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The ceremony in the village of Kenmore, which
marks the start of the season on the Tay, has been held to
celebrate the new salmon fishing season in Scotland for over 70
years, though on some rivers fishing begins a few days earlier.
Monday's event saw dozens of anglers, many sipping glasses of
whisky, cast lines in a bid to bag a big fish but, as of late in
the afternoon, one participant said that he had seen only one
salmon actually caught by anyone - a fact that neither surprised
nor bothered him.
"It's kinda the highlight of the season. You know you're coming
here not really to catch any fish. At the end of the day you're
coming to savor the atmosphere," fisherman Leigh Kelly, 36, told
Reuters.
"If you’re gonna catch a few fish, you need to be nearer the sea
to get at any, you know? The estuary here is right at the top of
the river, so that’s difficult. But it's good to be on the
bank.”
The event kicked off with a parade by the Vale of Atholl pipe
band, who marched the anglers to the river, which was then
blessed with the contents of a quaich - a traditional drinking
vessel - of whisky being thrown into the river.
The salmon season on the Tay runs from Jan. 15 to Oct. 15. On
other Scottish rivers it runs as late as Nov. 30.
(Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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