Eyebrook 2023 Fishing Report 5th March

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2023 Membership options visit our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/

Week Ending: 05 Mar 23                    Rod Av: 6.1         Water Temperature: 5-6°C

The start of 2023 season brought with it a stiff North Easterly breeze with plenty of cloud. The pre-season stocking had been completed & due to the recent lack of rain the water clarity remained very good for this time of year. The reservoir fishing very well, yielding a rod average of 7.8, with some high returns being recorded from both the bank & boats. The common dominator was that anglers needed to be fishing extremely close to the bank which obviously favoured the bank anglers initially. In the areas that the boats could get close to the margins, there were some extremely rich pickings to be had. All water members Ian Jobe & Clive Moore had an extremely productive day. Fishing the north side of the tower up into Harrison’s corner, casting at the Dam wall & moving their flies back quickly using a roly-poly retrieve they were to record a very high catch return. On the banks, fish in high numbers were caught from various locations, from Dogwood Bay to the Island & over at Harrisons Corner to the netted. Harrisons fished well from the off with Eyebrook Member Bill Law catching 8 extremely quickly. Over the Leicester Bank, fish were caught steadily throughout the day from various locations. Regular visitor Nigel Woolnough landed 14 over the course of his visit, dropping in on various locations throughout the day.

Saturday saw the air temperature decrease & the stiff North Easterly breeze continue. Consequently, the water temperature had fallen to 5°C which meant the trout were in a somewhat lethargic mood. Fish were still caught however, with the bank fishing proving to be more productive than the boats. Sam’s Dyke to the Island was again a prolific area where Jim Bright caught his 5 fish on Diawl Bachs. Fish were also picked up along the Hawthorns. The boats continued to pick up fish along the Dam Wall, North side of the Tower into Harrison’s Corner & also along the Hawthorns into Sam’s Dyke. Sue Potts landed her 7 fish from both the Hawthorns & Dam Wall on Blobs & Boobies. Given the conditions, this was an excellent return.

On Sunday, the wind had swung round to a Westerly & reduced in speed, resulting in a slight increase in both the air & water temperature. As on the previous day, locating the fish was not the issue, being there when they decided to feed was.

Eyebrook member Dave Etty benefited from being in the right place at the right time, landing 5 fish from the Hawthorns/Sam’s Dyke area. Fishing very slowly, Dave used Nymphs to tempt his fish. Whereas other bank anglers found that pulling lures as fast as they could was required to generate interest & elicit a response from the fish whenever they were in front of them. For consecutive days the bank has outfished the boats which is indicative of the time of year & where fish are likely to be found. With the forecast for the forthcoming week indicating cooler temperatures, the bank looks set to continue producing high catch returns.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: 5^th March   Rod Av: 2.8      Water Temperature: 7c

Lost and Found, we have a rod with a sinking line on it which was handed into the lodge. If you’ve lost a rod in the last few months call the lodge, we will need to know the make of rod, reel & type of fly line.

Monday, quiet start to the week with a cold north easterly & rain forecast. Only one boat ventured out & he caught 2 fish before returning to the lodge for a hot drink to warm up.

Tuesday & a busier day with lighter winds forecast. Anglers generally concentrated around the corner of the wood. Barry Deeley fished a sink5 & Humungus to catch 7. Martin Hoskins fished a DI7 with boobies to catch his 12 trout with T Johnson & D Ward boating 7

Thursday and a challenging day with the surprisingly cold wind chill seeing most rods off the water by early afternoon. Tiny Lorrimer and his bunny patterns were top rod with 6 trout on a white and yellow pattern.

Friday Chris Sayer fished a minkie booby pattern to catch 7 trout with all other rods picking up 1 to 3 trout on booby, green pea and cats whiskers.

Saturday and a bit of a better day although the colder than expected wind chill seeing most of the rods off early afternoon. B Sibley and Martin Clay caught 6 trout for their visit, Mark Hunt fished a 6ft tip line to catch 8 on olive or black buzzer. David Woodall fished his new standard midge tip line & buzzers and was rewarded with 2 fish.

Sunday and a calmer day, with a cold chill to it. Martin Rowson & Neil Deakin found the winning combination fishing off the corner of the wood boating 20 trout with snakes proving to be the best pattern. Andrew Wilson fished with booby & buzzer patterns to catch his 5 trout, reporting a small buzzer hatch during a short period of the day.

