Scotland in Full Lockdown

Yet again as of today 5 January 2021 Scotland has been placed in full lockdown until 1 February 2021 due to the increase in Covid-19 cases being reported and the speed of transmission of the new Covid-19 variant strain.

Full information on the restrictions and what is allowed during the lockdown can be found at the Scottish Governments official website, click here for more information.

Despite the various restrictions and laws being set, outdoor non-contact sports such as golf and tennis as well as fly fishing are permitted for all age groups provided this is within a single household group, or the group contains no more than 2 people from 2 different households. Children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards this number.

Examples of reasonable excuses to go out:

• local outdoor recreation, sport or exercise, walking, cycling, golf, or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area) as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households.

So that means you are allowed to go to your local fly fishery as long as it is within 5 miles of your local authority boundary and have some fresh air and some right/left arm exercises casting a fly line as it is classed as an outdoor recreational sport. There are always ample spacings between the pegs around the fisheries so it beats the 2-meter spacings required by legislation for keeping a safe distance apart.

As long as you follow the government guidelines and the local fishery rules regarding Covid-19 and keep practicing the F.A.C.T.S everyone can enjoy their fly fishing outings and also keep everyone safe.

For further information and clarification from Angling Scotland click here on the latest guidelines in relation to fishing within Scotland.