Kayakers 'ruining' salmon fishing on the River Tay

Rafters and kayakers are destroying once lucrative fishing beats on the River Tay, Scottish Salmon fishermen are claiming.

Since the 2003 Land Reform Act opened up access to many rivers, some anglers claim the river resembles a ‘highway’ for many months of the year.

To make matters worse, a byelaw proposal to restrict rafting in the area has recently been rejected by Perth and Kinross councillors, and some claim that many rods have chosen to fish elsewhere as a result, a trend that is impacting heavily on the local economy.

Les Dargie, who has fished the stretch between Aberfeldy and Grandtully for a number of years, told BBC Scotland: "There's no question at all that the fishing is affected adversely by this relentless commercial pressure on the resource.

If you come to fish you'll find that quite often if a lot of rafts have been through you won't catch fish. The result is that people tend to say away - people like me who could be paying into the local economy."