Spring Salmon fishing can test your mettle, your technique and your circulation. A recent few days on the Tay confirmed all that I knew about fishing for Spring Salmon. It is an elusive and remote pursuit. Spring runs in the major Scottish rivers seem to have come later this year and certainly on the Tay the ‘early’ fish are only now beginning to come into the River in any numbers. These are beautiful fresh run fish, however it is only the occasional fish that can be seen moving up through the sinewy channels that carve their way ever upwards into the heart of the Tay system. When standing on the edge of your first pool of the morning, you do wonder at your own sanity. Much of the time you’d be forgiven for believing that there weren’t any fish in the river at all. If it wasn’t for the expert views of Garry and George at the Ballathie beat, and John and Calum at Meikelour and Islamouth beat, I’d have had that other cup of coffee. Their collective advice at this time of year was invaluable and I have included a few snippets below. The advice is good for all rivers at this time of year.
Have a strategy and approach before you start fishing
The River Tay is a big river, and feels huge when you are standing at the edges, at ground level across at a massive slab of water. It is easy to forget that the river is actually a series of small, easily fishable sections. Define your section, read the water in terms of current, water velocity and likely lies. Then plan your approach. Start by casting short and work your way into the pool. I have to remind myself to do this and its easy to forget, but the name of the game at this time of year is water coverage, so start by casting short and lengthen line as you prospect the pool before settling into the rhythm of the longer casts.
Be flexible
It is all too easy to arrive at the start of a pool and have a predetermined view on how you are going to fish the pool through. You have on a sinking line tip and without much thought to the actual depth of the pool or the relative speed of the water, it is easy to just cast and move, cast and move, without much thought to the fact that the contours of the pool are changing as you move downstream. As the water slackens off at the tail of the pool, is the T8 tip and one inch tube fly going to fish as well in slow water as it would at the tumult of water at the head of the pool?
Never ignore advice
Garry Mcerlain has been a ghillie on Ballathie for over 20 years. He is an outstanding salmon fly caster and he has nudged my casting over the years with a series of small practical suggestions that have transformed my ability to get a fly where I want it to land, time after time. In fast flowing water, your forward cast is impeded by the drag of the running line that spills out in from of you when you retrieve line in anticipation of the next cast. Garry showed me that with three or four large loops of running line held in your hands, you remove the drag factor and you release line on the forward cast with ease.The looping of running line in your hands is not the easiest trick to learn, but 10 minutes with Garry and the impact on the flow and arc of my casts was immediate.
A 15lb spring salmon on the Ballathie beat of the River Tay
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