Stillwater · Acidic · Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire

Loch Muick

Loch Muick venue image
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Loch Muick lies high on the Balmoral Estate under Lochnagar, an acidic Deeside loch that fishes the way hill lochs do — generous in spirit, modest in size of fish, and entirely dependent on the weather playing along.

Fair · Trout
Greenwell's Glory · 14-18
Fairlive now
Buzzer expected on Loch Muick
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
53% confidence
What moved it
  • WindS 30 km/hFresh breeze
Today’s fly
Greenwell's Glory
Greenwell's Glory14-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Fresh breeze
S 30 km/h
N
S
from the south
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp—
Air temp18°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1009 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for trout
When
The buzzer is on. Lake Olive may also come into play as the day warms.
Where
Work Greenwell's Glory on the bob and Blue Winged Olive on the point. Have a sedge or murrough pattern ready on a short leader for the evening rise.
The plan
Plan A

Work Greenwell's Glory on the bob and Blue Winged Olive on the point. Have a sedge or murrough pattern ready on a short leader for the evening rise.

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

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

Boat — at anchor

Windy conditions suit anchoring in productive areas rather than open-water drifting.

Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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
35%
Cloud50%
Wind30%
Temp25%

Conditions are away from this venue's sweet spot — it usually fishes best in moderate_to_breezy wind with cloud skies.

Other water nearby · 5
River Muick
8.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Loch of Lintrathen
26 km
Brown trout
Rescobie Loch
38 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Raemoir Trout Fishery
43 km
Rainbow trout
Midmar Still Waters Fishery
43 km
Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Loch Muick lies high on the Balmoral Estate under Lochnagar, an acidic Deeside loch that fishes the way hill lochs do — generous in spirit, modest in size of fish, and entirely dependent on the weather playing along. The wild browns here are small, dark, perfectly made things that live hard in cold, peat-stained water and rise to a wave like they've been waiting all year for one. This is a wave-and-wind water: a flat calm sends the fish to sleep, but put a decent ripple across it and a team of traditional loch flies pulled through the tops will find them. It's not about size. It's about a wild fish in a wild place taking a fly off the top of a wave.

  • Loch
  • Acidic
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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