this is an extract of a message i sent to someone else re: scourie hotel & the infamous board system. hopefully you'll find it helpful! the hotel has had a complete re-vamp since the change of ownership 18 months ago, so please be prepared to throw away any pre-conceptions you may have concerning it being essentially a stuffy haunt for high-brow public school types
i shouldn't pre-plan too much where scourie is concerned; just chill out & enjoy it. when you arrive, you'll see a massive map on the wall with all the "beats" marked out. a beat is just a loch, or a group of lochs/lochans. arriving reasonably early (1400 ish) means you are somewhere near the top of the board, the initial positions on the board being allocated as each room books in. about 4th is the perfect place to be; gives you a chance to see how things work and means you'll get the choice of all the beats that are fishing well. we've given up worrying about being high up (ie first or second), but it's nice to have a first choice later in the week. if you're 4th on the board you'll have fourth choice for the following day. the next evening you'll have 3rd choice & so on. there's no favouritism at all. it's scrupulously fair. the only time it can be a bit tedious is if there's a large group of friends as part of your week. room A will pick beat such & such, room B will pick it the day after, room C the next day. that way a group of six mates get the same three beats sewn up for three days. can't think of a way round that one, but a half-decent boardmaster might have a quiet word with the party....
obviously if you're not turning up on a sunday (the start of a "week"), you'll be at the bottom of the board when you arrive. unless there's other folks turning up after you. but now the hotel seems to be attracting more non-fishers you could still find yourself being 5th or 6th for instance, which really isn't an issue
quite a lot of people (those who've never been) have this very negative view of the boardmaster system. "who is this person who thinks he can tell me where i can & can't fish?" it's nothing like that at all. the guy is basically an unpaid tour guide, chalking up names on a blackboard. if you need to know the best way to walk in, where to park, where the boat is, best (?) areas to fish etc, then ask away before making your choice. surely it's an absolute pleasure to be able to choose an area of water that you know you're going to have completely to yourself? and there are so many areas to choose from, you'll always find something you like the idea of.
as i said, the hotel has had a complete re-vamp since the new owners took over and it's considerably less stuffy than it once was. not stuffy at all in fact. the menu & quality of food is very high indeed. it's not fine dining, but it's a class above pub grub/home cooking; very classy but not pretentious. and all freshly cooked. oh, and the staff are really, really nice. they obviously enjoy working there, which tells you a lot about Richard, Fiona & Charlotte (the owners)
the all-inclusive rate (db&b) seems pricey, but bear in mind that's per room, so between two it's actually very good value
anything else you're not sure about or need to know, just drop me a line or post it here
This board system has been going for such a long time. When I first visited in the early eighties just as my first born reared his ugly head I was a bit sceptical about it all. I was only there for the week & found that one of the lochs I had been told about was to be off limits until my last day stay. Undeterred I joined in & actually found it was an ok way to fish. There was/is so many pieces of water to choose from after all.
As Dave says the water you get to pick you are the only one there so makes it that bit special.
I plumped for one if my memory serves me well was The Frigates (SP). Was at the bottom of the list but being guided by the Boardmeister a guest named McDonald (Mac) who was a regular there he advised me & true to his word I caught a good bag of fish not biggies but certainly not bandies. Others followed with names like Mid Chain & Mrs Little's not just one loch but a serious of lochs in a given area. The final day I got my wish on that certain loch. Dave one up the side of Loch Stack. Is it still "The One" in there I caught a 4lb fish not the biggest for the week I might add second I think it was. There was rumours of a humongous Trout with a beard of Invicta's named Papa Doc which had been hooked & lost on a few occasions though not by me the day I was there though funnily enough my troot was on an Invicta. Did (Sandfly) a one time forum member not go there every year, kind of miss him from the board think he spat the dummy over some splat with Fred or suchlike.
Tight Lines
As one who has been a regular of Scourie for many years I have to say it is one of my favourite places to fish. It has changed an awful lot since the days when it was owned by Ian Hay.
Much more relaxed these days, I am heading for there again next month and looking forward to going to the waters mentioned by Highlander.
You are still going there after all those years Davy, great stuff!
Mrs Bobfly and myself are there in early June :D :D
I have never stayed there before partly because I have family up there that I stay with when that far north but what would a typical week set you back? Including food at the hotel?
No idea what it costs now, but I remember looking at it about 10 years ago when a week full board would have been around £550 and dismissing it out of hand.
