NO SHORTAGE OF AUTUMN GOLD CAUGHT ON THE RIVER TAY!
(River Tay weekly report week ending 28th September 2024)
The autumn equinox has now come and gone. This is the time of year when the days and nights are roughly the same length. This means that going forward, we will start to see the days getting shorter quite quickly, and this is a sure sign that winter will be upon us in the not too distant future. However, before then, there are still a few weeks of the Tay salmon fishing season remaining and it is hoped that there will be some good sport to be had for many of the anglers intending to wet a line before the curtains are finally drawn on another season.
We got a taste of autumn last week as temperatures dropped significantly and from midweek onwards, a keen northerly wind developed. This made it feel quite raw and a shock to the system. There was some rain last week, mostly showers, but river levels remained steady for the most part. There was no shortage of autumn gold caught on the River Tay last week, but unsurprisingly, there were very few fresh, genuine autumn fish landed. This is now, unfortunately, a common theme of recent seasons across Scotland. However, many anglers got their rods bent, which was great to see.
Jerk Sonnichsen with a Newtyle warrior caught on Monday
On the upper river successful beats last week included Upper Farleyer and Upper Kinnaird. The Kinnaird, Dalguise, Dalmarnock and Dunkeld beats all produced fish last week, including four caught at Dalmarnock on Monday and three on Tuesday. At Newtyle, Mr Jerk Sonnichsen caught two nice fish on the fly from the Boil on Monday. The decent sport continued at Newtyle as the week progressed which was great to see.
Success at Dunkeld on Monday
The Murthly beats finished with a combined total of twelve fish for the week. Mr Jim Lapsey landed a fine brace at Delvine on Thursday. Mr Lapsey caught two nice fish from Sparromuir, which included a cracking fifteen pounder on the fly.
There were some lovely fish caught at Kercock last week including four on Saturday. Lucky anglers included Mr. Stuart Wilson, who caught his first salmon weighing in at eleven pounds on the fly, and Mr. Paul Jack, who landed a cracking sixteen pounder.
Mr Paul Jack lands a cracking 16 pounder from the Kercock Beat
Other successful anglers included Mr. Magnus Gloak, Mr. Ian Duckitt and Mr Steve Gamlen.
It was good to see a fish caught at Meikleour on Tuesday and Wednesday. Other fish were landed later in the week.
A nice fish caught at Cargill last week
There were a couple of fish caught at Cargill on Monday. On Tuesday, Mr. Steve Hogg caught a nice fish on the fly at Cargill. The decent sport continued at Cargill as the week progressed. Successful anglers at Cargill last week included Mr Jack Longley, amongst others. The Taymount Beat finished with twenty eight fish for the week.
Autumn gold at Cargill!
On the Stanley beats, there were fish caught at Catholes, Benchil and Luncarty last week. Mr Jason Straton caught a fine twenty two pounder at Benchil on Thursday. Mr David Wilson enjoyed some good sport at Luncarty last week.
Jack Longley with a fly caught Cargill cracker!
At Fishponds, Mr Toby Diggens caught the 100th fish of the season from the beat on Wednesday. The fish was a fine eight pounder caught on the fly from the Craigs. There was another fish caught at Fishponds on Saturday. There was a fish caught at Upper Redgorton on Monday and Tuesday with three more landed from the beat on Thursday. The Waulkmill Beat finished with eleven fish for the week.
The hundredth fish of the season at Fishponds
There were also fish caught from the Tay system last week on beats who do not wish to be mentioned in this report.
We would like to thank all the ghillies and beat owners on the River Tay system who have contributed to this report by providing their time and information as the weekly report would not be possible without your help and support. If you would like to share any interesting stories or pictures from your time fishing on the River Tay for the purposes of this report, please free to contact us at [email protected]
Good luck to all those anglers fishing on the River Tay next week.
Tight lines,
Samantha & Sandy Datta
