What Fishing Tackle is best in Scotland

The Best Fishing Tackle to use in Scotland

What type of fishing tackle should you use when fishing in Scotland? Here is a list of fishing tackle we offer our guests to enjoy whilst fishing with Alba in Scotland.

At Alba Game Fishing we pride ourselves on using the highest-quality fishing tackle to help maximise your chances of success, whatever species of fish in Scotland you aim to target. We are also constantly updating tackle, upgrading and trading old gear in. In 2022 we added eight new Sage rods, and 10 new auto inflate life vests. 

Why its a good idea to leave your waders at home

It’s never a good idea to burden yourself unnecessarily and fly into Scotland with lots of tackle and waders. Firstly, waders would have to be thoroughly sterilised before wearing them in a Scottish river, for fear of introducing parasites such as Gyrodactalus Salaris. 

Secondly, we can save you the hassle of carrying extra weight, and the worry you might lose your tackle on the journey.  We provide everything you need to fish in Scotland. High quality rods, reels and a choice of Rio Fly lines for all scenarios.

Our breathable Orvis waders are comfortable and we match them with sturdy wading boots fitted with PosiGrip tungsten studs to ensure a good grip, we have them in all sizes. We also carry a stock of women’s fishing waders, including the award-winning, lightweight Orvis Waders.

The best fly rods for river fishing in Scotland

For trout and grayling we use Orvis and Sage fly rods, mainly 5 and 6 weights. We carry a range of Orvis Clearwater and Orvis Helios 2 and 3 rods, and Sage LL, Sonic and X rods, and Sage ESN rods for nymphing. Recently we added a couple of the excellent Vision Nymphmaniac rods, 11ft #2 weight. These are ideal rods to learn Euronymphing with, they also offer great reach.

For salmon fishing, we use Sage double hand Spey rods, and Scott Mackenzie switch rods. We use 11ft, 13ft switch rods for the smaller rivers, and the spate rivers on the West Coast of Scotland, like the Gruinard, River Alness, Orchy, Oykel and the Shin. For the bigger rivers, we use 14ft and 15ft double hand for large rivers such as the River Tay, River Dee, River Spey and River Tweed. All of these are matched with a selection of salmon fly lines for all conditions. Skagit, shooting head, short spey, and 65ft full spey lines are available. All the salmon flies are tied by our guides here in Scotland, and they are highly effective.

Sakura and Daiwa, spinning rods for predators and salmon

A lot of the big rivers allow spin casting, for salmon. In addition there are many predators in Scotland worth targeting.

In our opinion, the Sakura range of rods reign supreme and are ideal for targeting predators such as salmon, pike, perch and pollack. We carry a range of Sakura rods in stock and you can enjoy trying various models such and the Shinjin, Trinis and Shukan. 

For large salmon rivers like the Tay and the River Tweed, we use 10ft and 11ft Daiwa whisker spinning rods, these rods are idea for controlling big fish in big water. We also use these rods when shore fishing in the sea for large Pollack.

Alba Game fishing Trout Rivers best fishing tackle for dry fly

Best nymphing tackle for Scotland’s Trout & Grayling Rivers

• Rod: Sage ESN 10ft 2 weight Nymphing rod
• Reel: Sage ESN reel
• Line 1: Mastery Nymph line
• Line 2: Orvis Hydros Nymph line
• Add’l Leaders: Rio Two Tone Indicator Tippet
• Tippet 1: Fulling Mill Masterclass Fluorocarbon
• Additional tippet Rio Powerflex
• Nymphs tied by Davie McPhail and Cuillin Rae

Ideal salmon fishing tackle for big 4 rivers and Scottish spate rivers

Ideal salmon fishing tackle for smaller spate rivers (eg, Rivers Shin, Alness, Cassley, Luce, Gruinard and Avon)

We carry stock of a wide range of waders and boots in various sizes for men and women. 

Orvis Sonic and Access waders are breathable and comfortable and we carry Redington waders. 

We also have men and women boots in all sizes up to size 15 US. Our boots are mainly Orvis and with some Vision boots, all with Vibram soles and tungsten studs. We hold over 50 Pairs of both in stock.

As well as waders and boots, we carry a large stock of Orvis wading jackets. If you need wading sticks, we can help.

Fishing Clothing for all seasons – what to wear?

Footwear

All year round, regardless of what time of year I would recommend waterproof training shoes, for boat fishing waterproof outdoor boots or waterproof outdoor boots, for bank fishing. For anything else, chest waders and boots with studs. This includes predator fishing from the sea shore, as the studs will give ultimate grip and the waders stop you getting splashed by the odd rogue wave.

Nov  – March:

Firstly I recommend wearing base payers, trousers and top. Then warm fleece trousers a long-sleeved shirt made of merino wool or thermal material like Polartec. Next a thick fleece or Patagonia nano puff jacket. You can then wear a second lightweight thermal jacket on top of this. This is why Patagonia jackets are so versatile and lightweight and don’t take up space when packing. Remember to bring a warm hat and most importantly, polarised sunglasses, for eye protection.

Alba can provide lightweight waterproof wading jackets, over trousers. Furthermore if wading, we supply breathable waders, boots and auto inflate PFD life vests.

Lastly, two pairs of socks are essential(a thin pair and thicker pair). The water is very cold and your feet need warmth. To allow for this, we go up a size in wading boots.

April – Oct:

Soft thermal under trousers are best, a long-sleeved thermal (merino wool, polartec or capilene) T-shirt, and a lightweight fleece or micro puf patagonia jacket. It pays to bring thin thermal leggings too, in case you want to layer up when wading. In April, Sept and Oct the weather can turn cool so bring extra body layers. A baseball hat and warm hat as back up and most important, polarised sunglasses.

In addition, bring extra socks too, usually a thin pair with a warm merino pair on top works best. The water is cold in April. We always go up a size when supplying wading boots to allow for this.

Alba will provide lightweight waterproof jacket, trousers and if wading we supply waders, wading jackets, wading boots and auto inflate life vests.

The Weather in Scotland

Scottish weather is totally unpredictable. This is because we are close to the sea. In fact Scotland is influenced by both Arctic weather, and the warm air from the gulf stream.This contrast. Consequently this makes for unpredictable weather, and indeed some dramatic scenery and skyscapes.

In the winter the temperature tends to hover around the 3 degrees c mark, with occasional frosts. Snow tends to only settle on the higher ground and in the mountains. We have an expression in Scotland, 4 seasons in one day and in the summer this can sometimes be the case. Its best to always have a few spare layers, and indeed an extra pair of socks!