Boat in the Highlands?

« **on:** 27/12/2017 at 09:24 »

I'm thinking of taking my own boat up to the Assynt and Wester Ross regions this coming season. I know that some lochs will not allow private boats to be launched but there is one particular loch that I am targeting - Veyatie. I know that launching is permissible via Ledmore Estate. As well as being a wonderful loch, a boat on Veyatie can make L Mahdail accessible. Tried it last year but the water was too low to get the estate boat over the sand bar. My boat is longer, slimmer and lighter and could have been dragged over quite easily. Borralan is OK for a private boat. Does anyone know of other lochs where I could launch the boat?

« **Reply #1 on:** 27/12/2017 at 11:00 »

Subject to local agreement I've seen folk using their own boats on Loch Shin which is sort of only just in your described area of interest. Loch Luichart might be worth a punt

« **Reply #2 on:** 27/12/2017 at 12:54 »

Quote from: Hamish Young on 27/12/2017 at 11:00

Subject to local agreement I've seen folk using their own boats on Loch Shin which is sort of only just in your described area of interest. Loch Luichart might be worth a punt

but probably better with a large boat, Hamish

. Long way to tow a boat Terry, good luck with that Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #3 on:** 27/12/2017 at 16:42 »

Quote from: Derek Roxborough on 27/12/2017 at 12:54

but probably better with a large boat, Hamish .

Sorry Derek, don't follow you ???

« **Reply #4 on:** 27/12/2017 at 21:01 »

Quote from: Hamish Young on 27/12/2017 at 16:42

Sorry Derek, don't follow you ???

Punts Hamish?

Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #5 on:** 27/12/2017 at 21:56 »

Had a look at Loch Shin again this year and launching from the Lairg Anglers clubhouse looks easy enough.
Fished it years ago and found it a bit intimidating and not as interesting as Cam or Vayetie. Loch Luichart? Will have a look at that.
Yes, it is a long way to take a boat Derek, but it also means a bit of sea fishing is possible. A pal caught a sea trout from the beach just south of Ullapool and I saw quite a few jumping way out from casting distance. Wish I had taken the boat to fly fish for Pollock. The sea fish were quite plentiful when I used to fish Loch Ewe and Gairloch (around Longa Island) 40 years ago. Wonder what that is like now?

« **Reply #6 on:** 28/12/2017 at 08:17 »

Quote from: Derek Roxborough on 27/12/2017 at 21:01

Punts Hamish? Derek Roxborough

Aaaahhh

« **Reply #7 on:** 28/12/2017 at 08:35 »

Quote from: Terry Coging on 27/12/2017 at 21:56

Had a look at Loch Shin again this year and launching from the Lairg Anglers clubhouse looks easy enough.

It is super easy from there, depending on loch height.

Quote from: Terry Coging on 27/12/2017 at 21:56

Fished it years ago and found it a bit intimidating and not as interesting as Cam or Vayetie.

I had never fished it as low as it was last year, useful experience. It's nowhere near as scenic as Cam or Veyatie, but it has its own charm and I'm drawn back for a day or two most seasons. You may find it is possible to get permission to launch from the NW/Overscaig end of the loch. Some good fishing to be had there.

Quote from: Terry Coging on 27/12/2017 at 21:56

Loch Luichart? Will have a look at that.

It's a stunning looking loch and having driven past portions of it many times over the last few years I've never actually seen anyone fishing it. Now, that could be considered a bad thing, but according to some of my sources the fishing is actually really quite good and it's on my hit list. There's (apparently) very good Perch, Pike and trophy Trout to be found. I take these things with a pinch of salt, but it is a great spot.

So much water.... so few days to fish it all

« **Reply #8 on:** 28/12/2017 at 15:44 »

we had some decent fishing on Shin last year boat and bank, nowt huge but nice fish around 3/4lb the lairg club have boats at the Overscaig end, Sea fishing Terry ? not a lot in the loch now Taking off the 3 mile limit put paid to the decent fishing other than an odd pollach and the mackerel, even the Mackarel fishing was poor last year, but 2018 is another year good luck Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #9 on:** 28/12/2017 at 16:34 »

Thank you Derek. May try Loch Shin then. Did you fish the Overscaig end?

Talking about boats. If anyone is considering buying a boat I can recommend the Tehri Saiman. It's got everything that a private owner wants for recreational use or loch style fishing. Although lighter than the usual loch boats it drifts nicely due to the long keel. Extremely efficient with motor and oars and quite spacious. It copes with a decent wave and is quite a safe boat. Google up Tehri Saiman for several u tubes.

« **Reply #10 on:** 28/12/2017 at 21:38 »

Aye Terry we were staying at Corriekinloch so it was handy for us, you could probably find out about putting a boat on Merkland, nice loch to fish , about your boat does it sit in the water or on the water? that makes a difference in a stiff breeze when drifting, we have those Pioner boats at the club, without a drogue they drift like a box, but they are very safe,

Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #11 on:** 29/12/2017 at 12:42 »

Derek - the boat does sit 'on' the water and does need the drogue in a stiff breeze. The long keel steadies it up in moderate winds though. I would not recommend them for commercial use where they get abused a bit. It's a great boat for electric outboards which I prefer when conditions allow. It's a nice 'boaty' shape, with a high prow and narrow, raised stern making it good in a following wave. 4hp moves it along quite briskly - even in reverse. It's fairly light and I can still launch it by myself and I'm coming up for 80.

