Stillwater · Peat · Edinburgh, GB-SCT

Threipmuir Reservoir

Threipmuir Reservoir venue image

A walkable-from-Balerno Pentlands reservoir sitting inside Edinburgh's city boundary — which still seems implausible the first time you stand on the bank.

Good · Rainbow
Minkie · 6-10
Goodlive now
Reasonable autumn fishing likely at Threipmuir Reservoir
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Fishable ripple — drift the productive shore.
67% confidence

Threipmuir Reservoir is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindSE 30 km/hFresh breeze
Today's fly
Minkie
Minkie6-10
Retrieve, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Fresh breeze
SE 30 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp14.8°C
Air temp14°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1011 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
North-western end

A southeasterly has held for 14 hours at much the same temperature as the 15°C water. No thermal steer either way, but the drift still stacks food against the north-western end — the bank it is blowing into — so start there. This reads the upper water, though — a bottom bait at range feels it far less than a floater or a fish in the margins. 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
The buzzer is on at Threipmuir 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 main plan stalls, drop to a size 14–16 midge — switch to a washing-line or suspender rig and change drift line before you change food group.

Watch for

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

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

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
57%
Cloud50%
Wind30%
Temp100%

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

Other water nearby · 5
Glencorse 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
7.0 km
Brown trout
Water of Leith
11 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A walkable-from-Balerno Pentlands reservoir sitting inside Edinburgh's city boundary — which still seems implausible the first time you stand on the bank. Scottish Water-managed, mixed wild and stocked brown and rainbow trout, fly only. The water is smaller and shallower than Glencorse, the weed growth more generous, and the trout accordingly better educated. Buzzer and dry-fly fishing dominate from May onwards; in September the bank hoppers start coming down and the fishing turns into the sort of thing you could do forever if the light held. The walk out from the Red Moss car park takes twenty minutes and is most of the reason people come — bringing a rod is really just a formality.

  • Reservoir
  • Peat
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for autumn fishing.
  • Buzzer is in its 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