Whopper salmon migrates for Scotland's Salmon Festival

The Miss Ballantine Salmon can normally be found at Perth Museum but has been loaned to Inverness until 18^th November.

The record fish was taken from the River Tay near Glendelvine by Miss Georgina Ballantine on October 7^th 1922.

She was fishing with her father when she hooked the monster salmon, just before dusk. She battled for two hours to land the fish, which weighed 64 pounds (29 kilograms), measured 4ft 6” in length and had a girth of 28 ½”.

The cast will go on display at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery from Tuesday as part of Scotland’s Salmon Festival, a biennial event led in partnership by Inverness College UHI, which takes place in the Highland Capital between Tuesday, 29^th August and Saturday, 2^nd September.

It will complement a Country Pursuits costume display featuring outfits from the 19^th and 20^th centuries and a Fantastic Fish Trail for children, which includes facts and fossils.

As part of the celebrations, the museum will also be running tours on Alexander Grant, Inverness’ famous fishing rod and fiddle maker, who set the first world record speycast on the River Ness in 1895.  It stood for 110 years until it was broken by local ghillie and three-times world speycasting champion Scott Mackenzie. The free tours run from 2.30pm and 4pm on Thursday, 31^st August, and can be booked via the Scotland’s Salmon Festival website.

The festival took place in Inverness for the first time in 2015 and attracted around 3500 people, generating a significant boost for the local economy. It is the first event of its kind which celebrates the Atlantic salmon and its importance to Scotland, economically, culturally and historically.

The programme includes a film night at Eden Court Theatre on Tuesday 29^th August; a two-day international science conference which starts on Wednesday 30^th August at Inverness College UHI; an evening of public lectures at Inverness College UHI on Thursday 31^st August, which features a talk by Professor Eric Verspoor, director of the Inverness College UHI Rivers and Lochs Institute, on the invasion of non-native salmon in UK rivers; and a free family fair in Bught Park on Friday 1^st and Saturday 2^nd September to coincide with Inverness Angling Club’s Centenary Speycasting Tournament on the River Ness, which will see anglers from across the world compete.

The Bught Park family fair includes cookery demonstrations by top chefs in the Marine Harvest Theatre Kitchen, a food and craft marquee featuring local exhibitors, a salmon barbecue, plus face painting, a bouncy castle, story-telling and arts and crafts, plus fishy themed activities for children including invertebrate trays, electrofishing and casting lessons.

Dr Melanie Smith, chair of Scotland’s Salmon Festival steering group and Head of Research Development at Inverness College UHI said: “It’s very exciting to have Britain’s heaviest rod-caught salmon in Inverness for the festival. I’d urge everyone to go along and take a look, it really is quite a magnificent specimen. Our Bught Park fair is gearing up to be a really special event for all the family, with great chefs, food and craft exhibitors, plus activities for all to enjoy. The festival is a key opportunity for the public to find out more about the cutting edge research happening on in the Highlands, and the role the Inverness College UHI Rivers and Lochs Institute plays in informing the conservation and management of the iconic Atlantic Salmon and freshwater biodiversity.”

The festival been organised in partnership with the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, Inverness Angling Club, Marine Harvest, cbec eco-engineering, and supported by EventScotland - part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, Highland Council, Inverness Common Good Fund, the Scottish Government, Glenmoriston Estate, Culligran Estate, the Drumossie Hotel, Ness Castle Lodges, SSE, Tomatin Distillery, Graham’s of Inverness and The Scottish Ghillie.

For more information about the festival, visit www.scotlandsalmonfestival.org