Eyebrook Fishery Report – Week Ending Sunday 24 Jul 2022.

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Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 9.15pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 9.15pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 9.15pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.15pm – 9.15pm
All Anglers Off Site: 9.30pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 24 Jul 22       Rod Av:   2.7         Water Temperature:  19 – 22°C

Due to the extreme weather on Monday & the fishery was very quiet with no anglers attending. With even hotter weather on Tuesday, the decision was made early afternoon to close the fishery.

Wednesday saw the first anglers arrive to the lake after the break in the hot weather. Eyebrook Member Ian Jobe fished from a boat to land 8 fish. Ian found the fish in the main basin fishing deep utilising a Di 7 with a black and gold humungus. In a very different approach Stuart Ponter used a floating line and foam daddies to land 6 fish. With all his fish coming from Dog wood bay fishing near the weed.

Cool Northwest winds on Thursday with overcast skies, and a lovely ripple on the water. Fishing from the bank Malcolm Thompson enjoyed a great morning’s sport landing 4 fish. Malcom caught his fish from the Hawthorns using a blue dry damsel. Out on the boats Mr Purdon & Mr Wilson used fry patterns on Di 7 sinking lines to land 3 fish. With the cooler temperatures forecast Friday and some much needed rain in the forecast, we should see the water temperature drop further and the fish start to rise in the water column.

With Friday’s water temperature sat at just over 22 degrees, the fish as predicted, started to move up in the water column. There still appears to be 2 bands of fish, there are a group of fish sat in the first 3ft & some sat at 20-25ft. The fish in the upper layers can be caught on dries; Grunters, Foam Daddies & later in the day when the Damsel hatch in full swing; Dry Blue Damsel have accounted for quite a few fish. Whereas the deeper fish have been getting caught on Di7s with a Humungous Booby, fished relatively slow & hung for a considerable amount of time.  All-Water Member Mark Hunt targeted the upper layer of fish & his endeavours were rewarded with 7 fish caught on Foam Daddies. Another All-Water Member Ian Jobe chose to target the deeper fish from his float tube. Ian had a great day landing 14 fish all of which came to a Humungous fished deep & slow. Best bank areas were over the weedbeds; Dogwood to the Hawthorns & the best boat area remains the main basin.

Saturday brought with it a light South-Westerly breeze with plenty of cloud cover. Fish were caught from both the boat & the bank with Season Ticket holder Malcolm Thompson catching 3 fish from the bank at the Hawthorns. Malcolm selected his area wisely identifying the channels dividing the weed & fished his Dry Blue Damsel in these areas. The fish he caught were spooned, they were full of Damsel Nymphs. Elsewhere, Season Ticket holder Bob Margery had 6 from the boat, fishing Washing Lined Floater with Diawl Bachs on the Droppers up by Robbo’s Cabin & Tim Sheppard had 5 from his Float Tube in the Main Basin.

Sunday saw a blustery wind from the Southwest & good cloud cover with the occasional sunny interval. As the water temperature continued to drop the reservoir fished well from both the boat & bank. The weed that limited the bank access earlier in the year has ceased being an issue as the water level as dropped slightly due to the recent warm weather & lack of rain. This means that bank anglers can now wade up to the weed & fish their flies out in front of the weedbeds to intercept fish that are feeding along the edge of the weed. Their diets consist of mainly Damsel Nymphs in the mornings & as the air temperature increases late morning, they turn their attention to Adult Blue Damsels. Season Ticket Malcolm Thompson, did just this & had another very successful morning session from the bank, landing 12 fish. Away from the bank, another Season Ticket holder, Neil Shilton caught very well in the Basin fishing a Di7 & an Olive Barred Snake, landing 8 fish.

With the cooler weather looking set to continue, the prospects for the forthcoming week excellent.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  24th July    Rod Av: 4.4      Water Temperature: 21c+ – (26c on Tuesday at 4pm)

Monday & Tuesday angler followed our advice not to fish due to the intense heat & high water temperature.

Wednesday and a much cooler start to the day, L Serrano went out for a few hours during the afternoon fishing a S5 with two humungus catching 4 trout from the buoy and lower end of the stones.

Thursday and a much cooler morning, cloud, light rain and an air temperature of 16c. Few rods about but the ones who are out fishing are looking at the cooler morning session. Tony Socket fished the deeper water with a sinking line and a silver white humungus & appetizer catching 3 but losing a further 3. Phill Mee fished diawl bachs to catch his trout. The heat has left us with some algae, its nowhere near as it could be with visibility still 3ft+

Friday an easterly wind which felt cool with light rain greeted the anglers. We were expecting a better day’s fishing, surprisingly it proved difficult. Ian Brearley caught 6 from green bay on damsel patterns during the day. A few fish moved in the evening with the rain and a drop in temperature, Karen Thompson fished a floating line losing a fish on a small blob and catching 1 on a orange daddy.

Saturday southerly breeze with anglers reporting fish feeding in front of the dam and across the corner, which in all honesty surprised us all following the hot weather we had Monday & Tuesday. Jan Webber found a pod of feeding fish off the corner of the wood catching 7 on a floating line with daddy & muddler. Tim Price caught 2 on daddies in front of the dam but reported he had another 15 come to the fly but wouldn’t take it properly. Mark Hunt fished team of daddies in front of the dam to feeding fish catching 20+ for his visit. Water temperature was 22c and dropping, some algae in the water with visibility 3ft

Sunday, floating lines with daddies, hoppers, small fabs, small muddlers was the successful method with a rod average 7+ for the day. With the westerly breeze the most productive area was in front of the dam, Adam Gunby & Lorenso both caught 14, John Thomson caught 6 on Fab, soldier palmer & diawl bach with Andy Dermott also catching 6.

Considering the heat & high water temperature at the start of the week the fishing Wednesday onwards has been far better than expected & noticeably better than years gone by & is without due to the change to the stocking policy introduced to cope with higher temperatures were facing. Prior to 2000 when we first trialled our new stocking policy we would not see much, if any top of the water sport once the surface water temperature went above 19c. Were know seeing as we did at the weekend excellent top of the water sport with water temperature at 21c+

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

 

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 24th July 2022              Rod Av: 2.2      Water Temperature: 20 °C

Well with the record temperatures Monday and Tuesday, it was hardly surprising that no anglers decided to venture out on the water. Wednesday was the first day we had anglers return to Draycote to give it a go. Jim Dempsey fished utilising the rudder using Di 7 and a Booby basher to land 5 fish. Jim didn’t really have any specific areas just drifting from the Top dam wall straight down the lake into Toft. Draycote member Ray Rawlings landed a brace also fishing deep on a Di 7. Ray found his fish at Y Buoy and B Buoy using a olive snake.

A much cooler day Thursday with a cool northwest wind and some drizzle first thing in the morning. This has helped the water temperature drop back down to 20 degrees, and hopefully we should see a few fish moving nearer the surface. Season permit holder Dave Adkins caught a brace using a DI7 line and snakes in the area around Y buoy. Richard Walker also took two fish in the area around C buoy again on a DI7 and snakes. Frazer Duffy and his son took four fish between them on sinking lines and lure patterns.

It was overcast with a light easterly breeze on Friday morning, but quite muggy with it. Most anglers chose to fish in the deeper water up by C buoy and the Valve Tower, where 2 or even 3 fish was considered not a bad day at the moment. Mr David Chambers had 2 fish in Biggin Bay fishing between E and D buoy. Mr Ian Leach and Mr D Stoll had a brace a piece fishing over the deeper sections on the reservoir, but as sometimes happens here at Draycote, the fish are not sticking to the rules. Most of the fish on Friday came from the shallows down in the bottom of Toft. Mike Garner, fishing from the bank, used a washing line and crunchers to net 7 fish from the area near the big willow tree. Mike said that there were a lot of fish moving right across the bottom of Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Peter Harris used a single FAB to net 3 fish from the same area.

An overcast start to Saturday, with the sun breaking through, before the cloud rolled back in with some gusty winds for the afternoon. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey took to the water on a 4 hour guide taking Nicholas Golding & James Holier for their first ever visit to Draycote or any reservoir for that matter. Under Lee’s instruction and guidance the pair landed 6 fish with Lee in 4 hours, losing a number of others and went on to finish the day with 10 to the boat.  The method was to fish a floating line, a tequila booby on the point and 2 size 12 black Diawl Bachs on the droppers. The best fishing spot was in Toft near the nature reserve buoys and the large willow tree. At the other end of the reservoir all water member Andy Lillie fished with Graham England to land 11 fish to the boat. They opted to fish foam daddies drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy and landed a cracking 4lb fish. Fishing for an afternoon Paul Bailey also fished daddies to land 8 fish. Draycote member Mark Braun landed 11 fish dropping his flies a little deeper using a Di 5 sweep. Mark used a humungus and an olive snake with the best areas being A Buoy and Y Buoy.

