Stillwater · Mixed · West Lothian, GB-SCT

Drumtassie Fishery

Drumtassie Fishery venue image

Drumtassie sits on the West Lothian side of the Bathgate Hills, a commercial stillwater stocked with rainbows and run as a straightforward day-ticket fishery.

Fair · Rainbow
Minkie · 6–10
Fairlive now
Reasonable autumn fishing likely at Drumtassie Fishery
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
59% confidence

Drumtassie Fishery is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindS 33 km/hFresh breeze · Gusts to 60 km/h
Today's fly
Minkie
Minkie6–10
Retrieve, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Fresh breeze · Gusts to 60 km/h
S 33 km/h
N
S
from the south
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp11.2°C
Air temp14°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure989 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Head to
Wind driftS wind
Northern end

A southerly has held for 6 hours, running warmer than the water (14°C air against 11°C water). Expect fish at the northern end — the bank it is blowing into — where the drift piles food, colour and warmth together. This reads the upper water, though — a bottom bait at range feels it far less than a floater or a fish in the margins. Treat it as a tiebreaker between good swims rather than an override — features and angling pressure usually count for more.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
April to October
Where
Start with Minkie (6–10) — 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 Minkie (6–10) — 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

A fry-imitating pattern stripped through the margins can save a blank in autumn.

Watch for

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 as a supporter.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Reservoir BuzzerHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
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.

Buzzer team todayfor the conditions now
Point
Black buzzer, orange thorax
In this water’s box: Black Buzzer
#10
How to fish it
Intermediate line · let the breeze drift the team, then hang it 15–30 s

Fly recommendations

Point fly shown — supporters see the whole team, sizes and why.

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Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
45%
Cloud50%
Wind30%
Temp60%

Conditions are away from Drumtassie Fishery's sweet spot — it usually fishes best in ripple wind with cloud skies.

Other water nearby · 5
Millhall Reservoir
10 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Linlithgow Loch
12 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Bowden Springs Trout Fishery
13 km
Rainbow trout
Allandale Tarn Fisheries
14 km
Brown trout
River Carron (Stirlingshire)
15 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Drumtassie sits on the West Lothian side of the Bathgate Hills, a commercial stillwater stocked with rainbows and run as a straightforward day-ticket fishery. It serves the M8 corridor — Livingston, Bathgate, the commuter belt — where the alternative would be a drive to the Pentlands or a trip out to Linlithgow Loch. The fishing is what it is: stocked rainbows on a small-ish water, honest put-and-take, no pretence of wild-water drama. What Drumtassie has going for it is location — it's the kind of place you can reach inside twenty minutes of finishing work and have a rod out while there's still light.

  • Fishery
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout year-round → year-round
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingSmall Stillwater Playbookstillwater tacticsThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts