Fionn Loch

Absolutely brilliant! Went and visited Peter to get the permits sorted then myself and a friend headed up for some camping and boat fishing. First day I caught 11 and he had 2, second day was 20 for me and 10 for him with many others missed/lost including a Char hooked right into the boat by my friend that shook the hook as it was being brought up. Seen it though, nice and pink, chubby looking fish, took a pennell/zulu cross after it had been left to sink then retrieved. No fish bigger than the pound but plenty sport and great fun and memories made in front of Suilven. Lost a landing net in the water off the boat though, so if you end up fishing the far bank opposite the boat with a sinking line, you may hook yourself a prize! Flies used and accepted readily were Pennell/Zulu wet, Sedges (deer hair, daddy long legs and a yellow/red winged one) Bibio, Soldier Palmer, Mayfly emerger and as it was getting dark I used a white minnow wet fly which landed one and had three offers. Surprisingly small fish showing hard carnivorous tendencies up here! We have found our anglers paradise and will most definitely be back!

David & Adam.

I fished here for the first time in 1980.Back then you could pitch a tent on the grassy bank of the Kirkaig by the road. Permission from the now derelict bothy downstream,I think the price was £1 a day.
Returned every year till about 1988.The fishing on Fionn was always great,baskets of 12 or more.The best was in April 1984.27 trout.
Sorry to say,the big fish I caught that year was spinning with an old Quill Minnow.A lovely cock fish at about 6 lbs,which was returned.
I returned again in 2014 and found that the only thing changed in appearance was me,all exactly as it was,including the fishing.
I was back last year and hopefully returning again in June,while I'm still fit for the walk.
Past 2 years I have used the boat with its mercurial engine.Interesting.
Any traditional patterns work well here but Muddlers/Sedges seem to get the bigger fish.

Thanks to Peter at Lochinver for all his time and dedication.

I visit Assynt for a week or so every June and I always have a day on Fionn. The day I visited in 2014 the conditions were pretty good, with the wind blowing from the south. I fished along the south shore and caught maybe a dozen trout, average about 6-8oz. I also took my second-ever char. I find the fish here aren't too fussy about which flies you use. An absolutely beautiful place!

A group of us hiked up the river. We were planning on going to Kirkaig Falls but I wanted to fish. Conditions were very wet and soggy. Beautiful hike. Only had time to fish the area where the water just leaves the Loch. Water was high from recent rains. All the grasses on the banks were under water. Caught 6 beautiful small browns. Lost two. Did this in just over an hour. They were not hitting hard so I missed a few strikes. Caught the last 4 where the Loch water starts to move and becomes the river. I was the only one fishing. We didn't have time to see the falls but it was a very enjoyable day to be out and getting a chance to fish.

I walked up the Kirkaig to the Fionn Loch, on a bright day. The views are magnificent. The water at the near (west) end is rather shallow for a fair distance out, and combined with the bright conditions, I found that the trout were lying just at my casting limits from the bank. I hooked and safely returned three modest sized trout, but I’m sure that I would have had a lot more action if I had taken my waders (or used a boat).
Posted on behalf of HD

I visited this breathtakingly beautiful loch 5th-6th of July 2012, taking a one-man tent and camping overnight. There is a perfect spot on the south-western shore close to the place the boat lies. The two days I was there the conditions were not ideal for bank fishing, with a half-gale easterly the first day and variable airs/flat calms the second. Nonetheless I caught a great many trout, averaging perhaps 8 oz, the biggest about a pound. All were returned. I fished dry fly mainly; Claret Half-hog, Bibio, Grey Duster, Adams, Claret Hopper. All were enthusiastically accepted, but especially the first-named. In the flat calms I saw some very large trout head-and-tailing beyond casting range! Waders would have helped me fish parts of the north-eastern shore, but there are plenty of places where they are unnecessary on this loch. Two boat anglers were there the first day and had fish to 2.5 lbs, and next time I visit I will book the boat too.

lost two hard fighting fish here on the western side, but great hike up past the falls and a great view of suilven. An older gentleman fishing the middle and east side said he'd caught 8 small fish that day- all went back.

Fished this lovely loch with my two sons 31st May 2010. Abright sunny afternoon though there was a good breeze which gave a good wave by evening. we did not give ourselves sufficient time to do it justice. However caught lots of fish (all returned) mainly around the 8oz mark and my son caught a small arctic char about 4-6 oz .A beautiful place . Watched the deer swim across the loch quite close to us .Fished mainly with bushy bob and any small winged fly on the point. I plan to fish this loch again wnd spend more time there.

A wonderful autumnal walk to Fionn Loch via Achins bookshop and Kirkaig Falls, followed by a couple of hours' fishing around the south-west corner of the loch in obediance to the storm-force winds.

The imposing presence of Suilven across the water proved so distracting that I missed several takes, but finished the afternoon with a tally of 4 brown trout between 9" and 11", all caught and released on a black-hackled red tag or reddish Wyatt-pattern deer hair sedge. Next time, in summer weather, I'll be tempted to bring a tent and make an overnight of it!

Theo