An overcast start to the day on Sunday with a gusty south westerly blowing across the water. It’s obvious now that the fish have moved up in the water column, as anglers are regularly catching on floating lines using nymphs and lures, as well as some fish falling to dries. Jon Crowley used a hot headed damsel fished on a floating line along the dam wall in Toft to boat 9 fish. Stephen Dewhurst had half a dozen to the boat whilst Mark Robinson and Ian Western netted 3 apiece. Mr Craig Davies’ group, visiting us from Wales, had 60 fish to the boat between 8 anglers on their second day. The group used foam daddies and other dry flies, drifting in Rainbow Corner and out to A buoy.

Eyebrook Fishery Report – Week Ending 10 July 2022.

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Follow Us on our social media
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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 9.45pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 9.45pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 9.45pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 9.45pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.00pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 10 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.8          Water Temperature:  20-22°C

The start of the week brought with it a moderate South-Westerly breeze which swung round to the West as the day progressed. There was on occasions, some decent cloud cover, which was interspersed with sunny intervals. The Reservoir fished well, recording a daily rod average of 4.3. Fish were caught across the Main Basin with Dries proving to be the most productive approach. On the day the most effective patterns proved to be Foam Daddies, Adult Damsels, Big Reds & small CDC’s. All water member Ian Jobe landed 10 fish in what was a relatively short session. Ian also spent a considerable amount of time targeting some of Eyebrook’s larger resident Browns on fast sinking lines & a large Humungous. After losing a substantial fish, Ian then returned to fishing higher up in the water column to catch his 10 fish. Enjoying day 1 of a 3-day Short Break package, Mr Benjamin & Simmons had a productive day, landing well into double figures between them, all on the Dries.

The reservoir continued to fish well on Tuesday. The day started with a stiff, cool West/Northwest breeze & overcast. As the day progressed the breeze lightened, bringing with it sunny intervals & a rise in the air temperature. This meant that the Damsel hatch that had previously been occurring late morning to early afternoon, did not occur until late afternoon, early evening. This reflected in the reservoir fishing very well in the evening with All Water Member, Albert Coales catching a very high number of fish in a relatively short space of time. Throughout the day fish were caught all through the Main Basin, either on a washing lined floater with Diawl Bachs on the droppers or on the Dries. Another All Water Member, Jamie Scott caught well throughout by utilising the washing line early on & them caught on the Foam Daddies & Damsels later. Foam Daddies caught well throughout, the trout seemed to prefer the larger profile of the Foam Daddy today, what with the bigger wave. Whereas the adult Blue Damsel or Blue Foam Daddy did not really become effective until later in the day, once that air temperature had increased.

Wednesday bought with it a light to moderate westerly breeze & a good amount of cloud cover. Therefore, the reservoir fished well to the Dries from the off. Season Ticket holder Mr Johnson had a great day on the Dries, with most of his fish falling to a Grunter from numerous locations around the reservoir. Malcolm Baker thoroughly enjoyed his session with resident Guide Andy Miller, catching numerous fish on Blue Foam Daddies from the relatively shallow water of Mucky Bay. We offer numerous Guiding options on all of our fisheries & If you are at all interested in any of the options, please follow this link https://www.flyfishtuition.co.uk/  or phone Tom Bird on 01788 812018. Fish were caught from all over, from the weedbeds along the Leicester Bank up into Sam’s Dyke, all across the Main Basin to the deeper water off the netted bank. The banks also produced, with those willing to fish over the weed being rewarded for their endeavours with some explosive action. A point to note is when you are fishing around the weedbeds it is sometimes better fishing with a single fly as it is easier to control & not having a trailing dropper will prevent it snagging in the weed when you are playing fish.

On Thursday, the day started with almost perfect conditions with a light breeze & plenty of cloud cover. As the day progressed the wind swung round to the north & gathered in pace. This did not affect the air temperature too much as there was a significant Damsel hatch mid-late morning. Subsequently, the reservoir fished very well with plenty of fish caught on Blue Damsels, Foam Daddies & CDC Emergers. Mr Williams & Heritage had a great day catching a high number of fish on Damsels & CDC’s from various locations. All water member Andy Lilly also had a very productive session landing 9 fish in a relatively short session. Andy fished Foam Daddies on the washing line in the Main Basin picking up fish from various locations. We have started working on the bank access at Harrison’s Corner & this will continue around to Robbos’s Cabin. This will give bank anglers access to deeper water relatively close in which will become very important as the water temperature looks set to rise due to the recent warmer weather.

Friday saw the start of the recent high pressure. With it, it brought a rise in air temperature & bright clear skies. Consequently, the water temperature started to rise, starting the day at 20 degrees it rose 2 degrees during the day. This made fishing relatively challenging, however, there was still fish caught with those catching well fishing dry Damsels over the deeper water. All water member John Duncan caught 8 from the Main Basin on Blue Foam Daddies & Rob Keeber caught 10 on the Dries over the deeper water. Well done to both anglers as this was an excellent effort given the conditions.

Saturday started with a brief spell of overcast cloud which soon gave way to searing sunlight. The water had increased again overnight & now stood at 21 degrees. This did not deter the fish from feeding hard on adult damsels & there was plenty caught throughout the day. As well as being caught on the Blue Dry Damsels, fish were also caught on the washing line. The fly that seemed to be doing the damage on the washing line, was the one that was nearest the surface be that a FAB or a Booby. Some anglers also tried fishing deep on fast sinkers which did prove successful; Season Ticket Holder Neil Shilton had 6 from his Float Tube.  The percentage method seemed to be the Dries though, with fish not only caught over the Main Basin but they were also caught down by the Cowshed. The most successful patterns were Blue Foam Daddies, Blue Dry Damsels, Foam Daddies & Grunters. Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell had a very productive day with his boat partner landing over 20 to the boat, mostly on the Dries. With the water temperature on the steady rise, the fish will eventually start to move down in the water column as they seek the cooler water, don’t discount the use of sinking lines, especially over the Main Basin.

Sunday brought with it bright sunshine, without a cloud in the sky & the lightest of ripples. Venturing out in these challenging conditions was the All Abilities Fly Fishers. They managed 45 fish between 23 anglers giving them a rod average of 1.95, which is a great effort given the conditions. Those that had the more productive days fished Damsel patterns around the weed beds in the shallower areas, Sam’s Dyke & Mucky Bay. Fish were caught on small Damsel Boobies on the washing line & then Blue Dry Damsels once the Damsel hatch was in full flow. The fish over the deeper water in the Main Basin could be seen moving consistently during the day but they were harder to catch. Despite still feeding on the surface It would appear that these fish are starting to sit a little deeper in the water column & as the warmer weather looks set to continue they will drop deeper still.

 

 

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  10th July      Rod Av: 7.4      Water Temperature: 18c+ – 20c+

Monday with a rod average 7.3 to start the week helped by the water temperature at 18c+ and a brisk cooler north westerly wind helping to keep the fish in the top few feet of the water. Floating lines, midge tip and intermediate with orange daddies, muddlers, yellow owls, buzzer, fab, diawl bach and damsel patterns taking fish. Surprisingly for Thornton during July there are good numbers of fish up the Thornton arm but the majority are being caught in front of the dam, green bay, stones and across the main basin. J Brinksman on his first visit to Thornton caught 8 on an olive nomad, Dennis barns fished a morning session catching 6 on fab & hopper with Bb Menhams fishing damsel & diawls to catch his 6 trout during a morning’s visit. G Jackson & Gary Owen shared a boat for the day catching 4 trout between them.

Tuesday and with this early July weather still on our side we enjoyed another excellent days fishing with the rod average 8.2 Andre Russel & Gary Cragg fished from their float tubes catching 27 between them along the stones on a diawl bach. A Lilley & S England shared a boat catching 40 fishing a washing line with P Cox fishing a sink tip & fabs to catch his 15 trout. All Water member Dave Slessor caught 17 for his visit with J Wright on his first visit to Thornton catching 6 for his mornings visit on a small olive snake. Water temperature was 18c+ at 7am with a strong cool northerly wind & some cloud cover which all helped to keep the fish in the top few feet of the water

Wednesday and the forecast continues to be kind to the angler with todays rod average 5.6  Floating to intermediate lines are still best with dries & emergers such as small orange or brown daddies, hoppers & yellow owls, muddlers & small fabs pulled through the surface with diawl bach, olive or black buzzers, damsel & small olive snakes. Best area continues to be in front of the main dam, stones & across the main basin. H Davies fished an olive snake to catch his 15 trout for a mornings visit. T Hutchinson also fished a morning catching 10 on orange daddy & black epoxy buzzer with S Lorenso catching 20+ on fabs, damsels & hoppers.

