When to Fish
fish hebrides
When to Fish In The Outer Hebrides
Each Island within the Outer Hebrides differs slightly in their fishing season. For example, some fisheries on the west coast of Lewis can expect their first decent run of salmon as early as late May with some spring fish earlier in the season, whilst fisheries in Harris and the Uist’s tend to have their first runs of fish in late June/early July.
Spring fishing
The salmon/sea trout season starts in February and, whilst there is the occasional spring salmon around, they are generally not fished for.
Brown trout fishing starts from 15th March and improves steadily through April and May.
Summer fishing
The main runs of salmon and sea trout for most fisheries within the Outer Hebrides start from early June and peak in the middle to the end of July, depending upon sufficient rainfall to allow them to enter the rivers and access the lochs.
Sea trout are still relatively plentiful in the Outer Hebrides and some wonderful sport can be expected. They are normally fished for in the daylight hours from June onwards and with the Outer Hebrides boasting 22 hours of daylight in the height of summer, it’s no wonder this is a chosen destination of so many anglers.
May and June are the best summer months for brown trout as there is an abundance of well-conditioned, free rising fish about.
Autumn fishing
As we leave the warm summer days behind and the weather begins to cool, salmon and sea trout fishing can be very successful in the lochs. Fresh salmon and sea trout are still entering the rivers and lochs right up to, and beyond, the end of the season although the numbers become less as the season and autumn draws to a close. This is also the time of year that anglers can be lucky enough to encounter some of the larger fish that have entered the Hebridean waters earlier in the season, with fish of up to and over twenty pounds occasionally caught. The salmon season ends at different times depending on the fishery and can be from the beginning to the end of October.
Sea trout are more plentiful at this time of year and although there are a lot of coloured fish around, there are also fresh run, sea-liced fish right up to the end of the season which is typically the same as the salmon season.
In September the brown trout are plentiful though sometimes beginning to lose condition towards the back end of the month as they ready themselves for spawning. Some of the larger fish are often caught at this time of year so some excellent sport can be expected. The final day of the brown trout season is October 6th .