Fishing holidays In Scotland

 

Scottish Salmon and Trout fishing holidays with a fine choice of quality self catering accommodation


A general guide to Salmon, Trout and coarse angling, sea fishing in Scotland

Scotland without doubt offers the best fishing options in the Uk, with over seven thousand miles of coastline and over six thousand lochs, ranging from small hill lochs offering wild brown trout fishing to some of the largest freshwater bodies in the UK with fishing for fresh water salmon, sea salmon, sea trout, artic char, ferrox trout, brown trout, grayling, pike, perch and chubb....and with sea fishing stations and charter boats in abundance you can enjoy a productive fishing holiday almost anywhere in Scotland.

       

All Scotland's east coast rivers continue to benefit from the buy-out of the drift-nets and these salmon rivers have become very productive again over the past few years.

Habitat improvements, catch & release and increased stocking have all contributed to this most welcome revival. As always Scotland remains a top venue for trout fishing, whether on stocked waters or for wild brownies and sea trout. Wild brown trout fishing is excellent from May onwards, once fish have regained condition from the winter. There is no better place to experience this type of fishing than the hill lochs and rivers of the Scottish Highlands and islands. 

Best place to catch Pike

Best place to catch Salmon

Best place to catch Herring

Best place to catch Brown Trout

Permits are easily available within all the local areas to fish all these Lochs and rivers...

 

Brown trout fishing permits from as little as £6 a day..

 

Salmon fishing permits from as little as £20 pounds a day..

 

There are also very few places in Scotland where you are not within easy reach of one of the hundreds of commercial fisheries, predominantly offering rainbow trout fishing, but an increasing number of the fisheries are now introducing additional species such as blues and steelheads and coarse species such as carp, tench and perch. In addition there are more than a 100 quality salmon and trout rivers throughout Scotland.

 

The Northern Highlands

Offer the Rivers Borgie, Naver, Strathy, Thurso, Wick, Shin, Oykel, Carron, Beauly, Berriedale, Brora and Helmsdale (often fished by prince Charles)

The Central and Western Highlands

Offers Lochs Katrine, Lomond, Awe, Long, Fyne, Eck, Forth, Leven and the River Ruel ,Leven and Echaig, Tweed, Teviot, Kale

The West Coast and Islands

 

Offer the Moidart and Wester Ross Peninsulas and the Isles of Lewis, Harris, Skye, Mull, Rona and Arran

Moray, Grampian and Perthshire

Offers the productive Rivers Findhorn,Tay, Isla, Eritch, Lossie, Spey, Avon, Deveron, Ythan, Don, Dee and North Esk

The Northern Scottish Highlands have a wealth of excellent salmon and trout rivers, freshwater hill lochs and sea lochs. The fishing being traditionally for salmon, brown trout and other wild species such as the artic char. Coarse angling for pike is now becoming increasingly popular and the stocking of rainbow trout into privately owned lochs has increased in recent years and there are now a number of commercial fisheries offering quality day ticket rainbow and brown trout fly fishing. Come and fly-fish in the Scottish Highlands and fish famous water such as the Rivers Borgie and Helsmdale, Spey, South Esk, North Esk, Ericht, Tummel, Lyon, Tilt, and Lochs like Lomond, Awe, Fyne and Eck and many others in Angus, Perthshire. Also the exelent Obbe Fishing on Harris. The best in fly fishing for wild salmon, sea trout and wild brown trout in the Western Isles.

 

Scotland has the finest fishing in the United Kingdom. Learn the secrets of successful fly fishing in the Scottish Highlands, enjoy guided trips, based around a self-catering holiday and fly fish throughout Scotland for rainbow trout, brown, trout, grayling, salmon and pike. You even learn how to tie some of the World's most acclaimed salmon flies invented by Ally Gowans, Ally's Shrimp, Cascade and several others

If you get chance check out the limestone lochs around Cape Wrath and Sutherland- the clarity of the water and beauty of the fish

...is a sight to behold.  

Fishing opportunities in this part of Scotland (Caithness and Sutherland) are bountiful. On the west and north coasts you will find an abundance of short spate rivers and a multitude of lochs. As with most spate rivers you need to be in the right place at the right time to catch the runs of fish many of which begin in late summer so consult with the venue to make sure you get the best of the sport. Runs can be prolific. Nor should you ignore the east coast rivers. These are longer and tend to have more consitent runs and a slightly better stamp of salmon. Many are well managed with considerable efforts being made to improve runs.

The efforts of the west coast fisheries trusts are now starting to return the sport to the halcyon days. Many of these rivers are justifiably famous for their sea trout. Lochs like Hope, Stack, Maree and Dionard have reputations which stretch way back and specimen sea trout are still caught today This is an exceptional area for brown trout. There are simply thousands of hill lochs many of which are remote and virtually un-fished. If you are walking into such loch without a guide do touch base with the local estate. Not only will you thus avoid stalkers, but it is advisable for your own safety - this can be a wild place for the unwary.

 

 

Scotlands Fishing Laws

 

Unlike other countries (including England and Wales) Scotland has no State licencing system for fishing. It is however a criminal offence to fish for salmon without legal right or written permission and generally it is a civil offence to fish for other fishes. Details of the most significant statutes that apply are given below. Much of this information was derived from "The Law of Game, Salmon & Freshwater Fishing in Scotland" by Stanley Scott Robinson*. It is not be taken as a definitive description of the laws. Relevant Acts should instead be consulted   * The Law of Game, Salmon & Freshwater Fishing in Scotland. Stanley Scott Robinson. Published by Butterworths and the Law Society of Scotland, 1990

 

The Scottish Fishing season and Permits

 

Scottish Salmon fishing permits are available for all Northern scottish Rivers from late January / early February and run up to the end of September mid October from just £5 per day / £20 per 7 days.

The Brown Trout Season is from the 15th of March until the 6th of October.

Coarse fishing, Sea fishing and Rainbow Trout fishing are permitted all year round and no national rod licence is required in Scotland.

Fishing permits of all kinds are readily available from most local Inns and fishing tackle shops throughout scotland

Please contact the The Assocation of Salmon Fishery Boards for exact details

 

 

 

 

Back to the home page

Quality self-catering accommodation for your fishing holiday