South Uist Angling Club – Boat Map & Where to fish
South Uist Angling Club – Boat Map & Where to fish. The following shows the areas that SUAC members are entitled to fish.
BENBECULA: All lochs, except Loch Dun Mhurchaidh.
NORTH FORD SEA POOLS: South Bank only
SOUTH FORD SEA POOLS: North and South Banks
IN SOUTH UIST: All lochs Except the Following:
Please note – all Stòras Uibhist boats are Grey -To book Estate boats please ring +44 (0)1878 700101 or click here for further information.
SUAC BOAT LOCATIONS
Please note – The majority of SUAC boats are Green Lomond Boats except for and
BOAT LOCATION MAP
East Bee
East Bee
Loch Druidibeg
Loch Druidibeg
North Olabhat
North Olabhat
East Olabhat
East Olabhat
West Olabhat
West Olabhat
L. a Chlachain
L. a Chlachain
West Bee
West Bee
Toronish
Toronish
Langavat
Loch Langavat
Duin Mhoir
Loch Duin Mhoir , West Gerenish
Frazers
Frazers
BOOKING OF BOATS
If you wish to book a boat, please visit or contact Stòras Uibhist, Oifis Stòras, Daliburgh, South Uist. HS8 5SS (01878 700 101) or fishing@storasuibhist.com). Bookings can be made in advance from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm: Monday to Friday. When the Stòras Uibhist office is closed, as on Saturdays and Sunday, boat bookings can be made in advance on Friday. Anglers will be limited to the advanced booking of one day’s boat fishing per loch per week. This will not apply to any bookings made within 48 hours of the proposed boat use.
Club Members must quote their membership number when making a booking. Similarly, visitors must quote their boat permit number. Members can contact Stòras Uibhist, ( 01878 700 101) for availability of hill loch boats (free to members). When booking a boat, anglers should be aware that SUAC policy prohibits the occupation of a boat by more than three persons at any time.
DAMAGE TO BOATS
Any damage to boats or broken oars should be reported immediately to the Booking Agent, Stòras Uibhist. Tel. 01878 700101 or Gary Bateman, the club boat officer, on 07525050891 Any damage arising from misuse of the boat, or failure to secure it properly after use, may result in a claim being lodged by the Club against the persons responsible. Each season, a number of our boats are damaged, often extensively, as a result of not being properly secured or pulled high enough out of the water.
CARE OF BOATS
After use, please return the boat to the correct location, irrespective of where it may have been found: also, please pull the boat well clear of the water and secure it to the mooring post. (Some lochs may rise or fall significantly as a result of tides or rainfall). Please leave the boat in a clean and tidy condition and store the oars safely and securely under a boat seat.
SAFETY IN BOATS
WARNING Many accidental drownings occur due to a number of factors including:
- lack of a life jacket,
- disregard or misjudgement of the conditions,
- failure to follow good boating practice,
- lack of supervision, especially of the young,
- inability to cope once a problem occurs.
LIFE JACKETS
All persons using the South Uist Angling Club’s boats are required to:
WEAR A LIFE JACKET
A life jacket is a personal safety device which, when fully inflated, will provide sufficient buoyancy to turn and support even an unconscious person face upwards within five seconds. It will support the person’s head, with the mouth and nose well clear of the water. Please note SUAC no longer provide life jackets.
OTHER SAFETY ADVICE
- Don’t stand up in the boat. It is not only potentially dangerous: it is likely to scare the fish.
- Ensure that you take a baler with you in the boat.
- Don’t under-estimate the elements: if in doubt, don’t go out.
- Carefully supervise and give good example to the young.
- Don’t panic if a problem arises: calmly make for the shore.
- Report to us any dangerous occurrence or incident.
CHECK BOATS BEFORE USE
Boats are used entirely at the user’s risk. The Club accepts no responsibility for any accident or loss arising from the use of a Club boat, nor can the Club guarantee the condition of any boat. Persons using boats should ensure that the boat is in a “seaworthy” condition prior to use. Any shortcomings, or damage, should be reported as soon as possible, to the Chairman, Booking Agent or other Club Officials.
SAFETY IN BOATS
Angling is generally a very safe sport but it does have the potential for a bad accident if hazards are
ignored. The lists below are the result of risk assessments carried out by the club but there is no
guarantee that we have thought of everything. To experienced locals much in the following lists will
seem obvious, but fishing in Uist is very different to what most visiting anglers are used to.
