West Sutherland
The North-West Highlands is one of the last remaining wilderness areas in the UK and offers some of the most spectacular scenery of all, and a myriad of lochs holding wild brown trout. There are also several spate rivers, and interconnected river and loch systems or 'chains', that allow the passage of migratory fish.
The landscape is unique, a combination of smooth generally low-lying Lewisian gneiss, cloaked with peat bog and lochans, and overlying it in places, spectacular Torridonian sandstone mountains that tower above, such as Foinaven, Quinag, Canisp, Suilven & Cul Mor.
Along the coast of West Sutherland are several discrete areas of trout lochs, under the control of a single estate, fishing club or fishing hotel that own or lease the fishing rights. Often, they sell permits that allow visiting anglers to roam and bank fish on any lochs within a defined zone.
The Kinlochbervie & Durness AC offer roving permits for 2 estates in the Kinlochbervie area, and Scourie AC control fishing on a large area to the north of Scourie divided into 2 roving zones.
The most notable fishing hotel is the Scourie Hotel, which in addition to the trout fishing on its own 300 or so lochs, also has other access arrangements with nearby estates.
To the south in the Assynt area, two organisations control a vast area of loch fishing: the Assynt Crofters' Trust and the Assynt Angling Group; both provide excellent access arrangements for visiting anglers.
The Assynt Crofters' Trust own the North Assynt Estate which controls the fishing on about 200 lochs north of Lochinver. To the east and south of Lochinver, the Assynt Angling Group, a partnership between the local angling club and local estates, controls the fishing on around 150 lochs.
Assynt Angling maintains an excellent website, which provides all the information you could need to fish the ACT and AAG lochs, including an interactive map.
West Sutherland’s river systems are generally short, though their catchments can be extensive, often comprising 'chains' of interconnected river and lochs. Large areas of these catchments are characterised by steep, bare rock, resulting in fast run-off.
Water levels rise and fall very quickly on these spate rivers, allowing short windows of opportunity for salmon to migrate. Because of the frequent fluctuations in river levels, it's often the lochs on these systems that offer the most dependable salmon and sea trout fishing.
The Rhiconich system is the most northerly chain, and an example of where the river is less important than its lochs; Garbert Beg and Garbert Mohr.
A few miles to the south, the Laxford system comprises the renowned River Laxford, Loch Stack and Loch More.
Further south in the Assynt area, flows the River Inver, another notable salmon river, fed by the mighty Loch Assynt, which provides stabilised flows between spates.
The most extensive chain of all belongs to the nearby Kirkaig system, which includes lochs Urigill, Cam, Veyatie and Fionn. Although there is fishing in the lower section of the river, migratory fish are unable to reach these lochs, due to the Falls of Kirkaig being impassable.
Loch Stack (2), Loch Ailsh & Borrolan trout slide show images © Colin Riach; Loch Stack (1) image © Andrew Graham-Stewart.
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