Thursday & a busy day for early July with the anglers enjoying an excellent days fishing with the rod average 9.6 for the day. Majority of the trout were high in the water taking dries, damsel, fabs, diawls & hares ear. Paddy Fitch decided to fish the bank concentrating his efforts to the Thornton Arm, wading through the weed he fished hares ear & gold head damsel to catch 21 trout. Andre Russell & Gary Crag float tubed fishing with diawls & blue flash damsels to catch 45 trout between them. Bob Jones continues to enjoy a successful season at Thornton catching 17 on suspended olive buzzer, blue flash damsel & booby. David Rowbottom fished a morning session catching 8 on diawls & cats whisker with Mr Caley fishing Thornton for the first time in a number of years catching 11 trout for his mornings visit on emergers. I Shepherd another angler returning to Thornton after a number of years fished with P Fletcher catching 10 between them on Montana & Diawls. Mick Smith & J Wenlan caught 36 for their visit with Mike commenting on the quality of the dry fly fishing during the morning. Jason on a day off from his ranger duties at the Eyebrook caught 10 for his afternoons session.

Friday and the start of the warmer spell that’s forecasted. S Swinfield & S Zeleny opted for the fast sinking line & booby approach catching 5 for their mornings visit. Lee Henfrey on a day off from his Draycote fishery ranger duties fished with Kevin Hart boating 40 trout on crunchers, nemo, damsel & fabs starting their morning fishing the main basin before moving into the Thornton arm. Couple boats opted for the last 4 hour session finding fish still feeding in the Thornton arm with J Brown catching 4 on a fraser nymph with Sam & Paul Cook fishing sedge patterns to catch their 3 trout.

Saturday a quiet day due to the hot weather forecast but the anglers missed a good day with the daily rod average 4.4 Keith Cowen caught 6 on sinking lines with a cats whisker booby over the deeper water. Martin Clay also caught 6 from the deeper water but also the shallower water in the Thornton arm. K Hart and D Pacey fished the afternoon and evening fishing up the Thornton arm with nymphs they caught 8

Sunday and the hottest day of the year so far, not many rods out fishing & the ones that did fished the morning session with fast sinkers booby, damsel & bloodworm patterns. Carl Bond caught 4 for his visit with P Hunt catching 3 overall rod average 2.3 for the day

Overall & excellent July week with the rod average an excellent 7.4 Water clarity remains good but the water temperature is up to 20c+ This coming week with the current forecast expect the mornings to fish best with the deeper cooler water in front of the dam, buoys & stones fishing best

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 10th July 2022              Rod Av:  3.7    Water Temperature:  19°C

A bright warm start to the week, however as forecast cloud cover did roll in about 11am. The cloud cover certainly helped he bank fishing with the best catch of the day coming from the bank. Draycote member James Kelly enjoyed a great day’s sport landing 13 fish from the Swan’s Nest in Toft. Using Diawl Bach’s and Damsel patterns to land his fish. Out on the boats John Dickens enjoyed a good day landing 9 fish using a washing line with buzzers on the droppers. A fellow angler who used buzzers to great effect on the boats was Francis Campbell who landed 7 fish, all on red buzzers. Kevin Rees used his trusty dries to land 6 fish with his best patterns being Crippled Midge & Bob’s Bits.

Nearly identical weather as the previous day on Tuesday, however, the cloud did clear later in the day. All water member Ken Key fished for a short 4 hour session on the bank during the middle section of the day to land a brace from the Cornfield. Bernard McCarthy also fished from the bank for an afternoon to land 3 fish all from the Swan’s Nest in Toft. The cooler water temperatures this year are certainly helped the fish remain closer to the margins for longer than normal. On the boats Geoff Allsop & Graham Wood enjoyed a good day using dry flies. The pair drifted from the Valve Tower over towards C Buoy and the Aerators using Claret Hoppers and suspender dries to land 15 fish to the boat. Also fishing around this area the boat paring of Vic & Pete also landed 8 fish, but did comment as to how they caught them.

Overcast conditions Wednesday with quite a strong breeze, as a result of the overcast skies the fish seemed to be sitting not only high in the water, but, there was once again a good proportion close to the bank. C.J Day fished in Biggin Bay on the bank to land 15 fish, with the fish sitting 12-20ft from the edge. With his Colin’s best flies being Damsel emerger, black buzzer and a red cruncher. Another bank angler who enjoyed great sport was Brian Joseph who only fished for 5 hours landing a dozen fish all on nymphs fished along the Cornfield. Another angler finding the fish close to the bank was former Fishery Manager Kevin Hart. Kev, fished by the Willow Tree in Toft fishing close to the shore to land over 30 fish to the boat. His set up was a #5 rod, floating line then a team of nymphs with 2 crunchers and a Damsel on the point. All water member Ed Douglas landed 19 fish opting to stick with dries all day. The best pattern for Ed was a CDC shuttlecock, with his best area drifting from the Valve Tower towards C Buoy. Draycote member Jim Hall, like Kevin, fished tight in to the bank at Toft landing 15 fish on a team of Diawl Bachs. John Falconbridge also enjoyed good sport in Toft, once again on Crunchers & Diawl Bachs. Fishing for the afternoon Matt Crisp & Paul Newnham landed 14 fish between them from Rainbow Corner on CDC dries and commented “very good fish”.

More overcast cool conditions Thursday morning, with the sun breaking through late in the afternoon leaving a very warm afternoon & evening. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walker fished on the bank landing 5 fish on Diawl Bachs from Biggin Bay. With beginner season ticket holders Tim Illsley & Andrew Tasker also fishing the bank landing a brace each from the Cornfield. A busy day for Beginner season ticket holders with Colin & Tracy Wilson also on the water but fishing from a boat. With Tracy landing her first fish while out on her own after a couple of session of instruction. Tracy’s fish took a hot head Diawl Bachs near the Aerators, a massive WELL DONE Tracy hope it’s the first of many. Draycote season ticket holders David Holding & Geoff Brooks fished from a boat with he pair landing a dozen fish from Toft by the Willow tree using a team of nymphs fished on a floating line. John Clifford fished in the middle around K Buoy and N Buoy to a land 10 fish in a morning using an intermediate and various lures. All water member Ed Douglas fished for another day landing 24 fish with 13 falling to dries. Ed, fished around X Buoy and P Buoy in the morning on dries before heading down to Toft in the afternoon. Another angler who found dries to be a good method for catching was Kevin Rees who landed 15 fish on crippled midge and CDC Culs.

A warm day Friday with the sun making an appearance all day. A number of anglers fishing Draycote were in the Repechage on Sunday so exact numbers and tactics were a little scarce. On the bank the bright weather slowed what had been some great  bank sport. However, Stan Hillman did manage a brace from the Tower bank. On the boat Michael Hanlon landed 7 fish using a Midge Tip line with a washing line. With his best patterns being a cruncher on the dropper teamed with a Cat Whisker booby on the point landing fish from the Aerators and also near J Buoy. Another boat who caught at J Buoy was that of Paul Roach and Jeff Mason, the pair used a washing line on a floater and also dries even in the bright sun to land their fish. Mr B Barlow fished the boats for the afternoon to land 6 fish. Mr Barlow used a washing line to land his fish with the best drifts being around B, C and D Buoy. All water member Craig Middleton enjoyed a good days sport landing 9 fish using a 12ft slow tip with a washing line with most of the fish taking the FAB on the point.

A scorching day Saturday, however, the day did start with cloud cover, although this didn’t last very long. However, while the cloud was over Matt Nuttall practicing for the Repechage the next day landed fish on dries. Then when the sun come out the fishing certainly slowed up with the anglers keeping how they caught close to their chest. There was defiantly a mix of reports on they caught, with some people optioning for a washing line on a midge tip with FABs and nymphs while other anglers went for Di 5s and boobies. Outside of the anglers practicing for the match on Sunday, Mark Thistleton landed 7 fish on snakes using a Di 7 sinking line. With fellow Draycote member Tim Davies landing 5 fish using a pink booby on a Di 5 sinking line around the aerators and C Buoy.

A very warm day Sunday with temperatures sitting in the high 20s and very little to no wind. Certainly not ideal conditions for the 32 anglers competing in the Angling Trust- Team England Loch Style Repecharge looking for a final chance to make into the national final in September. As expected the conditions made the fishing challenging, but the anglers did manage a very respectable rod average of 3.5 fish per angler. Winning the day with an impressive 12 fish was Alex Johnstone who used a Di 7 sinking line with a mix of boobies and cormorants to land his fish, with his best area being the Valve Tower. In Second was Robert Williams and Third, his boat partner Martin Griffiths who landed 11 and 10 fish. Like Alex they used Di 7 sinking lines with boobies and cormorants to land their fish, but the hotspot for them was A Buoy. However, it wasn’t just sunk lines that caught the fish Andrew Haskins fished a 12ft Slow Tip 2 Muskins and a foam daddy around A buoy to land 8 fish giving him 4 place. For a full list of the results please see www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Outside of the competition Draycote season ticket holder Jon Crowley landed 5 fish, only out on the water for 4 hours before it got to hot. Jon, used a 12ft slow tip with an orange blob on the point and cormorants on the droppers. Taking his fish on one long and very slow drift from Rainbow Corner, Hensborough Bank and out to K Buoy. The best catch of the day came to fellow Draycote season ticket holder Mark Braun who landed over 25 fish fishing at Y Buoy. Mark used a Di 7 sinking line with a 5ft leader and a small comp legal humungus booby fished on a 5 foot leader.

