Trout
Brown Trout
Brown trout fishing starts from 15th March and improves steadily with rising temperatures as the season progresses. Although anglers typically use floating lines to fish for brown trout early in the season, an intermediate line or sink tip can prove productive while the temperatures are still on the low side. Large brown trout are often caught throughout the season however some of the weightier fish, particularly the elusive ferox trout, tend to be caught in early and late season. April and May are generally considered good months for the larger fish.
May and June are the best summer months for brown trout as there is an abundance of well conditioned, free-rising trout to be enjoyed. Anglers are asked to exercise some constraint on the amount of fish kept, as bags of 20, 30 and even more can be caught in one day to one rod.
In September, brown trout are fairly plentiful although they may begin to lose condition towards the back end of the month as they ready themselves for spawning, consequently, care should be taken especially when returning them. Some of the larger specimens are often caught at this time of year so some excellent sport can be expected. The elusive Arctic char are also about in the autumn and can, on occasions, be tempted with a fly.
A typical machair loch Brown trout from South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
Sea Trout
A typical Sea trout from the Steinish Pool (Fideach AC), Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides.
Sea trout are plentiful throughout the Outer Hebrides and some wonderful sport can be expected in the rivers and freshwater Lochs as well as estuaries and sea pools. They are normally fished for from June onward although they are about much earlier in the season. Anglers can also expect to encounter sea trout at any time during the day as they are readily caught throughout daylight hours, and with the Hebrides boasting 22 hours of daylight in the height of summer, it's no wonder this is a chosen destination of so many anglers.