Anglers are preparing to gather in Inverness with a sense of renewed optimism as they mark the start of the salmon fishing season on the River Ness.

The first cast will be made tomorrow in a traditional ceremony at the Inverness Angling Club’s beat near the James Pringle Weavers Holm Mills.

Members will be piped to the river where honorary member George Skinner will have the honour of the first cast.

The ceremony also includes the dispensing of a quaich of whisky into the water.

The six-mile long River Ness, which starts its journey at Dochfour weir and flows into the Moray Firth, has a strict policy of releasing the fish back into the water after being caught.

Although February 1 marks the opening of the season on the River Ness, the upper catchment fisheries of the Ness open on January 15.

READ MORE: THE INVERNESS COURIER