Jericho Loch

Jericho Loch is a stocked trout fishery just on the North Edge of Dumfries, at Locharbriggs. Unlike most “commercial” trout fisheries, this one it appears, is a club water belonging to the Jericho Loch Fly Fishers. While it is for the use of it’s members the loch welcomes visitors and has reasonable rates to fish this nicely kept small water.

Finding Jericho
Loch Trout Fishery

Very easy to find, Jericho Loch trout fishery is right beside the main A701 into Dumfries, which is the main road in for anglers coming south from places like Edinburgh and the East side of Glasgow, or further afield. As you enter Locharbriggs the loch is almost immediately on your left.

For those coming from elsewhere, get onto the Dumfries ring road and take the A701 North and you will pass the entrance to the loch just after the Penman Coachworks and the Locharbriggs Telephone Exchange. You can’t miss it there is a very visible mobile phone mast behind the building, on your right.

Access Road :

Easy access via a gate with adequate parking on hard standing at the foot of the slope.

Public Transport:

I imagine it is good as the access is on the main road into Dumfries and so one must assume buses pass the gate regularly. Should be an easy location to reach by bus.

Contact: 01387 710536

Species: Rainbow, Brown, Blue, Tiger and Golden Trout are stocked.

Size:  I believe the loch is about 12 acres, though as it’s long and relatively narrow it seems bigger than that. There is plenty of casting room, though it appears surrounded by tree’s.

Details

The Jericho Loch trout fishery is actually a club water, run by Jericho Loch Fly Fishers. The publicly accessible grounds are well kept and seem to be well maintained. You will encounter quite a few dog walkers but they seem well aware of keeping clear of anglers.

There are plenty of places to fish and I understand there are fish from standard stock sizes around 2 lbs up to “huge” in the loch. The water has a very friendly club atmosphere and certainly, everyone made us feel very welcome during our visit, with plenty of chat, advice and tea and coffee if you wanted it.

Facilities:

There is a very cosy “Angler’s Howff”, a Portacabin, and plenty of car parking space. There were plenty of folk stopping in for a blether from what I could see. Tea and Coffee is available to anglers. Bring your own net and dip it before fishing.

Personal Opinion:

Jericho Loch trout fishery is a small not terribly well-known fishery outwith the immediate area of Dumfries. Certainly, I had not heard of it until the day before I visited. I used to work in Dumfries a lot in my days out in the field and no one ever mentioned it then either! I worked right beside it at one stage, so be aware, you could drive right by and be oblivious to what’s behind the trees. It appears to be a deep water in places, and on my visit the fish were somewhat elusive. If it is stocked as heavily as more commercial concerns I could not say but I am sure it has plenty fish in its waters. I think we just happened on a hard day after some very heavy rainfall and it had maybe sent the fish into hiding.

We were made to feel very welcome by the members on site through the day.

Value for money:

A 2 fish take ticket, with catch and release is £15 . The people present were not all that sure what to charge us when we arrived as we only wanted catch and release.

In the event, I would have paid the £15 but they chose to take just £10 each and it was inferred we could fish as long as we wanted.  I think it’s a pretty relaxed place and if you don’t abuse the welcome I think you will be just fine.

Catch and Release Policy:

C&R has been relatively recently introduced as far as I ascertained.

Website:

As far as I can tell there isn’t one. I did find two facebook pages, one seems to be for the loch itself and the other for the club. Neither seem very regularly updated and so perhaps the web isn’t the best way to get in touch!

https://www.facebook.com/JerichoLoch/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009208932286

Overall

Jericho Loch Trout Fishery is a very nice fishery, with very friendly locals and a pleasant well maintained environment. They have a few rules you do need to be aware of, such as no fishing under a bung. Tea and coffee is offered freely and you are made to feel like a member. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.