Hi All,
I recently watched an episode of an old Nick Hancock fly fishing series in which he took several new fly fisherman around many remote tarns/lochs in Scotland. The idea of just pitching up in a remote area and scrambling up hill and down dale to locate a tarn very much appeals to me. It seems to be the pure rural fishing experience.

As a result of watching the episode, I have been following several of the ‘Scottish fishing’ threads that have been appearing on the forum recently. I have gathered from the threads that all land/water rights are owned, so I was wondering how you go about fishing these remote tarns without annoying the land owner or trespassing on the land.

Perhaps it’s naive of me to think that you can just pitch up and fish a remote loch? Do I need to go knocking on local doors/asking in local pubs to see who owns the land?

I suppose in summary, I am asking how I go about checking that I am allowed to fish a particular area.

I really appreicate any advice.

Bruce Sandisons Rivers & Lochs of Scotland is your best starting place if you are browsing and wondering where to go for tickets etc.

If you aware of somewhere in particular, a call out on the forum might be a good way to get an answer, as most landowners/estates a call to the estate office can get access.

Trespass does not really exist in Scotland in an English sense of the word. Under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, you are pretty free to 'roam' where you wish but you do need the owners permission to fish.

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Just My Tuppenceworth!!

Most of the small lochs, or lochans, are owned by someone. In remote areas often a farmer may have the water on his land. I've fished many of these small Scottish still waters when on holiday. I have found the best source of advice to be the local tackle shop, in the nearest town.They have numbers to ring, an idea of cost, and more importantly directions to get to this type of remote fishing.

BK

Stonepark,

Many thanks for that helpful reply!

I am in the planning stage so hopefully that will give me some guidance!

Cheers,

Matt

---------- Post added at 03:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 AM ----------

Black Knight - Many thanks for the tips - Have you been all over Scotland when fishing the remote areas?

Thanks,

Matt

locating permits can cost time, Bruce Sandisons guide has phone numbers which makes planning easier,

planning invariably works round the number of nights you intend to spend out, this governs what you carry, especially food and how you plan to prepare it.
you need to consider altitude because the weather can differ from the regular forcast, but...

That's the book John Neville and I used to use for planning our forays for wild trout fishing in the seventies. Being creatures of relative comfort we would find somewhere to stay nearby if possible. One of the most pleasant places was the King's House Hotel at the head of Glen Coe. There are dozens of lochans, some without names on the nearby Rannoch Moor. They all have trout in them and my advice would be to fish with single fly only to limit your catches to one fish per cast at a time.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Ohanzee - Thanks for taking the time to reply! That picture spells out exaclty what I am hoping for!!!

Richard - Thanks for the recommendation! My morning's groundwork is beginning to pay off.

Matt

research is a big part of hill loch fishing, as is developing the ability to catch fish anywhere, the best guide is a map and your own resourcefulness.

the more days you stay away from civilisation the closer you get to it.