TV star Robson Green opens salmon fishing season on River Tay

TV star Robson Green officially opened the River Tay salmon fishing season at the weekend.

The Grantchester star, who fronts C5’s Extreme Fishing programme, was joined by fellow actor Jim Murray at Meikleour boathouse in Perthshire on Saturday.

The opening – featuring a piped procession and traditional whisky blessing – was hosted by Meikleour Fishings and the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board.

In contrast to previous years, the event was not a public affair due to Covid guidance and was instead scaled down and limited to some 36 pre-booked anglers together with a handful of Meikleour Estate and board representatives.

Green and Murray made the first casts of the season after popping a magnum bottle of champagne.

Green told STV News: “This is not only a celebration of the opening of the Tay, but a celebration of the men and women, young and old who look after the Tay.

“And it’s a scientific fact that being alongside a healthy river with healthy fish in it is good for our quality of life.

“And I defy anyone not to be happy alongside a beautiful river like this.

“And as I say, it’s a real celebration of the fact that the likes of me and Jim when we’re on a river, we feel at home on a river, and home to me has never been the house I live in or the city that surrounds it.

“Home is a feeling, and I always feel at home alongside a river like this.

“Because let’s not forget, the Tay is a world-famous river, and the fact that there are thousands of healthy Atlantic salmon traveling up here every year is testament to the people who look after it and take care of it.

“Because I live by the notion that if you look after a river and take care of it, it’ll look after you.”