River Conon

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Check out our new website dedicated to the River Conon - CononFishing.com


The River Conon is Ross-shire’s premier salmon and sea-trout river with a catchment area of over 400 square miles and a number of tributaries including the Orrin, Blackwater, Meig and Bran. Transformed by a major hydro-electric scheme in the 1950’s, today the most productive salmon fishing is in the main river from below Loch Achonachie to the Cromarty Firth, and in the Blackwater tributary. Average annual rod catches for the Conon system are over 1200 salmon & grilse per year of which about two thirds are caught in the main river below the junction with the Blackwater.


Ownership and control of the fishings is fragmented, with the best fishing in the main river largely private and syndicated, the most famous being the ‘Conon Syndicate’ which fishes the Upper, Middle and Lower Brahan beats. The map above shows the different fishings on the Conon and Blackwater as we understand them to be currently, but we do not guarantee the accuracy of this, and the boundaries between the fishings are indicative only.

Occasionally we are able to acquire salmon fishing on some of the private waters, but there is also some excellent fishing under the control of local angling clubs, and day tickets are freely available.

Check out our River Conon Spring Salmon Short Breaks

Through the Dingwall and District Angling Club we can arrange salmon and sea trout day tickets on the estuary beat of the River Conon. The estuary beat extends for approximately 4km from Conon Bridge down to the Cromarty Firth. The beat is entirely tidal and is best fished in the hours either side of low tide, when access is much easier. The pools immediately below Conon Bridge are the most productive for salmon & grilse and sea trout. In the 2004 season 119 salmon & grilse were caught on the club waters.

The lower beat below the New Bridge on the Maryburgh-Tore Road is largely a sea trout & finnock beat. Combine a low tide with darkening hours in the summer months, and you have the perfect conditions for catching sea trout.

Salmon and sea trout catches peak between June and August, but because the beats are tidal, the fishings benefit from sea trout and finnock being present from April through to September.

Despite the diminishing returns for sea trout around most of Scotland, the angling club beat still produces large numbers of sea trout each year with 321 sea trout and 254 finnock caught in 2002. These figures exclude finnock of 12" (30.5cm) or less.

We can also arrange salmon fishing on the Upper Blackwater and Upper Conon through the Loch Achonachie Angling Club. The Upper Blackwater is the most productive of these and fishes best from mid-July through to the end of the season on September 30th. In 2005, the catch returns were 46 salmon & grilse for the Upper Blackwater, and 10 for the Upper Conon.

River Conon Salmon Conservation Policy

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