About
The Traditional opening of the Tay Salmon
Season.
The traditional opening of the River
Tay salmon season takes place in the middle of January each
year. It has been staged at Kenmore since 1947. Fishermen
from all over Scotland travel and stay in local 
Aberfeldy
Hotels before gathering at the front of the Kenmore Hotel from 9am
on opening day. There is a sense of expectation as the atmosphere
builds to the opening of Scotland's most celebrated salmon season
opening day. Whatever the weather!
The opening ceremony is performed by a
different invited dignitary each year, the ceremony taking place on
a special platform erected at the front of the Kenmore Hotel, which
is a short drive of some 4 miles from the town of Aberfeldy in the
village of Kenmore.
On YOU TUBE - You
Tube video of the Tay Salmon Opening Ceremony (4
mins 50 secs)
All the fishermen and their supporters then line up
behind the Vale of Atholl Junior Pipe Band and march to the river
Tay a few hundred yards away. The fishermen then take up
their positions along both banks of the mighty river Tay while the
final ceremonies are performed on the river itself. A
representative from Dewar's World of Whisky, which is 
based in Aberfeldy, offers the toast blessing the
water for the new season. The dignitary performing the opening
ceremony for the new season, rows out in to the middle of the river
to make the first caste. Then the cry goes out "Tight lines" as all
the fishermen make their first caste for the new season.
The MacTaggart Kenmore Trophy and a gallon of
Aberfeldy Dewar's whisky will be awarded to the angler landing and
returning the biggest fish of the opening day from anywhere on the
river Tay system. To submit your entry, catch a fish on opening
day, take a decent picture of your catch, measure its length and
girth (immediately in front of the dorsal fin) make sure that you
have a witness and call Kenmore Hotel, on 01887 830205 as soon as
you can afterwards.
Salmon fishing permits for the
opening day at Kenmore cost £25 and all proceeds will be donated to
CHAS and AYFD. The Kenmore Hotel beat extends to about 2
miles on both banks of the Tay towards Aberfeldy and includes
several very good salmon pools including Chinese, Dairy, Battery
and Hotel Pool.
The British record Atlantic salmon is 64lbs and
was caught near Caputh in Perthshire on the River Tay by Miss
Georgina Ballantine on October 7th 1922. The River Tay is one of
Scotland's best Atlantic Salmon Rivers to fish, it is the longest
river in Scotland, flowing about 120 miles (193 km) from its source
on the north slopes of Ben Lui to the sea at the City of Dundee.
The river drains 2,400 square miles (6,216 square km), the largest
drainage area in Scotland. Before reaching the stretch of Loch Tay
(15 miles [24 km] long) at Killin, on leaving Loch Tay at Kenmore,
it flows past the towns of Aberfeldy, Dunkeld and Perth before reaching the sea at
Dundee.
