Salmon
fishing (salmo salar) in Perthshire on
the River Tay is world renowned. It is one of
the "Classic" rivers, boasts the UK record and
is still known for it's big spring fish.
The river is divided up into
"beats". A beat is usually a mile or two long
and can be either single or double bank.
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Beats are usually associated
with an estate. Each beat can accommodate a varying
number of "rods" (anglers).
Some beats have a resident ghillie,
on others it is all up to you. If you want to
catch and you are new to the sport, their advice
will be invaluable and they will look after your
safety.
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The beats vary greatly, both
on the difficulty of casting and the number of
Salmon taken. The most obvious thing is that the
closer you are to the sea the bigger the river
will be, and on the Tay "big" means very big!
Even a good caster will not reach even halfway
across at Perth!.
Being closer to the sea has one
major advantage - more fish will be going past
you - so you can reasonably be expected to catch
more Salmon. On the other hand good sport can
be had in the upper
reaches for a reasonable price if you know
where and when to go.
Loch Tay is particularly well known for its
spring sport, while the upper tributaries have
fared particularly well in the last couple of
seasons, with fish running hard and fast for the
headwaters
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A double handed fly rod is the
most common weapon. These are used where there
is no room for a back cast This method is called
a "Spey" cast. In fact it is just a roll cast
combined with a correction of the line position.
It looks great and is quite easy to learn.
Bait and spinning rods are typically
12 feet in length and are equipped with line of
at least 14lb test - often more. Worms are the
most popular bait since prawns and shrimps have
been banned
as a conservation measure. Squid is also being
used - an old method for catching Salmon which
has been reinvented!
There are some great salmon fishing
tackle
shops in the area where lots more advice can
be found and equipment hired.
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