THE 2017 winner of the Malloch Trophy – for one of the largest salmon caught by an angler on a fly and safely returned during the year in Scottish waters – has been announced.
The successful angler is Tom Bonniwell, a guide for Fishinguide Scotland, who caught the fish of a lifetime in the River Awe on September 2. The cock salmon was 47 inches long and estimated at more than 40lbs.
The River Awe has a longstanding reputation for heavy salmon. It has been aptly termed ‘the big fish river’ on the basis of the landing by anglers of several salmon of over 50lbs, mainly in the early 1900s.