Lake Of Mentieth May 2026 - Full Of Surprises.

Posted by Craig Barr on May 21, 2026

A Memorable Week on Scotland’s Legendary Lake of Menteith

There are few places in Scotland that capture the magic of fly fishing quite like the Lake of Menteith. Dramatic scenery, constant birdlife, and hard-fighting trout combine to create an experience I enjoy, every time I visit.

I arrived at the lake for the week, without any prior practice, so day one was always going to be about reading the water and letting the trout dictate the tactics. Thankfully, with May conditions settling in and only light winds drifting across the loch, it immediately felt like classic buzzer fishing weather.

The trout were holding tight to the rocky margins and patrolling the reed lines, cruising confidently in surprisingly shallow water. It quickly became clear they wanted finesse rather than size. Small patterns proved essential, with size 14 and even size 16 buzzers out-fishing my normal approach of size 10’s & 12’s by a long way. Downsizing was absolutely the key. Once we fathomed this out, the action became pretty consistent, as the fish started to come! A floating line, with two size 14 Flash Attack Vicar buzzers, and size 14Flash Attack Rocket Fab was definitely the way to go. Tippet choice was also crucial, as one or two guests discovered. Their choice of flurocarbon was quite simply two thick/dense & stiff, and was certainly not right for size 14 flies. Both times I set up a cast for them using Flash Attack's 8lb flurocarbon, and they both then started catching fish ! It does matter! Fishing tight along the road shore, to Lochend was the better area generally, though we did find plenty in and around The Butts ,very tight to the reeds – we did see several boats in this area, but for me, they were not tight enough in, and our fish landed in comparison to what we saw, proved it.

We ventured off into Sandy Bay, The Heronry, Malling Shore, then into Gateside Bay, but didn’t touch a fish – didn’t expect that I have to say ! That is fishing though.

Day Two

The second morning greeted us with a little more wind, but the fish hadn’t changed their habits, from the day before. They remained tight in the margins, feeding confidently along the edgeson buzzers. Fishing the Road Shore down towards Lochend produced steady sport throughout the day, with the same small buzzer tactics continuing to fool fish after fish. If there were rocks on the shore in front of you, then the fish were there, we found. The points, along the shoreline certainly held fish, more noticeably. A short drift onto the shores was all that was needed, as this was certainly where the fish were holding up. Regular use of the engine, to keep us tight in, was at times niggling, but if you started 50-60 yards out, you felt you had to wait 10 minutes each time, before your line went tight ! A floating line was once again, all we needed, fishing a team of small buzzers suspended with a fab on the point. As we approached the banks, I took lots of fish casting parallel to the bank, in just 2’ of water. You only really had the chance of a couple of casts – hopefully this highlights how close in we were actually catching them !

Day Three

Settled conditions returned once again, and the trout were still concentrated in the margins. Small suspended buzzers(14’s & 16’s) beneath a size 14 Rocket FAB proved deadly once more We explored more areas of the lake throughout the day, yet one pattern kept repeating itself wherever we went — the fish were consistently hunting the edges. Every rocky shoreline, reed bed, and shallow bay seemed to hold with trout. With the wind being a little lighter I did venture onto the dries, and picked up a few fish, however the small size 14 buzzers fished dead still, was certainly the way to go. The buzzer shucks on the water gave the game away most days, that they were obviously hatching, and was the trout’s preferred food source.

Day Four

Day four delivered one of those unforgettable mornings fishing. I’ve certainly not seen a rise like it !

As we arrived, the lake was completely flat calm, like a mirror. As we motored out from the shore, we suddenly came across an incredible sight, in the middle of the basin(between the Road shore, and The Butts) — hundreds of trout rising freely, sipping tiny midges from the surface in a full-blown feeding frenzy.

We killed the engine instantly and began casting.

The action was electric. Within just 45 minutes we had landed 11 trout between us, although the fish were frustratingly seletive. We must have cast at hundreds in a 45 minute window, often into pods of, what looked like half a dozen trout feeding together, and more often than not you got nothing. The midge was microscopic, and we were chucking size 14 & 16 buzzers at them. I did try a size 16 yellow owl briefly, not so much as a swirl at it !!

