Introduction.

South Uist, with its alkaline lochs, has some of the finest and most exceptional wild Brown Trout and Sea Trout fishing in Europe; plus the bonus of the occasional Salmon. The only other fish that swim in the lochs are Sticklebacks and Eels – there are no coarse fish on the islands.

There are perhaps 800 lochs and lochans on the 2 islands (South Uist &
Benbecula), all containing wild brown trout - but in very different numbers and of very different sizes - some contain a large head of small fish, others a smaller number of larger fish. In some of the lochs there lurk the odd monster but these are rarely caught.
A wild 9lb 8oz Brown trout was caught in 2006 – that is a story for another time.

All fishing is by fly only, with the exception of the sea fords where spinning and bait is allowed.

Catch returns:

John Kennedy is sending regular catch returns to the fishing web site www.fishhebrides.com – this will provide an on going report of activity in 2008 - at least for the “Estate fishing”.

Note:These returns are for Estate lochs only, and are also significantly affected by how many rods have actually fished during  that season.

Many, if not most, of the fish counted in these returns were in fact returned to the water – see bag limits below.

Brown trout

	Magnificent 3lb West Ollay brown trout

The finest brown trout fishing is in the machair lochs on the flat pasture land on the west coast. These unique lochs are based on a shell sand bottom and are thus alkaline with superlative feeding.
The best of these lochs represent the “Estate fishing” although the Angling Club can provide access to a few selected machair lochs.
These lochs are shallow, rarely over 6 feet deep, and much of the best fishing water is even shallower. Drifting a boat across these lochs is a unique
experience.
All fish are wild fish – and there are no stocked fish on the island. Fishing pressure is light, and given a high percentage of returned fish, the trout population is self sustaining; enabled by some very high quality spawning burns.

Brown trout returns

	Guy with a big Kildonan brown

The above numbers are for fish over ¾ lb. only.
In addition to the above, several 100 trout are caught on SUAC water – returns seriously understate the actual totals but vary between 300 to 600 fish over ¾ lb.
We have a very high average size relative to most other Brown trout fisheries in Scotland.

Some of the more notable bags for 2007 included a couple of exceptional days on Grogarry - 5 fish or 12 1/2 lbs - that's an avergage of 2 1/2 lbs! Another angler dapping had 3 fish for 111/2 lbs including 2 over 4 lbs - quite exceptional.

One great day on Upper Kildonan we caught 30 fish for a total weight of approx. 24lbs - other than 2 fish for breakfast all were returned.

A day in Bornish gave up 8 for 14lbs including one fish estimated at 3 1/4 lbs.

Lots of fish overall over 2lbs - and remember these are Wild fish - and finally a specimen fish of 4 3/4 lbs from West Ollay.

Certainly these come from the red letter days, do not expect large bags of fish on every outing, the fish can be as unpredictable as the weather which can change dramatically from one hour to the next.

Sea trout

As with all Scottish systems, the size of the runs of migratory fish have reduced over the century, however as the catch returns show there have been significant improvements over the last couple of years.

Whilst the salmon runs here are modest in comparison with some other fisheries in the Outer Hebrides, the Sea Trout runs have held up extremely well and can justifiably be considered as some of the finest sea trout fishing in Europe.

Kildonan sea trout	A fine fresh Castle sea trout about to be returned

Sea trout returns

Note that prior to 2006 all Sea Trout under 1lb 8oz were reported as finnock – from 2006 the total catch return includes all fish over 1lb.
In 2006 in addition to the 851 total a further 300 finnock up to 1lb. were reported caught and returned.

Some of the best bags of fish in 2007 were represented by Neil Macmillan's 2 Sea Trout from Fada - one at 5 3/4 lbs and the other of 7lb 10oz.

Dan from Ireland and his partner had an exceptional day on Road taking 7 Sea Trout and 4 Salmon for a total of 44lbs. The best Sea Trout was estimated at 5 1/2lbs and the best Salmon at 9lbs.

Ian and myself fishing Fada on th elast day of the season - October 31st - had 5 fresh sea liced Sea Trout for about 13lbs - best 5lbs 10oz. Worth noting that there were still fresh fish running after the end of the season. October can be exceptionally successful for the experienced angler.

Malcolm Greenhalgh's 4 1/2 lb Sea Trout from Castle loch in a flat calm, and bright sun, was a memorable achievement - and on the Dry fly.

My Italian chum Andrea's 9 3/4 lb Sea Trout from Fada was certainly the biggest of the year that was actually hooked and landed - and of course returned.

For the specimen hunter there are undoubtedly the odd fish of nearer 15lb in the system each year – catching them is quite another matter.

Salmon

	Andrea’s big Sea Trout

Salmon catches in 2007 were well up on previous years despite very few anglers in July and August.

The first fish come in after the mid month Spring tide in July. Note that most of the fish from mid September onwards tend to be very coloured.

Nearly all fish are grilse in a range of sizes up to about 10lb.

Salmon returns

For further information about the quality of fishing here see also:
www.fishhebrides.com

Ownership/Management:

The community buy out is now complete all sporting rights (fishing and shorting) have been transferred to the community.
It has already been confirmed that at least for the 2008 season the present fishing arrangements will continue.
Namely the fishing will be split between “the Estate fishing” and the angling club water to be “managed” by South Uist Angling Club (SUAC).

Access to the Estate water is through the fishing manger John Kennedy, who can be contacted by email at:  bornishfish@googlemail.com or by telephone on 01878 710 366

Rates shown are for the 2008 season and these are unlikely to change significantly.

Note that access to fishing is in no way conditional on staying at any particular establishment.
It should also be noted that there is likely to be a very heavy demand for fishing in 2007 and prospective guests are urged to confirm arrangements asap. The same caution should apply to the availability of ghillies – there are only a few active ghillies on the island and they too will be heavily booked for 2008.

Bag Limits
Whilst we do not have specific bag limits, we are asking, and anglers are increasingly agreeing to, only kill those fish they require for the table. We have a uniquely rare wild resource, it needs protecting. If you have never eaten a red fleshed machair trout you cannot know how good they taste. Let me barbecue them by the loch, with some salad and a fine white wine, or smoke them for you.		Guy Greenway with a fine sea trout from Roag
“The charm of the Outer Hebrides for the true angler, the man who feels the full joy of the sport, lies in the sense of solitude which broods over their desolate moors. The island is a land of matchless cloudscapes above the western horizon, where the sea and sky meet. Days of calm and days of storm, days of sunshine and days of mist and rain come in alternate bewildering sequence, and each gives to the lone land of lakes a new delight.” Hamish Stuart - Book of the Sea Trout 1916
70 Lochs - A guide to Trout Fishing in South Uist
Written by John Kennedy, fishing manager for South Uist Estates, this guide is based on some 25 years experience this guide is essential reading for the angler visiting the island for the first time, and an invaluable reference for the local angler. I would recommend it to you.
“As well as a comment on the general character and favourable conditions, each loch described in this guide has an O.S. grid reference, and many are accompanied by a neat sketch map showing approach from the road, boat site and the best areas for fishing. There can be no doubt that this handy pocket-sized book will save many a blank day for visitors and residents alike. This is thus worth every penny of its modest price, and is indeed, one of the best things of its sort that the writer has yet seen” D. B. West Highland Free Press