River Earn

The River Earn is a sizeable river in its own right which enters the upper Firth of Tay where it starts to widen out a few miles below Perth. The Earn’s source is from smaller tributaries feeding into Loch Earn within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park; the river proper commencing as it is discharged from Loch Earn at St Fillans. Like a number of Tay tributaries, this part of the Earn has been harnessed for hydro electricity and, for some miles, this part of the Earn has a maintained modest flow. After Dalchonzie Power Station a few miles upstream of Comrie, the flow increases markedly and the Earn appears a much bigger river. At Comrie, the Earn is joined by the Ruchill Water, a steeper flashy tributary which rises in the hills above Callander. Thereafter, Strathearn gradually opens out and, below Crieff, the Earn becomes progressively more lowland in character, placid and meandering. There is a lot of fishing on this long river, some of the best of which is controlled by angling clubs. When present, salmon are fished for along much of the Earn’s length. However, unlike much of the Tay, the Earn is a significant sea trout river too. They spawn in tributaries along the length of the Earn, including into the very uppermost reaches of the Ruchill Water. Brown trout fishing is also popular and the Earn holds a good head of grayling.