Eyebrook Fishery Report – Week Ending 03 July 2022.

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 03 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.8          Water Temperature:  18-20°C

The water temperature continued to drop on Monday due to the blustery conditions, stabilising at 19 degrees. This has had a very positive impact on the fishing with the trout more than happy to feed high up in the water column and have been getting caught on Dries & washing line floater. During the mornings & before the Damsel hatch has occurred, the washing lined Floater with either a FAB or a Foam Daddy on the point, have accounted for a high number of fish. Upon the Damsel hatch, Blue Foam Daddies & Adult Damsel patterns have caught very well. Regular visitor Max Woolnough had a very productive day catching a very high number of fish, all on dries, from the Dogwood & Bell area. Other productive areas include across the Main Basin, particularly either side of the Tower, as the fish are clearly more comfortable sat over the deeper water.

Tuesday saw the blustery, changeable weather continue with the fish still getting caught across the Main Basin on either Dries or on a washing lined floater. Mr Heath who is here on a 4-day package enjoyed a very productive day with his boat partner as they landed well over 20 fish between them. Their success came about by initially fishing a washing line with Diawl Bach’s & Crunchers on the droppers & a FAB on point. Later, they changed to the Dries & continued to catch well on Foam Daddies & blue adult Damsel patterns. Mr Watson enjoyed a productive evening session landing 5 fishing Blue Foam Daddies in the Main Basin. If you are interested in booking one or package deals, please use the following link: http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/.https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/ . Please note that the short break package can also be split over any of our Reservoirs; Thornton, Draycote & Eyebrook. To assist you in any possible future planning, you may find some useful accommodation ideas at: https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/accommodation/.

Wednesday – light to moderate south westerly, generally good cloud cover with sunny intervals, the weather is being particularly kind to us, perfect June weather resulting in a daily rod average 6+. Floating line with dry blue damsel, cdc, damsel, cruncher & diawls caught the majority of the trout with the main dam, dogwood down to Sam`s Duke & across the main basin. M Woolnough fished the bank during the afternoon fishing dogwood & the dam catching 14 on dries & blue damsel. Mark Hunt fished the morning session with single cdc, damsel & daddy patterns catching 22 with J Llewelyn fishing a midas & cruncher to catch his 6 trout. Eyebrook member Dave Etty popped down for the last 4 hr from a boat catching 7 on a crippled midge. Water clarity is good. Best area for bank fishing is along the Chestnut tree, cow shed, Harrison corner (New overflow) and, along the dam wall. If you’re fishing the dam wall please pick up a lifejacket.

Great conditions Thursday with light winds, and overcast skies, however, the sun did make the occasional appearance. We had the Kent Police force here fishing a regional qualifier, with 13 anglers taking part. Dries was certainly the order of the day for the anglers taking part, with he best boat landing 7 fish all on dries, with adult blue damsels also featuring on the catch return. Outside of the match T Gill & R Dyer landed 13 fish between them on a mixture of washing lining with a FAB and Diawl Bachs and dry daddies. Eyebrook member Lindsey Bates fished with T Derghton using “Yellow Owls” to land 18 fish. Duncan Watson enjoyed a good evening taking advantage of the last four hour ticket to land 6 fish, 4 on a blue Damsel & 2 on floating fry. Tim Miller & Dave Hild enjoyed a great days sport boating 16 fish to the boat with Dave landing 13 of them, using a crippled midge pattern. The pair found that the Main Basin was the best area later in the evening but caught during the day in the shallow water in Mucky Bay.

Friday saw variable winds with a decent amount of cloud cover in the morning with brighter spells in the afternoon. Eyebrook continued to fish well to the Dries with Foam Daddies, CDC Emerging patterns & Blue Damsels being the most productive patterns. The Blue Damsel tend to be fishing better mid-afternoon onwards, once the air temperature has increased & the Damsel hatch has started in earnest. All water member Mark Hunt had an exceptional morning session on the Dries, fishing CDC’s & Daddies to great effect landing a very high number of trout. As to did Mick Farrell, who with his boat partner had a great day catching on Orange Foam Daddies, Blue Damsels & Yellow Owls. The best areas from the boats remain the edge of the weed beds from Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke, Mucky Bay is also holding some fish & the Main Basin. Best bank areas are the Dam, both sides of the tower & from the Chestnut to the Cowshed.

Saturday brought with it some mixed weather with a moderate to strong South Westerly, bright sunlight & some very heavy showers. Despite the weather, the reservoir fished very well with a lot of fish being caught by anglers conducting long drifts across the Main Basin. Fish were caught on various methods; however, the percentage methods were washing lined floaters or dries. On the washing line, it paid to have a bit of colour on the point; 2 tone FAB or Booby & small imitative nymphs; crunchers & Diawl Bachs, on the droppers. The weather put paid to any potential Damsel hatch, so the most productive Dry Fly was a Foam Daddy. Due to the conditions on the day, the fish seemed to prefer these larger Dry Flies rather than smaller offerings which would have been more difficult for them to see. Also, the importance of fishing from a drifting boat cannot be underestimated, as it allows you cover more water & potentially put your flies in front of more fish. The more fish that see your flies, will inevitably increase the likelihood of you catching more fish. There is still being caught from the banks, Eyebrook member Dave Etty caught on Dries up by the Cowshed area. From the boats, the most productive areas remain the open water of the Main Basin & the edge of the weed beds from the lodge to Sam’s Dyke.

Sundays warmer, more settled weather at the start of the day saw the return of the mid-morning Damsel hatch with fish being caught on Blue Adult Dry Flies from both the boats & the banks. Regular angler Max Woolnough found the Dam to be his most productive bank area, landing 9 fish on the dries with CDC’s & Blue Damsel being his most productive patterns. From the boats, Mark Goodge enjoyed a productive day fishing Damsels in the morning & then detached bodied CDC’s in the afternoon. Mark fished the Main Basin area & also found Sam’s Dyke to the Island to be productive. The weather deteriorated in the afternoon, however, the reservoir still fished well to the Dries with fishery staff Jason Pusey enjoying a productive short afternoon session with his father. Jason fished a single Foam Daddy in a variety of colours in the Main Basin. By chopping & changing the colour of the Daddy Jason was able to consistently generate interest from the fish. As the weather forecast for the forthcoming week is for warmer, more settled weather, the Damsel hatches here at Eyebrook look set to intensify this coming week.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  3rd July     Rod Av: 6.8      Water Temperature: 18c+ – 19c

The past few days cooler forecast and at times strong winds have helped pull the surface water temperature to 18c+ which is excellent for the time of year. Fish are being caught on floating lines down to fast sinkers but during the last few days intermediate and floating lines were the best option

Monday and the majority of anglers are fishing the cooler more productive morning session fishing over the deeper water from the main car park in front of the dam to green bay. With the water temperature down to 18c+, cloud cover and a brisk southerly wind the trout were near the surface and prepared to chase a muddler pulled through the waves. L Ford caught 11 for his visit on a washing line pulled, A Wilson caught 8 on muddler and diawl stripped through the wave with I Leach catching 5 for his visit. A good start to the week with a rod average 4.1

Tuesday a brisk southerly with cooler air temperatures has our water temperature down to 18c. Anglers fished from green bay down in front of main dam to the car park area. Floating lines, midge tips and intermediate lines with washing line, buzzers, diawls, muddler and GH sedge was the order of the day with the trout high in the water and prepared to chase a muddler. B Jones caught 10 on diawl bach, buzzer, blue flash damsel patterns, J Taylor & D Vincent caught 12 on sedge, muddler and diawls.

Wednesday and the weather was on our side again with the water temperature 18c+ which is cool for the time of year. Fish are high in the water with floating lines, daddies, diawls, cdc, muddler & washing line working best over the main basin & towards green bay. Ian Brearley fished green bay with daddies & cdc to catch his 14 trout, All water member J Scott fished a washing line with tequila fab, diawl bach & a black pennell to net his double figure catch with P Hunt & J Thomson fishing the morning session with diawl bach to catch their 9 trout. With this unusually cool weather for late June were seeing fish being caught into the evening with D Hussey fishing buzzer & diawls to catch 13.

