WHILE 40% OF the salmon taken in the lower stretches of the river in an out-of-season fishing experiment were silver, further upstream those caught were nearly all coloured, the annual meeting of the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board heard yesterday, writes Ken Bell, angling correspondent.

Dr David Summer, fisheries manager, told the meeting in the Birnam Institute that when the licence was granted for the fishing to take place after the end of the rod season, the Scottish Executive restricted the fishing as it was felt salmon in the upper river would be coloured and already have started spawning.

As a result the Lower Kinnaird on the Tay and Moulinearn on the Tummel were the highest beats where fishing was permitted.

Dr Summers added that next year it was hoped that experiment would include higher beats.

He told the meeting that proprietors and anglers had often claimed runs of clean fish entered the river late in the year and the experiment was to find how many such fish there were.

Both he and retiring chairman John Milligan reiterated that the experiment had nothing to do with any moves to change the season.

Dr Summers also called on proprietors to take more positive action to support the board’s spring salmon conservation measures, especially in the tributaries, pointing out that Tay anglers last year returned only 30% of the spring fish they caught.

He reminded the meeting that a mandatory catch-and- release policy had been introduced for spring salmon on the North and South Esk, while on the Dee 90% of spring fish were put back. While the board had increased their hatchery capacity by a further million eggs, they were also taking action to improve the environment, in many cases working with local sub-committees and members of the Tay Ghillies Association.

Easing Carrel’s Leap would, it was hoped, allow spring salmon quicker access upstream on the Ericht, but elsewhere work had also been carried out to remove or ease weirs which impeded access.

Work had been done on Glamis Estate and elsewhere to open up burns in this way.

The triennial election saw an enlarged board elected.

Upper proprietors re-elected were John Milligan, William Lindsay, John Apthorp, Ross Gardiner, Duncan Glass, John Young, Andrew Mactaggart, Viscount Stormont and Robert White, who will be joined by newly elected members Michael C. Smith and Patrick Steuart-Fothringham. Elected to represent the lower proprietors was David Clark.

Members of the board will elect their chairman and co-opt members to represent netting and angling interests at their first meeting.