Stillwater · Mixed · East Midlands / Rutland

Rutland Water

High-altitude aerial view of Rutland Water reservoir showing the full horseshoe-shaped impoundment.
Contributor photo

Rutland Water Reservoir

Lewis Clarke - CC BY-SA 2.0

England's largest trout reservoir — 1,255 hectares of open water in the East Midlands.

Good · Rainbow
Booby · 10-12
Goodlive now
Good summer conditions for Rutland Water
Good wave on — drift country. Drift fishing weather — three flies on a long leader.
69% confidence

Peak season here starts around September — worth planning ahead.

What moved it
  • WindW 10 km/hLight breeze
Today’s fly
Booby
Booby10-12
Washing-line, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
W 10 km/h
N
W
from the west
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp—
Air temp14°C
CloudClear
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

Head to
Wind shiftWind shift
Whitwell CreekNormantonTransformer

The wind has shifted to a W today, but 2 days of a SW wind has loaded food into Whitwell Creek, Normanton and Transformer. Fish haven't had time to redistribute — start there before following the new direction.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
Buzzers dawn into late morning April through June; daphnia migrating mid-water June into August; sedges and damsels through summer evenings; back-end on lures and boobies through November.
Where
Drift lines on the open water, the dam, the fishing-lodge area at Normanton where fresh stockies cruise. North Arm fishes well in a south-westerly.
Method
Floater with buzzers under indicator in spring, or the washing line on calm days (booby on the point with buzzers on the droppers); midge-tip and team of three through summer; sweeping or fast-intermediate with lures and boobies for the back-end.
Kit
10 ft #7 boat rod; floating, intermediate and fast-intermediate lines; 6 to 8 lb fluoro. Drogue and a long-handled net.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Booby (8-10) on a fast strip on floating line or static on sinking. 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. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.

Plan B

If the daddy is being refused, drop to a hopper or a single foam beetle and cover rising fish individually.

Watch for

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

Either bank or boat

Good ripple suits both bank and boat. Bank: work inflows, dam walls, and points. Boat: broadside drift covering wind lanes.

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
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
Eyebrook Reservoir
13 km
Brown trout · Pike · Perch
Elinor Trout Fishery
30 km
Rainbow trout
Sibson Fisheries
30 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Ravensthorpe Reservoir
37 km
Pike · Perch · Carp
Pitsford Water
41 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 6
  1. High-altitude aerial view of Rutland Water reservoir showing the full horseshoe-shaped impoundment.
    Rutland Water Reservoir
  2. Aerial photograph over the full extent of Rutland Water reservoir with both bays visible.
    Rutland Water aerial
  3. The earthen embankment dam at Rutland Water with the reservoir water visible behind it.
    Rutland Water Dam
  4. Ground-level view across the open water of Rutland Water from the Barnsdale shore.
    Rutland Water from Barnsdale
  5. Normanton Church standing in the shallows of Rutland Water with the reservoir stretching to the horizon.
    Rutland Water at Normanton
  6. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

England's largest trout reservoir — 1,255 hectares of open water in the East Midlands. Weather takes roughly forty-eight hours to noticeably shift fishing patterns on this large reservoir. Rutland is a destination fishery: huge wild browns to double figures, and hard-fighting stocked rainbows. Boat and bank fishing available; the north arm and dam wall are classic bank beats, while boat anglers drift the open water with teams of buzzers and dries. Prolific buzzer hatches from April dominate the early season; mayfly in late May brings serious dry-fly sport; sedge and daddy-long-legs carry the fishing into September. The reservoir's scale means conditions vary dramatically — sheltered bays fish differently to exposed dam walls. Season runs late March to mid-December. Managed by Anglian Water; day tickets, season permits, and boat hire from the fishing lodge at Normanton.

  • Reservoir
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Terrestrials are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 April → 30 September
Related guides
Big Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatchThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
Booking & contacts