Thursday similar weather conditions although anglers reported fish coming short to the fly. Mick Huffer fished dries to catch his 6 trout, Colin Chambers caught 5 for his mornings visit with the afternoon & evening fishing well with J Brown boating 7 trout & Brian Morris boating 7. With these unexpected cooler weather conditions for this time of year it’s certainly the time to make the effort and get out on the water.

Friday another day of perfect conditions, water temperature 18c+, cloud & a southerly breeze all day. Busy day with anglers making the most of the conditions. Fish were up in the top few feet of the water all day & ready to chase a small muddler. Washing line has worked with small fab, muddler, daddy, booby on the point with a diawl bach #12 #14 muskins, hares ear #12 #14 or olive or black buzzer #14 #16. Best are was in front of the dam wall, green bay, stones & across the main basin. Mark Cowley who only recently too up fly fishing enjoyed his best day yet catching 29 on a washing line, Jamie Scott repeated fished the same method that proved successful on Wednesday catching fish from the dam, green bay & along the stones. Chris Sayer caught 14 for his mornings visit with Carl Bond catching 14 for his afternoon session. Tony Smith fished the last 4 hour session catching 9 trout.

Saturday and an excellent days fishing for July with a rod average 12.1for the day. Water temperature between 18c & 19c, cool brisk southerly with cloud an light showers kept the trout in the top foot most of the day. Trout were chasing small daddy muddler with the other successful method a washing line with daddy, booby or fab on the point with diawl bach or damsel patterns on the dropper. All anglers enjoyed a good day with the dam wall, green bay, stones & lower buoy area best

Sunday the wind swung to a north westerly with cloud at times ensuring most of the anglers caught high in the water with floating lines, midge tip or intermediate. Peter & Angele Post from the Netherlands fished a morning session catching 6 trout. Mark Stone fished a cormorant to catch his 5 trout for his mornings visit with Richard Smith catching 4 on a yellow owl suspender. Andrew Wilson fished a damsel, diawl bach & muddler to boat his 8 trout. With this cooler weather were enjoying some excellent last 4 hour sport with Paul & Sam Cook catching 9 trout for their 4 hour visit with Murphy & M Marston catching 10 for their 4 hour visit

Water Clarity remains good with the water temperature currently cool for the time of year

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

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Week Ending:  Sunday 3rd July 2022              Rod Av:  4.1    Water Temperature:  17°C

We were greeted by a strong southerly breeze on Monday morning with light showers, which dissipated as the wind swung into the west. As per the weekend most of the fishing was along the Hensborough Bank and up in Rainbow Corner, with the majority of the fish being caught in the top few feet of the water. Season permit holder John Dickens had 14 fish to the boat on a washing line method and foam daddies. Draycote regular Kevin Rees caught a total of 10 fish on dries such as crippled midge. Steve Barby and his Boat partner caught a bakers dozen between them and remarked on “A good day out”. Mr K Nettleton, who has not fished for a number of years, ventured out for a morning session and netted 1 fish on nymphs.

Tuesday dawned with bright sunshine and a strong southerly breeze. Draycote members Tony Broadway & John Clifford fished in a boat together landing 14 between them, with Tony taking the Lion share. They opted to bank drift with the strong wind, with Tony fishing a neutral density line on the morning with a minkie, landing 7. Before swapping to a Di 3 and a white snake in the afternoon. With the best area being drifting from the Hensborough Bank out over the open water towards Y Buoy and the other side of Musborough shoal. All water member Norman Perkins landed 13 fishing a floating line, with a blob the point and nymphs on the droppers. Landing the fish at Rainbow Corner. Chris Discombe also fished at Rainbow corner going a little further out towards A buoy using a white snake on a Di 3. Ian Reeve utilised a washing line set up to land 9 fish from Rainbow Corner with buzzers and Diawl Bachs on the droppers being his best patterns.

A southwest wind Wednesday with a mix of sun and cloud with the occasional shower. Iain lang fished at Rainbow corner and A Buoy to land 7 fish on mini boobies, crunchers and hoppers with the fish taking just under the surface. All water member Ed Douglas used to dries to land 7 fish including a Rainbow at over 4lb and a brown at 3lb. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith enjoyed a good day landing 16 to the boat. They drifted from C – D Buoy using a Di 3 and a cats whisker and also a midge tip line with silver thorax pheasant tail nymph. Mr M Francis also fished around D Buoy using a dark green dabbler to land a dozen fish. Draycote RIO Masters team member fished with household all water member Albert Coales with the pair landing 25 fish to the boat. Using the new RIO 6ft hover tip with a washing lining set up was their best tactic with the top area being Rainbow Corner to A Buoy.

Thursday was a bright start,  with intermittent cloud cover and a light south westerly breeze. Draycote fished reasonably well overall, with a rod average of 3.1, with the best area being toft shallows for both boat and bank anglers. There was a good spread of fish throughout the reservoir, especially up in Rainbow Corner, through C to D buoy and on the back of Croft Shoal, but these proved to be a bit “picky” on the dries. On the final day of his 3 day break Gordon Byers netted 15 fish on damsel patterns and big reds in Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Kevin Rees had 8 fish to the boat drifting out over open water from Rainbow corner. Kevin was using dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits. John Falconbridge used the washing line method with nymphs and a FAB on the point to net half a dozen from various areas along the leeward shore. Ian Western bank fished on the Hensborough Bank to net 4 fish, one of which was an estimated 8 lb rainbow.

Almost perfect conditions for fishing here at Draycote on Friday morning, with overcast skies and a light south westerly breeze. Draycote once again did not disappoint with both boat and bank anglers making some good returns throughout the day. Ex Draycote manager Kevin Hart and his boat partner John Hoskins pulled over 30 fish to the boat between them on a wide variety of patterns, and from various areas around the reservoir. Mr Colin Day fished close into the bank in Biggin Bay to land 11 fish on red crunchers and silver PTN’s. Season permit holder Paul Walker had the same number of fish to a drifting boat using diawl bachs on a washing line with a FAB on the point. The Draycote Fly Fishers held a bank match on Friday evening in which 10 anglers took part, achieving competition average of 3.7.The winners spot was taken by Les Lerigo with 7 fish, closely followed by a tie for second place for Stephen Dewhurst and Will Hunt with 6 fish each. Third place in the competition was taken by Mark JJ 5 fish.

Saturday dawned with a strong southerly breeze and the promise of a shower or two as the day progressed. With the current weather conditions the water temperature is a steady 17 degrees, and the majority of the fish are still holding in the top few feet of the water. Good sport is still to be had on dries as well as a washing and nymphs fished off a midge tip line. Whilst some anglers favour the FAB on the point, it is worth noting that there are plenty of damsels in the water, and replacing that FAB with a green foam daddy might just entice another fish to the net. Sam Edmunds had 10 fish to the boat using FAB’s and buzzers up in Rainbow Corner and around D buoy. Chris Tuck used a suzie booby on a washing line with nymphs down in Toft Shallows to net a good number of fish. Mr I Spicer and Mr E Barder had 15 trout to the boat and one perch, all caught on a mixture of nymphs and dries.

Sunday started with a bright blue sky and flat calm conditions, however we did have some much welcomed cloud cover around 11am and a good ripple. After a successful evening bank match Friday, the Draycote Fly Fishers enjoyed their first boat match of the summer. The day was broken down into a ½ day and a full day boat competition. Winning the ½ was Husband & Wife duo Debbie & Sean Gilbert who landed 5 fish before 1pm. They fished by the Draycote Dam using a mix of snakes and also traditional lures such as a Micky Finn to land their fish. Winning the full day match was John Hanlon & Kevin Jones who landed an impressive 20 fish to the boat. With fellow Hanlon, John’s brother Michael and nephew William coming in second with 7 fish. We also had the Alex Booth Fishers out on the water fishing in the Steve Parton Memorial match. Winning the match was Baz Street who landed 3 fish weighting 7lb and realising further 6. Coming second in the match was Rod Goldthorpe who landed 3 for 6lb and returning 2. Outside of these club competitions there was some great scores. Bristol anglers Paul Roach & Graham Currie landed 18 fish to the boat drifting out of Rainbow Corner using a floating line with Diawl Bachs. Richard Hood & boat partner landed 19 fish using nymphs and also dries. Draycote Member Jim Smith fished with Ed Douglas landing over 40 to the boat. The pair commented there was no standout area, catching all across the lake. Once the cloud arrived dries proved to be the most consistent method but washing lining and snakes on a Di 3 sinking line was worked.

