Sporting
The River Shin is one of Scotland’s best kept secrets. Although the river was dammed in the late 50’s, a comprehensive re-stocking program has been in place ever since, and the returns of salmon and grilse have been consistently stable.
Salmon Fishing
Fishing on the Lairg Estate water starts towards the end of May and closes on the last day of September.
The Lairg Estate water starts at the dam below Loch Shin, in the new artificial pool appropriately named the Dam pool, and continues down river for approximately three miles until a pool called Grief.
There are two beats (four rods per beat) and over thirty named pools on the Upper Shin. The Lairg Estate water is all double bank and most of the pools can be fished from either side. The fishing is for fly only. Most of the pools can be fished from the bank without wading, but a few require some wading. We recommend thigh waders and it is advisable to use a wading stick in certain pools.
The size of the Shin salmon vary greatly depending on time of year. It is not uncommon for rods to come into contact with fish in the 20lb bracket early in the season. As summer progresses, the grilse appear in greater numbers and give wonderful sport.
Rod size is a matter of endless speculation. The water is easily covered with a 12ft rod. Equal fun can be had with a small single handed rod. For the championship caster there is room for the longer rod.
The river is rocky in places and we would suggest that in the early season it is advisable to use a tippet material of at least 15lb. The early fish tend to run hard and have a tendency to leave the pools, so a heavier tippet gives the angler the option to play fish harder and land them faster for the process of catch and release.
Trout Fishing
Brown trout in Loch Shin average ½lb, but very large fish are taken early in the season and around the fish farm cages!
The Estate has several excellent rivers, small lochs, and burns to chose from. Experienced guides can be arranged. Loch Beannach has some exceptional Trout, and in the past few years fish of up to 5lb have been caught. All the fish are wild native brown trout.
Special trout fishing weeks are available on the Lairg Estate’s water on the Shin, during April, May and June. Daily bags of up to 40+ trout are possible
Stalking
Stalking is predominately for the majestic Red Deer. The estate also shoot Sika and Roe Deer. The Red/Sika stag stalking starts on 1 July and closes on 20 October. Hind stalking starts on 21 October and closes on 15 February. Roe Deer bucks start on 1 April and close on 20 October. Does start on 21 October and close on 31 March. Most of the letting is for one week and includes up to 5 Stags per week.
For Roe and Sika stalking, once the competence of the rifle has been established, unaccompanied expeditions are possible.
Golf
There are some of the best courses in the whole of the UK just a short drive from Lairg. These include:</b/>
Royal Dornoch
Golspie
Bonar Bridge
Nairn