Salmon Fishing on the River Kirkaig
The river Kirkaig is an attractive river but the rough and rocky nature of the river makes for very challenging salmon fly fishing. To cover the pools effectively requires the agility and stamina of a mountain goat and is not for the faint of heart, particularly on the uppermost of the three beats, while the lower beat gives the easiest access.
The river Kirkaig, in west Sutherland, is only fishable for salmon in the bottom two miles of the river up to the impassable fifty foot high Falls of Kirkaig. Nevertheless the Kirkaig produces good numbers of salmon, some of them big fish, with an overall average weight of around 10 pounds. The main runs come, as on many northern and western rivers, with the first spates in July, and continue to the end of the season in September, which can be an excellent month on the Kirkaig if the runs have been delayed by summer drought.
The fishing on the Kirkaig is owned by Assynt Estate.
River Kirkaig Map
Tap or click on the map below to view full size image
Note: the maps on this website are extracts from the Bartholomew “Half Inch” map series dating back to the middle of the twentieth century. There have been many changes since the maps were made, and much of the human detail, e.g. buildings and roads, will have changed over the period. It is to be hoped, however, that the character of our Scottish rivers, and the trout and salmon in them, will not have altered too dramatically over the years and that they may still offer the wonderful fishing prospects of days gone by. Bearing the above in mind, anyone planning a fishing or walking trip in Scotland is advised to equip themselves with a compass and the appropriate up-to-date Ordnance Survey map, the most useful for the angler probably being the Landranger series, scale 1:50,000. For River Kirkaig, see O.S. map number 15.
For further information about the fishing on the Kirkaig see River Kirkaig Fishing
For information about the trout fishing in the area see Trout Fishing Scotland