The rugged lands of Assynt demand the highest respect for in their midst lie lochs and lochans containing abundant stocks of high quality gold flanked trout. The terrain may initially look foreboding with great mountains like Suilven and Quinag rising up from the flat moor but don't let that fool you. Deep pockets of limestone bedeck the landscape and give considerable richness to apparently bare peaty lochs. The natural feeding is exceptional on most of the waters with mayfly, olive, midge and sedge abundant. Excessive natural representation is not necessary however for this the home of traditional loch fishing. Use Zulu, Soldier Palmer, Kate McLaren, Golden Olive Bumble and so on with the greatest confidence principally on a floating line. Long casting is not normally required as trout will often lie close in to the shore.

The choice of lochs is vast (hundred plus) and you should seek local advice on what's fishing best. Also be aware that every loch here is different with some containing plentiful stocks of 1/2lbers while others contain fewer but larger trout. You may need to walk a considerable distance to find the best fishing.

- Recommended for those who like remote beautiful landscapes with exceptional quality trout set in their midst.

Loch Awe – Argyllshire

This is a seriously big loch, some 25 miles in total, and there some seriously large brown trout lurking in its depths. Record breaking brown trout of 25lb plus come from here along with a goodly head of (smaller) top quality brethren. Loch Awe straddles Argyll in a long glacial valley and has a long established reputation for well managed top quality trout angling. Its history stretches back to the days of Stoddart and Grimble and today many flock to its shores in search of monster trout. Sadly nowadays you will find escapee rainbows amongst the browns, though it might be said they sometimes wake up an otherwise difficult day.

All things considered this loch is not for the 'soft option' trout fisher, you need a reasonable degree of skill and determination to succeed but the immense beauty of the surrounding hills and valleys make up for any quiet spells. Awe is best fished by boat and around the top islands is usually the most productive though trout can be taken most places along the shoreline. Fish traditional loch style floating line with a cast of 3 flies (10 to 14) like the Invicta, Kate McLaren, Clan Chief and similar. A top dropper like a mini muddler is preferred and this should be 'dibbled' over the surface just before lifting off.

- Recommended for those who like their trout fishing big and wild in every sense of the word.

Loch Calder – Caithness

Mine and many others learning ground, ideal for beginners and experts alike. Abundant populations of beautiful wild brown and ferox trout haunt the spring fed depths of Calder. Expect anything from 1/2lb to 6lb plus to confidently take your fly with a ferocity reserved for salmon. This enigmatic 2+ mile long loch usually takes second place when compared to its more well known neighbour Loch Watten yet I prefer it for two reasons. First you can almost be certain of a spirited trout no matter what the conditions and secondly you can fish the banks with just as much success as going afloat.

This might be a big windswept limestone loch to some but you should never think of it as that. Instead contemplate each little bay, weed bed and ledge as the perfect habitat for wild browns for that indeed is what these features provide. The natural feeding is profuse and varied and you can expect Stonefly, Olives, Iron Blues, Mayfly, Sedges, snails, sticklebacks, shrimps, caddis, Daddies and just about anything else you care to think of in the clear alkaline water of Calder. Not for nothing did the locals choose it as their water supply compared to other lochs.

While traditional wet fly loch style works a treat you can use nymphs in hard bright weather and dry fly for calm conditions. Calder has a sandstone and marl (limestone based clay) streaked shoreline and you need not wade out far to be amongst fish. Use floating lines with Soldier Palmer, Blue Zulu, Invicta, Pennel, dry Greenwells and Hares Ear nymph amongst many others (size 10 to 14).

- Highly recommended for beautiful hard fighting trout and fishing as cerebral as you want it.

River Don – Aberdeenshire

As a meandering challenging water which tips into the sea near Aberdeen, the Don is a remarkably fertile river. Banks of Ranaculus bejewel this clear fast flowing stream and the feeding is the ultimate in richness for a river so far north. The Don lies in a major agricultural area and green fields, hedgerows and deciduous trees soften the view. The brown trout here are of exceptional quality and can grown up to 3lb plus though 1lb is more common. They are however trout to test you and can be shy of rising in anything other than a well sustained hatch of for example Olives, March Browns or Sedges. Its essential to use small flies here 14 to 22 are common and popular patterns include GRHE, Partridge & Orange, Greenwells and Snipe & Purple. Floating lines are the principal method and flies should be fished on the dead drift rather than with any form of retrieve. Fish the Don in the first half of the season for best results, April, May and early June are definitely best, after that the canny wild trout seem almost to disappear. Wading is sometimes though not always required and a wading stick is essential on the big slippery boulder stretches.

Don trout are magnificent but shy and large baskets are rare however if you do enjoy success you should perhaps take only a brace and return the rest.

- Recommended for challenging early season river angling for good sized trout in calming well managed surroundings.

Durness Lochs – North West Sutherland

Durness lochs, Drive You Nuts lochs, whatever you like to call them this is the place to go for challenging trout angling in gin clear limestone waters. Durness is uniquely special in that the lochs sit out on a semi peninsular of limestone and are surrounded by peat and gneiss studded hills. You round a bleak corner and there you are, the most exquisite turquoise blue waters sit ready and waiting, its like stepping into a different world. The lochs here, Borralie, Caladail, Lanlish and Croispol are classic challenging waters and are not at all for the faint hearted or the inept. You need skill and magnanimity here for success is just as often followed by abject failure. No two days will ever be the same but the call of these lochs is strong, compelling anglers to return to them every year in their quest for a 5lber. The trout are sleek, extremely well fed (the caddis alone can be 2 inches long never mind the shrimps and snails!), and they grow to excellent average weights of 1.5lb and are caught as big as 5lb plus. They can be inordinately difficult to attract and you need every bit of an armoury of wet, dry and nymph flies. Small flies seem to work much better than large so take along size 16 – 18 as well as the size 12's. Anything from a Sedge Pupae to a Teal and Green will catch but you have to strike the weather just right, Durness is a wild and windy place but hit it right and I guarantee you'll be back!

