Stillwater · Peat · Edinburgh

Threipmuir Reservoir

Threipmuir Reservoir venue image
Google Places

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

Fair · Rainbow
Kate McLaren · 12-14
Fairlive now
Good summer conditions for Threipmuir Reservoir
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
64% confidence
What moved it
  • WindSW 7 km/hLight breeze
Today’s fly
Kate McLaren
Kate McLaren12-14
Retrieve, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
SW 7 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
WaveRipple
Water temp—
Air temp10°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
Current conditions suit Threipmuir Reservoir well for summer tactics. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
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. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.
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 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

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
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
73%
Cloud50%
Wind100%
Temp60%

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

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 (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 April → 31 October
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingBig Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatch
Booking & contacts