Tight Lines!!!

The rivers, lochs and burns of Perthshire abound with salmon, trout and other fish species.  The River Ericht, which flows through Blairgowrie and Rattray is well known as a river which offers salmon and trout fishing and permits to fish may be purchased locally.

The Blairgowrie Angling Club was formed on 23 March 1840 and the Blairgowrie, Rattray and District Angling Association was founded in 1924.

The history of angling in the area is detailed by none other than the  late Sir William Macpherson in Margaret Laing's book 'A Social History of Blairgowrie and Rattray'.

John A.R. Macdonald gives a full account of angling on the River Ericht and other local rivers and lochs in his book 'The History of Blairgowrie (Town, Parish and District)'.

The brown trout season runs from mid-March to the end of September, and, as a general rule, the salmon fishing season begins in mid-January and ends in late-October.

It should be noted that it is illegal to fish for salmon on a Sunday in Scotland.

Each year on many Scottish rivers a special ceremony marks the opening of the new salmon fishing season.  A procession to the river is led by a piper or pipe band.  The traditional blessing of the river is then performed when a quaich (a shallow two-handled drinking cup) of whisky is poured into the waters before the first cast is made.

Since 7 October 1922 the record for the largest rod-caught salmon has been held by Perthshire, when Georgina Ballantine landed a 64lb (29kg) salmon on the Glendelvine beat on the River Tay.  A plaster cast was made of the salmon and a fibreglass replica of the cast is displayed in Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

The photograph on the left shows Willie Turner and a replica of a trout he caught in the 1990s in the River Ericht.  This trout is normally on display in Kate Fleming Fishing and Shooting Shop on Allan Street and was kindly lent to Our Heritage for our pop-up in the library.

For more information about Blairgowrie, Rattray and District Angling Association visit  http://www.brdaa.co.uk

Permits to fish local waters may be purchased from Kate Fleming, 26 Allan Street, Blairgowrie.  Tel. 01250 873990 and James Crockart & Sons, 28 Allan Street, Blairgowrie.  Tel. 01250 872056.

For the opening ceremony for the 2018 salmon fishing season on the River Tay at Kenmore, Perthshire watch

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77fpNhFzVu8

For more about Georgina Ballantine visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgina_Ballantine