River Garry

The River Garry is one half of the River Tummel system, joining the upper Tummel to become Loch Faskally just upstream of Pitlochry. It is the main salmon producing area within the Tummel system.

The Garry itself is an amalgam of three main tributaries; the River Tilt, the Errochty Water and the upper Garry. Until recently, most of the salmon were produced in the Tilt, Errochty and lower Garry because the upper Garry was closed to salmon in the 1950s because of hydro abstraction. However, in 2017, flow was restored over an 8 mile stretch of the river and an obstruction, a weir at Struan, was removed. This area is being restocked from the Board’s hatchery and is already producing considerable numbers of smolts.

Before the recent restoration work, the flow below Struan was maintained from a hydro dam at Loch Errochty. The Errochty Water is a 6 mile, generally tree lined, small river. It is an important salmon spawning tributary but is maintained as a sanctuary from fishing. The Tilt, in contrast, is a relatively steep, wild, tributary which flows down the spectacular Glen Tilt. It is thought the earliest of the Tummel’s spring salmon spawn in the Tilt. While bouldery and relatively unproductive, and the juvenile salmon slow growing, there is a lot of river.

The lower Garry particularly and the Tilt are both fished for salmon from the summer onwards once a good head of fish has passed Pitlochry Dam.