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529-acre lake near Stirling. The lake tops out around 107 ft. The chart is a model: real shoreline, published maximum depth, interpolated in between. A planning tool, never a navigation product. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.
On the chart, Loch Ard draws 528 acres inside 7.1 miles of shoreline. With a shoreline index of 2.2, this water is all arms and coves — edge habitat well beyond its acreage. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 14% of this chart, as modeled. Tip to tip the water measures near 2.3 mi with a 1-mi widest point. You'll find it in Stirling. The nearest mapped water is Loch Dhu, 3 mi to the northwest.
Come spring, look for brown trout tight to the bank in 3 to 25 ft. Expect a summer slide to 25 to 60 ft, then a winter hold in 5 to 35 ft. Start at Main-lake point. It's a point holding about 27 ft of water and rates prime come fall. Prime time lands in after dark and early morning. A spoon at the thermocline or a deep stickbait (night) is the honest summer answer here.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Main-lake point (27 ft) | Stickbait off planer boards (shallow), Small spoon along mud lines |
| Summer | 25 to 60 ft | night & dawn | Main-lake point (27 ft) | Spoon at the thermocline, Deep stickbait (night) |
| Fall | 5 to 30 ft | dusk & dawn | Main-lake point (27 ft) | Jerkbait over gravel, Casting spoon |
| Winter | 5 to 35 ft | dawn | open water | Jigging spoon, Small stickbait (slow) |
The spring pattern is a shallow one: european perch in 3 to 12 ft. As the season builds they drop to 8 to 28 ft, wintering in 12 to 33 ft. Top water on the chart: Shallow bay flat, a feeding flat in the 6 ft range, prime in spring. Time it for early morning. Summer baits: a drop-shot micro plastics or a small crankbait (perch pattern) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Small jig + curly tail, Inline spinner #1-2 |
| Summer | 8 to 28 ft | dawn | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small crankbait (perch pattern) |
| Fall | 10 to 33 ft | midday | open water | Jigging spoon (small), Drop-shot on deep flats |
| Winter | 12 to 33 ft | midday & dawn | open water | Tungsten jig + maggots, Small balance jig |
Start shallow in spring: northern pike sit in 2 to 8 ft that time of year. Warm water sends them out to 8 to 20 ft; cold water stacks them in 5 to 15 ft. Top water on the chart: Shallow bay flat, a feeding flat in the 6 ft range, prime in spring. Fish it in early morning and the evening and you'll meet the bite. Throw a bucktail or a weedless spoon over cabbage until the fish tell you otherwise.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | #5 inline spinner, Spoon (red/white) |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Bucktail, Weedless spoon over cabbage |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Big rubber (Bull Dawg style), Husky-style jerkbait |
| Winter | 5 to 15 ft | midday | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Tip-ups, Large jigging spoon |
Early season arctic char use the shallows, holding in 4 to 15 ft. Summer is a 20 to 60 ft game here, winter a 10 to 40 ft one. The chart's best answer is Shallow bay flat — feeding flat, 6 ft, good for spring. Best bite is early morning. Tie on a jigging spoon vertical or a tube jig (smelt) and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (6 ft) | Small casting spoon (silver/orange), Jerkbait (small) |
| Summer | 20 to 60 ft | dawn | open water | Jigging spoon vertical, Tube jig (smelt) |
| Fall | 8 to 30 ft | midday & dusk | open water | Casting spoon (orange/gold), Beadhead streamer |
| Winter | 10 to 40 ft | midday & dawn | open water | Jigging spoon (glow/silver), Tungsten jig + plastic |
Loch Ard carries 5 mapped structure features, topping out (or rather bottoming out) at Deep basin, about 91 ft down.
Loch Ard is about 107 ft (33 m) deep at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.
Anglers target brown trout, european perch, northern pike, arctic char on Loch Ard. This isn't a survey of the water — none is published for it — but an informed estimate from the species common to the region, narrowed by this water's depth, size and each species' range.
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a feeding flat in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for european perch in spring. The interactive chart above rates every spot for each species and season.
For brown trout, the summer bite is best in after dark and early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Loch Dhu 3 mi · Loch Tinker 4 mi · Loch Chon 4 mi · Loch Achray 4 mi · Loch Drunkie 5 mi · Loch Katrine 6 mi · Lake of Menteith 7 mi · Loch Venachar 7 mi · Loch Lomond 7 mi · Loch Arklet 7 mi · Loch Lubnaig 10 mi · Loch Doine 11 mi
See how Loch Ard stacks up: best northern pike lakes in United Kingdom · best european perch lakes in United Kingdom · best brown trout lakes in United Kingdom · best arctic char lakes in United Kingdom
More water nearby: Stirling fishing maps (20 charts). Browse all United Kingdom fishing maps. See every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.