Salmon Fishing PR

By Jock Monteith 20th November 2018

It personally amazes me how everyone continues to evaluate a salmon river by the amount of salmon that were caught with zero consideration as to the fishing pressure or more importantly the quality of the fishing effort. For decades I've watched salmon anglers on numerous occasions turn up on pools that were loaded with salmon and make an absolute mess of it.

Salmon Fishing Logic

We have an industry that defies logic in many areas out with that number one point listed above. You wouldn't be allowed to drive on a road without a driving licence or at least under professional supervision nor would you be allowed to take a shot at a stag without first proving to your stalker that you can hit a target consistently. Loch Ness has been selling huge amounts of visitor tickets for decades based on what most likely is an illusionary monster (sorry Nessie!) and there's no way Scottish salmon fishing is anywhere close to that stage nor will ever be regardless of the clear & obvious lack of 'effective' in-river & oceanic protection and management.

Look In The Salmon Fishing Mirror

Why then are many salmon anglers allowed turn up on a riverbank without as much as an interest in acquiring solid 'logic based' salmon fishing skills and continue to flounder away blowing great chances to catch salmon. On top of this career based observation these are usually the first people to grumble if they haven't managed to catch a salmon and jump on blaming the river or the often 'illusionary' diminishing salmon runs as the reason why they continually fail.

Learn Effective Salmon Fishing Skills

As a professional ghillie I've personally seen it all and I've even witnessed salmon anglers turning up on the riverbank with their fly lines loaded onto their fly reels the wrong way around! What chance has a salmon fisher really got of catching a creature that's not been contaminated by modern day society 'sheep herding' & general 'mind control' techniques and that still has its wild and natural 'escape & evasion' instincts fully intact.

Salmon Fishing River Greetings

The other nonsense that goes on is the self destroying negativity from the press or even a few ghillies who can completely bludgeon any positivity an arriving salmon fisher has by bombarding them with their repetitive verbal vomit as to how bad the salmon runs have become. Last year was a totally horrific year for low water conditions which salmon have never respond well to nor have done since the dawn of time! When the water did finally arrive so mysteriously did the salmon so what a coincidence!

Positivity Catches Salmon

Why would any paying guest wish to arrive on their day off at any salmon beat to be immediately advised that there's little or no chance of a fish. Imagine turning up at Tesco and being stopped at the front door by the manager and told there was no food on the shelves! Get a grip ghillies if you fall into that category as there's no place for that in this industry and there never will be. Personally I'm convinced that salmon respond well to and can sense positivity and why wouldn't they when there's a 15ft thought energy transmitter waving about in your hands! 

Salmon Beat Owners

If you're a salmon beat owner and you're allowing this to happen or you haven't at least checked it isn't happening then you're equally at fault. Negativity on any salmon beat means fewer rods and fewer rods will equate to fewer fish so sort it out before your beat ghillie talks himself into the inevitable commercial 'death spiral' of his self fulfilling prophecy. Tell him to go show a guest how to catch a salmon and put it on social media if he's not already set up that most basic of marketing steps.

Ignore Negativity In Salmon Fishing

Any ghillie who's brainwashed themselves into negativity mode is in the wrong job as this business requires positivity and a certain amount of skill, consistent fishing effort & faith. We are in a fantastic business where there is always a chance of a salmon if the pool approach and basic fishing tactics are correct. Words like 'there's no fish in the beat' or 'you're wasting your time' are the most dangerous spoken words in Scottish salmon fishing and they're often like a loud call to our 'Salmon God' to prove otherwise!

Assessing Your Ghillie & Salmon beat

If you're struggling to catch salmon take advice from a career ghillie with a reputation for success. Drop the salmon beat venues where you're greeted with any form of negativity and get onboard with the numerous Scottish salmon beat ghillies who are always positive. They are the ghillies of Scotland who truly understand the business they are in and that salmon always show up when it suits them via their natural and 'ever adjusting' run cycles.