Stillwater · Peat · Stirlingshire

Loch Ardinning

Loch Ardinning venue image
Google Places

A small, slightly secretive loch on the edge of the Campsie Fells, 15 km north of central Glasgow and sitting inside a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve.

Fair · Trout
Kate McLaren · 12-14
Fairlive now
Buzzer on Loch Ardinning
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
50% confidence
What moved it
  • WindS 12 km/hLight breeze
Today’s fly
Kate McLaren
Kate McLaren12-14
Retrieve, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
S 12 km/h
N
S
from the south
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp
Air temp17°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for trout
When
May to August
Where
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.
The plan
Plan A

Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Watch for Murrough towards evening — this could be the best window of the day.

Boat — drift

A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.

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
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
73%
Cloud50%
Wind100%
Temp60%

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

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

A small, slightly secretive loch on the edge of the Campsie Fells, 15 km north of central Glasgow and sitting inside a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve. Wild brown trout, no stocking. The fish are not big — a half-pounder is typical, a pound is a good one, anything beyond that is bragging-rights territory — but they are properly wild and they behave like it. The reserve itself is worth the trip in its own right: moorland, birch scrub, the occasional hen harrier working the ridges. For a Glaswegian who wants a wild hill loch without driving to the Highlands, Ardinning is about as close as it gets.

  • Loch
  • Peat
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout15 March → 6 October
Related guides
Booking & contacts