esThis page is going to be a little unusual, in that in most cases when I publish information about a trout fishery or river, I am sharing what I know about that water in the hope it proves useful to other anglers who are looking for new places to try. This post, in contrast will detail what I know about some waters but you will soon find that the information is scarce or is being deliberately kept secret by the parties who have the fishing rights to the water.

Fishing Law in Scotland

Before proceeding it is important to understand about fishing in Scotland.  On many occasions you will see Bob or Derek on facebook who profess to be a legal geniuses with respect to Scottish angling. Bob or Derek will  tell you you can do whatever you like north of the border. A quick look at Bob or Derek’s timelines will usually uncover their equally deep knowledge in driving a taxi, estate agency or double glazing. Bob or Derek typically have not spent the 7 years plus necessary to call themselves  even the most basically qualified solicitor let alone being an Advocate (The Scottish version of a Barrister)  in land access and fishing law.

While in Scotland you do not need any sort of rod or fishing licence, and it is true to say that as far as the native wild fish ( the Brown Trout primarily) are concerned, they belong to no one, this does not in any way give carte-blanche to fish where you like.
All land belongs to someone. While under the Scottish “right to roam” legislation the public can pretty much walk where they like (within certain common-sense constraints) in the countryside, just because you can claim the right to walk by a river or to a loch, that does not permit you to try to catch the fish in that water. Someone owns that land and the Brown Trout fishing rights belong to the landowner or leaseholder. If you want to fish for the creatures in the river, burn, loch or lochan, you MUST have written permission from the rights holder. Also, Brown Trout fishing rights cannot be sold separately from the land, unlike rights for migratory fishing ( Salmon and Sea Trout). So, for example the land a salmon river runs through may belong to a local farmer but he may not own the migratory fishing rights, these may ( and commonly do)  belong to some totally different set of individuals.  Brown Trout rights on the other hand always belong to the landowner OR may be leased on to some third party, like a club, syndicate or individual. The lease is essentially a “super-permit” allowing the leasee to access that fishing usually for a fixed term, like a year, sometimes longer. The person holding the lease, or owning the land is termed the riparian rights holder.

Fishing for wild Brown Trout if you don’t have permission in most cases puts you in breach of civil law and you are obliged to leave when asked by the rights holder. If you do not, they might call the Police but all they can do is escort you off the ground and perhaps confiscate your equipment.

If you continually flout the rules, then the rights owner can take out an injunction in the civil courts and if you continue to breach the law you could be sued through the courts. To be clear, where it is wild Brown Trout in the water, catching the fish aren’t the problem they belong to no one, it is the physical access equipped to fish that is the issue.
Where a water is stocked by an individual, club or other entity, you are breaking the criminal law to fish without written permission as poaching those fish is essentially theft, and the Police can arrest you and confiscate your gear.

Most reservoirs that hold fish are stocked in some way, though many will still have some wild fish in too, but in essence, you are poaching, if found to be fishing without written permission. 

Crown Protection Orders

Finally, there are waters covered by a Crown Protection Order. There are a number of “catchments” in Scotland covered by these, typically these refer to the main stem of a river and the tributaries that feed into them. The River Clyde is a good example of this. Under no circumstances can you fish such water without first having written permission.

As an aside; there was a time -mostly long since passed now, on some rivers that you started fishing and when the bailiff turned up as long as you paid for the ticket from him you were fine. Not the case on water under a CPO, you MUST have the permit before you even approach the water equipped to fish. You can be arrested if found to be fishing without permission, even if you were fishing for wild Brown Trout and could prove it.

It’s generally good to ask

In a nutshell you should always seek out and obtain written permission. On wild burns and remote waters, often it is merely the act of asking and getting an email or handwritten note that will cover you, it may not cost you anything. Many rights owners are delighted you considered their position and are happy to permit you. Some simply blanket say no as well and some might sell you, at modest cost, a permit. But it is always wise to make the effort to find out the owner. S o having waffled on about fishing rights in Scotland what is this article about? It’s about the cases where there is definitely fishing taking place, but the holder of the rights are very secretive about either who they are or how you might gain permission to fish. Some of this might be because they simply want as little publicity about their fishing water as possible, ie, out of sight is out of mind, some might be down to “exclusivity”, the owners value the private rights to fish to the extent that you need to be part of a private “in” group, and some are just control freaks and dare I say it, some can be fairly unpleasant people to even approach never mind gain consent from even when money is offered.

Secret Waters

The waters in this article are known to the author in as much as I know where they are, and that fishing takes place, but trying to get more information or even get the opportunity to wet a line at the venues has so far eluded me. If you have knowledge of any of the waters and know who to contact to get permission to fish them, let me know ( use the contact form on the site here). I am happy to keep that information private if it is requested. If it sounds like I might be contradicting myself by saying I will respect privacy but then have an article on the waters, that’s because most of what I do know is already in the public domain anyway, a quick Google search will turn up much of the information here though it might be spread across several websites or sources.

So with no further ado, on with the exploration of “Secret” waters.

