PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER HAVE ANY AFFILIATION WITH STIRLING CASTLE AC. PLEASE REFER TO THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
Details
Cocksburn Reservoir is a small, now disused for water supply, reservoir at the back of Bridge of Allan. While its formal name is Cocksburn Reservoir most locals refer to it as Pendreich which is the name of the surrounding Foresty Commission woodland.
It is stocked with Brown Trout and maintained by Stirling Castle Angling Club.
Permits are available from Angling Active and cost £15 for 2019. Permits are Dawn to Dusk. If you are interested in fishing it more than a few times, then consider joining SCAC.
A permit allows you to fish from dawn to dusk and it’s a place you can pretty much have to yourself for most of the day weekdays anyway.
Poachers beware
Be aware, though there may be no one on site, Baillifs do monitor the loch remotely and the Police will be called if poaching is suspected.
Fishing for permit holders is from the bank only.
There is a small boat ( soon to be two) but only club members are allowed to hold the keys though Angling Active have a set that can be loaned to permit holders with a deposit.
Fishing from the Dam wall is probably easiest for most anglers, however it is possible to bank fish and wade on both North and South banks though weed does build up in some areas as the season progresses making bank fishing a little tricky at times. Float tubing is permitted only for members who have signed an insurance waiver with the club. Note the loch narrows towards a weedier area where a burn joins the loch. The top half of this weedy area is a designated wildlife sanctuary and fishing is not permitted. If in any doubt do not progess beyond where the loch narrows at the east end into the weedy area.
Rules
Fishing is fly only and no Lures.
There is a Two fish take limit for anglers wanting fish for the pot, and all anglers are limited to 10 fish total even when fishing Catch and Release. For C&R observe the usual precautions, don’t return seriously injured fish, try limit handling, handle with wet hands and if the water is very warm as it can be in summer, try rest the fish well and return it to deeper water, When fishing on the dam wall a very long handled net is recommended to recover fish, and returning them. DO NOT throw the fish back into the water from the wall.
As its not my place to hand out peoples private information on a publicly accessible website, anyone wanting information about Stirling Castle Angling Club can look up current details on their website.
Alternatively Angling Active can provide contact details also. I noticed there was no information about the club on the permit.
Website:
Currently unmaintained.
Facilites:
None accessible to non members as not a commercial fishery. There is a boat house and members can shelter their if needs be, though no mains electricity so bring a flask! Very quiet and a really nice place to spend a (hopefully not too windy) day away from it all. There are boats for the use of members.
At the end of 2018 the reservoir was drained down for maintenance and this aerial view gives you a clear look at the underwater topography that is usually unseen by the angler.
Species: Brown trout and Pike.
Opinions
A really nice wee spot and fantastic value for the local angler looking for a place to wet a line now and then. On a bad day can be the dourest place on the planet, on a good day the fish can be chasing and taking everything. With brown Trout you just never know! During 2020 and 2021 it seems to have become more of a watersports centre than a loch for fishing. Part of this is doubtless down to the pandemic, with people staying local , but also the recent uptick in both “wild swimming ” and Paddle Boarding has proven detrimental to anglers wanting a peaceful few hours on the loch. Add to this the pathway installed by SPEN as part of the Denny Power line reparations and its become too accessible to make for a quiet fishing experience.
hi is their any reservoirs in the central belt that you can fish with a permit or not any help would be helpfull.cheers
Reservoirs: Carron Valley is the obvious one, majorly large reservoir. North Third is a former reservoir now only used for fishing though I do believe while its not for drinking water it has a more strategic function in times of emergency. Neither of these is open in Winter as they are prone to freezing. Bangour is a former reservoir again, closed in winter and quite small.
Over near Edinburgh is Glencorse which I think is still run by Scottish Water for fishing. Fished it years ago used to be full of stocked Brownies. Scottish Water used to have fishing on a lot of waters, look up their website . The biggest problem with reservoirs in winter is most are closed. Nearer Glasgow is Harelaw, Drumbowie (belongs to Bonnybridge AC near Denny is a former reservoir also.
In terms of permits I know of none that are publicly accessible that are free, all need permits.
HTH
hi any information on where to get permits for pendreich.thanks
The AGM is tonight so hopefully I will be able to answer the question for you tomorrow if thats OK.
I will probably update the fishery page on this site with the info.
Kenny,
Could you please send me the contact number for Lex as I have misplaced it.
Thanks,
Tim
Resent.
Hi am trying to renew my membership for this year but have no cantact details could a member email me lex number thanks
Renewals are taken at the AGM or within a month after. They will send you a letter with the AGM date and Time, usually in the Birds and the Bees at Cornton mid Feb/early March. The renewal fee isnt settled until the AGM so no point doing anything just yet.
Would have been clever not to put an invalid email address in the comment- its impossible to email you to the address provided.
Hi, can I have contact details for joining the club please.
Thanks
Hi James
If you drop an email to Alan Rodgers via treasurer@stirlingcastleac.co.uk he will be able to add you to the list and you will be notified the date of the agm. You should be able to join on the night failing that Alan will be able to keep you informed once this year’s fees have been set.
Hope that helps
Kenny
would like to join scac please advise thanks
Will respond by email.
regards
K
hi there i would like to put my name on the membership waiting list for the 2014 season.,thanks
Unfortunately the email you provided bounces as invalid so my mail to give you contact info for the club wasn’t delivered.
