way to manage your running line if you're fishing a longish line. The following information is what works well for me up to a 40 yard delivery.
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