Salmon Fishing Scotland Prospects for Tay Perthshire w/c 11th June 2018.

The Salmon fishing season is now in June on the mighty Tay in Perthshire, Scotland.  We have been encountering some much warmer weather after a prolonged winter became a memory. We have had good conditions at the end of last week after thundery rain caused a landslide above the Pitlochry dam area with much lower levels and excellent conditions but maybe occasionally a bit bright and very warm. The coming week is looking far more unsettled with some rain forecast. There has been some more water maintaining the river height from heavy thunder downpours. On the opening months several anglers braved the elements in pursuit of that magical salmon but conditions are much warmer now and it is a pleasure to be out on the river. The cold weather hopefully has given a greater chance of producing some sport and some early "Bars of Silver" if you were prepared to brave the elements as any fish progress slowly through the system. The changing weather has enabled fish to spread with water temperatures now well into the fifties. Catches have been maintained but certainly not at the levels expected for the time of year however there is a bit more optimism after a slow start. 

Currently the river is running at lower levels following a dry week however that may change with some rain in the forecast. It is at Caputh (6”) and similarly on the lower river ( 9” ) on the Ballathie gauge.

The weather is to be more unsettled over the next week with far more chance of rain with weather systems coming from the west. Hopefully this may give us a bit of fresh water and cool the river a bit. The warmer temperatures would have encouraged salmon to run the river and get into the upper areas as fish start to shoot through the ladder at Pitlochry. The water temperature was cold but now is over 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 15.5 degrees Celsius following very warm weather. These are typical temperatures for this time of year. Hopefully there might be a chance of a fresh fish anywhere in the river. 

As to methods, in settled conditions with the water warming, fishing by any method should be with flies and lures to catch the elusive Tay Springer. The recommendations are set out below for different times in the season. Harling is also a favoured method in early season but be warned wrap up well or it will not be a pleasant experience.