Prime Association fishing on The Spey

The Abernethy and Aviemore Angling Improvement Association gives anglers access to ten miles of prime salmon and sea trout fishing on two beats of the upper middle River Spey.

The association manages the fishing on two sections of the river Spey, the Aviemore beat and the Abernethy beat, for the benefit of both local and visiting anglers. Association members have full access to both beats. Day and weekly fishing permits are also available from local outlets at reasonable rates.

Please direct enquiries to the secretary

Salmon Fishing

Around ten miles of excellent salmon and sea trout fishing on the River Spey is available to Association members and visitors, offering the best value salmon and sea trout fishing on the whole of the Spey. The association waters offer opportunities for all fishing methods on a great variety of pools throughout the fishing season, which begins on the Spey on 11th February and ends on 30th September.

A nice salmon caught on the Nethy Pool in June

The salmon can be expected to make an appearance on the Abernethy Association water of the Spey from March onwards, with the best of the early salmon fishing, for bright fresh run fish, from May to July, with the run continuing steadily to the end of the fishing season on 30th September. Recent seasons have seen a total of around 100 salmon caught on the association beats on both fly and spinner, with most salmon being returned to the river in line with Spey Fishery Board recommendations.

Sea Trout Fishing

The River Spey is without doubt one of the very best sea trout rivers in the whole of the UK and the best of the Spey sea trout fishing is to be found between Aviemore and Grantown on Spey, with the two local angling associations (the Strathspey Angling Improvement Association, based at Grantown, and the Abernethy and Aviemore Angling Improvement Association, based at Boat of Garten and Aviemore) vying over the years for top spot in the sea trout rankings.

The Abernethy Angling Association waters offer ten miles of some of the very best sea trout fishing in the country, with the best of the night fishing throughout June and July. Historically, the association waters alone might produce around 1000 sea trout in a season. In 2006, the association recorded a catch of more than 700 sea trout. Catches in recent seasons have been lower, with 155 sea trout caught in 2015. It is worth noting, however, that, in recent years, the association waters have been more lightly fished than in earlier times. The Abernethy association beats can still offer truly superb sea trout fishing. Indeed, there is a very real prospect that the sea trout fisher willing to fish through the short summer nights at Abernethy may find himself alone on a pool alive with fresh sea trout, and not another angler within a mile.

typical Spey Sea Trout

It should be noted that day permits for the Abernethy and Aviemore beats are issued for a 24 hour period starting from a specified time on issue of the permit. For example a permit starting at 12 noon will run until 12 noon the following day (excluding Sundays), so that the sea trout angler can have a whole night’s uninterrupted fishing ……. plus, if stamina permits, a bit of daylight fishing too.