Tollmuir Pool

Tollmuir Pool is named after the old toll-house which stood beside what is now the A90. The pool runs out of Martin's Cut into a 25 yard stream and riffle over gravel and cobble. The pool then deepens sharply into at least 10 feet of holding water and then through a squeeze between a short groyne on the right bank and a very large boulder embedded in the left bank. The tail of the pool is a fan shaped gradually shelving stretch of excellent sea trout water. The pool is very similar to Melgund in character, but does not have quite the same fish producing reputation as its upstream sister. This is perhaps in part due to it being a more difficult pool to fish.

Tollmuir can be fished from both the North and South banks, and like Melgund, this decision can be influenced by water conditions. In low water, fishing from the North bank can be an interesting experience but can only be done by fit anglers who don’t mind a bit of a scramble, and under the supervision of the ghillie. In a traditional top to bottom sense, the pool can only be fished down to a certain point from this side, and wading becomes impossible beyond the old Ash trunk which juts out of the North bank itself.

From the South bank, the pool can be more easily covered over its entire length, but there is the problem of a deep hole which must be negotiated whilst wading the mid part of the pool and quite a lot of awkward currents and dead water on one’s own side at the same point. The tail, however is much easier to fish, contains lots of features and can be a good place to find a resting fish in a big water which may have stopped after pushing through the hard water of the Steps downstream of Tollmuir. This can be effectively covered from both banks, from the North bank it is best fished from the bank, and from the South it is an easy enough wade.