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Here's the end result of some astute tactical awareness and persistence. This is a River Tay Spring salmon caught by yours truly near Dunkeld in Perthshire. Catching salmon consistently is not too difficult if your fishing plan and tactical awareness are up to speed.
Look at the deep set proportions of this perfect fresh run Summer salmon of 16lbs. This fish took my 'Tay Raider' salmon fly at dusk near Dunkeld on the River Tay and was landed in near darkness so the light in this shot came from the flash from my camera. This fish was also landed 400 yards downstream of where it was hooked and was not an easy fish to run after in the fading light with chest waders on!
When you hook a perfect powerhouse of a salmon like this there's often an out of control feeling due to the fish being in full control for the first 15 minutes or so of battle. This was a summer caught salmon from the River Tay which was landed near Pitlochry during the month of July.
This little sand bar is just below the River Tummel / Tay confluence on the right hand bank of the River Tay near Pitlochry. It's a great sand bar for landing salmon at when it's exposed during lowish to medium height water conditions.
This fish was hooked slightly downstream of the Lady Pool on the River Tay at Dunkeld in Perthshire. When a salmon gets airborne like this you need to instantly lower the rod to reduce the line tension to avoid excess hook hold pressure.
Here's the powerful shoulders on a super fit River Tay Spring salmon which was landed on the fly rod at the end of May. This salmon sat still on this sand bar for a photo shoot before powering away back to its riverine home.

Why Do Salmon Jump

A professional Scottish salmon fishing guide's 'career based' explanations as to why salmon jump in the rivers of Scotland.

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Why Do Salmon Jump

What Are The main Reasons That Make salmon jump

Atlantic salmon that populate the Northern Hemisphere rivers will jump for various different reasons once they're back in the river of their birth. Here's a few of the main reasons why a fish that was named by the Romans as 'The Leaper' two thousand years ago will ocassionally launch itself clear out of the water.

Do Sea Lice make salmon jump

The first reason salmon will jump in the fresh water rivers of Scotland is to dislodge the little tadpole like parasites called sea-lice which they often pick up on their backs and flanks while in the sea. There's no doubt that the irritation of these parasites (that soon fall off the fish in fresh water) are a reason why fresh run salmon will often jump.

Does the Scent of fresh rain water make salmon jump

Another reason why salmon will often jump is just because they're in a state of excitement about being back in fresh water or they smell fresh water from recent rainfall that again has made them exciteable. Often, when a run of salmon enters a pool that has older resident fish lying in it the resident fish will be stirred up sufficiently and will often jump. Alternatively, if a pool has quite a few resident salmon lying up in it there can be territorial posturing going on under the water which will make salmon jump which again is just a basic in-river type of salmon social interaction.

What other parasites make salmon jump in the river

Later in the year salmon can become host to a small maggot type of parasite that lodges in the salmon's gills which can irritate the fish and will cause it to periodically jump. Nearer the spawing season when salmon are pushing on up a river they will leap up over waterfalls or weirs or any other obstacle that posses as a barrier to their upstream migration. Even on larger scale waterfalls that appear unnavigable a salmon will soon work out how to align its nose with the main flow descending the waterfall and will power its way up which is truly an amazing feat to observe.

What also makes salmon jump

The best way however to force a salmon to jump is to temporarily place a carefully tied salmon fly in its mouth as then you're almost guaranteed to see a few jumps from the fish as it attempts to dislodge the fly. To gain assistance in observing this kind of salmon jump behaviour follow this link to book a professional salmon guide who will assist with that process.

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