The home of speycasting and one of the big four salmon rivers in Scotland, the Spey has the third-largest drainage area after the Tay and Tweed and is the second-longest after the Tay. Its major attraction however, is its size and the strength of its
stream. In the middle and lower river it falls on average 12ft per mile, the greatest of any British river. Interestingly, the Spey, unlike most British rivers, does not have a sizeable town at its mouth, with the river being snow fed from the Cairngorm Mountains.
2 RIVER TWEEDThe Tweed has always been internationally famous for its salmon fishing, with people coming from all over the world to fish in its waters. After three record-breaking years, not only does the Tweed catch more Atlantic salmon than any other river in the European Union, but it also now ranks among the very top salmon rivers in the world.
3 RIVER TAYInternationally renowned for its Atlantic salmon fishing, the Tay is one of the best salmon rivers in the United Kingdom, with anglers coming to central Scotland from all over the world to fish. The Tay is the home of record fish including the largest ever rod-caught salmon in Britain, caught in 1922 and weighing 64lb, which remains the British record. Amid the stunning scenery of Perthshire, you’ll also find huge highland lochs like Rannoch, Tay and Ericht, many smaller hill lochs and of number of reservoirs and still waters.
4 RIVER DEEFamous around the world for its salmon fishing, the River Dee is especially so for its multi-sea winter spring salmon. One of the top four British salmon rivers, the Dee rises in the Cairngorm mountains and flows for over 80 miles through the Grampian region in North-east Scotland before it enters the North Sea at Aberdeen.
5 RIVER NITHThe River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway is one of Scotland’s most productive rivers for salmon, making it a particularly attractive watercourse to fish. Its character varies from steep-sided wooded gorges and long glides in the upper river, through fast-moving pools and runs in rich, fertile land further downstream. There are no major lochs or dams in the catchment, so the flow is largely rain-dependant and relies on the input from a series of tributaries. While the Nith is famous for its large greyback salmon, several thousand salmon of all sizes are captured every year.
• For more information on fishing in Scotland log on to
www.visitscotland.com/fishThe full article contains 434 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
