fishing1

The Loch

Many anglers in the Inverness area regard Loch Ruthven as the Brown Trout Loch, and in truth Ruthven has a lot going for it. Few wild Trout waters come close to it's scenery or native wildlife: Osprey feed here; Slovenian Grebe are resident as are Black Throated Divers, Swans and many more. From mid May the Cuckoo can also be heard. Of more interest to anglers though - it offers one of the most prolific Mayfly hatches in Northern Scotland.

Ruthven is a fairly large Loch, about 375 acres in all. It's about 2.5 miles long and quite narrow, a sort of banana shape, narrowing in the middle. The eastern end is much more scenic, where Stac Gorm and Crag Ruthven dominate the skyline.

Because it's RSPB site is of European interest, Ruthven is Fly Fishing from boat only and the use of outboard motors, including electric is strictly prohibited.

Because the loch lies east/west, and the prevailing wind is from the west boat fishing can sometimes get a bit uncomfortable. However, when the wind is from the North or South, the loch offers plenty of shelter.

Insect Life

Ruthven is fairly shallow, with an average depth of eight to ten feet. Most of it's bed is covered with rich vegetation so it provides well for trout throughout the season. Fly life raelly gets going in April with good duckfly hatches at the western end of the loch; on milder days there will also be midge hatches. Lake Olives and Mayfly start to appear from early May, and summer evenings can mean excellent buzzer hatches. In July and August, big red Sedges skate across the surface, and daddies provide excellent end-of-season sport. Below the surface, besides the wealth of immature insects, freshwater shrimp and snails are abundant throughout the year.

The Trout

There seem to be two strains of Brownies in Ruthven: the silver type, very similar to Loch Watten/Leven fish; and the more typical native Brownie, with a golden yellow belly and dark flanks spotted black and red. Either type, Ruthven Brownies are hard fighting fish, and the average trout is of 12oz to 14oz, and a 1lb fish slips into most baskets. The Loch does hold larger fish - trout up to 3ib come of each season, but these are the exception.

The scenery on the eastern may be more dramatic, and fish are caught the length and breadth of the Loch, but despite having my own boat at the eastern end I always head for the western end. Over the years this has been the most productive area of the loch, and I fully expect fish from along the shore and in the open water. I tend to avoid the middle of the loch - the narrows - a dour bit of water at times, in fact most of the times. Later in the season, the eastern end fishes well, and then I tend to drift along the northern bank from the end of the narrows, past the burn, down to the boat moorings. This bank is known locally as the "Road Shore".

Inverness Angler Jamie Robertson with a typical Ruthven Brownie

The Flies

Patterns that work well when the Mayfly are evident are Red-Arse Green Peter, French Partridge Mayfly, Ted's Olive, Ruthven Palmer & Hairwing Invicta. Other recommended patterns worth a try throughout the season would include Kate Maclaren (standard and Muddler), Pearly Invicta, Loch Ordie, Green Tag Badger, Ruthven Muddler, Doobry, Orange Ke-He, and Hedgehogs in Claret and Olive. Peach Tailed Kate, Gerrys Kate.

Listed below are some of my own variants that have more than proved their worth on Ruthven


RED ARSED GREEN PETER MUDDLER	SOOTY AND SWEEP

GOLDEN OLIVE DABBLER MUDDLER	CLARET KATE

GERRY'S KATE	RED ARSED LIVING OLIVE HEDGEHOG

CORRIB BUZZER NO 2

Ruthven fishes well over most of it's 2.5 mile length, but favoured drifts are detailed on the map below.

Season: April 1st - 30th September