Loch Rannoch

Lochs in Tayside.

Loch is the Scottish word for Lake, Stillwaters and Reservoirs and in Tayside there are a variety of such waters, natural hill lochs, manmade lochs dams and reservoirs some nestling in the hills and others lying in lush lowlands. Space precludes a mention of most of these but a few of the better known fly fishing venues are singled out for description. Comprehensive information is contained in the "Angling in Tayside" guide book, which lists permit outlets, costs and is packed full of advice for fishing in Tayside. For details of the book click here. Please contact me for information about guided fishing trips.

Loch Earn

Loch Earn is about seven miles long and a mile across. It contains good numbers of brown trout, charr and rainbow trout, and some of them weigh several pounds. Fishing is available from bank or boat and fly-fishing, bait and spinning is allowed.

Monikie and Crombie Country Parks

These parks were previously water supply reservoirs for Dundee and they now offer first class leisure facilities including Rainbow and brown trout fishing at Monikie and brown trout at Crombie. Fishing is from boats only and is very reasonably priced for such high quality. Permits are easily available.

Lintrathen Loch

A beautiful venue and a haven for wildlife that contains lots of brown trout and perch. Fishing is easily available from the Lintrathen Angling Club which administers the loch. Fishing is from boats only.

Loch Rannoch and Dunalastair

This loch is around 10 miles in length and it contains a variety of fish, including large trout and pike. There are also perch, charr and a few salmon (rarely caught). Fishing is available from bank and boats which can hired at Dunalastair Hotel. Dunalastair Reservoir is a shallow loch created by the hydro scheme and it has abundant insect life that is preyed upon by very large brown trout. They are not easy to catch but well worth the effort. Its root-infested waters are also the home to some enormous pike.

Loch Tay

This is a big loch, some sixteen miles long and a mile in breadth. Parts of it are deep and most of its fishing potential is around its wooded shoreline. Salmon fishing in the loch is practiced right from its opening day on 15 January. The loch produces a few monster salmon between twenty and thirty pounds most years. Trolling using Rapala plugs, Kynoch Killers, spoons and minnows is the most effective method for salmon fishing the loch. In addition to salmon there are goodly numbers of trout, charr and pike. Trout can be caught all around the loch shores. Several operators offer boats for hire for trout and salmon fishing.

Loch Leven

Loch Leven is Scotland's most famous trout-fishing loch. It has 48 large boats, each of which can take up to three anglers. There is also ample parking, toilets and a bar. Such was the quality of the brown trout that they were recognised as a unique strain called the "Loch Leven" trout and were exported to many fisheries in Britain and abroad. In appearance the indigenous trout are bright and silvery, more resembling a sea run trout than a typical brown trout. Rainbow trout were introduced some years ago and fish of over 10 lbs have been landed since their introduction.

Rescobie Loch

Rescobie Loch is a shallow, fertile basin extending to 200 acres that provides excellent fishing for rainbow and brown trout. The records stand at 7lb 4oz for brown trout, 11lb 3oz for rainbow and no doubt there are bigger specimens in the loch. Average weights are an impressive 2lbs for brown trout and 2lb 4oz for rainbows. Permits are easily available.

Hill Lochs

A casual glance at an Ordnance Survey Map of Tayside, reveals a number of hill lochs scattered throughout the highland territory. There are boats available on some of the lochs. Trout are typically less than a pound in weight and sometimes only half of that. One or two lochs have better quality feeding that sustains trout that are larger than usual, perhaps up to two pounds. However what they lack in size, they more than make up for in fighting qualities. Sometimes they rise freely to the fly; occasionally they can be frustratingly difficult. Large trout are sometimes caught and these can be very large indeed, occasionally into double figures.

Stillwater Fisheries

There are a large number of stillwater put and take fisheries throughout the region, which offer convenient fishing mostly for rainbow trout and several of them specialise in producing large trophy fish.