River Tay Salmon Fishing Report

By Jock Monteith 28th January 2018

Here's the latest update for the Tay which is now for the first time this season coming into great fishing order. Forget the waffle & fluff of 'mince talk' as I'm about to get straight to the point as my ghillie hackles are now on 'red alert' for the coming week now that Jack Frost & the full flood are gone.

Blind Reindeer Early Spring River Tay Marketing

The early Spring salmon fishing marketing on the River Tay reminds me of that joke about 'what do you call a blind reindeer' (no idea/no eyed deer!). Study closely the near non existent rod pressure the River Tay gets at this time of year which has been derived through poor early Spring marketing over the decades and weigh that up with the prize on offer and it won't make sense to you either. To stop one of these exceptionally high calibre River Tay Spring salmon on a low cost ticket is as good as it's ever going to get in Scottish salmon fishing for 'real' value and if Rabbie Burns was a River Tay salmon fishing agent he'd be reciting 'Now's the day and now's the hour'!

The Finest Scottish Salmon Of All

Rested River Tay salmon beats and deep dark slow moving Spring salmon holding pools are plentiful through January & February and are screaming for a consistently well delivered Posh Tosh or silver & copper Toby 'Salmo'. The quality of the River Tay Springer in these early months is completely un touchable and will no doubt be your finest 2018 fishing memory if you connect with one. Most of the early River Tay salmon caught since opening day have been between 14 & 20 pounds but make no mistake that there will be bigger brutes amongst them too that are slowly cruising up river answering their call from Loch Tay.

The Early Spring Marketing Dilemma

The self created Scottish marketing dilemma of 'no fish no anglers' 'no anglers no fish' is a complete farce and is denying many Scottish & international salmon anglers who cannot see through this nonsense the opportunity to get an adrenalin fuelled brief glimpse of God's most perfect marine creature. If you're fly fishing give your salmon a bit longer than normal in the cold water to turn before setting the hook. If you're spinning fish with a tight enough clutch to set the hook properly in the first 10 seconds of contact before loosening off for the fireworks!

The Best Salmon Prize Of The Season

Make no mistake about the fact that the Tay for the forthcoming week offers a good chance for any angler as these prized Spring salmon are definitely now present and on the move. Another fine Springer was caught at Glendelvine and Dunkeld House picked up their first on Friday. At the lower end Catholes & Upper Scone scored too so that's the only proof you need to see. View these early Spring Tay salmon as the true Scottish salmon angling prize and support your favourite salmon beat and play a part in creating fishing demand in the early months on the Tay.

Well Done To The Real Tay Professionals

Congratulations must go to those Tay ghillies & anglers who've been taking their beat & the river seriously and who have been out there 'consistently' covering their Spring salmon lies. My hat is off to you and these men are a real credit to the Tay. To those who have avoided their responsibilities your empty early Spring booking sheets will continue until you take the initiative and apply yourselves properly as Tay salmon do not come up the A9!. If you're a ghilllie who lacks confidence in the boat that's ok as there are many seasoned veterans on the Tay who would be more than willing to 'fine tune' you as we all need at some point in our careers. Learn to celebrate the blank days if your water coverage is good as a blank day brings you one day closer to that spectacular 'beat revenue driving' early Tay springer.