Professional career based Scottish salmon guide advice on the best time to fish the River Tummel in Perthshire.
The River Tummel is a famous tributary river of the River Tay and flows down past Pitlochry and enters the Tay near the village of Ballinluig. This little Scottish river is renowned as a Spring run salmon river and is best targeted from late March to mid June when this prised run of Spring salmon are always present each year. River Tummel Spring salmon are in a physical class of their own and have thick deep set proportions as displayed in these accompanying Tummel salmon photographs.
The Tummel being a smaller river than the Tay can be adequately covered with a 13ft or 14ft double handed fly rod although15ft rods are often used by those who understand the benefit a longer fly rod gives for controlling the speed of a salmon fly at range. These days tackle manufacturers seem more concerned with the latest fad tackle 'systems' as they are now referred to rather than good old logic based salmon fly pace 'fishing' requirements which are only truly enabled at range with a longer salmon fly rod enabling fly line mend control (to the fly) and not just to the meaningless tail end of the shooting head.
There are a few beautiful and easily fished River Tummel salmon beats that occasionally have fishing access availability through the Spring months for visiting salmon anglers and this can be arranged for you with all of the appropriate salmon fly fishing equipment, proven Tummel salmon fly patterns and tactical tuition. Follow this link for more information on our River Tay guided salmon fishing package which covers the lovely River Tummel too. Here's an example of the River Tummel's Lower Tummel salmon Beat.
The River Garry (which is located in the headwaters of the River Tummel) was historically famous for a run of heavyweight salmon in the 50lbs bracket. The majority of Tay salmon anglers are unaware that this genetic strain of Garry/Tummel salmon are still in existence and sometimes short deep heavyweight Tummel bound salmon are caught further down in the Tay system without much thought as to where that salmopn was destined. A few years ago one of my guided fishing guests was completely shocked at the size of a Tummel salmon that porpoised right in front of him on the Lower Tummel salmon beat. The following Sunday another of my fishing guests called me to advise that there was a pair of 45+lbs salmon attracting a big audience in the viewing chamber of the upstream Pitlochry fish ladder!
