Stillwater · Mixed · Ross-shire

Tarvie Lochs Trout Fishery

Tarvie Lochs venue image
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Tarvie sits in the Ross-shire hills above Garve, a commercial stillwater high enough to feel properly upland but accessible enough for a day's drive from Inverness.

Fair · Rainbow
Kate McLaren · 12-14
Fairlive now
Good summer conditions for Tarvie Lochs Trout Fishery
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
61% confidence
What moved it
  • WindNW 3 km/hCalm
Today’s fly
Kate McLaren
Kate McLaren12-14
Retrieve, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Calm
NW 3 km/h
N
NW
from the north-west
WaveFlat calm
Water temp—
Air temp10°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1022 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Tarvie Lochs Trout Fishery. Flat calm means fish may be spookier — longer leaders and subtler flies will help.
Where
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. When no hatch is visible, a buzzer team — black stripped quill on the point, attractor or pearl-rib on the top dropper — is the default starting point on any UK stillwater.
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. When no hatch is visible, a buzzer team — black stripped quill on the point, attractor or pearl-rib on the top dropper — is the default starting point on any UK stillwater.

Plan B

Fish early and late, try deeper during the heat of the day with a fast-sinking line.

Watch for

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

Bank

Bank fishing near inflows, dam walls, and weed beds. Move to find feeding fish.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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
59%
Cloud50%
Wind65%
Temp60%

A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 3
Achilty Loch Trout Fishery
6.0 km
Rainbow trout
Loch Shin
51 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Achagour Fishery
52 km
Trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Tarvie sits in the Ross-shire hills above Garve, a commercial stillwater high enough to feel properly upland but accessible enough for a day's drive from Inverness. Stocked rainbows and brown trout in several small lochs, fly-only, boat and bank. What makes Tarvie worth the drive is the setting — you're in the Highlands proper here, with the hills rising around you and the feel of a remote water even though the road runs past the gate. The fishing is commercial put-and-take, but the fish are in excellent condition and the character of the place is Highland stillwater at its most genuine.

  • Fishery
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • summer conditions with overcast skies and calm wind.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2026-03-15 → 2026-10-31
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingSmall Stillwater Playbookstillwater tacticsThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
Booking & contacts