Culligran

Location

Farrar, Near Beauly

Summary

Five miles of mostly double bank fishing. Over 30 named pools Average catch: 57 salmon. Fishing by fly only

Description

Culligran Estates own the fishing rights, mostly double bank, on five miles of the river Farrar, and also does the lets for Struy Lodge which has approximately half a mile below the A831 road bridge to the confluence of the Glass.

The Estate has fishing on three beats, Top, Middle and Bottom with many attractive/holding pools and fast streams.

Top Beat: Approximately one and a half miles long and starts immediately below the dam. Apart from the top half mile, which is fished from the left/north bank the rest is double bank. There are six pools - Cave, Upper, Middle and Lower Ross, Burgess Beach and Long Cast accommodating 2/3 rods.

Middle Beat: Two miles of double bank fishing with 10 pools - Little Bridges, Road, Green Stream, Double Bend, Fir Tree, Colonels, Bobs, Mill Stream, Close Run and Ant accommodating three rods.

Bottom Beat: One and a half miles of double bank fishing with 10 pools Ö Neaty Beach, Merchants, Falls, Masons Stream, Barry Flats, Culligran, Otter, Gate and Lieshmore. (outflow of Culligran Power Station is midway down the beat and flow and river levels can be affected when station is operational)

A private road runs close to the river on the north bank giving reasonable access to most pools, however there is a challenging 10 minute walk to the Ross pools on the top beat.

In recent years the best pools have been Cave on the upper beat, Colonels on the middle and Culligan Bridge on the lower beat. The catches are mainly grilse with an average weight of 5lb however a few salmon are caught during the season and any fish above 10lb is considered to be a specimen.

The river is secluded and runs through the beautiful scenery of Strathfarrar however it is narrow compared to many other highland rivers. Many of the pools are small but very deep and care should be taken when fishing them to avoid spooking any resident/taking fish.

A single handed 10'or at the most a 12' double handed rod will cover the pools, and the ability to roll or single spey cast can be an advantage. This is fish stalking country and splashing a line when casting should be avoided - best if only the leader and fly kiss the surface when casting.

In recent years one of the most successful fly patterns has been the Juliet tied by Dennis Ross the rivers freelance gillie, and possibly named after Juliet Spencer-Nairn. In common with most highland peaty rivers any pattern dressed in Black and Orange ie. Sheila, Cascade or AllyÒ³ Shrimp could also be useful.

Fishing is by fly only. Fishing normally begins in June, and July to September are the most likely months for obtaining rods, unless booked well in advance
Daily permits for both salmon and brown trout can be obtained subject to availability.

The Estate also has comfortable holiday cottages for let - see associated web link