Trip Planning for Summer England / Scotland / Ireland in July

Matt B said:
It was also apparently fishless water though.
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Edinburgh, yes. Exmoor, no. I caught wild browns there.

But again, I think it all depends on what you are going for like we've all been talking about. Just the adventure of wetting a line, or having a classic fishing experience. If you are looking for a bigger experience, I fully suspect you'd be getting into renting a beat for the day and perhaps finding a guide.

My point wasn't so much to say you don't need to deal with the beat system, more just that you don't necessary HAVE to. Not every single bit of water over there requires it. All depends on what your goals, budget and timeframe are.
 
dibling said:
Great call. This sounds silly, but I'm most interested in the vibes / scenery / wet lines. Would it be great to lip something in the old country? Totally. But it isn't required by any means. It will be quiet time away from the fam (don't tell them I wrote that part).
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Going overseas is quite an adventure with lots and lots of old and ancient history. IMHO truly amazing and hard to take it all in.

Since you are going over for vibes/scenery/wet lines, please do it in that order. The memories you create will be wonderful. There can always be future trips more focused on fishing and with better research under your belt.

Have a great trip!
 
Josh said:
Just to clarify, it's not ALL private fishing in the UK. But it sure seems like a significant majority is. Especially the more famous water.

That said, the water in Edinburgh and the water in Exmoor that I fished both only required a permit that was either free or cost a couple bucks. I didn't have to deal with private landowners or reserve a section of water. I picked up one at a fly shop and the other at the local tourism office. Neither took more than 5 minutes. Was easier than dealing with getting a WDFW license by far.
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Fishing for trout and salmon is managed differently to fishing for “coarse” fish, and if it’s any good, it’s private. Having said that, it is an income source for the rights holder, so they are usually keen to sell it, and there are usually easy systems in place. The local fishing shop will usually be the best resource for the local water.

July and August are not peak time for salmon, so you will easily be able to find something if you really want to feel what it’s like to get skunked on a Scottish salmon river. For the river Tweed (nearest famous salmon river to Edinburgh) look here: https://www.tweedbeats.com/

Dave Westburg said:
. Portree angling controls access to 21 hill lochs. Am sure they'd sell you a permit.
Skye Ghillie could take you hill loch or sea trout fishing. Sea trout are like out coastal cutts only harder fighting.
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I second this advice! If I was only going to fish one day over there it would be a nice walk to a hill loch.
 
Chucker said:
Fishing for trout and salmon is managed differently to fishing for “coarse” fish, and if it’s any good, it’s private. Having said that, it is an income source for the rights holder, so they are usually keen to sell it, and there are usually easy systems in place. The local fishing shop will usually be the best resource for the local water.

July and August are not peak time for salmon, so you will easily be able to find something if you really want to feel what it’s like to get skunked on a Scottish salmon river. For the river Tweed (nearest famous salmon river to Edinburgh) look here: https://www.tweedbeats.com/

I second this advice! If I was only going to fish one day over there it would be a nice walk to a hill loch.
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I was wondering about the salmon bit since I saw it was an option. Are run timings similar to here in that it ramps up into Fall? And lol @ experience of getting skunked.
 
Unless things have changed in recent years, I'd disagree with the comments re: cost in Ireland. Half a day salmon fishing, all gear and beat rentals, etc. was well below the price you'd pay for a half day with a steelhead guide out here. Fishing the lakes was even cheaper.

Of course, Scotland and other N. European countries are a different $$ game altogether.
 
dibling said:
I was wondering about the salmon bit since I saw it was an option. Are run timings similar to here in that it ramps up into Fall? And lol @ experience of getting skunked.
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Similar. At least for the Tweed, the fish move in really slowly from late July onwards, so if you are fishing then you want to fish as low in the system as possible. That means that you need to pay attention to tides as well as water levels etc.
 
Are you driving from the Bath area up to Scotland? If so, you'll go right through the Lakes District. We are headed to UK this May. I thought I might try fishing, but sadly, it's just not going to work. However, I did some research on the Lakes District area. There's a very active sporting goods store in Penrith, a town right on the M6 headed north- https://www.johnnorris.co.uk/ The Lakes District is just to the west of M6.

If I remember correctly, there are some good DIY opportunities in the park. And it's beautiful. I remember one place had very affordable boat rentals.

Have fun!
 
