Just been on the phone to a friend who is away fishing for a couple of weeks.He phoned tomdoun to hire a boat without engine on garry and was quoted £25,when he phoned back to confirm he was told it was now £70/£75 for a boat with engine and none of the other boats are now for hire.He also phoned the other place for a boat and they are £60 for boat and engine.When he enquired about Quoich he was informed that fishing on Quoich was for hotel guests only .


kevin.

Said it before and al say it again.Short sighted greed.The sooner he,s gone from the glen the better.

It would be interesting to know what would happen regarding fishing from bank float tube or kyak.
I am willing to pay for my fishing ,but i wont be ripped off.
Its no wonder people get angry when some greedy basta-t tells you you cant get to fish on a scottish loch .
We should arange a camping and fishing trip sometime.
I know the gamekeeper has a holiday let would anyone know if you get access to the loch with boat if you book it.
The thought of not getting to fish quoich unless i stay in Basils hotel makes me angry to say the least
scott

I dont have time just now as im going away for a week .But im gonnie look into the conditions of a protection order.If these lochs have one im pretty sure that clown is in breach of it.After all he Doesnt own it.

Sorry. Clowns are either Funny or Scary .
Basils neither.

I remember Basil used to have hire boats on garry which he kept doon a wee track
just before you went over the bridge.
I believe he was made to move them and the track was filled in ,the boats at the time werent fit for a duck pond let allone Garry.
Im sure others will remember them at first i thought it was old abandoned boats.
Any one will think we are having a go at the guy but he has brought this all on himself , he had the chance to have a great relationship wiyh visiting anglers
which would have brought lots of business but he has mucked it up with his greed.
Even the hooray henrys are getting wise to him
scotty

I will not defend Basil or his boats, but there are quite a few inaccuracies in these posts.
However, I am involved in these matters, and will provide an update.
There has been some appalling vandalism, thefts, despoiling of the environment and the unwarranted killing of fish (twenty left dead in one boat) in the first few months of the season on both Garry and Quoich.
A meeting was held, attended by the owners of the lochs, the neighbouring estates and Basil.
The proposal was to ban boat fishing by closing the access.
My input was to broker an agreement, acceptable to all parties, that would retain access. This includes a set of rules, but there is nothing therein that should offend decent anglers- it is just common sense.
Fishing is not restricted to hotel guests, but permission to fish (as per the law) must be obtained from the hotel.
Importantly, the meeting was made aware of complaints and comments posted on various websites including this one.
So if you do have an "unofficial" agreement with gamekeepers to gain access it might be wiser not to post them in a public forum.
As posted earlier, the access road has been repaired, as have the boats.

Why would anyone walk away and leave 20 dead fish in a boat.
I am not disputing this its just that i cant see how anyone who calls themself an angler could do this.
As regards banning boat fishing that would do nothing whatsoever in stopping theft and vandalism.
When you get folk stealing from a 75year old disabled angler nothing surprises me anymore.
The best people do deal with these incidents is the anglers themselves we must name and shame all those responsible when ever we can.
I have seen more vandalism and litter this season than i have ever seen .
I was on loch lomond a couple of weeks ago on a friends boat and i was sickened by the mess left on shore in one particular spot ,it would have needed trucks to remove it.
It is not allways fisherman who leave this mess but sadly many do and i can understand the frustration and anger felt by landowners but banning any type of fishing would only make matters worse . Bringing prosecution to those responsible is the only way forward and all the prober anglers among us have a duty to help in any way we can.
regards scott

Anyone who does that kind of damage (20 dead fish)- I saw them myself- is no angler.
Much of the litter, and sh1t, left behind is not by anglers either. They may have a rod or two set up, but they ain't fishing.
Mostly they are drinking, the rod is the excuse and passers-by think that they are about legitimate business, with permission, and pass by.
The police attitude (I am told) is that if you grant permission to fish, the mess left behind is yours to clean up- your problem.
The owners just don't want the hassle, lock the gates, dig up the paths, throw down some rocks to obstruct access- it has all happened.
The solution is simple- get permission, leave your name and address, agree to abide by the local rules (catch and release- whatever) and leave the place (and the fish) as you found it. If you don't - beware.
I cannot change the prices, but if it takes £X for myself and a couple of mates to spend a good day, on a good loch, free of hassle, not stepping in human sh1t, catching (OK, rarely!)and returning decent fish I am well happy.
Whatever I think of Basil, the cost of him, and his staff, having to spend a morning shovelling human waste off the shore is only going to be passed on to the likes of us.
Ken

Ken the police have a duty to prosecute regardless. If anyone can supply evidence then they are duty bound to act.
Most anglers carry a camera nowadays if you can photograph any wrongdoings without endangering yourself and take car registrations and pass them on to the police or riparian owners then it is a step in the right direction.
But in no way should you confront them on your own as it is a waste of time trying to get them to change their ways.
I have saved hard and spent thousands on my boat and gear and i get very angry if i am denied following my passion because of some mindless morons.
Sadly this seems to be what is going to happen unless we all act to wipe it out when ever we can . I have never been one to grass or clype on anyone but i have no hesitation in reporting these morons and nor should anyone else
scott

Thanks for your support Scott.
I agree, but fishing without permission remains a civil offence (the police are not involved).
Wild camping is allowed, it is up to the owners of the land to make the complaint to the police.
And the owners of many Highland estates are not contactable in time for the police to act.
In truth, many owners would prefer a blanket "no access, no fishing" law.
That is what I ran up against.
I too take photos, registrations etc. the police are thankful. Occasionally, they say "we know him" most of the time nothing happens.
It is up to us to improve the image of angling against a torrent of those who use fishing as an excuse for anti-social behaviour.
Ken

I had a phone call from my friend Mike today ,we fish a loch for pike in aberdeenshire, we have been trying to get permission to put a boat on this loch for years to no avail.
So you can imagine our frustration when we found others with no permits fishing from boats.
This was reported by us and the police have charged four of them . Because we have went through the proper channels we may be getting permission to eventually put two boats on the loch . So sometimes it doese pay off ,we had tried speaking to individuals before and only got abuse .So it is heartening that the ones incharge of this loch are listening to the responsible anglers who use this venue
regards scott

nice to know, thanks.
Ken