Inverness anglers prepare to celebrate start of salmon fishing season 2025 on River Ness in Highlands

Anglers are preparing to gather in Inverness with a sense of renewed optimism as they mark the start of the salmon fishing season on the River Ness.

The first cast will be made tomorrow in a traditional ceremony at the Inverness Angling Club’s beat near the James Pringle Weavers Holm Mills.

Members will be piped to the river where honorary member George Skinner will have the honour of the first cast.

The ceremony also includes the dispensing of a quaich of whisky into the water.

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The six-mile long River Ness, which starts its journey at Dochfour weir and flows into the Moray Firth, has a strict policy of releasing the fish back into the water after being caught.

Although February 1 marks the opening of the season on the River Ness, the upper catchment fisheries of the Ness open on January 15.

Brian Shaw, director of the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board said that the total catch of salmon and grilse from the Ness catchment in 2024 was 662 - more than 50 per cent greater than the previous year although still well below historic averages.

“The early spring fishing in 2024 was arguably the best part of the season, and there are reasons for optimism that 2025 will be similar,” he said.

“January fish are rare nowadays so it is very pleasing to be able to report that the first fish of the season, and the second in Scotland this year, was caught by Ronnie Fraser on the River Moriston on January 20.”

Mr Shaw also made reference to the board’s campaign, calling for an immediate moratorium on the further development of pump storage hydro schemes on Loch Ness.

Fears have been raised that dramatic fluctuations in the level of the loch due to hydro power "industrialisation" could spell disaster on the Ness’s wild salmon population.

“The Opening Day is always a time of renewed optimism,” Mr Shaw said.

“After a close season, which for many, was spent trying to protect the Ness from a range of harmful developments, it is great to be back out on the river bank, or loch, in search of that elusive spring salmon.”

In January 2022, the Scottish Government published its Scottish wild salmon strategy, setting out a vision, objectives and priority themes to ensure the protection and recovery of Scottish Atlantic wild salmon populations.

The influential International Union for Conservation of Nature has reclassified Atlantic salmon in Scotland as endangered.

Tomorrow’s opening day ceremony, which begins at 10am, is sponsored by Neil Souter, of James Pringle Weavers.

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