Fishing on Loch Lomond
Permits, prices, seasons and rules for the loch and its rivers
You need a Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association (LLAIA) ticket, bought over the counter in local shops: £30 a day for salmon and trout on the loch and the River Leven, £10 for pike and perch. It does not cover the Endrick, the Fruin, Loch Katrine or Loch Ard. Prices: the LLAIA list of November 2024, still current on 2 November 2026.
- Game day ticket
- £30
- Coarse day ticket
- £10
- Leven opens
- 11 Feb
- Every salmon
- Released
- Sunday salmon
- Banned
Open now, and what you need
Open now (2 November 2026): pike and perch, as all winter. Closed: salmon and sea trout until the Leven opens on 11 February, brown trout until 15 March. Every Sunday: no salmon or sea trout; pike, perch and brown trout are fine.
Scotland has no rod licence, but you need a permit from whoever owns the fishing, and on the Lomond system that is the LLAIA. Its waters are Loch Lomond, the River Leven, the River Endrick, the River Fruin and the Clyde Estuary, and its warranted bailiffs can ask to see your ticket. Day and weekly tickets are sold only over the counter at the shops listed below; there is no online day ticket. Membership and season permits can be paid by PayPal.
Every salmon goes back. The Scottish Government grades the Endrick Water poor, and the Leven takes the same poor status because the Endrick is in its catchment; on a poor river, salmon must be released by law. The government's proposal for 2027, published in August 2026, keeps both at poor. The Sunday ban covers sea trout because the law that bans Sunday salmon fishing counts sea trout as salmon.
On the loch, most fishing is done from a boat at the southern end among the islands of Loch Lomond, launched at Balloch or Balmaha, the two most popular launch points. Salmon are mostly caught trolling, with fly and dapping also working. For coarse anglers it is pike country: the LLAIA records a 47 lb 11 oz pike from 1945, and perch of four to five pounds.
Go if you want big-water pike and perch on a £10 ticket in any month, or salmon and sea trout on the Leven, the river every fish bound for the loch has to pass through.
Skip if you want to keep a salmon (none may be kept) or need an easy first day with a beginner: the stocked, boat-only Lake of Menteith with tuition is a gentler start.
Cheapest day afloat Two £10 coarse tickets, a Loch Lomond Leisure boat from £200 and two hired rods at £10 for 2 hours: £240 for two people for pike and perch (£315 if the boat is quoted at £275).
Bank fishing at a glance
Scotland's right of access does not include fishing, so the shore of a loch is fishable only where the permit says so or the landowner agrees.
- Loch Lomond shore
- No shore marks published by the LLAIA; the National Park says coarse and brown trout anglers need the landowner's permission. Fish it by boat.
- River Leven
- Yes, on the £30 LLAIA game ticket: six miles of river, tidal in its lower reaches. The main bank water on the system.
- Loch Ard
- Yes, on an Aberfoyle Angling Protection Association permit, if you keep to the park's camping, litter and fire rules.
- Loch Venachar
- Yes: Loch Venachar Association permits are for bank or boat.
- Loch Earn
- Yes: fished by permit from shore and boat, per the National Park.
- Lake of Menteith
- No: boat only, as the lake is an SSSI.
Where to buy a ticket
LLAIA retailers near the loch, from its own list. Only the Jamestown BP garage publishes its hours (listed open 24 hours by BP, though not whether the night kiosk sells permits): for any other early start, phone the day before.
- Lomond Service Station (BP) 200 Main Street, Jamestown 01389 721537 Listed open 24 hours
- Loch Lomond Gift House Balloch Road, Balloch 01389 753437
- O'Briens Shop 225 Bank Street, [Alexandria](/alexandria/) 01389 752037
- Gartocharn Petrol Station Gartocharn 01389 830201
- Balmaha Village Shop Balmaha 01360 870270
- Balmaha Boatyard Balmaha 01360 870214 Game permits; 9am to 5pm in season, 9am to 4pm out of season
- Luss Village Shop [Luss](/luss/) 01436 860558
- Luss General Store Pier Road, Luss 01436 860820
- The Boat House [Cameron House](/things-to-do/cameron-house/) 01389 755565
- Ardlui Hotel [Ardlui](/ardlui/) 01301 704243
- Tickers Tackle 93 East Clyde Street, Helensburgh 01436 675044 Tackle shop
- Glasgow Angling Centre Possilpark, Glasgow 0141 212 8880 Tackle shop
- Catani Anniesland, Glasgow 0141 954 6300 Tackle shop
- Angling Active Stirling Agriculture Centre 01786 430400 Tackle shop
What to fish when
Dates are the LLAIA's and the statutory close seasons; the timing of runs is the association's own guide to a normal year.
