(Updated August 2020)
Finding Wellsfield Trout Fishery
Wellsfield Trout Fishery is a modern fishery at the back of a farm/leisure complex, man-made and consisting of three lochans, on the Denny road, coming from Stirling. From Stirling Services take the Denny turn off and head along this road until you see a tree line on the hill on the left running parallel to the road.
The Wellsfield Farm entrance is next left and pretty obvious as it has an Equestrian Centre, Gym and Holiday cottages as well as the trout fishery.
In 2014 the front area of the farm set up as a large childrens leisure park, it can be very busy at weekends, however the trout fishery has separate parking so don’t be put off if it appears mental busy at the entrance.
Details:
Two lochans are fly only with the third being a bait loch though you can fly fish there if you can find a space.
- Lochan Hearadh
5 acres of Fly Fishing from the bank (19ft deep, 45 pegs). - Lochan Uaithne
4 acres of Fly Fishing from the bank (18ft deep, 20 pegs). - Lochan Fionn
3 acres of mixed Fly and Bait fishing from the bank (20ft deep, 25 pegs).
Facilities:
There is a small shop/office next to the lochs that sells a small selection of tackle and baits for the bait fishing enthusiasts, hot food and drinks.
The Fishery seems to cater well for disabled anglers with Wheelchair access catered for both at the gate and at the lochside.
It can be very busy at weekends though so be warned you may struggle to find a decent peg to fish from. If there is a wind all the space is going to be on the “wrong” side!
Casting Instruction is available by arrangement on site.
Access road:
Being a farm the access road is not “motorway smooth” luxury. The road is a dirt track up a hill about 400 yards long. It isn’t that bad though and easily accessible even in a low slung motor. There are no big potholes to catch you out.
Public Transport:
The entrance to Wellfield Trout Fishery is on the main Denny-Stirling Road. While I am not knowledgeable on bus routes and have not seen one myself, I have a suspicion that there would be a bus that passes the gate. It may be possible to get here on the bus. You definitely could get a Taxi here from Denny or Stirling- its probably about 8 miles from the centre of Stirling so gauge fares accordingly.
Contact: 01324 822800
Note:I have phoned the number a few times to get info on conditions and a call answering system takes the call and tells you to call back when there is someone there. Not very helpful!
This is a Troutmasters water but I notice they regularly only submit a single winner and don’t offer to enter your fish if it was a decent size. I guess you need to ask which is a bit lacking in Customer care in my view.
Personal Opinion (updated 2020)
Its modernity is both the source of its good and bad points in my opinion.
Since my initial review of Wellsfield Trout Fishery the Lochs have become pretty well established. On my last visit, the Wellsfield Trout Fishery was very well tended. All the pegs have seats and bins and the grounds are immaculately kept. The water in the spring fed lochans is literally gin clear. Bombay Saphire Gin- you know the blue stuff?
The Blue tinge comes, I am told from food colouring being added to the water to try inhibit weed growth. This I understand reduces UV penetration. Having heard of this technique at another fishery, it seems to be a commonly used practice these days. The locahns teem with damsel-flies in particular which no doubt find egress from the water easy. Thereare clumps of tall reeds, water plants and wild flowers in the space between all pegs.
Not the place to head on a very windy day due to it’s exposure to the elements, being right on the top of a ridgeline. The Bait Loch is more secluded and surrounded by trees so may benefit from a spot of shelter. That said it’s usually busy with bait anglers and there is not a lot of casting room.
The pegs have plenty clear space behind. The angler should not be getting in a tangle with trees or bushes when casting. The pegs are simple affairs not being platforms really.
Additional Observation 2020: I was slightly shocked when a fishing friend ( and member of the Scotland International FIPS Mouche team) reported on fB that he had gone to Wellsfield with his three kids ( two of whom I understand had never held a rod before) to try the bait fishing to let the kids get a go. Obviously fly fishing is a bit beyond most young children. In a sport that is eager to get kids involved and keep a healthy number of new anglers coming through you would think they would be able to offer some sort of discounted deal to let his kids fish on the bait pond for the last 90 minutes of the day. Apparently not, he ended up having to part with an eye-watering £48 to get two adult and two child tickets, and if I understand correctly the four “anglers” were sharing two rods! I think as I have said before this shows a staggering lack of judgement and customer focus.
Ice free
The Lochs have a wave system to provide de-icing in all but the very worst cold weather. The lochs when it’s freezing have a couple of ice free holes. Theyare about 30 yards across on the larger loch and usually one on the lower. The fishery stocks some very large fish, and doubles are not unusual.
I have found it to be a fairly friendly place with the anglers on the lochs. Not so much the staff though, see my overall opinion below. Generally you always get a bit of chat or banter from others there willing to share their tactics.
Value For Money (Updated August 2020.):
While the general angler rates are fairly competitive I have marked Wellsfield down after hearing about the situation with the angler and kids wanting to fish for 90mins, above.
Catch and Release Policy: (Updated May 2015.)
Wellsfield Trout Fishery now supports Catch and Release. Anglers fishing catch and take can on reaching their bag limit continue to fish on a C&R basis. Wellsfield Trout Fishery have also introduced a Sporting ticket, for C&R only. Good News. You can see the C&R rules in this PDF of Wellsfield rules.
