The Association of Scottish Stillwater Fisheries

LOCH LEVEN FISHERIES
Loch Leven, Fife & Kinross, KY13 7WF

Loch Leven Fishery

The Fishery.

Loch Leven has been renowned as a brown trout fishery for well over a hundred years. It has been known for it's unique strain of brown trout, salmo levensis, which has been used to stock rivers, lakes and lochs not only in this country, but also all over the world.
The loch is some 3,500 acres of predominantly shallow water with an average depth of about 12 feet, making it an ideal water for fishing. The Loch Leven trout is fast growing with a pink flesh, similar to a sea trout, and is known for it's fighting qualities.

Stocking

In the middle of the last century the average catch was about 40,000 per anum at a weight of just under a pound. The numbers caught have fallen over recent seasons, while the weight is now almost 1½ pounds. Quality and the sport they give have remained.
To counter the reduction in the catches of loch leven trout, a programme of stocking with a limited number of high quality Rainbow trout has been introduced. These fish are reared from the egg in our own fish farm and released into the loch at about 1½ lbs. This has proved a success due to the high quality of these fish and their fighting reputation. The fish farm also strips eggs from our own Loch Leven Trout and rears them in considerable numbers for release back into the loch, as well as seeding the feeder streams with surplus ova and first fed fry. About 150,000-200,000 of the loch leven offspring are released into the loch each year.

Facilities.

Fishing on the loch is under the management of Loch Leven Fisheries, which has a well-maintained fleet of 50 18-foot clinker built boats with outboard motors. These operate from a main pier at the southwest corner of the loch, where facilities include a large lounge, bar, toilets and changing rooms. There is also a big shed for weighing in the catches and ample parking. These facilities have recently had a major investment thanks to grants from Sports Scotland, The Lottery and The Scottish Angler's National Association, who, along with Loch Leven Fisheries, have combined to create an angling centre, to be known as The National Angling Academy. SANA provide special boats for disabled anglers and will run tuition courses to introduce people to the sport of angling.

Permit costs & bookings.

Day tickets: (8 hours)

3 fish bag	£tbc
4 fish bag	£tbc
OAP (2 fish)	£tbc
Catch & Release	£tbc

½Day / Evening ticket (4Hrs)
2 fish bag	£tbc

All fishing on the loch is "fly only" and must be from one of the fishery's boats as there is no bank fishing
Apart from fishing, Loch Leven is also famous for it's position as one of Europe's most important wetland sites with great numbers and variety of breeding wildfowl and as a roost for up to 20,000 pinkfoot geese in the spring and autumn.
For those interested in history, there are the remains of the old Priory of St Serfs on one of the islands and, of course, Loch Leven Castle, famous as the last prison in Scotland of Mary Queen of Scots. It was from here that she escaped to England to eventually be beheaded by her cousin Elizabeth, Queen of England.
Loch Leven, therefore, has much to offer, particularly to the ANGLER.

How to get Here.