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Sea Trout Fishing in Scotland River Border Esk
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O.S. Map 79, 85
The Border Esk is formed by
the meeting of the Black Esk and White Esk near Bailiehill. On its
way to Langholm, the Border Esk is joined by tributaries Meggat
Water, Ewes and Wauchope and, just downstream of Langholm, by the Tarras Water. Just below Canonbie, the Esk is joined by its major
tributary, the Liddle, a good salmon and sea trout river in its own
right. At Scotsdyke, the Esk, hitherto a Scottish river, enters
England and flows on past Longtown to meet the Solway Firth near
Gretna. Renowned as one of the best sea trout rivers in the country,
the Border Esk also has a good run of salmon through the latter part
of the season.
To view a larger scale map of a particular
section of the Border Esk, click on a selected area of the map below. |
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River Border Esk - Fishing Map
click on map to select an area to
enlarge
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The maps on this website have been
reproduced with the permission of Collins Bartholomew.
Please note that these maps may date back several decades.
Much of the human detail will have changed but the character of the rivers and
lochs, and the trout and salmon in them, will be much the same as they have
always been.
In addition to the information provided
here, I would recommend that anyone planning a fishing or
walking trip in Scotland should equip themselves with a compass
and the appropriate Ordnance Survey map. The most useful of the
O.S. maps for the fisherman is the Landranger series, scale
1:50,000. For each of the lochs and rivers listed here, I have given the
relevant O.S. Map number. |
Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing on the Border Esk
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The
Border Esk is one of the best sea trout rivers in southern Scotland.
Much of the available fishing on the Border Esk and Liddle (known as the
Esk and Liddle Fisheries), extending to some twenty miles, is owned by
the Buccleuch Estates and managed by Buccleuch Sportings Limited, with
much of the fishing available to both local and visiting anglers on a
day, weekly or season permit. Best known for its sea trout, the River
Esk also has a decent run of salmon in the second half of the season.
The Esk and Liddle Fisheries beats include some of the best fly fishing
water on the middle Esk and the middle and lower Liddle. At one time the
Esk and Liddle fishery beats might produce around 5000 sea trout in a
season, many of them taken on the night fly during the short summer
nights of June and July, with the added bonus, towards the end of the
season, of up to 500 salmon. For reasons that are not clear, catches of
sea trout on the Border Esk, like those of other Solway rivers, have
declined in recent seasons, with the Buccleuch Estate beats now
producing somewhere between 500 and 1000 sea trout per season and around
200 salmon. Given the right conditions, though, June and
July can still provide some excellent night fishing. Permits are
available from the head bailiff, Iain Bell at Buccleuch Sportings,
Ewesbank, Langholm and various other local outlets. See the
Esk and
Liddle website for
more information. It is perhaps worth
noting here the ongoing controversy over the recent attempts by the
English Environment Agency to impose an English rod licence on anglers
fishing the Scottish beats of the Border Esk. In protest at this wholly
inappropriate, and legally questionable, action by the Environment
Agency, many Esk fishers, to their credit, are refusing to take permits
on the river, much to the detriment of the river and the local economy.
It is to be hoped that a reasonable compromise can be reached on the
matter and that normality might soon be restored to this lovely river. |
Angling Clubs and Associations
Esk and Liddle Fisheries Association
See
website
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