Loch Walton

How much do I want to fish Loch Walton…… I can barely tell you, it is a lovely looking loch nestled in the glen between Carron Valley Reservoir and the village of Fintry. On an OS map it is labelled as Walton Reservoir so I guess it must be or have been a public water supply at some point (maybe it still is) but it does look pretty natural. It is not easy to get terribly close to it though as it is fairly well fenced off and I understand is patrolled by some sort of security on a regular basis ( so I hear anyway). So someone wants to keep this water very much to themselves. I only know one person who has ever fished it, and they ( a Policeman) was invited by a member of the syndicate or club/group to fish it. As far as I know the group is something to do with the Glasgow Legal Profession. That might be totally inaccurate or have some basis in fact. As my son is kind of part of that particular professional body now, he is under instructions to never pass up any offer he ever hears of getting access to the loch. As far as I know it is stocked with Brown Trout and on the one occasion I approached it to do some photography there were plenty fish moving.

Loch Walton sunset

Earlsburn Number 2 Reservoir

If you venture into the back of the Touch /Gargunnock Hills ( I have seen this area described as the Campsies in some places but as far as I am aware the Campsies are further south and west), Earls Hill is at the back of the Touch Hills and probably more so part of the Gargunnock Hills by my reckoning. The two reservoirs between Earls Hill and Hart Hill  are bigger than I imagined . The first you come to, after a good 20 minute hike in along the track that follows the top end of the Earls Burn, is Earlsburn Number 2. There is definitely some sort of fishing syndicate ensconced here and a sign says no fishing. They have a number of boats and it looks like quite a well organised arrangement with a nice cabin but there is no information on who the people are that have the water, all I have heard in the past is it is a syndicate of some sort. It is quite high and will certainly be very affected by the weather at any time of year, but it looks a great Brown Trout water with wild looking wind lanes and lots of wee corners and islands to search for fish around. I will also mention there is a house right on the banks so any visits to the water will not go unnoticed.

Earlsburn Number 1 Reservoir

Directly behind  Earlsburn Number 2 is Earlsburn Number 1 and it is a very similar looking though maybe a longer a water than the rounder looking number 2 There is a cabin that looks like an old freight wagon off the railways and a number of boats and a sign that once again denies you fishing but does say Earlsburn Angling Club. Who EAC are exactly I have no idea but I assume it is a casual name for another private syndicate, but beyond that, I have no idea who they are or how you might be allowed to fish here.

Earlsburn AC No Fishing
Looking over Earlsburn number 2
Earlsburn number 2
Earlsburn Number 1 reservoir

Touch Hills Reservoir Number 4

Part of a complex of connected reservoirs, Number four sits quite far back on the hill behind  Reservoirs number 1 and 2. ( No, I have no idea if or where there is a number 3!). I do know the ground belongs to the Touch Estate and the Estate would be your first point of contact if looking to fish up here. To the best of my knowledge the Number 1 and 2 reservoirs now house some sort of hydro electric generating system run by the estate so the water levels are apt to fluctuate a lot. However, Number 4 to the best of my knowledge is or was fished by another syndicate. I heard at one time it held Rainbow Trout but no idea if it is still a syndicate water and if it is still stocked or who to approach regarding fishing. I did notice in a walk up the hill in 2019 that the water was very low and there was a boat left high and dry by the receding waters on the southern bank.  It is a fairly stiff walk to get here and would take you 30-40 minutes on foot, in a suitable vehicle you could drive the track but you need keys for the gates.

Touch Hills Number 4 Reservoir

 Loch Laggan, Kippen

This Loch Laggan ( not to be confused perhaps with its better known namesake up north) is in the vicinity of Kippen I know practically nothing about this water, though from the distance it looks to be a nice oval shaped loch  surrounded in the most part by trees. It is run as far as I am aware by the Loch Laggan Fly Fishing Club who I believe operate out of Kippen so maybe not “that” secret but beyond this name, I know nothing about them or how to get in touch with them. There is a little information in the Kippen Community newsletter, here, it mentions some details of the water and in this article mentions the name of the club treasurer and that the club has a healthy waiting list to join. So maybe its a well kept local secret. Funnily enough I live minutes from this water and have never been near it! The first article mentions it is a members only water and there are no day tickets sold. It does sound like they allow guests to fish with a member….. anyone know a member? 

Loch Kameron :FMAC

This one has some very poorly updated information about who has the fishing but they have never replied to my enquiries. It’s a lovely looking wee water just along the road, to the west of Loch Laggan (see above), near Kippen and Arnprior. The once I visited to do a bit photography, there were no anglers on the water which was a shame as it was boiling with fish and the sport looked like it would be epic with a wee sedge on, near the margins. To the best of my knowledge it’s operated by Falkirk Municipal Angling Club but their website is very 1990’s in style and offers little information other than rules, and they don’t respond to the contact form. I do notice they have a members only group on Facebook too. It sounds like they have a rota’d allocation for fishing, ie you are designated a number of dates and times and it’s use it or lose it. Also they appear to have a poaching patrol schedule so if you are a member you perhaps have to participate perhaps in this or possibly you get some boating rights for participating, something along those lines. Being where it is, I imagine it does get poached a fair bit as it is fairly off the beaten track but easy to access in a vehicle.

FMAC Loch at Arnprior