Water clarity is still good with the water temperature at 7c, cold chill to the wind most of the week. Sinkers with cats whiskers, snakes, black green fritz, boobies various colours worked best with a few fish taking buzzer. Trout are still some distance off the bank but are spread from the top of the Thornton Arm all the way down to the tern rafts

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2023 Membership Options visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/

Week Ending:     5^th March 2023           Rod Av:          Water Temperature: 5°C

Draycote Opening Day video on our YouTube Flyfishstore Channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHCabibdCIc

The season kicked off with a bang on Wednesday with 88 rods producing a rod average of 10.19. As expected with such a high rod average there was some massive catches from both the boat and the bank. On the bank the hotspots were Toft, bottom end of the Cornfield, Lincroft Point & in between Dunn’s and Biggin Bay. With some slightly different methods depending on the area in Toft, intermediates with blobs and black and green lures featured. While along the Cornfield it was slightly faster intermediates and Di 3 proving to be the most productive with snakes, and longer tailed lure and FABS scoring best. With both areas showing up a good percentage of overwintered fish. Further up the bank it was fast intermediates with snakes and black and greens taking the majority of the fish and the key being a fast retrieve such as a roly-poly. On the boats Toft, Biggin Bay, Croft Shoal and Lincroft point all scored well. With boobies fished on sinking lines proving to be successful along with snakes. However a number of fish did fall to buzzers across the lake and a high proportion of overwintered fish.

Similar conditions Thursday with the wind remaining in the Northeast, with an overcast start and the sun making an appearance later in the day. The good sport continued with the rod average for the day 9.25 fish per angler. It was the boats that took the lion share of the sport, as the bank anglers reported the fish moved further off the bank once the sun broke through. However, James Kelly did enjoy some nice sport in the morning from Toft. On the boats season ticket holder Rob Middleton and boat partner Darren Cox enjoyed a good day landing over 30 fish. Using black buzzers on a floating line drifting along the Cornfield landing some great overwintered fish amongst them. Craig Middleton also used buzzers and also egg flies under the bung to land 25 fish in Toft. A George & I George used blue flash damsels in Toft to land 52 between them. All water members Steve Windram & Phil Cross fished at the nature reserve buoys in Toft on a Di 3 sinking line with a cut throat cat and blobs landing 69 fish.

Another chilly day Friday with the wind staying in the same direction with a few light showers in the morning. On the bank Gary Russell landed 7 fish from Toft using heavy black lures fished on a floating line. Simon Ringer fished along the Cornfield landing 6 fish on buzzers. On the boats all water season ticket holder Jamie Scott landed 40 fish using a white booby on a Di 7 before changing to buzzers under the bung. Draycote member Ray Rowlings used a Di 3 & Di 7 sinking with a mix of snakes and snake boobies to land 23 fish.

A slightly warmer day Saturday with the wind speed dropping although the overcast conditions remained. Tim Burn fished the bank at the Cornfield and Dunn’s with Draycote member Paul Mitchell to land 11 fish while Paul landed 5. Using intermediate lines and Di 3 with snakes and black and green lures. On the boats it was a busy day with a number of anglers traveling from Scotland & Wales to make the most of the opening weekend and the great fishing. With them being rewarded for their journey the 12 rods from Scotland landed a very impressive 399 fish for a rod average of 33.25 fish per angler. The lads used snakes, blobs and other lures on sinking lines in Toft to land their great numbers. Rob Edmounds and Sam Edmounds landed 30 fish to the boat using Di 8 sinking line with tadpoles and boobies to land their fish. Sam Smith fishing with Ed Elix landed 61 fish on boobies. With the hotspot for the day certainly being Toft.

The wind swung Saturday to the Southwest, put remained a cold day. Draycote member Paul Walker fished off the bank to land 7 fish fishing from Dunn’s and the Cornfield. With the wind change a number of the anglers bank tried Rainbow Corner for the first this season. Draycote member Jon Crowley was one such angler who landed 10 fish. Some from The Cornfield and the rest from Rainbow. Jon used a blue flash Damsel and a black & green. All water member Andy Lillie also fished in Rainbow Corner landing 3 fish on black & green lures. Airflo’s Gareth Jones also enjoyed a day on the bank with Anthony Cartwright. The pair fished along the Cornfield with the hotspot being the top end where it’s a little deeper. Gareth had the correct method using a 12ft Airflo fast tip with a black and green to land 20 fish. While Tony landed 6 struggling to get the dept with just his floating line. On the boats the Scottish party of anglers continued to catch fish from Toft using the same tactics as the day before, but not quite the same number as the wind direction change slightly knocked the fish off. New all water member Fraser Duffy Snr & Jnr enjoyed a good first day on Draycote landing 39 fish to the boat using lures on sinking lines. Draycote member Ian Reeve also enjoyed a good day landing 16 fish using a small black & green lure teamed with a blob with his best areas being Toft, Dunn’s & The Valve Tower.

Overall its been a fantastic opening week with 2,406 fish caught giving a rod average of 10.25 for the week. Its been great to see both bank and boat anglers enjoying the good sport. We have another load of 1,805 fish arriving this week to help make sure the great sport continues.