Hi, can I have contact details for joining the club please.
Thanks
Reply sent to provided email address
Email me contact details of joining club as I would like to fish all year
Details sent
Hi, Please send details re Club membership.
Thanks. in advance.
Hi I’m looking to join the club. Can you please send me details about doing so?
Much appreciated
Email sent to address provided
Hi any information on joining the club or permits would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Please check your email, have sent information
cheers
Kenny
cant wait to get back up next year
hi can i have details about joining please
The club now has a website http://www.stirlingcastleac.co.uk and you can enquire to the treasurer on any vacant places there. Apologies, someone else called Craig messaged me via Facebook the same day as you messaged here and I thought you were one and the same.
Hi Kenny, how is the water level at Pendreich at the moment? Do you think it will be fishable early season?
Tricky question. If you are a member and in the fB group for the club you will have seen the photo’s last weekend that it is still extremely low. The Secretary was informed at the start of the month (Feb) that the work was pretty much finished there was just some sort of valve to be fitted to the new concrete structure at the sluice and it would be done in 10 days. We were told the main valve was being closed to allow water to start refilling. The Secretary reported the water had risen about 2 metres in that following week, ( it fills very quickly I am told when there is no water being drawn). However, it appears the main outlet was opened again as the water again fell a little. It became apparent last weekend that the modification to the sluice still is not finished. The club contacted the factor ( you deal with them rather than SW) and the factor thought the works were done and expressed surprise to be told it wasn’t and that there was no sign of the contractors either. If the main valve is closed it should fill in time for the stocking arranged in April but much more than that I don’t know and the club is in dialogue with the factor to try nail down whats happening.
Hi Kenny and thanks for the information. I am a club member but don’t ‘do’ Facebook, my wife does however! Hopefully the work will be completed soon and the water level rises again to its normal level. It was fascinating though, seeing the drone footage on your website of Pendreich with the water so low. Thanks again and keep up the good work on the blog – always interesting stuff!
I was looking at your site, George, I need some inspiration for some soft hackled wets for the early season on the river, I will be referring to it!
Yes, please do Kenny!
Its just a wee thing I do, a light-reading blog about the flies I use. I really do like the simplicity of spider-type flies and a small spider has saved many a blank a day for me when the conditions were difficult. I also like the history behind them and find it amazing that anglers, of the distant past were using these type of flies to fish for and catch their brown trout.
Hi Kenny – sorry if I’ve put this in the wrong place, since it is not Perndreich related; I saw in your Trout Fishery Reviews (on your map) that you mentioned Lossburn Reservoir and have been a bit curious about it – do you know what the current situation is regarding permits or who I can contact to find out a bit more about fishing there? I also wondered if you or anyone else had fished it in the past and what, if anything was caught? Lastly, would the best thing to do, be to park in the Dumyat car park and walk in from there?
Hi
Not a problem. So, to the best of my knowledge Lossburn is “unpermitted” in other words no one offers a permit and no one is terribly bothered about anglers fishing there. As far as I can tell it belongs to Scottish Water and while I have not asked them, I do not believe they enforce any controls as regards angling. I could be wildly wrong of course but that’s just my understanding. I have fished it once ( on a late summers evening ) and there were fish rising but where I accessed they were hard to cast to and did not seem particularly interested in my flies. I think they were mostly smaller fish- undoubtedly there will be wee wild Trout in there. I have heard there may be Perch in it as well but really have no idea. As regards access you are better driving up past the area where folk park for Dumyat and a few hundred metres further on you will see another entrance into the Ochils, I think there is a sign that says Blairlogie and Menstrie. Go up there on the footpath, it kind of skirts around the back of Dumyat and partway along, maybe about a mile, maybe not that far, you should catch sight of the reservoir over on your left and you can hike over the rough ground to reach it. I am sure if you studied a map there will be an easier access from further along the main path as SW must take vehicles up there I would imagine, to access the dam. It is quite steep on one side so fishing access isn’t the easiest but the far side ( the right hand side if you were standing at the dam wall looking over the water), looked on my last visit to probably be easier, though I never tried it. Would be interested to hear how you fare- always intended to go back in daytime and take a bit more time but the moment has never arisen.
One final thing, is there is quite a lot of plant growth and vegetation you might need to walk through if you cut across the rough ground to reach it, and certainly all around it, so protect yourself against ticks as the weather warms up, don’t want that problem to deal with.
Brilliant – thanks very much for this! That is interesting indeed! I had a look at a possible access routes when researching it using Google maps and there seems to be a gate/structure across the main track, so perhaps Scottish Water uses the track for their access. Interesting too about their perhaps being perch in there too – I’ve never caught one on the fly yet! I may very well give it a go this year (now that I’ve had my Covid jag) and will definitely let you know how I get on if do. Thanks again for a very comprehensive answer and tight lines for this season!
Perch are not particularly hard to catch and can sometimes be a bit of a nuisance if you get in amongst a shoal of them. They like structure so hang around by overhanging branches, legs of piers etc. Anything red like a red buzzer or bloodworm pattern will practically guarantee a fish.
If you get enough of them they will fight over a small lure or even take dries on occasion. Loch Coulter has a big population though they really only become a pest in high summer when the water has warmed up and the brownies are sulking.