Malloch Trophy Explained

The Malloch Challenge Trophy is Scotland's most prestigious award for salmon fishing.[1] [2] The award is given for the largest salmon caught on the fly and safely returned to the water in Scotland each year.[3]

The award was founded in 1972 by the noted fishing tackle manufacturer and retailer Mallochs of Perth and first presented to Lady Burnett for a 43lb salmon caught on the Tay. Over the years winning fish have come from a number of Scottish rivers, including the Dee, Spey, Tweed, Tay and Naver. In 1999 the trophy ceased to be awarded due to a combination of loss of sponsorship and stringent conservation measures but was acquired by the Tay foundation in 2009 who reinstated the competition with a change to the criteria to require fish to be returned to the water. In recent years the trophy has been sponsored variously by Savills and FishPal.[4] There is also a junior version of the award.

List of winners of the Malloch Trophy

Year Winner Weight River
2009 Sandy Walker 32lbs River Lochy[5]
2010 Huston McCollough 36lbs River Spey
2011 Sam Valentine 43.5lbs River Nith[6]
2012 Jim Reid 50lbs (est.) River Tweed[7]
2013 Shamus Jennings 50lbs River Tweed[8]
2014 Wayne Longstaff 33lbs River Tweed[9]
2015 Tom Buchanan 35lbs River Lyon, a tributary of the River Tay[10]
2016 John MacIssac 38-41lbs River Spean[11]

Notes and References

  1. News: Salmon angling trophy resurrected. 29 September 2017. BBC News. 9 January 2009.
  2. News: Mack. Gordon. Williams. Martin. Coveted salmon trophy is brought back to help fish conservation. 29 September 2017. The Herald. 10 January 2009.
  3. News: Salmon trophy leaps back to prominence. 29 September 2017. The Scotsman. 9 January 2009.
  4. Web site: FishPal - Scotland - Malloch Trophy - History. www.fishpal.com.
  5. Web site: Malloch Trophy - Winners. Fishpal. 29 September 2017.
  6. News: Mills. Naomi. Prize winning salmon caught on the River Nith. 29 September 2017. Deadline News. 13 December 2011.
  7. News: Picture:largest salmon caught in Scotland this year. 29 September 2017. The Scotsman. 14 December 2012.
  8. News: Urquhart. Frank. 50lb salmon 'biggest caught in Scotland in 2013'. 29 September 2017. The Scotsman. 16 December 2013.
  9. News: The 2014 Malloch Trophy. 29 September 2017. Fish and Fly. 24 December 2014.
  10. News: The FishPal Malloch Trophy 2015 Winner. 11 September 2023. South Chesthill Estate newsletter. 18 December 2015.
  11. News: Gillie wins prize for salmon caught on River Spean. 29 September 2017. BBC News. 19 December 2016.