- 11 Feb to Mar
- The Leven opens on 11 February: fly or lure only, every salmon released. The first good run of spring salmon usually arrives in the last week of March. Brown trout open on 15 March.
- Apr to May
- Large early sea trout on the Leven, best in May. Spring salmon trolled on the loch. No sea trout may be killed before 1 May; from 1 May bait such as worm is allowed on the Leven.
- Jun to Aug
- Night fishing for sea trout on the Leven from late June. The Endrick (members only) opens in July and, like the Fruin, fishes best on a spate. Stop when the water passes 18 to 20°C.
- Sep to Oct
- Brown trout close on 6 October. The Leven, Endrick and Fruin close on 31 October.
- Nov to 10 Feb
- Game fishing closed. Pike and perch on the £10 coarse ticket, as all year: coarse fish have no close season.
Every day of the year: no salmon or sea trout fishing on a Sunday.
Loch Lomond fishing waters in photos
Waters, tickets and rules compared
From the LLAIA's water and permit pages; it had not published 2027 prices or rules by 2 November 2026 (its 2026 notice came out on 13 February). A ticket is valid only for the water it names.
| Water | Fish | Ticket | Key rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loch Lomond, game | Salmon, sea trout, brown trout | £30 a day, £80 a week | Fly or lure only to 1 May. Up to 4 rods trolling from a boat, otherwise 1 rod in the hand. |
| Loch Lomond, coarse | Pike, perch, roach, ruffe | £10 a day | Up to 4 rods on rests. No live fish as bait, no bait from other waters, no fishing for powan or eel. |
| River Leven | Salmon, sea trout; 11 Feb to 31 Oct | Same game ticket; child season £20 | Any method except prawn, shrimp or float. |
| River Endrick | Salmon, sea trout; July to 31 Oct | Members only: £210 a year plus £25 to join | Fly only (fly maggot allowed). Return every coloured fish. |
| River Fruin | Salmon, sea trout; a spate river | No day ticket listed; LLAIA has most of the fishing. Ask the Secretary, 07903 426092 | Fly only, single-handed rod. |
On every water: all salmon released, no salmon or sea trout on Sunday, kelts returned. Sources: LLAIA water and permit pages; Scottish Government gradings; the 2003 fisheries Act; National Park angling page.
Plan the day
Buy the ticket on the way
Pick a shop on your route from the list above. For a dawn start the Jamestown BP garage is the only outlet listed as open round the clock; Balmaha Boatyard opens at 9am. Joining as a member to fish from mid-April means signing up by mid-January.
A first day on the Leven
Buy a game day ticket, check the Leven level on SEPA's Linnbrane gauge (linked from the LLAIA river page) and, for the lower river, the tide: it is tidal there, and many anglers like to fish that stretch from an hour after high tide in darkness. Pools named in the association's 2026 catch reports include Top Pool, Stuckie Bridge, The Piles, the Boathouse Hole and Bonhill Pool, with sea trout taken on the fly near Dalreoch. The cycle path runs beside the river between Balloch and Bonhill Bridge, and the association has asked anglers to take care casting there.
Get afloat
Loch Lomond Leisure (0333 577 0715), based at Loch Lomond Shores in Balloch and at Luss Pier, hires self-drive fishing boats for up to four, for 2 hours or longer, at £200 to £275 a boat, plus rods at £10 for 2 or 4 hours and £20 for 8 hours; bring your own permit. If you launch your own powered boat, register with the National Park first: boat registration and speed zones has the rules. The south basin is open water and the wind decides a boat day, so check wind and weather by month and wear a life jacket: the National Park warns the lochs stay cold enough for cold water shock even in summer.
Release a salmon well
Keep the fish in the water, unhook it in the net and keep any air time under 10 seconds, as the LLAIA asks. Barbless hooks make it quicker, as the National Park advises. Early-season fish may be kelts, which go back anyway.
Pack and check
- Barbless hooks, a knotless net and forceps; a life jacket for the boat or for wading the Leven.
- The SEPA Leven gauge and the tide times on the morning, both linked from the LLAIA site.
- Clean, check and dry tackle, waders and nets before and after, and never move fish or bait between waters.
- A tent or bivvy on the shore from March to September needs one of the camping permits even by day, and that permit does not cover fishing.
- LLAIA members: catch returns are due by 30 November, online preferred.
Other waters nearby
Each runs its own permits; the LLAIA ticket covers none of them. Fish, season, then where to buy.
