Stillwater · Mixed · Midlothian

Glencorse Reservoir

Glencorse Reservoir venue image
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A narrow, deep reservoir in a wooded glen seven miles south of Edinburgh, reachable from the city in twenty minutes if the traffic is kind and the Flotterstone car park hasn't filled up.

Good · Rainbow
Kate McLaren · 12-14
Goodlive now
Good summer conditions for Glencorse Reservoir
Glassy and bright — hard work without a breeze. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
68% confidence
What moved it
  • WindSW 5 km/hCalm
Today’s fly
Kate McLaren
Kate McLaren12-14
Retrieve, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Calm
SW 5 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
WaveFlat calm
Water temp—
Air temp14°C
CloudBroken
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
The buzzer is on at Glencorse Reservoir. Flat calm means fish may be spookier — longer leaders and subtler flies will help.
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.

Bank

Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
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
77%
Cloud70%
Wind65%
Temp100%

A good match for this venue — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5
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Harperrig Reservoir
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Water of Leith
11 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A narrow, deep reservoir in a wooded glen seven miles south of Edinburgh, reachable from the city in twenty minutes if the traffic is kind and the Flotterstone car park hasn't filled up. Scottish Water own it; the Glencorse Angling Improvement Association lease the fishing. Fly only, boat and bank, stocked brown and rainbow trout on a wild brown base. The reservoir is long and thin, walled by conifer plantation on one side and heather slopes on the other, and it takes the weather personally — a breeze that was friendly at Flotterstone can become something else entirely once you're halfway down the west shore. It is, for a great many Edinburgh anglers, the first water they ever fished properly, and most of them still come back.

  • Reservoir
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 April → 31 October
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingBig Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatch
Booking & contacts