I will take a look at Merkland as a possibility.

« **Reply #12 on:** 29/12/2017 at 23:22 »

hope it all works out for you, I prefer a boat that sits in the water, saves having a drogue, we have to use a drogue on the pioneer Bath tubs, but with the flat bottom they tend to slew about from the drogue , so you don't really get a straight drift, the old Loch maree boats were perfect for it , good luck any way
Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #13 on:** 30/12/2017 at 09:13 »

Quote from: Derek Roxborough on 29/12/2017 at 23:22

I prefer a boat that sits in the water, saves having a drogue, we have to use a drogue on the pioneer Bath tubs, but with the flat bottom they tend to slew about from the drogue

Having used Pioner boats (hatefully

) extensively they are stable but they drift like tumble-weed in a hurricane

It is possible to make a Pioner drift properly but to do it you need either two drogues or, perhaps more simply, set up a large drogue on a guide rope that runs the length of the boat. It is a bit of a pain/fiddly to get right but it is worth it to get a decent drift.
Euan and I fished down much of the North bank of Loch Assynt in a 15' Pioner a few years back with the 'mobile drogue' requiring only occasional adjustment to give us the desired drift - no correction with outboard or oars.
The other option is to set the Pioner bow into the wind presenting the smallest surface to the wind, again using a drogue to 'set' the drift. That works very well, especially when the wind gets 'brisk'.
H

« **Reply #14 on:** 30/12/2017 at 14:15 »

The Club bought these Pioners , for safety as we let these boats out, so it's some sort of insurance, we have a Scandinavian boat, that has a good Keel, sits well in the water, but its a beggar for me to carry a big battery to , and it's up hill all the way back, the Pioner sits at pontoon and is much easier to access, so it gets more use from me , Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #15 on:** 30/12/2017 at 16:41 »

Oddly enough my boat drifts faster with the drogue from the bow, which is the highest part of the boat. On a shallow windswept lake I fish in Brittany, I opt for a bouncing anchor used like a drogue. Iron ball, length of chain and rope. No good on deep rocky lochs though.
It works well on the grassy, muddy lake bottom and fish lying in shallow water near the bank can be approached with stealth. On a longish anchor rope it is possible to cover a lot of water as the boat swings slowly around in an arc. When the arc is completed a sharp tug on the rope releases the iron ball and the boat drifts towards the bank a few yards, before another arc is covered. This is not possible when the wind strengthens though. OK not purist but it works on this difficult lake

I usually fish alone on this 1000 acre Breton lake where the fish are in small pockets. It is not often that a productive drift can be set up along a bank ( most fish are close in) so a different approach has been necessary.

« **Reply #16 on:** 31/12/2017 at 15:32 »

Which lake

My folks used to live not far from Plougonven, Dad and I were going to hit Lac Du Drennec or the Reservoir de Saint Michel.... but his health wasn't up to it in the six years they were in Brittany and we never did get a cast there before they moved back to Scotland

« **Reply #17 on:** 31/12/2017 at 18:30 »

Mainly Lac St Michel but also Drennec. I have been fortunate to enjoy a golden decade of fly fishing on St Michel. This golden period went into decline three seasons ago when pike matches and advertising popularised the venue for spinning and tubing.
I am OK with tubing but on this lake where most fish are close in and teams of Germans systematically work the margins, a drifting boat has no chance. The trout just became too stressed. There are no brown trout there now and rainbows are stacked at a minimum of 1.5kg and even they are pike food. So it is now mainly a pike venue. I have caught a lot of 5kg plus rainbows there over the years. Lac du Drennec is a totally different lake and is a lovely fly water for browns and rainbows. I have had some nice days there from boat and bank. Let me know if you go to Brittany again. If I am there you can share my boat. Although I am selling up and bringing my best boat home, I am leaving the spare boat with a pal who lives there.

« **Reply #18 on:** 09/05/2018 at 09:09 »

8 of us will be up Assynt way again in June..yippeee. We are taking one boat, a petrol engine with long range tank and an electric o/b with two 130 AH batteries. Everyone wants to have a day on Shin, preferably from Overscaig end. Most fishing will be on Cam and Veyatie. I have the Lairg Angling Club details but would appreciate any info/advice/contacts for the Overscaig area.
Also plan another trip in August. I used to go up to Assynt in August many years ago and although reputed to be a poor month it fished quite well. Maybe because I did not use traditional wets

« **Reply #19 on:** 09/05/2018 at 13:49 »

Don't hold me to it Terry, but I believe that the Lairg AC were going to have a boat at the Overscaig end of Shin or somewhere nearby - worth checking with them.
Failing that the Overscaig Hotel offer a boat or two at 'their' end of Shin plus a boat on Loch Merkland and one other loch I think.

H

« **Reply #20 on:** 09/05/2018 at 15:43 »

Lairg AC has a boat up at the west end, we had it out last year, very muddy to get to when the loch is down , even the outhauler is over the mud , Derek Roxborough

« **Reply #21 on:** 17/05/2018 at 13:34 »

I have boats all booked for Veyatie, Cam and Shin for 8 of us

We are allowed to launch my own boat on all three Lochs £7.50 launching fee. Can't wait