- Loch KatrineBrown trout 15 March to 6 October; pike 11 May to 31 March, per the loch's own fishing page. Permits only from Fish Loch Katrine, open daily 09:00 to 17:00, with evening sessions from 20 May to 20 July. Boats run on propane: no petrol engines on Glasgow's reservoir. More in our Loch Katrine guide.
- Loch ArdBrown trout on the fly 15 March to 6 October, plus pike and perch; bank fishing allowed. Aberfoyle Angling Protection Association permits from Aberfoyle Post Office in Aberfoyle, two Kinlochard outlets and James Bayne on Main Street in Callander (01877 330218), per the village hall's list read on 2 November 2026. On foot: the Loch Ard walk.
- Lake of MenteithStocked rainbow and brown trout, boat only from 36 boats with outboard, oars, net and drogue; no bank fishing (it is an SSSI). 2026 prices are for catch and release, plus £3 for each fish kept, up to four. Book online or on 01877 385664; open from 8am daily.
- Loch VenacharBrown trout and pike from bank or boat, on Loch Venachar Association permits, also bookable through Fish Around the Forth. Launching needs the landowner's permission; engines are limited to 4 horsepower. See Loch Venachar.
- Loch EarnStocked with brown and rainbow trout, fished by permit from shore and boat, according to the National Park. See our Loch Earn guide.
- River Teith and Loch LubnaigPermits online through Fish Around the Forth, including the Teith at Callander and Stirling, the Leny and the Balvaig.
What catches fish, beginners and tackle
What worked in 2026, from the LLAIA's own catch reports: spring salmon of about 11 lb trolled on the loch on an orange-and-gold Rapala and on a Vision 110 off Inchmurrin, sea trout off Clairinch, Leven salmon on the worm after 1 May, and an Endrick brown trout on a Black Klinkhammer. The Clyde Estuary gave sea trout on both fly and spinner. More than 95% of rod-caught salmon are now released.
Children fish cheaply: under-18s fish every association water free when a member parent or guardian is with them at all times, and a member's partner fishes free with the member. A child's own River Leven season ticket is £20.
For a guided first day, Loch Lomond Leisure's fishing guide costs £120 for 4 hours or £200 for 8 hours on one of its boats, advising on technique and places; you still need a permit. The Lake of Menteith runs tuition and youth coaching on calmer, stocked water.
Prefer the loch without a rod? Boat trips and cruises compares the operators; more ideas in things to do around the loch.
Questions people ask
Is it free to fish Loch Lomond?
No. You need an LLAIA ticket; only under-18s and partners fishing with a member go free.
How much does it cost to fish Loch Lomond?
£30 a day or £80 a week for game fishing on the loch and the Leven, £10 a day for coarse fishing, per the LLAIA's price list.
Do you need a permit to fish Loch Lomond?
Yes. There is no rod licence in Scotland, but you need the LLAIA's permit, and its bailiffs check.
Can people fish from the shore of Loch Lomond?
Only with the landowner's permission: Scotland's access rights exclude fishing and the LLAIA publishes no shore marks. The River Leven bank is the open option, on the game ticket.
Where are some good fishing spots in Loch Lomond?
By boat among the southern islands from Balloch or Balmaha, and the Endrick Bank; from the bank, the River Leven.
Can you fish on Loch Lomond on a Sunday?
For pike, perch and brown trout, yes. For salmon and sea trout, no: Scottish law bans Sunday salmon fishing.
What fish are in Loch Lomond?
Salmon, sea trout, brown trout, pike, perch, roach and ruffe, plus protected powan, which may not be fished for.
Can you go pike fishing on Loch Lomond?
Yes, all year on the £10 LLAIA coarse ticket, with up to four rods on rests and no live fish as bait.
Can you keep a salmon from Loch Lomond?
No. The system is graded poor, so release is mandatory, and the 2027 proposal keeps it there.
Can you use live bait on Loch Lomond?
No live fish or other vertebrates: the National Park says it is illegal.
Can you hire a fishing boat on Loch Lomond?
Yes, from Loch Lomond Leisure, at £200 to £275 a boat for up to four; bring your own permit.
Where can you fish near Loch Lomond besides the loch?
Loch Katrine, Loch Ard, the Lake of Menteith, Loch Venachar, Loch Earn, the Teith and Loch Lubnaig, each on its own permit.
More on and around the water
- BoatingWater sportsKayaks, motorboats and the byelaws.
- CruisesBoat trips and cruisesOperators, routes and fares compared.
- East shoreBalmahaOne of the two most popular launches for boats.
- PlanningCamping permitsWhere you need one from March to September.
- LevenBallochWhere the River Leven leaves the loch.