While in Ireland on my honeymoon in early June 2017, my wife told me I should go fishing. I ended up on the Ballynahinch River through the Ballynahinch Castle for a half day guided trip for trout. The guide I met up with put me on some small wild browns, it was a bit early for the sea trout. It turned into one of the most memorable fishing experiences of my life so far. After lunch he set me off on a beat by myself to mess with some browns while he ran into town to wash windows for his other job, but promised to come back so he could show me some more spots in the afternoon. I hadn't planned and didn't pay for the salmon fishing or a full day, but that afternoon I rose a salmon on the trout fly and he had me change gear and I managed to hook and land one salmon, and missed one more. Looking at the rates now, it is about 40 euros more than I paid in 2017 but still reasonable.

Also, nice to see that they've switched to catch and release only. This fish got the rock shampoo and went home with my ghillie. No arguing from me at the time, as I hadn't paid what at that time was an extra fee for salmon fishing, plus we ended up out there for a full day rather than the half day I paid for.

Guided Fishing Ireland Prices | Ballynahinch Castle…

Explore Ballynahinch's fly fishing rates: tutorials from €230, guided trips from €230, & self-guided from €140. Fish for salmon, sea trout & brown...
www.ballynahinch-castle.com www.ballynahinch-castle.com

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I was in Scotland last Sept. and the midges were daunting when the conditions were still. I brought picaridin repellent which worked but wished I had brought our headnets also.
 
ffb said:
While in Ireland on my honeymoon in early June 2017, my wife told me I should go fishing. I ended up on the Ballynahinch River through the Ballynahinch Castle for a half day guided trip for trout. The guide I met up with put me on some small wild browns, it was a bit early for the sea trout. It turned into one of the most memorable fishing experiences of my life so far. After lunch he set me off on a beat by myself to mess with some browns while he ran into town to wash windows for his other job, but promised to come back so he could show me some more spots in the afternoon. I hadn't planned and didn't pay for the salmon fishing or a full day, but that afternoon I rose a salmon on the trout fly and he had me change gear and I managed to hook and land one salmon, and missed one more. Looking at the rates now, it is about 40 euros more than I paid in 2017 but still reasonable.

Also, nice to see that they've switched to catch and release only. This fish got the rock shampoo and went home with my ghillie. No arguing from me at the time, as I hadn't paid what at that time was an extra fee for salmon fishing, plus we ended up out there for a full day rather than the half day I paid for.

Guided Fishing Ireland Prices | Ballynahinch Castle…

Explore Ballynahinch's fly fishing rates: tutorials from €230, guided trips from €230, & self-guided from €140. Fish for salmon, sea trout & brown...
www.ballynahinch-castle.com www.ballynahinch-castle.com
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Back when I was young and broke, I used to do that deliberately - I caught a lot of salmon and sea trout whilst pretending to be fishing for trout, and only having a cheap trout permit. As long as you used a fairly light single handed rod, a small fly and reasonably light leader, and released the fish, you could get away with it. As that’s the perfect setup for summer salmon, it was great. Given how much the salmon over there have declined since then, I don’t think anyone is getting away with it now!
 
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skyriver said:
Are you driving from the Bath area up to Scotland? If so, you'll go right through the Lakes District. We are headed to UK this May. I thought I might try fishing, but sadly, it's just not going to work. However, I did some research on the Lakes District area. There's a very active sporting goods store in Penrith, a town right on the M6 headed north- https://www.johnnorris.co.uk/ The Lakes District is just to the west of M6.

If I remember correctly, there are some good DIY opportunities in the park. And it's beautiful. I remember one place had very affordable boat rentals.

Have fun!
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Oh man, we're training up unfortunately!
 
I've been researching spots for a few months now since I will also be in Europe for some time in the fall. If I was in Copenhagen, I would check out the island Fyn (Funen). Great coastal Sea Trout fishing from everyone I've talked to and very approachable for a DIY angler especially if you are used to fishing SRC in Puget Sound.
 
Make sure you always know where the MAIN RESTAURANTS are!! I always know where a restaurant is. Usually on the main row there with all the other restaurants.
 
Narrow roads, blind curves, with big trucks coming the opposite way?! I would do it again in a heartbeat, hopefully sooner than later.

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My suggestion on your Ireland itinerary would be to spend as much time as possible out in the country away from Dublin. Nothing wrong with Dublin per say, but our trip and experiences around the coast through the rest of the country overshadowed the big city by a long shot. Dingle is a great choice, it was one of our favorite areas we visited.
 
The fishing and public land use laws differ drastically between the UK and Ireland. The UK is extremely strict and public water is limited. In Ireland, they arguably have freer land use laws than we do in the USA. The water isn’t private, and you can camp just about anywhere (private property included) as long as you’re a certain distance from an established structure. It also doesn’t get the same level of attention and pressure that the UK sees, and most all of those old castle moats hold big, predatory trout. If I were taking this trip, I’d probably focus most of my attention on Ireland’s streams and Scotland’s lochs.
 
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