Eyebrook Fishery Report – Week Ending 26 June 2022

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 26 Jun 22       Rod Av:            Water Temperature:  20°C

Monday brought with it a stiff northerly breeze which softened as the day wore on. With the varying degrees of cloud cover this made conditions somewhat challenging. Fish were still caught despite the conditions. Stoke Dry was a productive area with fish being caught on small Yellow Owl CDC’s. Whereas, in the deeper water of the basin, fish were caught on buzzers fished deep. When fishing deep Buzzers, you can achieve depth by either fishing a sinking line with a team of buzzers, short casted & fish vertical or by fishing a tip line with a team of heavy buzzers used to drag the line down. With the water temperature stabilising at 20 degrees the fish will start to seek cooler, more comfortable water.

Tuesday saw the bright, warm weather continue but with changeable winds that made consistent drifts difficult. This meant it was hard to accurately repeat a drift where fish were found. The slightly warmer air temperature saw an increase in Damsel activity and the anglers could target the Damsel feeders along the edge of prominent weed beds. Season Ticket holders Bill Law & Ian Steele did exactly that, fishing small imitative Damsel patterns to great effect. They had a very productive morning session landing some cracking fish, the majority of which were over 3lb. Fishing close weed can be fraught with danger though & subsequently they lost a few in the process. The fish continue to feed fry & Damsel nymphs.

Wednesday was another day of searing temperatures, bright sunlight & very little breeze which resulted in conditions that were far from ideal. Despite these challenging conditions, fish were still caught. Those that went to the Main Basin & were willing to fish sinking lines were more productive than others. There were still fish moving on the surface, but these were not fish cruising 18inches down picking off items of food off the surface. They were deeper lying fish that were willing to come up to the surface, but they would not spend any time there as the water temperature made it too uncomfortable for them. They would take an item of food off the top & return to the cooler water. Sat slightly deeper are another band of fish & these deeper laying fish appear to be more willing to take a fly. Lure patterns on fast sinking lines seemed to be the way to go.

Thursdays start of the day saw broken cloud & a very sporadic ripple. The gentle northerly breeze remained inconsistent which led to periods of a flat calm. During these periods fish could be seen moving across the reservoir, however, these fish proved to be somewhat tricky to catch, hopefully the cooler forecast for tomorrow will improve conditions. Weed growth around the shallows has shot up this past week, best area to bank fish is along the chestnut tree, netted bank but especially along the dam wall

Friday, and as the song goes, “What a difference a day makes” Cooler air temperatures, cloud and a fresh breeze was welcomed by all. Damsels continue to hatch in large numbers with a number of anglers catching on a dry blue damsel pattern from late morning onwards. With some of the fish looking upwards Adrian Baggley took full advantage using that little used method on midland reservoir, Dapping. It proved successful with Adrian landing 7 trout but also lost a large trout. John Wild followed the advice at the lodge & fished a dry blue damsel pattern landing 6 for his visit, Max Woolnough also fished dries to catch his 9 trout. Ian McLeod fished a washing line with small cormorant patterns on the dropper catching 9 trout all by 11.30am. Ian Jobe took to his float tube and concentrated his efforts over the deeper water in front of the dam fishing a booby basher he caught 12 trout for his visit.

As the water temperature continued to drop due to the cooler weather, the reservoir fished very well on Saturday. The main basin to Sam’s Dyke proved to be a very productive area with many fish being caught on washing lined floaters & Dries from both the boats & the bank. Those fishing Damsel nymphs on the edge of weed beds from the lodge to Sam’s dyke were rewarded with good numbers of fish early on. This coincided with the increase of damsel nymph activity around the weed beds as they prepared for their late morning metamorphosis. As the morning progressed the Damsel hatch went into full swing & subsequently the number of fish taken on Blue Damsel patterns increased. Other productive patterns included Foam daddies, Daddy Hogs & Yellow Owls. All Water Member Mark Hunt had a great day on the Dries, catching 18 trout on Blue Damsels & Daddies from the Main Basin area, some of which being over 3lb. Others that caught well from the boats were Eyebrook Member Mick Farrell & his boat partner who had a very productive day fishing the upper layers of the water column with Nymphs, Wets & Dries throughout the course of the day. The banks also produced with fish being caught on Damsel Nymph patterns down by the Cowshed & also from the north side of the tower on the Dam. Resident Guide Andy Miller took out Shaun & Aimee on 2-hour experience boat session & they had a great time catching their first ever trout & on the Dries no less; a Blue Foam Damsel & a Daddy Hog being the successful patterns.

Sunday brought with it a strong blustery wind from the South & bright sunshine which made the fishing somewhat challenging. Those that did brave the elements still caught fish though, with the more sheltered Basin area being the most productive. The fish remained relatively high in the water column & were caught small imitative patterns fished high up on floaters & midge tips. The forecast for the coming week suggests that the water temperature will continue to cool. Therefore, the fish will remain high up in the water column & the prospect for fishing Dries looks excellent.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  26th June       Rod Av: 1.8      Water Temperature: 20c+ – 19c

Warm start to the week with our surface water temperature 19c+ A few fish moving but typically once the water exceeds 19c they tend to rise once before dropping back to the cooler layers. Most of the anglers headed towards the deeper water in front of the dam fishing with Sink 3 & fast sinking fly lines with cats whiskers, booby & snakes. Top rod on the day was Keith Cowen who fished the morning session with a fast sinking line catching 6 trout all on different booby patterns

Tuesday with a hot day forecast most of the rods opted for the morning session 8.00am – 3.00pm, with our pre payment system it allows us to get on the pontoon earlier to prepare the boats, which in turn allowed us to get the boats out early at 7.45am. A few of the early rods caught on a washing line but with the surface water temperature at 19c they quickly changed to a Sink 3 or fast sinking fly line with booby, cats whisker, dawson olive. P Wrigley caught 5 for his mornings visit with P Cox catching 4 on a cats whisker & P Mee fishing a booby to catch his 4 fish. By 8pm our surface water temperature was 20c were not likely to see much of an evening rise with that temperature. Mornings will continue to be best, roll on Friday and the cooler, fresher weather forecast for the next 5 days

Wednesday the majority of the anglers fished the morning session 8.00am to 3pm. Anglers reported a few fish rising but the majority caught by fishing a variety lines from an intermediate down to a fast sinker. D Mee caught his 3 fish limit on a fast sinker with R Morton catching his 4 trout also on a fast sinker. D Pritchard fished a fry pattern catching 2 but in his words “countless lost” probably coming short in the conditions.  Ian Brearley took a different approach fished in the ripple with a wet daddy, diawls & booby catching 6 trout. Considering the conditions more than happy to see a rod average 2.2 for the morning.

Freshening southerly breeze on Friday had most of the anglers fishing in the shelter of the dam with a varied approach from a washing line all the way down to a fast sinker picking up trout. Top rod on the day catching 6 trout on a washing line, fab on the point and diawl on the dropper was All Water member Ian Leach

Saturday and the breeze had picked up further but with it the water temperature had dropped to 19c. Not an easy day with Paul Martindale catching 4 on a diawls and cdc hopper

Sunday most of the rods fished the morning session 8.00am to 3.00pm with another day of the strong southerly winds anglers again fished along the dam wall. Top rods for the morning session were Tony Smith with 3 trout and Ray Jordan with 4 trout.

A mixed week fishing with the change in the weather to a fresh at times strong southerly reducing our surface temperature to 19c and it continues to drop. The morning session 8.00 to 3pm has generally fished best

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 26th June 2022              Rod Av:  4.8      Water Temperature: 18 °C

Monday dawned flat calm with bright sunshine and looked like doing that for the rest of the day. Not the best conditions for fishing, but keeping on the move and going through different tactics will always give you a better chance of putting a fish or two in the net. Season pemit holder Peter Elliott used diawl bachs fished on a sinking line to put 5 fish in the boat, “deep and slow”. John Dickens stuck firmly to the dries to net 4 fish from various areas around the reservoir. Young Lester Booth netted 5 “cracking fish “, all on pin fry patterns. Draycote regular Andy Lilley fished for a few hours from the bank and netted a brace from Lincroft Point on sedges and cormorants. Dan Mgelligott managed 4 to the boat in the area around N buoy and the School Slips, using a gold headed black lure fished on an intermediate line. Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost caught 17 fish between them, with Chris using the Bung at 10ft, with the washing line working on a long midge tip.

Possibly some of the worst conditions for fishing greeted the anglers on Tuesday, with no wind high temperatures and full sun. As a result the fishing was a challenge, Draycote season ticket holder Phil Waters opted to fish deep landing a nice brace of fish including a cracking perch. Michael Hanlon fished with fishery guide Lee Henfrey for the morning, with the pair landing 5 fish to the boat, fishing around X Buoy. Michael used a Di 3 sinking line and an olive barred snake to land his fish. While Lee used a Booby Basher and a gold butt cat booby. The best catch of the day went to the single man boat of Paul Angell who landed 7 fish using buzzers, diawl bachs and crunchers fished on a midge tip at A buoy and the Valve Tower.

