SCOTS singer Dougie MacLean helped perform the traditional blessing of the water at the opening of salmon fishing season on the River Tay.
Famed for his hit song Caledonia, the musician, who lives in Dunkeld, joined Perth and Kinross provost Dennis Melloy in blessing the river with a quaich of whisky.
MacLean then opened a magnum of champagne and made the first cast of the season from a boat mid-river.
The opening ceremony at the Kinclaven Bridge, Meikleour, began with anglers being piped down to the river's edge.
Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board chairman Iain McLaren said recent changes on the river mean larger salmon in the spring season.
Singer-songwriter @DougieMaclean gives a special rendition of his famous song ‘Caledonia’ on the banks of the River Tay for the start of the salmon fishing season :: #scotland #perthshire #caledonia #music #dougiemaclean #fishing pic.twitter.com/7f84RZH5Jy
— Jane Barlow (@belperbarlow) January 15, 2020
He said: "Recently, salmon runs on the Tay have been changing, with a notable decline in smaller autumn fish being paralleled by increasing numbers of the largest age class of spring salmon in the early season, potentially offering anglers the chance of a fish of a lifetime for less than the cost of a round of golf, even in January.
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"But with overall numbers down, like most salmon populations across the species' range in the North Atlantic, we all have a responsibility to ensure that we maximise the chances of recovery."
He said the board recommends anglers return all fish safely during the coming season, "thus ensuring that as many salmon as possible are able to continue their journeys upstream to spawn the next generation".
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