Veteran angler Sandy Paterson has marked the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Ness.

He made the first cast at the Inverness Angling Club’s beat after members and guests were piped down to the river.

Mr Paterson has been a member of the club for 68 years and has served on various committees.

• Stop hydro goldrush on Loch Ness, demands salmon fishery board

• Watch: First cast of 2023 River Ness salmon season

Mr Paterson, who will be 80 this year, is now an honorary club member.

The biggest salmon he has caught on the River Ness weighed 17.5 pounds.

The ceremony, near James Pringle Weavers, also included the dispensing of a quaich of whisky into the water.

Gallery1

Stevie Watts, president of the Inverness Angling Club, welcomed anglers and wished everyone tight lines.

"Whilst catches here have been declining, as elsewhere in Scotland, a new season always brings new hope for us, on what is some of the best angling club water in the Highlands," he said.

In January 2022, the Scottish Government published its Scottish wild salmon strategy, setting out a vision, objectives and priority themes to ensure the protection and recovery of Scottish Atlantic wild salmon populations.

The influential International Union for Conservation of Nature has just reclassified Atlantic salmon in Scotland as endangered.

Last month, the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board (DSFB) launched a major campaign for an immediate moratorium on the further development of pump storage hydro schemes on Loch Ness.

It fears dramatic fluctuations in the level of the loch due to hydro power "industrialisation" could spell disaster on the Ness’s wild salmon population.

Brian Shaw, director of the Ness DSFB, was delighted to see a good attendance at the opening ceremony which always heralds an air of anticipation for the forthcoming season.

"Anglers by their nature have to be optimistic," he said.

"There is always great optimism at the start of any season."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.