River Alness, Novar Estate

The River Alness is one of the most picturesque salmon rivers in the Highlands, running for just 11 miles from Loch Morie into the Cromarty Firth, with a drop of 600ft. The steep descent provides for a multitude of fast flowing pools, and stunning and varied scenery throughout the beats. The Alness has a small run of spring salmon in May and early June, and good runs of both salmon and grilse from July to the end of October. Annual rod catches are typically in the range of 500-700 salmon and grilse, of which about two thirds are caught on the Novar waters. The season begins on April 1st and ends on October 31st.

The Novar Fishings offer six rotating beats (all fished during a week’s fishing); the average length of each beat being about a mile, with typically fifteen to twenty named pools. Both banks are included although most of the fishing is from the southern (right) bank.
The Alness is a hunter’s river; ‘rivercraft’ and persistence are generally rewarded, and long casting rarely needed. Beginners do particularly well here, and there are typically 20-30 ‘first salmon’ caught each year on the Novar beats.