Kirnan Estate Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing 2022
The waters of the River Add
Well, we are already in to June and the salmon and sea trout season is nearly upon us and we are getting excited!
For those of you that may not yet have had the opportunity to visit us at Kirnan Estate located on the beautiful Argyll coast, western Scotland, I wanted to take a few minutes and introduce you to the exciting salmon and sea trout fishing we have available exclusively for our guests.
The Kirnan beat is 2.5 miles of double bank fly fishing on the River Add approximately 3 miles from the estuary at Crinan. It is a majestic little spate river, with achingly beautiful backdrops that captivate the spirit of adventure and re-connecting with nature. We tend to get the odd sea trout/finnock in the river from May onwards and the salmon runs start in mid-July - water dependant. Historically the fishing only gets better as the season starts to head to its close at the end of October (31 October). As a spate river the Add fishes best after a good dump of rain with the fish looking to exploit the high water as they run upstream from Crinan, using the Kirnan beat as a natural rest point on their journey.
We have 16 named pools on our beat but there are also some fantastic little lies that are worth a cast from those anglers exploring the riffles and pockets as they wander their way along this gem of a river. The beat has good access but does require relatively good mobility to access the full potential the river has to offer.
Map showing named pools on the Kirnan beat of the River Add, Argyll, Scotland.
There is no denying that I am a keen angler, having been fortunate to enjoy memorable fishing moments at home and abroad but there is something really special about fishing the Add and Argyll in general that has really re-connected me to my love of fishing. Whether popping out for an hour to explore a pool (or two or three…) or fishing hard during prime water conditions, Kirnan Estate and our cottages are a fantastic base to enjoy the best Argyll has to offer. If I am not fishing the Kirnan beat I will often be fishing for sea trout in the Crinan estuary (additional fishing permits required) or fly fishing for pollock on the coastal shoreline. The fishing may not be as prolific as some global destinations but I can guarantee you will not experience anything more satisfying than fishing here in Argyll.
So how is the 2022 season looking? Hopefully, significantly better than 2021! The summer and early autumn of 2021 bought us record dry weather on the west coast of Scotland with unusually rare and sporadic downpours that made the water conditions challenging. The fish were held back by the water conditions in the Crinan estuary for a long time, making small incursions up river when water allowed. When water did eventually arrive, the fish ran up stream super hard in the early part of autumn. We also appeared to have some late runs with fish being seen in the river in very late autumn once we got stable water conditions - I saw a fish run up the Bridge Pool in December 2021.
We had some big floods in January and February of 2022 that have done a lovely job clearing the river down and it is looking in fine fettle for this coming season. Given the number of sea trout I have been seeing and catching around Crinan I am hopeful we should have some fun sport at Kirnan this summer!
If you are keen to experience the fishing that the Add has to offer, check out our accommodation (Stay with Us) and feel free to get in touch with Gemma or myself at contact@kirnanestate.com if you have any questions at all.
An immaculate finnock (small sea trout) caught on the River Add, spring 2022.
A small selection of favourite flies for the River Add, Kirnan beat.
