Orkney |
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Orkney has to be the UK's top wild brown trout fishing destination. Nowhere else will you find the amount and variety of top quality trout fishing, with such easy access. Trout fishing is part of the local culture, and visiting anglers are warmly welcomed. The Orkney Islands are located just 15 miles or so north of Caithness, off the north east tip of mainland Scotland. They can be reached by air from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, and by road in 4-5 hours from Inverness, including the ferry crossing.
OTFA maintain an excellent website, which will provide you with all the information you could need to fish here including detailed descriptions of all of the lochs. Below is a brief summary of the fishing on Orkney Mainland, and a few photos from our trips there: |
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Orkney Mainland LochsThe main lochs on Mainland Orkney are Harray, Boardhouse, Hundland, Swannay, Stenness, Skaill and Kirbister. Each offers varied conditions, and most have huge populations of hard fighting brown trout in the ½ lb -1½ lbs size range and occasional bigger fish up to 4 lbs. Providing weather conditions are not extreme, excellent sport can be expected.
The Lochs of Mainland, Orkney |
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| Harray Harray is Orkney's most famous trout loch. It's big; over 2500 acres with over 14 miles of wadable shoreline. Along the shores and around the islands are points, bays, shallows and skerries. In the spring and early summer, the best fishing is in these areas, with floating lines preferred. In mid-summer, the fish tend to move to the deeper, cooler water and long drifts through the middle of the loch, often with intermediate or sinking lines will be most productive. Harray trout are said to average 10-12 oz, with occasional fish up to 2 lbs, but we have found them averaging around the 1 lb mark.* |
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| Boardhouse Boardhouse is also a good-sized loch, running north-west to south-east for about 3 miles in length. It's very different to Harray; shallow throughout, becoming weedy in the summer, with long uninterrupted shorelines and very few skerries. Long drifts across the middle of the loch are often the most productive. Floating lines rule! The trout tend to average about ¾lb, but there seem to be good numbers of fish in the 2 to 2½ lbs class also. |
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| Hundland Hundland is similar in character to Boardhouse, though smaller. The loch is also very shallow, with large areas of skerries at the northern, and particularly the southern ends, so a floater is all that's needed. Weed growth is prolific in the middle of the loch in summer months. From our experience most trout are in the ½ lbs to 1lb range, though we have had them up to 1¾ lbs. |
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| Swannay Swannay is the most northerly of the mainland lochs, and is very different to nearby Boardhouse and Hundland. More prominent peat-hugged hills surround it and as a result the water is peat-stained. Around the island are large areas of skerries, and great care is needed on the outboard. Despite the poorer clarity of the water, it is the most dour of all these lochs in bright sunshine and local advice is to "wait for an overcast day". Swannay has great quality trout though, 2 lbs+ fish are quite common, and action can be spectacular.* |
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Loch Kirbister Loch of Stenness |
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