Quote from: sagecirca on May 09, 2017, 10:46:07 PM
I have never stayed there before partly because I have family up there that I stay with when that far north but what would a typical week set you back? Including food at the hotel?
http://scouriehotel.com/stay/rooms-rates/tariff/ (http://scouriehotel.com/stay/rooms-rates/tariff/)
and quite frankly you'd be mad not to do dinner as well. although you can always eat in the bar if you don't want a full 4-courses.
Thanks guys. Maybe next year...
Did they get the day ticket price for non residents sorted out? New owners had increased it from around £5 to £20 /day. Pretty steep considering the mediocre quality of fishing imo.
Quote from: Highlander on May 09, 2017, 01:34:26 PM
Did (Sandfly) a one time forum member not go there every year, kind of miss him from the board think he spat the dummy over some splat with Fred or suchlike.
Dave won the prize for the heaviest fist a few years ago.
I was up there with my mate in the campsite and we ran into Sandfly. He had a good old chat with my mate as I think they both originated in Blantyre.
Smashin wee guy.
Its also one of my favourite places and I have stayed in the hotel a couple of times. Once with an ex-member of the forum (who shall remain nameless) who completely embarrassed me with a couple of the other guests. I was never so glad to get home after a fishing trip.
Billy
Quote from: admin on May 10, 2017, 08:06:31 AM
Did they get the day ticket price for non residents sorted out? New owners had increased it from around £5 to £20 /day. Pretty steep considering the mediocre quality of fishing imo.
don't know Fred, sorry. never thought to ask. there's still the Scourie Association lochs available from the petrol station. Colin Munro assures me there are still very good fish in these, especially the ones that require a bit of a walk
http://www.scouriefillingstation.uk/sd&ac%20leaflet%2013w7.pdf (http://www.scouriefillingstation.uk/sd&ac%20leaflet%2013w7.pdf)
Wanted to stay here the last time I was at Scourie (first trip) but ended up in the Eddrachilles Hotel due to being fully booked. Board system here as well but to be honest we ended up disregarding it and just getting the map out and walked miles into the hills everyday. It was really enjoyable.
Quote from: alba on May 10, 2017, 11:19:55 AM
last time I was at Scourie (first trip) but ended up in the Eddrachilles Hotel due to being fully booked.
Scourie is very popular I think you would have to book months in advance (years in some cases) to get in during the high season. Jeremy Paxman, Chris Tarrant etc were all regulars and may still be. I have only ever eaten in the bar and it was full of Hooray Henrys and very expensive indeed.
A knowledgeable angler with a twisted sense of humour could have some real fun there. :lol:
Quote from: admin on May 10, 2017, 11:38:57 AM
Jeremy Paxman, Chris Tarrant etc were all regulars and may still be. I have only ever eaten in the bar and it was full of Hooray Henrys and very expensive indeed.
i think Paxman & co were at the Altnaharra?
as for the bar, i guess it's some time since you've been there? the majority of the clientele are from the camp-site up the road and it's very popular
Quote from: admin on May 10, 2017, 11:38:57 AM
A knowledgeable angler with a twisted sense of humour could have some real fun there. :lol:
well i've certainly got the twisted sense of humour and i sure do :lol:
Quote from: corsican dave on May 10, 2017, 12:25:42 PM
as for the bar, i guess it's some time since you've been there?
10 years Dave. It is quite possible I will never be there again, my fishing focus has changed a lot, but you never know! :D
Quote from: admin on May 09, 2017, 10:28:50 PM
You are still going there after all those years Davy, great stuff!
Yes still going Fred, had to stop fishing for a couple of years due to illness but ok now. Must be due a turn as Boardmaster.
Bobfly when are you there ? I will be there from 11th June.
Davy
great to see you back in the groove Davy! :D
Thanks Dave.
We leave on 10th June.
Great to see you back Dave. I never realized it was you.
The last few times I have stayed at the campsite and fished the club waters. Even the food in the campsite café/bar is good and it serves a decent pint. There are some good lochs on that map. I made my own version of the list and put on the map co-ordinates of each one.
I went out one time to fish lochs 1 to 6 and the weather was awful. High wind rain and fog. I never managed to get down to loch 1 as its a hell of a drop down from the others and the water was running down the hill.
I've had two crackers from 14 and a belter from 20. I turned a fish on 22 and the swirl was the size of a bin lid.
There are decent fish in most of those lochs.
I'll maybe get in on my plans for next season if I have time. My mate has struggled up there and I'm sure he would be only too happy to end his run of bad luck.
Billy