Important sport and commercial net fisheries have been developed for many native, and introduced freshwater species. The revenue generated from fishing provides an important source of income, particularly in rural areas.
Further information on angling can be found on the Visitscotland and sportscotland websites.
Game Fisheries
Net Fisheries for Salmon
Net Fisheries include the traditional methods of fishing for salmon: net and coble, and fixed engines, such as bag nets and stake nets. Drift-net fishing for salmon off the coast of Scotland was prohibited in 1962, and the ban remains in force. The net fishery has declined in recent years, with the number of nets deployed now only about one-third of that recorded a decade earlier.
Rod Fisheries for Salmon and Trout
Anglers have fished with rod and line in Scotland for hundreds of years. The number of anglers has increased in recent years and the sport continues to grow.
Today, the opportunity to fish for salmon and sea trout is highly prized, and the high level of demand is reflected in the price. While fly fishing is the most popular method, bait fishing, where allowed, may be equally if not more effective under certain circumstances. Anglers often restrict their methods to those that make the salmon less easy to catch, and many now practice catch and release. Fly fishing is also the usual method of fishing for brown trout, although many people also use worm as bait.
Rod fishing for salmon is prohibited on a Sunday, and annual close times vary across the country, but are usually from the beginning of November until the middle of February.
There is no weekly close time for fishing for brown trout. The annual close time extends from 7 October until 14 March, and applies throughout Scotland.
Put-and-Take Fisheries
There are put-and-take fisheries for Rainbow trout throughout Scotland, the fish usually being supplied at catchable size by fish farmers. Prices vary, but a day's fishing can cost as little as £5 to 10. In recent years, many ponds have been created to support these fisheries. There are also numerous examples of lochs containing populations of wild native fish that have been stocked with Rainbow trout.
Fishing for Grayling
Fishing for grayling is a popular sport, especially during the annual close times for salmon and trout
Coarse Fishing
As a result of the widespread distribution and abundance of game fish species, there has been less of a tradition of angling for coarse fish in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, although the popularity of this branch of the sport is growing.
According to the Scottish Federation for Coarse Anglers, there may be as many as 20,000 people in Scotland who fish for coarse fish, about 1,000 of them specialist anglers who target particular species. The number of coarse anglers is estimated to be increasing at 2-4% per year. Permit prices vary, but may cost as little as £10 per day in some places. There is an expanding interest in pike fishing in Scotland, especially by visiting anglers from other parts of the UK. There is also an increasing interest in fishing for cyprinid fishes, particularly carp, tench, rudd and roach. Most species of coarse fish are concentrated in the south west of Scotland, the Central Belt, Loch Lomond and the Perthshire lochs.
There are no weekly or annual close times for fishing for coarse fish in Scotland.
Fisheries for Eels
Fisheries for eels, which are on a small scale, target elvers, yellow eels and silver eels. The fishery for elvers is primarily to catch fish for export to mainland Europe for farming. Many Scottish eel populations are very slow growing. Consequently, fishing for yellow eels requires careful management to avoid over-exploitation. Fishing for silver eels is usually carried out in rivers draining extensive, shallow, lowland lochs.