Stillwater · Mixed · Fife

Ballo Reservoir

Ballo Reservoir venue image
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Ballo is the Lomond Hills reservoir above Leslie — a small, sheltered water managed as a stocked fishery, tucked in the shadow of the hills with the kind of quiet character you don't expect from a Scottish Water asset.

Fair · Rainbow
Kate McLaren · 12-14
Fairlive now
Evening session looks promising at Ballo Reservoir
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
56% confidence
What moved it
  • WindE 10 km/hLight breeze
Today’s fly
Kate McLaren
Kate McLaren12-14
Retrieve, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
E 10 km/h
N
E
from the east
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp
Air temp16°C
CloudBroken
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
The buzzer is on at Ballo Reservoir. Murrough may also come into play as the day develops. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently. Evening can bring a surface rise — have a dry fly or emerger ready.
Where
Start with Marabou Damsel (8-12) — on the point. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Marabou Damsel (8-12) — on the point. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.

Plan B

If the main plan stalls, drop to a size 14–16 midge — switch to a washing-line or suspender rig and change drift line before you change food group.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Either bank or boat

Good ripple suits both bank and boat. Bank: work inflows, dam walls, and points. Boat: broadside drift covering wind lanes.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
100%
Cloud100%
Wind100%
Temp100%

Conditions are ideal for Ballo Reservoir — wind, cloud and temperature all line up.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Ballo is the Lomond Hills reservoir above Leslie — a small, sheltered water managed as a stocked fishery, tucked in the shadow of the hills with the kind of quiet character you don't expect from a Scottish Water asset. It's stocked with rainbows and the occasional brown, fished from the bank and from a small number of boats, and the fishing tends to be steady rather than spectacular. What Ballo offers is proximity — a stillwater within half an hour of Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy that fishes reliably enough for an evening after work. On a summer dusk with the swallows working the surface, it can fish very well indeed.

  • Reservoir
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Cloud cover (cloud) suits the fishery well.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2026-03-15 → 2026-10-31
Related guides
Booking & contacts