Spring Salmon Course on the Tay

We were back on Scotland's majestic river Tay for our third annual Scottish spring salmon course at Lower Kinnaird. With arguably the best fly water on the river, excellent and friendly head ghillie Martin Edgar, and fresh spring fish pushing into the beat, these few days are always one of the highlights of our early season salmon fishing.

Nora sends a tight loop over the Junction pool

The first day was spent concentrating on casting for most of the team. With an upstream wind, the circle spey cast was first on the agenda. One of the great things about these courses is seeing friendly faces return year after year, and to watch the progress they make. Back again this year were Frank and his daughter Stephanie, along with our old friend Karl Kliem and his daughter Stephanie, who flew in from Germany for the course.

Frank bends into a long cast on Mike's Run

Master instructors Illtyd Griffiths and Glyn Freeman run this course with me and we were all delighted to see the progress these guys have made. The difference is unbelievable and they were all casting beautiful lines with double speys and circle speys off both banks and with both left and right hand uppermost. The Tay is a big river and they covered the water beautifully.

Stephanie in great water on the Junction

After the slightly high water we had experienced in previous years, the Tay was dropping nicely to 1'3" on the gauge at Lower Kinnaird, pretty much perfect water height for this beat. However, temperatures were still a little cool for the time of year and the easterly wind on the first day didn't help the fishing.

Ueli sets up a dynamic D-loop

No matter, because by the second day the wind had shifted right round and was now coming downstream from the west. Everyone was casting well now, and the wind change was perfect for fine tuning the double spey casts.

Mark covered the water excellently every day

By early afternoon, we were seeing fresh salmon show in the Ash Trees pool and expectations rose sharply. Illtyd was certain the team would get a fish and took Ueli Zellweger and Karl into the Ash Trees with the firm instructions to keep casting until they got us a fish! In fact, it didn't take long for Ueli, who was now casting a long line with ease after just a few tweaks, to latch into a stunning 15lb+ springer. Complete with long-tailed sea lice, this hen fish had clearly come straight off the tide.

Ueli with his first sea-liced springer caught in the UK

This was just the quality of fish we come to the Tay for. You may not catch lots of fish, but when you get one it is pure muscle, bright silver and almost certainly into double figures. The pull of these fish is so strong that almost everyone wanted to keep fishing after our bankside dinner in the spacious fishing hut. So we kept going until the light began to fade around 9pm!

Jeremy searches the water

Our other team members were all fishing well, with great determination. Mark Riley was fresh from his triumph on the Rio Grande in Argentina, where he caught the biggest sea trout of the season at 26 1/2 lbs. He may have used up all his luck, though, because even his casting was not enough to tempt a fish this time. Jeremy Grace, keen to tune up before his regular Tweed visits later this season, was also casting a beautiful line and moved on to the single spey, which he was handling with accuracy and delicacy.

Simon covering the full width of the Junction pool

Delicacy is not Simon Frobisher's forte, however! Always entertaining, Simon made a grand entrance by jumping from his car so eagerly at the start of the course, that it began to roll away unhindered by a handbrake. His spey casting made great strides in these few days, as he concentrated on timing rather than power. The difference was a revelation. 

Karl's deserved reward - about 14lbs from the Ash Trees

 On the third day, with excellent conditions and even more fish showing in the beat, the Tay had plenty more excitement for us. Karl, fishing from the left bank at the Ash Trees hooked a strong springer that took him right down to the head of the New Pool below, almost running out his backing and taking him through a few gorse bushes on the way. A fast dash from Martin ended in the Tweed-clad ghillie wading far out into the river to net a fish that Karl had thoroughly deserved. A change of Kinnaird Tweed suit was deemed a small price to pay for such a stunning salmon.

And then, later that afternoon, we all watched as Ueli took his second fish, this time around 11lbs, from lower down the Ash Trees - a very lively hen that gave normally-unruffled instructor Glyn Freeman quite a tussle as he tailed it.

The obligatory team photo

 And there was still drama to come. Simon, wading deep and determined to cover the lies, hooked a very heavy fish that just stayed deep, pulsing the rod tip. For some minutes the big fish just stayed deep, trying to rub the leader on rocks. Before we could even see the fish, the polyleader suddenly snapped, presumably damaged on the rocks during the fight. Well, it;s the ones that get away that keep us coming back to fish for these heart-stopping spring fish.

Illtyd, Glyn and I will be back at Lower Kinnaird for two three-day courses next May. Get in touch if you'd like to join us.

- Bob