Another flat, bright, and hot day Wednesday, with the water temperature creeping up towards 19 degrees. As a result the best tactic seemed to be fishing a little deeper in the water column. Jim Dempsey fished on a morning boat to land a dozen fish. Jim fished around A buoy, using a Di 5 40+ line with a white snake with a roly-poly retrieve. Jim commented that he was taking the fish at 15ft down and the hang at the end of the retrieve was key. Jeff Hickson fished with Paul Heavens ahead of the Alex Booth Fly Fishery charity match the next day. With the pair landing 6 fish, with he best tactic being fishing a team of buzzers near the Valve Tower. All water member Paul Havard landed 4 fish, with the first taking a Diawl Bach on a 3ft midge tip and the rest on a DI 3 and a barred olive snake. The best boat of the day was member Chris Bobby and Mark Macleod who landed a dozen fish to the boat but kept the information on how they did it close to their chest as their teams competing in the Angling Trust Loch Style Championship at the weekend.

A busy day Thursday with Draycote hosting the annual Alex Booth Fly Fishers charity match. As always it was a very well attending event for a very worthy cause, with all 33 boats out on the water, however, once again the high water temperatures made the fishing tricky with the rod average for the match working out at 1.7 fish per angler. Winning the day was Paul Mitchell who landed 6 fish with boat partner Gordon Bramwell landing 4. Paul used buzzers to land his fish but didn’t say much more as he was competing in the match at the weekend. There was also a number of cracking fish caught, Colin Marriot landed a rainbow of 4lb 4oz fishing a Di 3 sinking line and a cats whisker using a figure of eight retrieve. Although Richard Gent landed one bigger a cracking fish of 4lb 13oz taken just near Farborough Spit on a fry pattern off the surface. Rob Edmunds also caught very well, while he was in the match, he treated it as a practice day for the weekend and didn’t weight in. Rob landed 7 fish using a fast glass line with a pink and sunburst FAB on the top dropper, 2 cormorants and a sparkler booby on the point.

The break in the weather certainly improved the fishing on Friday with the rod average jumping to just under 5 fish per angler. Season ticket holder Ian Reeve enjoyed a good day’s sport lading 16 fish using a black and green snake fished on a Di 3 sinking line. Fellow season ticket holder Ray Rawlings also enjoyed a good day landing 10 fish using a tequila FAB on the point and black crunchers on the droppers fishing at Rainbow Corner. George Scholes fished for the afternoon on the boats to land 11 fish once again from Rainbow Corner. Using green and black buzzers and also a team of Diawl Bachs fished on a floating line. We also had a number of teams practicing ahead of the Angling Trust Loch Style Team Championship. With a range of methods working , put it was clear that the fish had come up on the water and that washing lining was a ley method on Midge Tips and also slow sinking intermediates.

Saturday, saw a vastly improved water temperature with Southerly winds and a mix of cloud and sun. As a result of these improved conditions the rod average shot up to 9.4 fish per angler. On the Saturday we hosted the first day of the Angling Trust Loch Style Team Championship. The competition is fished over 2 days and broken up into 3 x 3 hour sessions, fishing with your teammate and a boat steward from another team adjudicating. All the fish are measured in a trough and the team with the largest combined length (CM) over the 2 days wins. There were some great scores on the day with the results from each session posted on www.facebook.com/flyfishstore The best tactic for the teams was to fish a washing line with 2 FABs or boobies on the top dropper and point with nymphs in the middle. Outside of the competition All water member Jamie Scott landed 16 fish on a black Pennell, Diawl Bachs and buzzers. Jamie fished in Rainbow Corner which was also the hotspot for the competition along with the outlet and the Hensborough Bank.

Another bright and blustery day here at Draycote on Sunday with once again, good returns from the top few feet of the water column. Richard Walker caught 3 fish on lures out over deeper water, whilst John Crowley used bibios and cormorants on a sinking line in areas such as Y and K buoy. Young Ian Western had a total of 10 fish to the boat using brown buzzers fished on a washing line setup, whilst Mark Johnson Jones caught 1 fish from the bank using a hothead damsel. On the second day of the Angling Trust Loch Style Team Championships the competitors did extremely well up in Rainbow Corner and along the Hensborough Bank,  mostly on the washing line method with muskins and diawl bachs. The two day event was won by Fulling Mill Team Tequila, closely followed by the Renegades and then the RAF Fish Hawks. The rod average for the competition was 14.5.

Eyebrook Fishery Report – Week Ending 26 June 2022

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

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Week Ending: Sunday 26 Jun 22       Rod Av:            Water Temperature:  20°C

Monday brought with it a stiff northerly breeze which softened as the day wore on. With the varying degrees of cloud cover this made conditions somewhat challenging. Fish were still caught despite the conditions. Stoke Dry was a productive area with fish being caught on small Yellow Owl CDC’s. Whereas, in the deeper water of the basin, fish were caught on buzzers fished deep. When fishing deep Buzzers, you can achieve depth by either fishing a sinking line with a team of buzzers, short casted & fish vertical or by fishing a tip line with a team of heavy buzzers used to drag the line down. With the water temperature stabilising at 20 degrees the fish will start to seek cooler, more comfortable water.

Tuesday saw the bright, warm weather continue but with changeable winds that made consistent drifts difficult. This meant it was hard to accurately repeat a drift where fish were found. The slightly warmer air temperature saw an increase in Damsel activity and the anglers could target the Damsel feeders along the edge of prominent weed beds. Season Ticket holders Bill Law & Ian Steele did exactly that, fishing small imitative Damsel patterns to great effect. They had a very productive morning session landing some cracking fish, the majority of which were over 3lb. Fishing close weed can be fraught with danger though & subsequently they lost a few in the process. The fish continue to feed fry & Damsel nymphs.

Wednesday was another day of searing temperatures, bright sunlight & very little breeze which resulted in conditions that were far from ideal. Despite these challenging conditions, fish were still caught. Those that went to the Main Basin & were willing to fish sinking lines were more productive than others. There were still fish moving on the surface, but these were not fish cruising 18inches down picking off items of food off the surface. They were deeper lying fish that were willing to come up to the surface, but they would not spend any time there as the water temperature made it too uncomfortable for them. They would take an item of food off the top & return to the cooler water. Sat slightly deeper are another band of fish & these deeper laying fish appear to be more willing to take a fly. Lure patterns on fast sinking lines seemed to be the way to go.

Thursdays start of the day saw broken cloud & a very sporadic ripple. The gentle northerly breeze remained inconsistent which led to periods of a flat calm. During these periods fish could be seen moving across the reservoir, however, these fish proved to be somewhat tricky to catch, hopefully the cooler forecast for tomorrow will improve conditions. Weed growth around the shallows has shot up this past week, best area to bank fish is along the chestnut tree, netted bank but especially along the dam wall

Friday, and as the song goes, “What a difference a day makes” Cooler air temperatures, cloud and a fresh breeze was welcomed by all. Damsels continue to hatch in large numbers with a number of anglers catching on a dry blue damsel pattern from late morning onwards. With some of the fish looking upwards Adrian Baggley took full advantage using that little used method on midland reservoir, Dapping. It proved successful with Adrian landing 7 trout but also lost a large trout. John Wild followed the advice at the lodge & fished a dry blue damsel pattern landing 6 for his visit, Max Woolnough also fished dries to catch his 9 trout. Ian McLeod fished a washing line with small cormorant patterns on the dropper catching 9 trout all by 11.30am. Ian Jobe took to his float tube and concentrated his efforts over the deeper water in front of the dam fishing a booby basher he caught 12 trout for his visit.

As the water temperature continued to drop due to the cooler weather, the reservoir fished very well on Saturday. The main basin to Sam’s Dyke proved to be a very productive area with many fish being caught on washing lined floaters & Dries from both the boats & the bank. Those fishing Damsel nymphs on the edge of weed beds from the lodge to Sam’s dyke were rewarded with good numbers of fish early on. This coincided with the increase of damsel nymph activity around the weed beds as they prepared for their late morning metamorphosis. As the morning progressed the Damsel hatch went into full swing & subsequently the number of fish taken on Blue Damsel patterns increased. Other productive patterns included Foam daddies, Daddy Hogs & Yellow Owls. All Water Member Mark Hunt had a great day on the Dries, catching 18 trout on Blue Damsels & Daddies from the Main Basin area, some of which being over 3lb. Others that caught well from the boats were Eyebrook Member Mick Farrell & his boat partner who had a very productive day fishing the upper layers of the water column with Nymphs, Wets & Dries throughout the course of the day. The banks also produced with fish being caught on Damsel Nymph patterns down by the Cowshed & also from the north side of the tower on the Dam. Resident Guide Andy Miller took out Shaun & Aimee on 2-hour experience boat session & they had a great time catching their first ever trout & on the Dries no less; a Blue Foam Damsel & a Daddy Hog being the successful patterns.