Then, almost as quickly as it had started, it ended.

The minute the wind got up, the rise stopped. One second the water was boiling with fish, the next it had all gone.

Adapting once again, we returned to working the margins from Gravel Pit Bay down towards Lochend, and the action continued steadily throughout the day. By close of play we had landed an incredible 37 trout between us. A combination of a small rocket fab, and a small size 14 Vicar buzzer, and my Rutland favourite buzzer(s14) took the vast majority of fish, though I did switch one dropper to a size 14 diawl bach, and it took 5 fish! Size of fly was definitely key. A great day out with Wes, and with him being a Leicester City fan, made the day even more entertaining ! #NFFC

Day Five

With plenty of boats on the water by the final day, things became noticeably trickier. A cold start delayed the early buzzer fishing we had enjoyed all week, and the usual morning rise simply never materialised.

As the afternoon progressed and the wind eased back, trout began showing on the surface in good numbers, noticeably around Sam’s Point, & into Hotel Bay. Seeing fish confidently feeding high in the water encouraged me to switch to dries — a decision that proved inspired. Fishing a size 14 Pearl Butt Yellow Owl, I managed to net five cracking trout on the dry fly, including my first ever Menteith “Brownie”. A cracker of 4.5lb taken on a size 14 Flash Attack Pearl Butt Yellow Owl, providing the perfect end to the trip.

Final Thoughts

All in all, it was a truly fantastic week on the Lake of Menteith. Consistent sport, ever-changing conditions, technical fishing, and unforgettable scenery made it everything a fly fishing trip should be. With a boat average of around 20 trout per day, it was hard to ask for more from one of Scotland’s finest trout fisheries.

TIPS – Last season the fish stayed in the edges almost all season – this could happen again, so fish very tight in. You can’t get close enough to the side at times! My normal approach of size 10 & 12 buzzers didn’t work. I sensed this after just 10 minutes, having covered very well, at least 6 fish. My lines didn’t pull tight when I expected it to do so, so changed immediately to smaller flies (s 14’s) it worked instantly

How do you keep your flies from not hooking the bottom when fishing the edges? My normal leader length approach would be 18’, but obviously I couldn’t do this in 2’ of water, so I cut my leader down to just 10-12’ and put a “ginked up fab” on the point, and 2 size 14 buzzers 3’ apart on the remaining cast length. BINGO! I rarely hooked the bottom with this short cast. Fishing just 12-15’ of fly line, & static,(just keeping in touch with it & no more) you will get away with a short leader like this. You won’t when pulling flies !!

Tippet line - Make sure you are using a good tippet line. Small flies require a fine line, not one that's thick & stiff and stifles any fly movement. I used the same cast for 3 day's running. No knots, no break-ups, no problem ! I would highly recommend our very own Flurocarbon, Warrior F1 for all nymph fishing, no matter what size a fly. Our 7 & 8lb is perfect for both dries and nymphs.

I’d like to thank Brian A, Stephen F., Keith D, Wes L, and Mark M for an enjoyable week. E had some superb fishing.

A special reader offer. A selection of 12 flies (4 patterns x 3 of each) that caught me personally over 70 fish in 5 days for £15.99 inc post (please PM me or email craig@flashattackflies.com) LIMITED TO 10 SETS !

The STAND OUT flies for the week on the Lake. (HHB21 being very hot!)

The Buzzer CODE HHB21 (s 10,12,14) – FlashAttackFlies

Vicar Buzzer Fly Gold Flash Back CODE HHB62 (s,10,12,14) – FlashAttackFlies

Silver Vicar Buzzer Fly CODE HHB64 (s 10,12,14) – FlashAttackFlies

Rocket Blob Fab Fly CODE HB6 (s10,12,14) – FlashAttackFlies

Yellow Owl Fly Pearl Butt CODE BD70 – FlashAttackFlies

Diawl Bach Fly Flash Back CODE HDB22 (10,12,14) – FlashAttackFlies

I will be returning to the Lake in September, so if you would like a day afloat, please email me for details.