Hi all

I'm going up to Scotland in a couple of weeks for a family holiday, and hoping to negotiate a day or two off for good behaviour to fish a loch, something I've always wanted to try. The nearest lochs according to t'interweb seem to be collectively known as the South Ness lochs of Killin, Knockie, Mhor, Tarf and nanLan near Foyers. Has anybody any experiecne of these, and especially where to get permits and what flies to use? I'll likely be bank fishing as I've never boat fished before. Any comments gratefully received!

Cheers

I fished loch Killin several years ago, it is a beautiful spot but the fishing was not up to much. When I enquired locally I was told that no permission was required to fish here and nobody bothered me when I did. However things could have changed an enquiry at the tourist information office in Fort Augustus or at Graham's tackle shop in Inverness might put you on the right lines.

As an alternative consider Loch Lochy, this is free to fish, it contains wild brown trout and escapee rainbows. It also contains salmon but I have never heard of anyone catching one from the shore. The side of the loch opposite to the main road is quietest and there are lots of places to fish from. The loch does shelve steeply in to deep water in places so it's best not to wade too much.

Of the lochs you mention, I've fished Killin, Knockie and Nan Lan.

I suggest that you get in touch with the Whitebridge Hotel for local information on permits and tactics; try also the Dell estate who have fishing in the area too, and the fishing tackle shop in Inverness. You should get all the information you need from these sources. Be aware though that some of the lochs might be boat fishing only.

Thanks Bandy and Ruby

I fished the loch and as you say it was a beautiful spot, and hard fishing especially in the wind. I managed to winkle out a few small but stunningly spotted trout on dry fly.

The biggest fish I caught did not look at all like a trout, though. Unfortunately I had all the rain clobber on and couldnt get to the camera without leaving the fish stranded whilst I undressed. It seemed more streamlined than a trout, about 12" long, and had a sort of blueish metallic colour to it, caught a couple of feet down on a fast-stripped lure. I thought it was a char but from what I have read these are reddish. What might it have been?

It could well have been a char.
I caught this one (below) a few years ago from a Loch in the North of Scotland and as you can see, it has no red markings.
Just a slight yellowish tinge to its belly.
I think they colour up red when spawning though.

[IMG][/IMG]

Hi Teetrouter, I had a look in Bruce Sandison's book "The Rivers and Lochs of Scotland." He does say that Loch Killin contains arctic charr so that is probably what you caught.

Incidentally did you find out if you needed a permit for Killin and if so where is the outlet for them?

Thanks Scobo, that looks just like the one I caught - but bigger!

Ruby P, I asked at the Whitebridge Hotel about permits, and they told me that I did not need one (incidentally, they serve real ale there which was an added bonus!). Nobody challenged me whilst I was there and I did speak to a gent as he was going into the grand lodge at the North end. I also went into Graham's in Inverness and they reckoned no permit was needed. As an aside, they were extremely helpful and helped me fix my rod when I knocked the very tip off, rather than spend £70 getting a replacement section from Hardy.

Thanks for the info Teetrouter, I will give killin another go next time I'm up there. Last time I fished the loch was in May several years ago and it snowed whilst I was fishing, I would hope for better conditions next time but May in the highlands can throw all sorts of weather at you.