A few things the club insists on:
1. LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN IN BOATS.
2. No standing up while fishing from boats. Most of the lochs have many hidden rocks and skerries,
sometimes far out from the shore, and water levels can vary greatly over a few days bringing
new hazards where previously there were none. Hitting a rock while standing up in a boat will
probably mean you fall over, but it could result in you falling overboard with potentially much
more serious results. Standing up also means the fish can see you from much further away
which will greatly reduce your chances of catching them.
3. Check the boat before use. The club is entirely voluntary and cannot physically inspect each boat
every day. Any damage to boats or broken oars should be reported immediately to the Booking
Agent, Stòras Uibhist tel. 01878 700101 , or Gary Bateman, the club boat officer, on 07525 050 891.
Make sure there is a bailer.
4. After use, please return the boat to the correct location, irrespective of where it may have been
found. If you are unable to return the boat to its correct position, please inform Stòras Uibhist or
the Boat Officer. Also, please pull the boat well clear of the water and secure it to the mooring
post. (Some lochs may rise or fall significantly as a result of tides or rainfall). Please leave the
boat in a clean and tidy condition and store the oars and bailer safely and securely under a boat
seat.
5. Any damage arising from misuse of the boat, or failure to secure it properly after use, may result in a
claim being lodged by the Club against the persons responsible. Each season, a number of our boats
are damaged, often extensively, as a result of not being properly secured or pulled high enough out
of the water.
6. Do not take a boat if you do not have a confirmed booking. Bookings are for 24 hours. Seeing a
boat tied up at 11am does not mean that it is available – not everyone is free to fish from 10 till
6.
7. No salmon may be kept. This is the law for our Fisheries Board area.
8. No landing on islands in Loch Druidibeg as it is a nature reserve.
9. Fishing on SUAC waters is fly only apart from on the seapools where spinning is also allowed.
10. Please complete a catch return. All members and visitors are required to complete a catch
return which is available here. (Web link) Please send it to Sheena MacMillan as soon as
possible, especially if you have had a notable day or week, but in any case no later than 14
November.
Sheena.MacMillan@StorasUibhist.com or by post Storas Uibhist, Daliburgh. HS8 5SS).
These returns are needed to comply with legal requirements.
Further advice to anglers:
1. Check the weather forecast before fishing but be aware that conditions can change rapidly.
Don’t fish in or near thunderstorms. If the weather is poor and you are in any doubt aboutconditions, don’t go out. Take suitable clothing for expected and unexpected weather
conditions.
2. Take suitable equipment for the day you have planned, eg sun and windburn protection,
sunglasses and a peaked cap (which will also protect you against miscast flies), mobile phone
(which can also be a torch if needed) with What3Words or OS app for navigation – note that
mobile phone coverage is poor/non-existent in some parts of the islands, but these navigation
apps will still work.
3. If bank fishing away from public roads be aware that there are few paths so progress may be
slower than you expect. Visibility can reduce to a few yards if a mist descends – take a map and
compass and know how to use them.
4. If fishing alone, from the bank or a boat, leave details and expected time of return with someone
or visible in your car before you set off.
5. In a boat always proceed with caution particularly if the loch is unfamiliar. Consider hiring a local
ghillie to show you the unseen hazards, and where the fish tend to lie.
Other hazards:
1. Terrain. Be aware that rocks and grassy banks may be slippery, and lochs may have steep drop-
offs into deep water. Some lochs have very soft bottoms, others deep sink holes – use a wading
staff to check. Peat bogs and peat cuttings can have deep unseen holes, and heather often
conceals holes – again use a staff or walking pole to check.
2. Animals. Uist has a high incidence of Lyme Disease, carried by ticks, so it is advisable to wear
insect repellent, check for ticks regularly and carry a tick removal tool. Weils disease is water-
borne and carried in rat and cow urine. Both animals are common on the islands. Practising good
hand hygiene should reduce the risk of infection. Cows and swans are both generally non-
aggressive to humans, but this can change if they have young or feel threatened. Give both a
wide berth.
3. Powerlines. There are many overhead powerlines on the Estate. Carbon fibre rods are excellent
conductors of electricity, so keep your rod low when walking near such cables and do not cast
anywhere near them.
4. Seapools. There are seapool maps on the club website which contain important information.
However some locations are indicative and not necessarily accurate. The position of sandbanks
and tidal channels alter over time.
Check the tide times and be aware the tide may come in behind you. If you do get cut off, do not
panic – any island with grass on it should be above high tide. Make sure you take a mobile phone
with you