River Dee Salmon Fishing
By Jock Monteith 22nd March 2019
When you're fishing for salmon on any river often you'll get no visual signs that fish are present until there's a tug on your fly. With this in mind stay consistent and operate on the assumption that salmon are there and in the mood to take your fly. Focus on your water coverage via good movement which in theory should always place your fly in front of a taking fish.
Salmon Fishing Expectations
Controlling your mind and enthusiasm levels are important in this business until the moment of action appears. Low expectations paired with high consistency & persistency levels with a proper & methodical salmon fishing approach is the recipe for success in salmon fishing. Sometimes you'll get an early opportunity to land a salmon and on other days it'll come on virtually the last cast of the day or not at all. With this in mind be prepared mentally to stick it out and make sure your fishing effort is up to scratch.
The Salmon Fishing Mindset
After decades of riverbank experience in assessing the mindset that's required for catching salmon I'm very well placed to talk about the other areas of Scottish salmon fishing that are not openly discussed. On most occasions when a salmon takes you'll not fully be expecting it and for some reason they have a great habit of doing that. It's almost as if they are tuned into the vibe of high expectation and will avoid your fly if they sense you're too eager to catch them.
Salmon Fly Swing Movement
Train yourself on casting and as importantly controlling the fly and approaching & moving through a salmon pool with stealth. Think about the depth and pace of the fly and try to pair these 2 points with the speed and temperature of the river. Look for a salmon fly that has natural movement and leave the 'lifeless' versions alone. Ask your ghillie where the beat's hot spots are and how best to approach them as that 'hands on' professional salmon fishing advice is truly worth its weight in gold.
Enjoying The Salmon River Surroundings
The most important thing is to breathe deep and enjoy the fantastic scenery that surrounds you. If you're fishing consistently well and your thoughts are sub surface at some point usually throughout each fishing day you'll get the opportunity to catch salmon and all the above factors I've mentioned if understood and actioned correctly will significantly contribute to the desired outcome. Of all the natural arenas you could place yourself in there's nothing that I've ever seen that comes close to the natural splendour of a Scottish salmon river and especially the beautiful Aberdeenshire River Dee.