Description
River Orchy, one of the best salmon Rivers in Argyll
The River Orchy rises in the Black Mountain Forest and flows through Loch Tulla. The river then flows south from the loch for about 11 miles to enter Loch Awe. For the most part it’s a steep drop between the two lochs, which create a good flow on the Orchy, in other words a recipe for superb fly water.
The Orchy is undoubtedly one of the most scenic rivers on the West Coast of Scotland. It’s one of those waters that spending a day offers adventure and opportunity and takes you ever closer to nature.
There are a huge variety of salmon pools, with many interesting features. Fishing starts to pick up in May and perhaps the best fishing is in June, July, August and September. The river, like all spate rivers, relies on a good flow, to bring the migrating salmon up from the loch.
We fish this river with guests from Loch Lomond and its a scenic drive through some spectacular landscapes to get there. There are no fishing huts, so this is a wild experience, in October you can hear Stags roaring on top of the hills as the mist rises from the water.
Waders and Fishing Tackle for the River Orchy
Over the last 15 years, we have invested in the best fishing tackle and waders. We will provide you with a 13ft or 14ft Scott Mackenzie or Orvis Mission double hand Spey rod, matched with a selection of lines.
If you prefer a short head Scandi line, we would recommend the Rio Scandi verse-tip and depending on water levels, we have a huge variety of sink tips. All our salmon flies are hand tied by our guides and highly effective on this river. Usually 10lb – 15lb Maxima Chameleon is the ideal tippet, as the colour matches the peat stained water perfectly.
Good wading, safe and easy access in places
There is good access to the river and depending on your physical ability, there are plenty of pools to choose from. Some are right beside the road. Generally as a rule of thumb, we only wade, where it is absolutely safe to do so. Some of the pools offers perfect shallow gravel for safe wading.
If the river should go into spate and become un-fishable, then there is the option to switch to a day trout or pike fishing on Loch Awe.
This is a huge loch, over 25 miles long. Its current home to the UK record brown trout, caught in 2002, and weighing in at 31lb 11oz. This huge brown trout was caught early in the season (most big fish are) on a trolled dead bait.
