Cape Breton Island's rivers share a character with the Scottish west Highlands — short, spate-driven, quick to colour and quick to clear, with salmon that run hard from the sea and don't linger. The Baddeck drains the central Cape Breton Plateau, running north to the Bras d'Or Lakes. Atlantic salmon from June, brook trout throughout the season. Intimate enough to wade comfortably and long enough to give a full day's fishing. The landscape has the quality that drew the Scots here three centuries ago — it reminded them of somewhere they already knew. Granite-based upland geology shapes this river. Atlantic salmon are managed under DFO conservation rules — mandatory catch-and-release of large (multi-sea-winter) salmon applies in most areas, with any grilse retention strictly limited by zone; check current regulations before fishing.

• Granite