South Uist Magic
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 26 April 2006 15:40
- Written by Bruce Sandison
Bruce Sandison takes us to Loch Bee on South Uist
One of the largest trout I never caught came when I was standing on the bank of a loch untangling the top dropper and middle fly of my cast from the folds of my entirely useless landing net.
Whilst doing so, the tail fly was dangling an inch above the water. A trout, which I estimate to have been at least 5lb in weight, took the fly and set off like an express train for the middle of the loch, breaking the cast and my heart in the process.
Most trout lie in shallow water and wading only scares them into the deep. I suppose that we all have to learn these things the hard way, and there is no harder way of doing so than by losing a large wild brown trout. Never ignore the margins of the loch. This dictum of carefully fishing the shallows also applies when boat fishing. Don't end the drift prematurely, fish right into the shallow water.
East Loch Bee on South Uist perfectly illustrates this point. I have never caught a decent trout there but I know someone who has; my son, Blair, who was secretary of the South Uist Angling Club for a number of years in the 1980's. He and his fishing partner Dr Iain Jack used to play a sort of East Bee roulette by seeing who would give up first whilst casting into a foot or so of water. They caught some marvellous trout doing so.
East Bee is easily accessible and lies at the north end of the island adjacent to the A865 road. Use OS Map 22, Benbecula, Second Series, Scale 1:50,000 to find your way round. There is a parking place close to where the boats are moored at Gd ref 783433. This is a large, peat-stained, shallow loch which is rarely more than six feet deep and extends eastwards from the road for a distance of almost one mile.
It is also a very lovely loch, invariably graced by flocks of mute swans. The southern horizon is lined by the South Uist mountains, Hecla, Ben Corrodale and Beinn Mhor. Golden eagle, buzzard and hen harrier are frequent visitors and you might often share your fishing with a curious otter. Wild flowers abound, particularly on the main island which is the perfect place of lunch.
A narrow, weedy, channel leads from the main body of water to reach a 50-acre extension of East Bee, unnamed on the OS map but known locally as Shell Loch (Gd ref: 806417). In low water conditions it is sometimes necessary to haul the boat through parts of the narrows but it is worth the effort because the Shell Loch can offer exciting sport.
East Bee is best fished from the boat and the most productive drift is probably from the main island in a direct line to the south shore. On the west shore, by the causeway, a deep channel connects East Bee to West Bee. This can be a highly productive fishing area, although you could, unless you are careful, hook more passing cars on the causeway than trout in the loch. East Bee brown trout are of outstanding quality and their average weight is in the order of 10oz, but fish of up to and over 4lb are by no means uncommon.
When high winds make it impossible to launch the boat on East Bee, head for the hills to explore the surrounding waters. The narrow, weed-fringed, channel to Shell Loch offers good bank fishing whilst the south east arm, towards the Flood Gate, holds some really serious trout, although few anglers make the effort to tramp out there.
West Loch Bee covers an area approximately two square miles and is linked to the sea at Clachan (22/769465) at the north. Indeed, only the Flood Gate at the south east end of East Loch Bee stops the whole system from being a separate island in its own right. The loch is very shallow and fishing from the bank is restricted primarily to the north west in the vicinity of the small islands and in the narrows at Gd ref: 764456. The principal pool lies between the shore and the largest of these islands.
Favourite flies include, Black Pennell, Ke-He, Soldier Palmer, March Brown, Greenwell's Glory, Grouse & Claret, Silver Butcher, Kingfisher Butcher and Teal, Blue & Silver. There is a lifetimes fishing here, amidst some of the most dramatic scenery in Scotland.
For further information and bookings, contact :
John Kennedy (tel: 01878 710366).
For excellent accommodation and advice, contact
Billy Felton at The Angler's Retreat (tel: 01870 610235).
Bruce Sandison is a writer and journalist and author of nine books, including the definite anglers' guide, 'The Rivers and Lochs of Scotland' which is being revised and updated prior to republishing.
He contributed to 'Trout & Salmon' for 25 years and was angling correspondent for 'The Scotsman' for 20 years. Sandison writes for the magazine 'Fly Fishing and Fly Tying' and provides a weekly angling column in the 'Aberdeen Press & Journal'.
His work, on angling, Scottish history and environmental subjects, has appeared in most UK national papers, including 'The Sunday Times', 'The Telegraph', 'The Daily Mail', 'The Herald', 'Private Eye', 'The Field' and in a number of USA publications.
Sandison has worked extensively on BBC Radio. His series 'Tales of the Loch' ran for 5 years on Radio Scotland and was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC World Service. His series, 'The Sporting Gentleman's Gentleman' and his programme 'The River of a Thousand Tears', about Strathnaver, established his reputation as a broadcaster.
Sandison has had extensive coverage on television. He wrote and presented two series for the BBC TV Landward programme and has given a number of interviews over the years on factory-forestry, peat extraction, wild fish conservation and fish farming.
Sandison is founding chairman of 'The Salmon Farm Protest Group', an organisation that campaigns for the removal of fish farms from Scottish coastal and freshwater lochs where disease and pollution from these farms is driving wild salmonid populations to extinction.
Bruce Sandison won 'Feature Writer of the Year' in the Highlands and Islands Press Awards in 2000 and in 2002, and was highly commended in 2005. Bruce lives near Tongue in Sutherland with his wife Ann.