The River Spey

In addition to its reputation as one of the World's best salmon rivers, the River Spey is arguably the best sea trout river in the British Isles, despite some stiff competition from rivers further south, particularly in Wales, where sea trout, or sewin, fishing vies with rugby as the national sport, on renowned rivers such as the Teifi, Dovey and Towy, which, in addition to offering publicly accessible fishing throughout most of their lengths, tend to produce larger sea trout each season than the Spey. Nevertheless, Spey sea trout average around two and a half pounds and fish over five pounds are not uncommon. A double figure sea trout on the Spey, however, would be notable. The Spey sea trout rod fishery has been one of the largest in the UK, with a 10 year (1992-2001) average annual catch of 4,590. By comparison, only the Rivers Tywi and Teifi in Wales have caught more fish. Recent seasons, in common with the general trend, have seen a decline in these figures but the sea trout fishing on the Spey can still be excellent.

The River Spey at Grantown on Spey

Spey Sea Trout Fishing

The Spey sea trout run normally begins in late May, with stocks increasing throughout June and into July. The best of the night fishing is to be had from mid June to mid July on the upper middle part of the river, from Grantown on Spey upstream to Boat of Garten, where the two main Associations on that part of the river, The Strathspey Angling Improvement Association and The Abernethy Angling Association, offer between them thirteen miles of prime sea trout fishing, with daily and weekly permits available to all.