Loch Faskally (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: Loch Faschoille) is a man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in Perth and Kinross,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, northwest of

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotlan ...

Geography

The loch lies between steeply wooded hills and is approximately in length, narrowing to around wide. The loch is retained by the Pitlochry Dam which was built by Wimpey Construction between 1947 and 1950 as part of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's

Tummel Hydro-Electric Power Scheme The Tummel hydro-electric power scheme is an interconnected network of dams, power stations, aqueducts and electric power transmission in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. Roughly bounded by Dalwhinnie in the north, Rannoch Moor in the west an ...

. The dam incorporates a

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

, allowing around 5,400 salmon to ascend annually, and is a popular visitor attraction. The loch is popular with anglers. The water holds a good head of brown trout and the native fish are augmented by a stocking in the 1-5lb range. A 7-pounder was recorded in 2001.

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and a few sea trout pass through as they head up the Tummel and Garry systems. 54 salmon were caught in 2001 the best being a fish of 14 ½ lbs, however fish to 28lbs have also been caught. June also sees the arrival of the summer grilse. There are also good numbers of small pike with a few larger specimens mixed in. The best recorded pike have been over 30lb.

References

Faskally Faskally Faskally LFaskally Pitlochry {{PerthKinross-geo-stub