- Recommended for serious and skilled trout fishers who can accept blanks as well as superb big trout.

Lochs of the Shetland Isles

There are so many diverse lochs on Shetland (over 350) it would take a lifetime to get to know them all, however many would like to try! Quality of feeding varies according to the loch base, some like Spiggie are rich and alkaline while others like those of Ronas Hill are semi acidic. Brown trout may not enjoy a diet of mayfly but there are adequate stocks of shrimp, snail, caddis, midge and stoneflies amongst other trout goodies. Though the principal method has got to be loch style floating line with Bumbles, Pennels, Palmers doing the main business there are some lochs were more subtle nymph and dry fly work better. As always you have to adapt to the very exposed conditions which can be harshly windy and wet.

Because of its northern location Shetland tends to fish better later than most with the season at its peak in July, however hardy local anglers commence battle from April on. May is a good month given any sun for then the trout burst into life to enjoy the first real hatches of the season.

- Recommended for the adventurous angler who wants lots of different quality trout locations all within easy reach of base camp.

River Tay - Perthshire

The Tay may be more well known for its catches of large sleek salmon but its trout should never be ignored. The clean clear water and gravel rock base makes the Tay an excellent trout stream. The browns grow well on an abundance of stoneflies, caddis and olive and can reach 3lb plus in weight with 1lb being an average size. Wading is usually required to be amongst the bigger trout but do beware of ledges and pots, the Tay is a fast powerful river and you won't have much chance if you slip in chest waders. Use a wading stick and a flotation vest and stay safe. Having said that do not miss out on the Tay for there its trout are of excellent quality. You can fish it with confidence from March to September but be prepared to switch tactics quickly according to the prevailing conditions. Floating or intermediate lines are used together with a wide range of flies from Czech Nymphs to Greenwells and from Hares Ear to dry Wickhams. This is the place to develop your river skills to the full and consistent success comes from flexible fishing.

- Recommended for testing dramatic trout fishing on one of Scotland's best known big rivers.

River Tummel - Perthshire

The Tummel might be considered the little sister of the Tay as it is classed as a feeder stream, yet it is very much an individualistic river in its own right. Tummel trout have a world class reputation growing sleek and fat in the clear alkaline gravel based water. There is a healthy cross section of fish sizes with catches frequently falling in the 1lb to 3lb category. The local angling club at Pitlochry manages the stocks of trout in the Tummel extremely well and though the river stretches along part of the busy A9 road, once you start fishing the surroundings are green and tranquil.

Tactics must be varied according to the height of the water and everything from traditional wet (12 to 14) to tiny dry (14 to 18) is used along with weighted nymphs in early season. Sparse Spider patterns are also employed to good effect. In the height of the summer late evening angling is much more productive unless the day is very dull and wet.

- Recommended for challenging but easily accessible trouting set in the tree lined beauty of the Tummel valley.

River Tweed - Borders

Yet another river made famous by its wonderful stocks of salmon and sea trout, yet deserving of more recognition for its superlative trout angling. If all freshwater trout systems were managed as well as the Tweed the future of Scotlands wild trout would be assured. Local anglers are given trout diaries to record amongst other things the degree of effort, the size and numbers of trout caught, where they fished and the river height. These diaries are then collated into the management plan and policies for restocking and habitat renewal are then devised according to need. Any new stocking is done with considerable caution and in areas of high demand for angling, larger stocked trout of say 3/4lb with a blue dot marking are introduced. Visitors can keep these trout if they wish but are encouraged to return any local wild trout not marked so as to help preserve the Tweed strain.

The Tweed is richly fertile with abundant Ranaculus and a vast raft of invertebrate feeding. The natural trout show a broad size range from a few ounces to several pounds in weight in this 'chalkstream' habitat. Tactics are highly traditional in the sense the Tweed has been fished since time immemorial by many of the late and great (W C Stewart and Stoddart were but two). Sparse lightly dressed flies like Spiders, Snipe & Purple and Partridge & Orange do well and small dries like Greenwells, Adams and similar are also productive. Use floating or intermediate lines according to water height.

- Recommended for those who like to fish well managed, historic waters with plentiful top quality trout.

Whitebridge Lochs (Ruthven and others)

These lochs lie hidden in the hills to the east of the vast length of Loch Ness. They provide a wonderful escape from the busy arterial road the A9, and though the city of Inverness lies a few miles north, the Whitebridge lochs feel remote and tranquil. The fishing is high quality with an intriguing choice of diverse waters. Loch Knockie set in a hidden valley to the north of Fort Augustus is also a challenging option with plentiful stocks of well fed trout averaging around 3/4lb and some bigger. Use loch style tactics and concentrate efforts around the edges of the weed beds. Nearby little Loch Killin is highly unusual set in a high valley at the head of a small river and while it may not have the largest trout in Scotland they are dashing little fish which rise freely to most dark traditional flies.

Gin clear Loch Ruthven is of course the accepted jewel in the Whitebridge crown and justly so as it provides demanding fishing for top quality browns from 1lb to 4lb plus in a quiet agricultural setting. The feeding is lush with shrimp, caddis, mayfly and olives in abundance. Use Bumbles, Greenwells, Kate McLaren etc with confidence here and remember as this is also an RSPB reserve that there is no bank fishing. - Recommended for those who like good fishing a little but not too much off the beaten track.

You can read more about Scotland's Classic Wild Trout Waters in Lesley's book of the same title published by Swan Hill and reviewed in Fish & Fly.