Website:
Being part of a leisure facility as it is, it has a modern easy to navigate website. Each week the fishery publishes a report in pdf format. Maybe easy for them to manage via a word processor but as a result there are no archived reports. A webcam view would be good of the three lochs. Again a table stating the current Troutmasters standings for the month would be useful.
Overall:
I have tried really hard to be objective. It is a nice enough fishery, clear water and on the whole well kept with nice fish and stocked regularly.
I know of anglers who rave about Wellsfield Trout Fishery and will pretty much go nowhere else. However, following a recent visit ( February 2017) and having reread my comments from previous reviews, and seeing several statements to the same effect, I have to conclude that their appalling treatment of anglers/customers, does them no favours.
The man who runs the fishery has very poor customer service skills in my opinion to the point of rudeness. He has a very “take it or leave it” attitude, and talks to you like you are a nuisance. When there are so many friendlier fisheries in the area to choose from I cannot recommend it as a place you”must” visit. I can only in my heart of hearts give them a three and even that is through gritted teeth! I will need to be desperate to return now or hear of a change in staff or staff attitudes.
My brother and I are fishing Wellsfield on thursday and I clicked on your location map for directions. Strangely the lochans are present on the ordinary and terrain map but not on the terrain map, where there is just grass, possibly an old map prior to the fishery being built.
Sorry Kenny – it’s the Satellite map that is missing the lochans.
Hi Ron
As you aluded to in your other comment, the satellite pic I think dates back to about 2001 ish, ( going by the satellite view of my house that I would imagine was taken on the same day ) and I suspect the lochans were not dug out then. If you look on Bing maps you will see them ( they obviously use later dated satellite images).
Hope you have a good time, they have some big fish, but make sure you don’t have too much success too early on as they don’t have any catch and release and once you’ve bagged up your done.
Regards
Kenny
Their lack of a catch and release policy is pretty rubbish as I could pay my money and catch my limit in an hour or less. Don’t know why they don’t do it, as the majority of others do and many encourage it by allowing catch and release tickets.
Totally agree Ron. I don’t really pay to go fishing to get some fixed quantity of fish, I like to fish for a set period and if I blank I blank, if I hammer them I hammer them I can take some if I wish but if not then enjoy catching them and returning. I see no reason not to allow C&R if its done right, barbless or debarbed hooks and minimal handling.
Visited Wellsfield on a few occasions now and every time I go I speak to anglers who tell me they won’t be back. I do have to say that after giving the venue a try multiple times I won’t be back either. The no catch and release policy is crazy, the man who runs it takes great pleasure in telling you that once you catch your limit you’re finished, end of story. He seems to think he is doing us a favour by allowing us to fish it. I also think the owner is resting on his laurels with putting a couple of big fish in every now and again, advertising it then sitting back and taking people’s money. Each time I have visited (4 times in total) at different times of the season I’ve noticed very few fish either being caught or indeed moving. This is at times when other fisheries would have fish rising everywhere. As for the weeds, especially on the lower loch, the place is full of it. if you don’t fish a dry fly then you’ll get snagged in the weeds most times. There are much better fisheries out there that value a fisherman’s business.
Fair comment, I can relate to much of that.
Noticed the above comments and feel I had to say something. I do fish Wellsfield regularly. First the weed, all lochans are now virtually weed free and have been since the summer. It can be a difficult place to fish, but who wants easy fishing (defeats the purpose of fishing). The quality of fish is excellent and produce hard fighting rainbows, The staff are very helpful and are happy to have a chat with you. The place is stocked 4 times a week, and it is not all about chucking a lure out and stripping back constantly. large trout are stocked regularly (personally had 5, 14.2/10.6/12.7/12.4/12. As for the no catch and release policy, this is the anglers fault, who wants to see dead fish popping up everywhere, thanks to the anglers lack of knowledge on how to release fish safely back. God knows how many times I saw anglers ripping hooks out of mouths, messing about with the fish for ages, while they chatted to their mates about fly used and how landed, and trying to take photographs, hence Tony decided to do away with the C/R.
In the interests of fairness and having no particular axe to grind either way, I welcome your comments. I do however have to say I have a different view on the C&R policy. I don’t dispute that some anglers will mishandle fish in C&R, and to be fair even the best of us, ( and I consider myself to be well versed in how to release fish when on a C&R ticket) can have problems sometimes, so occassionally you are forced to remove the fish from the water to get a pair of forceps round a fish that wrapped itself in line and hooks. But I always try to ensure the fish is fit to be returned and rested if its been a difficult one to release. It’s best not to net them and use a release tool if you can.( Maybe you could specify you are not allowed a net and only use a release tool as a precondition). All this comes down to angler education. Swanswater for instance has introduced C&R this year, and Orchil has had it for a while too. Menteith allows C&R. I have to say I have not come across a badly damaged fish in any of these locations since C&R was allowed. When I go fishing I go for a time not a bag limit. If I am out for an afternoons fishing I want an afternoons fishing not potentially 15 minutes and then home. He could turn it on its head and charge more for a C&R option if he wanted? Do away with the tagged fish gimmick too and add it to the ticket to fund C&R? Just a thought.
I took my friends grandson fishing there for his first time yesterday for 4 hours, never seen a fish turn all day not one bit, that is the second and last time I will be there, the last time my friend and I fished there it was the same. At £32 for an adult and child for 4 hours, limit 4 fish not a cheap way to encourage parents to take youngsters to learn fishing