Loch Lomond cheat sheet
Every fish, the permit and the rules, the rigs and the box of tackle. One page to take to the water.
Loch Lomond
Pike and perch fish all year (winter is best for pike). Brown trout from mid-March. Salmon and sea trout 11 Feb to 31 Oct, never on a Sunday.
Permit
No Scottish rod licence, but a Protection Order water, so buy a Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association permit. Coarse / brown trout: one permit (day ~£5–£10). Salmon and sea trout: a separate game permit (day ~£20–£30). Confirm prices with the LLAIA. Sold at the Balmaha and Luss shops, the Balloch tourist office and the association.
The rules
No salmon or sea trout fishing on a Sunday. All salmon catch-and-release (poor conservation status, 2026). Fly or artificial lure only until 1 May on the game side. Do not take powan (protected).
Release / handle with care
All salmon go back; pike returned by convention (unhook in the water, wet sling); powan never taken. Wet hands, Check, Clean, Dry between waters.
Bank vs boat · season · time → rig
| Fish | From the bank | From a boat | Best time | Rig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike | Yes, the south bays, river mouths, village shores | Yes, the island bays and drop-offs | Low light; cold months feed hardest | Pike rig (lure or deadbait) |
| Perch | Yes, the main bank fish | Yes, the island margins | First and last light | Drop shot or sliding float rig |
| Brown trout | Yes, the shores and river mouths | Yes, drifting the shallows (loch-style) | Spring and early summer; dawn and dusk in heat | Wet fly / nymph or dry fly |
| Ferox brown trout | No | Yes, deep in the north | Spring and early summer | Trolling rig (book a guide) |
| Salmon (release only) | On the rivers (the Leven, Endrick) on foot | Yes, trolling the loch and the mouths | 11 Feb – 31 Oct, not Sundays; fly/lure to 1 May | Streamer / salmon fly or trolling rig |
| Sea trout | On the rivers and mouths | Yes, on the loch | Late spring – summer; at dusk and into dark | Wet fly / nymph or trolling rig |
Bank only is mainly a south-end pike, perch and brown-trout trip. A boat adds the island bays, the loch-style trout and the deep-north ferox.
The rigs
Wire or heavy fluoro trace → big soft shad on a jighead (lure), or a deadbait under a float or ledgered (bait)
Palomar · non-slip loop0.8–1.5 braid → 0.22 fluoro leader → small soft lure on a hook in-line, weight on the tag (3–14 g)
PalomarMain line → bobber stopper → bead → float (~10–15 g) → split shot → swivel → hook with worm or maggot
PalomarFly line → tapered leader → a team of three loch-style wet flies on the drift, or a nymph subsurface
Leader / tippet knots on the rig pageShort stout leader (or a sink tip) → a larger streamer or salmon fly on a non-slip loop for movement
Non-slip loop · leader knots on the rig pageLeadcore or a downrigger → a deep-running plug or spoon at depth behind a moving boat, for ferox and salmon
Non-slip loop · PalomarWhat you need
A spin outfit and a pike trace cover the coarse fishing. Add a fly outfit for the trout and migratory fish, and trolling gear only for ferox.
The knots
| Knot | Ties | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Palomar | The workhorse, every lake rig. | Every lake rig |
| Dropper loop | A standing loop in the line for a hook branch. | The paternoster |
| Non-slip loop | A fixed loop at a lure or jighead. | Jigheads and lures |
Learn the Palomar first. Wet every knot before you pull it tight. The fly rigs use their own leader and tippet knots, given on each fly rig page.
This one page is the printable I take to the water.
Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.
I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.