Associate members appreciate the opportunities they secure through membership of the club – the quality of the fishing and the hospitality of local members.

Brian Poe from Ardross, in Ross-shire, has just finished his first year of associate membership. “The members are friendly and the craic excellent,” said Brian. “It’s lovely fly water, but big and that’s good for your casting – it keeps you on the ball.”

Walter Ridley drives 450 miles from Hull to the Ness two or three times a year. He said: “If I fish 14 days it works out about £12 a day to be in the nicest part of the Highlands, on the best river in the UK to Spey cast on. Just to watch some of the best casters around is worth it. The fish don’t come easy but cracking fish when they do. There’s always something going on in Inverness. It’s a great city. I don’t fish anywhere else these days – nice people, great river, fantastic scenery, a magical place to be and always the chance of the fish of a lifetime.”

Elliott Robson, of Peterlee, says: “Inverness Angling Club is the best association water in the Scottish Highlands and I have fished many association beats throughout Scotland. It has taken me 25 years to find a hidden gem like this water.”

Terry Davis of Mevagissey, Cornwall, is the club’s furthest flung associate member. “Friends from all over ask me why I travel 700 miles to fish salmon in Inverness when there is excellent salmon fishing in Cornwall,” said Terry. “For value for money give me the Inverness Angling Club water any time. It has a magic of its own. At the morning meeting at the Little Isle Pool you can glean all sorts of information from seasoned anglers and get a hot drink before taking on the many pools. The river offers a wonderful combination of water flow and depth and there’s always somewhere to fish uninterrupted.”