Without fish there would be no fishing so they’re pretty important. Below are some of the fish commonly fished for when fly fishing in the Scottish Borders and Northern England.

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)
European Grayling (Thymallus thymallus)
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Sea Trout (Salmo trutta)

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) The Salmon is Scotland’s most famous, and largest, wild river fish and anglers come from all over the world to fish for salmon in Scotland’s rivers. Salmon start off their lives in rivers before heading out to sea. Here they achieve a large size growing quickly on the rich pickings available. Salmon return to rivers to spawn as adults. Anglers try to catch them when they’ve just returned to the river from the sea. Salmon don’t feed when they return to rivers and it is thought that they take anglers’ flies out of aggression, instinct or curiosity, although the real answer is uncertain.

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Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) Brown Trout and SeaTrout are actually same species of fish that can either stay in fresh water (Brown Trout) or go to sea (Sea Trout). Scotland is famous for its wild Brown Trout, which are one of its most common wild fishes. They can be found in all types of water from lochs of all sizes to large rivers and tiny burns. As they spend their lives in freshwater Brown Trout are generally smaller than Salmon, Sea Trout or even farm reared Rainbow Trout, but still well worth fishing for as they fight really hard and are great fun to catch.

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European Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) Grayling are mostly river fish but are not native to Scotland or Northern England. They were introduced to many rivers, in the 19th century and are now spread throughout many of our larger rivers. In recent times they are becoming more and more popular with anglers. Grayling feed mostly right on the bottom of rivers so heavy weighted flies and special fly fishing methods are often needed to catch them.

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Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Rainbow Trout originate from North America and have been brought over to Britain for a number of reasons, including angling. They can’t live in the wild in most places in Britain so are reared in fish farms before being released for anglers to catch. Rainbow Trout are often kept away from places with wild Brown Trout, as they can compete with the Brown Trout for space and food. Rainbow Trout are an excellent fish to fish for if you are a beginner. Because they are reared in farms they can be introduced into small stillwaters in high numbers and at a larger size that would normally be present, making them often easier to catch.

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Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) As was mentioned above Sea Trout and Brown Trout are in fact the same species of fish that can stay in fresh water (Brown Trout) or go to sea (Sea Trout). Like Salmon, Sea Trout start off their lives in rivers before heading out to sea. Here they achieve a large size before returning to rivers as adults. Sea Trout and Salmon can look very similar when they first enter rivers from the sea and even some experienced anglers struggle to tell them apart. Sea Trout can be amongst the hardest fish to catch in most rivers.