The word loch is Gaelic for lake, while a lochan is a small loch.

At over 25 miles long Loch Awe is the longest inland loch; Loch Fyne is the longest sea loch.

Loch Lomond, at almost 25 miles long and five miles wide at its southern end, has the largest surface area. Loch Ness, at 600ft deep for most of its 23 miles, has the largest volume of water – more than all the lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales combined!

The deepest is Loch Morar – over 300m (1000ft), a depth that is not reached for over 130 miles in the Atlantic. Loch Nevis, to the north of Morar, is the deepest sea loch.

Use the search below to find details of fishing on the many rivers, burns and lochs in Scotland: