Stillwater · Mixed · Midlothian, GB-SCT

Glencorse Reservoir

Glencorse Reservoir venue image

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.

Fair · Rainbow
Minkie · 6-10
Fairlive now
Reasonable autumn fishing likely at Glencorse Reservoir
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
64% confidence

Glencorse Reservoir is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindSE 29 km/hModerate breeze
Today's fly
Minkie
Minkie6-10
Retrieve, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Moderate breeze
SE 29 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp16.1°C
Air temp16°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1005 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

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

Head to
Wind driftSE wind
South-eastern end

A southeasterly has held for most of a day, running colder than the water (13°C air against 16°C water). The end it blows into is taking that chilled surface water, so try the sheltered south-eastern end instead — off the back of the wind, where the undertow returns food along the bottom. That chill sits in the top of the water, though, and the bed is slower to feel it — on a bottom bait it is the undertow, not the temperature, that puts you at this end. 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
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Glencorse Reservoir.
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 daddy is being refused, drop to a hopper or a single foam beetle and cover rising fish individually.

Watch for

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

Bank, sheltered shores

In wind, bank fish the lee shore — boats can anchor in productive areas if conditions allow.

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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
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.

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

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

Other water nearby · 5
Threipmuir Reservoir
1.0 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Loganlea Reservoir
3.0 km
Brown trout
Clubbiedean Reservoir
4.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Harperrig Reservoir
8.0 km
Brown trout
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
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Daddy Longlegs are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
  • Reservoirs of this kind fish well at this time of year.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 April → 31 October
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingBig Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatch
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts