The Assynt Angling Group was formed in the year 2000. It is a unique partnership of local anglers (The Assynt Angling Club) and eight local landowners who have come together to administer some of the finest wild brown trout fishing in Europe.
The area includes some of the best scenery in the North West Highlands, encompassing the summits of Ben More Assynt, Canisp, Conival, Cul Beag, Cul Mor, Suilven and Quinag. There are two National Nature Reserves within the locality, Inchnadamph and part of Inverpolly.
Assynt and its surrounding area has always been popular with anglers, and the fishing has been well documented in angling literature spanning more than a century.
There are no coarse fish in the region and therefore setline and bait fishing are not practised. Anglers should keep only those fish they intend to eat and return all others to the water. Trout tend to take worms and other bait deep into the gullet and this makes it near impossible to free without fatal results. Fly-fishing is the traditional method and anglers are asked to respect this. There is a choice of over 150 lochs, 20 of our lochs have a boat available. On four of our larger lochs engines are also available.
Conservation and preservation are paramount and it is important that anglers abide by best practises to ensure future generations of fishermen can also enjoy the sport. To paraphrase a Scottish poet, “I don’t remember the trout going away. But I’ll never forget the trout shaped space it left stamped on the water”.
Brown trout is the main species. A number of waters have ferox trout and char and five of the main lochs have salmon and sea trout. The Group recognises the fragile environment in which these fish populations exist and aims to manage the fishings in a sustainable manner for the long term benefit of anglers and the local economy.
For ease of administration and due to the size of our area, the fishings have been divided into three separate zones. The graphic above is for guidance only and should be used with relevant Ordinance Survey Map (OS Landranger 15. Loch Assynt and surrounding area. Scale: 1:50000.)
Whether you are stalking brown trout, striking out for the summits or simply strolling through the area, we hope you will enjoy the experience.
More information on the Assynt Angling Group can be found on their website
36 waters listed