Knowing if you have all the correct salmon fishing equipment can seem daunting when you are new to this glorious pursuit. That is where our short but comprehensive fishing kit list can help.
On the River Tay which is Scotland's largest salmon river it is vital that you come prepared with the correct salmon fishing kit levels. The Tay is also the deepest river in Scotland so sink tips of varying densities are important for sinking your fly to the appropriate depth in the water column while fly fishing. A full floating lines which might be fine on the shallower Scottish rivers are of no real use on the Tay. If you're booking a professional River Tay salmon guide he will make sure all of the correct equipment is there for you to use.
A salmon landing net with a knotless mesh will also be required.
The favoured Scottish salmon flies that have good success rates are patterns like the Copperass, Ally's Shrimp, Willie Gunn, Cascade, Orange Flamethrower, Sunray Shadow, Stoats Tail & Silver Stoat. In the early months of the year and late Autumn these patterns fish well tied on copper tubes from 1 to 2 inches for added weight and from late Spring through to early Autumn regular double hooked versions fish well. Personally I've always been a fan of Partridge hooks and the Salar doubles in silver, black or gold are without doubt quality hooks. Many of the Scandinavian fly patterns work well too for Scottish salmon like the Snaelda & Pot Bellied Pig ranges.
Spinning lures on the Scottish rivers that do very well are typically the ABU 30g Salmo toby in copper or silver, silver or copper 28g regular ABU toby, 20g-30g flying condom in red, orange, black, yellow or purple & the devon minnow in black & gold, black & yellow for the Spring months & black & orange or black & red for the Autumn months. In recent years the more castable Rapala & Vision Oneten lures have also produced consistent results especially in the black & gold and red & orange type of colour ranges.
