Overview The River Creed Loch Langavat Other Systems Brown Trout Lochs   Lochs & Systems - Brown Trout Lochs     Here in the Western Isles of Scotland we are blessed with some of the finest scenery anywhere in Europe and we would like to share it with you and we’ll throw in a bit of fishing as well. The SAA have access to a number of lochs all of which are listed here, with a small summary of each one. With the help of a few fellow anglers I have managed to collect as much information as our combined efforts could muster. All the Lochs contain indigenous wild brown trout, some of the lochs hold fish that are 3 to the1lb size others have average fish off 12 oz and trout over 2lb, something for both the beginner and the more experienced angler. Tackle Fly Fishing – a rod between 9ft an10ft should cover most situations and you will find that fishing the lochs in the Western Isles a 10ft rod ,being my preference, is suitable for both boat and bank fishing, with an aftm of 7/8 is the local choice of fly line, floating, d/t or intermediate. There is little call for fast sinking lines as most of the lochs are fairly shallow. Choice of flies – A wide choice of wet flies will catch fish on their day but here are my choices – Bright days – Silver goats Toe, Flaming May, Golden Olive Dabbler, Invicta, Golden olive Bumble. Dark Days –Claret bumble, Claret dabbler, bibio, Kate Maclaren, Zulu, Petersens Pennel. Wild days – Clan Chief, Leggy claret bumble, sizes 10&12. Spinning and bait fishing – A decent quality rod between 7ft and 9ft is the rod size of choice among the locals with a fixed spool reel loaded with 4 to 6lb breaking strain line for brown trout. For Salmon fishing you will need to increase your breaking strain to 8to 10lbs with plenty of spool capacity as the Salmon can take long surging runs away from shore and you could quite easily find a 30 or 40 meter gap open up between  you and your quarry fairly quickly(better safe than sorry). Mepps, tobies and rapalas seem to be the most popular choice of spinner. Local bait fishers tend to fish solely with the worm and bubble float, however fishing the worm on the bottom with a lead weight can pay good dividends on certain lochs. Maps – The o/s Landranger No 8 covers all off the lochs mentioned on these pages. A compass and a whistle - are must have items when loch fishing, quite often when the mist comes down you can see the other side of the loch but once you start walking on the moor it can literally become pea soup. Another two essential items are a Midge net and some good repellent as when the midge decides to make an appearance your day can be over pretty quickly if you don’t have some protection against them. Loch Details Loch Airigh na Lic – grid Ref 400 342 (49 acres) The opening line in Norman Macleods Trout Fishing in Lewis about this loch states that “this loch is not beautiful” the intervening 30 years have not improved its looks with the quarry and the local landfill tip are still there and although there have been clean up’s along the shoreline the odd washing machine and wheel can still be found. On consulting my fishing diary I have not fished here since 2001. My records show that the average trout are small and plentiful (4 to the lb) and are very dark in colour. I have caught the occasional sea trout at between 12oz and 1lb following a spate in the Glen river. Donegal Blue, Kate Maclaren, Black pennel and the Zulu’s will catch their share of both types of trout. The A858 Stornoway/Achmore road will take you right to the lochside. Loch Vatandip – grid Ref 355 336 (57 acres) Since the removal of the SAA boat from this Loch in the early nineties it has not been heavily fished. It is essentially an early loch only fishing well from March to June, which was probably the reason the boat was placed elsewhere. Trout over two pounds have been taken in the past when the average brown trout was around the 10oz mark. Bright flies seem to work the best. Take the A859 Stornoway/Tarbert road for about a mile, look for the junction at Marybank then take the A858 Stornoway/Achmore road for three miles the loch is inside the fork in the road. Loch a Bhuna –grid Ref 346305 (77acres) Again a Loch that has not been fished heavily in recent years. Reference to Norman Macleod’s book “Trout fishing in Lewis” tells us that the trout here don’t rise readily to the cast fly, although on a recent trip I found this not to be the case. I caught and returned six fish in a two hour period, although I did tend to feel the fish before I saw them. The average trout caught that day were no more than 6oz but good sport none the less. The West and South shores was where I found success with bright flies, the Silver goats toe especially. Take the A858 Stornoway/Achmore road, the Loch is an easy ten minutes walk from the road. Loch nan Eilean – grid Ref 334305 This is a small Loch on the opposite side of the road from Loch a Bhuna. This loch is regarded as one of the “stiffer” lochs in this area, with the early mornings and late evenings being the best with the North end of the loch seeming to hold the better fish. So if you fancy a challenge this could be the loch, with a fish of 3lbs taken from here although this was a number of years ago, still you never know. Loch Airigh nan Gleann -  grid Ref398305 (12 acres) Yet another loch not heavily fished, late evening possibly the best time. The shallows on the west side and the two bays on the east side are also worth a try. A small loch easily fished in an evening with the fly. Take the A859 Stornoway /Tarbert road for about three miles go past the turning into the Go cart track for about 100meters where you will find a turning to your left (be careful as you are on the brow of the hill) park at the sheep fank and walk SE for about five minutes. Loch Airigh Riabhach – grid Ref 377307 (27 acres) A comparatively small loch with good quality hard fighting brown trout average 6-8oz, the South east corner and the whole of the South side are best. Easily accessable from the A859 Stornoway/Tarbert road. Take the peat road off to your right about 400m past the junction with the B897, park at the sheep fank and follow the track down the hill which takes you right to the loch-side. Please ensure that you close all gates after you. Loch Breugach – grid Ref 375300 –(Boat available)  44 acres This Loch is a favourite of many of the local fly fishers for a couple of reasons – There are big trout in it Although at times it can be dour, when the fish are on they love one fly, the Claret Bumble! The average brown trout caught here are between 10-12oz, then there are fish over three pounds in here but they tend to be very elusive. A good S/W wind sees this loch at its best, but beware it can get stormy here very quickly and there are some anchor ropes from previous Salmon cages still present in the loch so if it gets wild come ashore. The wearing of lifejackets is compulsory in all SAA boats and they are supplied. The loch is beside the road after the turn off for Loch Airigh Riabhach. Loch Beg na Craoibhe – grid Ref 376294 (Boat available) 25 acres A good beginners loch with plenty of 4-6oz fish with the odd larger one thrown in. The trout here rise easily to the fly, the eastern section appears to be the most productive with the larger trout tending to move inshore in the evenings. Once again follow the A859. This loch is just across the road from loch Breugach. The boat is moored in the south west corner, park in the quarry just opposite taking care when crossing the road as this is a  60mph zone. Loch Leiniscal –grid Ref 365295 (35 acres) Known locally as the “Ghost Loch” the trout here average 6-8oz although there was a trout caught recently of 3lbs,a fish of that size is fairly rare and believe me you’ll catch a lot of the smaller ones before you catch a fish like that! South and west shores are the best areas with small (size12) black/claret patterns being the best. You can park in the same quarry as for Loch Beag na Craoibhe or drive on a further 100m and park beside the cattle grid taking care to shut the gate behind you. The Stornoway Angling Association have access to the following three lochs with the kind permission of Soval Estate. Loch Achmore – grid Ref –310285 (105 acres) Boat available Another favourite among local anglers, I have heard of good bags of trout by all methods bait, spinner and fly(with a statement like that you would think the fish weren’t fussy) but this can be a really frustrating loch when it goes off, sometimes for a number of weeks. The trout average 12oz and are of great quality even early in the season, there are bigger trout to be caught mostly in the middle of the loch where there are submerged weed beds. If fishing from the boat take it to the main part of the loch taking care passing the point just up from the mooring as it continues under the water for a number of meters. The North bay is a favourite drift, fish into the shore taking care to keep the boat out just far enough to miss the many rocks just sub surface. If you are too far out from the shore you’ll know because you won’t be catching any fish. If the wind is easterly, drift from the boat moorings to the bay where the river flows out to Loch Foid, this bay can be very productive. If you are feeling energetic take the boat up to the west end of the loch where you’ll see a group of rocks just of a point, this is a good area – don’t try and get the boat between the rocks and the shore, it won’t go! As you approach the Loch at the east end try a few casts here, if you happen to be first there you may be in luck, the water is very shallow and the fish spook easily. I have taken trout up to a pound from this area although it is too shallow for the boat. It seems that this loch fishes in any wind as long the water doesn’t get too turbid (at this point go somewhere else). My best days have been in a nice fresh N/E wind. Golden olive dabbler, claret dabbler, clan chief, bibio, leggy claret bumble all catch their share of fish. For the bait fishers among you fishing the worm on the bottom seems the most productive. Loch na Craoibhe- grid Ref 300277(32 acres) Boat available You’ll find the boat mooring on this loch half way down the west side of the loch, this is a good starting point if you can drift in a N/E direction past the large boulder at the mouth of the bay in the north end, this can be a very productive area. The points, bays and headlands on the east side of the loch are a favourite spot for local bait and fly fishers especially where the loch joins loch nam falcag. Dabblers, Bumbles, Clan Chief and Ombudsman, and that enigma that is the Peter Ross will all take fish here. Salmon smolts are present in the loch during the month of May especially in the N/E corner, please handle with care and return them to the water. Average trout are 10-12oz, a days fishing should yield 8-12 fish. Loch nam Falcag - grid Ref 299270 (84 acres) Boat available Although this loch is somewhat larger than its neighbour Loch na Craoibhe, it is very shallow all over especially in the western section, therefore care should be taken all over the loch if fishing from the boat. Trout can be taken all over the loch, the most productive areas being the western section, the south side of the large island and around the weed beds that lie to the west of this island. The average size of the trout here are slightly smaller than on Craoibhe, but anglers are generally guaranteed plenty of sport. Trout average 8-10 oz , you can get more fish for your days fishing here with anything between 10- 20 fish for the day. Again dabblers, bumbles are good along with blue zulu, clan chief, butcher, peter ross, and green peter being the favourite patterns. To reach all three of the above lochs take the A859 Stornoway/Tarbert road, turn off at Cameron Terrace take the A858 to Garynahine. At about 1mile into the village of Achmore turn off on to the old road(it’s at a bend in the road so take care).You can park on the old road and walk down the track past the water treatment tanks. To reach the lochs nam Craoibhe and Falcag walk along the south shore of Loch Achmore and cut across to the S/W for Craoibhe and to the S for Falcag, those directions should take you to the boat moorings. Wading There is absolutely no need to wade any of these lochs the fish are fairly close in to the shore. If you feel you need to wade please be carefull.   The wearing of lifejackets in any of the SAA boats is compulsory. All boat bags contain 3 lifejackets and relevant keys for whichever loch you are fishing. Catch return forms must be completed on returning the bag to Sportsworld, Francis St Stornoway. (Tel 01851 705464) Boat locations may vary from year to year -please check at Sportsworld for current locations.

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