Sunday brought with it a strong blustery wind from the South & bright sunshine which made the fishing somewhat challenging. Those that did brave the elements still caught fish though, with the more sheltered Basin area being the most productive. The fish remained relatively high in the water column & were caught small imitative patterns fished high up on floaters & midge tips. The forecast for the coming week suggests that the water temperature will continue to cool. Therefore, the fish will remain high up in the water column & the prospect for fishing Dries looks excellent.

Eyebrook Fishing Report – Week Ending the 19 Jun 2022

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 19 Jun 22       Rod Av:  2.1   Water Temperature:  20°C

The recent blustery north westerly winds had finally abated to leave Eyebrook with a gentle breeze resulting in a gentle ripple. Coupled with a decent amount of cloud cover Monday brought with it some near perfect conditions.  As a result, the reservoir fished very well, in particularly to the dry fly where fish were caught from various locations from both the boat & the bank. The most productive patterns seemed to be small CDC Yellow Owls & small Foam Daddies fished either singularly or in the case of the Foam Daddy, as a point fly on the end of a washing line. Day tickets anglers Mr Hawes & Jackson had a very productive day from the landing well over 20 fish on Foam Daddies out in the open water of the basin. All water member Mark Hunt fished a small, single Yellow Owl to great effect in an evening session landing 12 fish, 2 of which were over 3lb. From the bank it was slightly more challenge given the recent spurt in weed growth but there are still fish to be had. Jude Tuff landed 5 fish from the bank & Dave 4 respectively, fishing predominately dry flies over the weed beds.

Tuesday brought with it clear, bright skies & very little breeze. What little breeze there was, had disappeared by the middle of the afternoon resulting in a flat calm for most of the day. However, there was still fish caught in these challenging conditions & those who caught well benefited from adopting a mobile, stealthy approach. The 2 Float tubers who ventured out, Andre Russell & Neil Shilton, both caught well concentrating their efforts fishing the open water of the main basin. Fish were caught on small Damsel patterns & pin fry patterns around the margins particularly around the Island & the Mucky Bay areas. Whereas the fish concentrated over the deeper water of the main basin were either caught on very small emerging dries or washing lined floaters & tip lines with small nymphs on the droppers & a FAB or Damsel Booby on the point. Bank access at Eyebrook has been slightly reduced to the weed growth from Dogwood Bay to Sam’s Dyke. However, the rest of the banks remain relatively clear & fishable.

Wednesday was a very warm flat calm day, with temperatures hitting well over 20°C, because of these tricky conditions the fishing was a challenge. As a result of the warm conditions the morning and the main part of the day that offered the better fishing as by the evening the water temperature has increased further. One angler who enjoyed a great day’s sport, despite the conditions, was Mr Dougie Skedd who landed 14 fish. Fishing in the Main Basin in the morning targeting individual moving fish using a size 10 Red Klinkhammer. Later in the afternoon he moved up to The Cow Sheds and The Chestnut tree again utilising the same tactic of picking off individual fish. Fishery Management Guide Lee Henfrey took Roddy Clotworthy out on an 8-hour guide. The tactic of the session was to use either Di 3 or Di 7 sinking lines around the Valve Tower with mini snakes, landing some cracking fish.

Thursday brought with it the same challenging conditions & very warm weather for the 3rd consecutive day. Despite these conditions there was still plenty of fish seen moving feeding on damsels & pin fry & there was still some fish caught. Dougie Skedd returned for a 2nd day & fished the same tactics as the previous day & landed 5 fish on his Red Klinkhammer. Jake Munro also had a productive day from the boat landing 10 fish fishing with snakes in the deep water of the main basin & around the tower. Mucky Bay is also producing fish with Jonathon Holmes catching a few on Suspender Buzzers & Sedge patterns. With some cooler weather forecast for the weekend it will be interesting to see what impact that will have on the ever-increasing water temperature.

The hottest day of the year Friday with the air temperature hitting over 30°C, however thankfully there was a ripple that helped with the angler’s presentation. As a result of the hot weather, most of the anglers opted to fish a shorter day. With the last four hours proving to be the most popular, Mr W sumpter & D Sumpter landed 7 to the boat during the last four hours. Ian Gadsby & Gary Mickwzy also enjoyed a great evening’s sport landing 9 fish to the boat in Sam Dyke on CDC patterns. Great to see the fish are still moving even in the hot weather, and with the weather set to cool off over the weekend hopefully the surface sport will continue.

As expected, due to the previous day’s weather, the water temperature yesterday increased even further, reading 21°C at 7am Saturday morning. However thankfully we had much cool temperatures teamed with some rain showers and a good Northeast wind. Saturday was not the easiest of days following the heat from the last few days although anglers still report seeing fish feeding on the huge hatches of damsels and pin fry, especially along Sam’s Dyke and down Stoke Dry. Local Angling Club Eyebrook Fly Fishers held their blind pairs competition fishing the morning session with 12 club members taking part. The eventual blind pairs winners were Dave Etty & Phil Mee with 4 trout, 2nd was Mark Goodge & Clive Moore with Bill Law & Lindsey Bates 3rd.

Details on joining the Eyebrook Fly Fishing Club are available at the Eyebrook lodge.

Sunday saw us host 10 students from Uppingham school on a Tuition day. They started by going through the basics, setting up a rod & line, basic casting, casting for distance & accuracy. Then in the afternoon they went out in boats & covered hooking, playing & successfully landing a fish. They all had a great time working with the team & the team enjoyed working with them. They caught fish by setting up long drifts across the basin using tubes on fast sinking lines. Other areas that produced fish were up by the cowshed where Eyebrook member Malcolm Thompson caught well from the bank fishing Damsels close to the weed beds & from the boat, Mr Hunter & Mr Todd caught fish from the Cowshed to Stoke Dry on small Yellow Owl CDC’s. Float tuber Neil Shilton also had a productive day, landing 10 fish from various locations around the reservoir using sinking lines. It really does pay to adopt a mobile approach when the fishing is a challenge, covering more water massively increases your odds of a productive session.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  19th June       Rod Av: 2.8      Water Temperature: 19c+ – 20c+

A bright warm start to the day soon gave way to cloud & a breeze which certainly suited the fishing with the majority of the trout taken in the top few feet. Mick Glover fished an intermediate with fab & a booby stripped back just under the surface, boating 4 trout but getting lots of pulls & follows. L Ford & M Bazeley fished the morning session catching 18 on cdc & cormorant patterns fishing from the main car park up along the dam. Gary Owen fished the afternoon session alternating between dries & the washing line catching 14 on the dries & p on the washing line.

Tuesday the morning session fished best with anglers reporting fish moving down the Markfield arm, opposite the lodge and in front of the dam. Most anglers opted for the cooler morning session 8.30am to 3.00pm. P Mee caught 3 on a popper hopper, P Cox caught fish on a damsel, traffic light buzzer, diawl & muddler, David Hussey fished buzzer & diawl to catch his 5 trout with K Cowen opting for a fast sinker catching 6 on a damsel & cats whisker. Caenis is about in increasing numbers during the evening.

Wednesday and again with this warm spell the cooler morning session fished best with dries, damsel, fabs, snakes & booby all catching fish. J Carrier & Bradbury caught 6 for their mornings visit, Amed caught 4 as did Kenny & Moore all during the morning session. Very few fish moved during the evening due to the heat of the day & bright conditions.

Thursday the forecast warm spell had arrived, luckily a breeze off & on during the morning was welcomed & certainly a help for the fishing. Anglers reported fish moving during the morning with Gary Owen catching 15 on a combination of dries before switching to a sinking line later in the day. P Hunt seeing a few fish move in the morning fished an intermediate with a muddler to catch his 6 trout. Paul Martindale caught his 4 on damsel & buzzer with Barry Deeley catching 9 by using an intermediate with a damsel before switching to a DI7 & booby. With this warmer weather the morning session 8am to 3pm will be the most productive period. Rod average for Thursday was 4.5

Warmest day of the year, the saving grace was the brisk westerly breeze. Majority of the anglers fished the morning session 8am to 3pm with a couple of rods fishing the last 4 hour. During the morning session Chris Sayer caught 5 on a fast sinking line, Mark Gee & his daughter Jess caught 4 for their visit again the majority on a sinking line fishing in front of the main dam. Carl Bond fished the last 4 hour hoping to see a few fish moving, unfortunately the warm weather was against that and he opted to fish a sinking line with booby, a successful change as he went on to catch 3.

Saturday a refreshing cooler northerly with cloud & rain showers. Anglers fished intermediate, Sink 3 & Fast sinking lines catching on all three with diawl bach, damsel, olive snake and booby patterns. Martin Clay fished a DI3 with a weighted cats whisker & diawl on the dropper with all of his 8 trout taking the diawl, H Davies caught his 6 trout on a fast sinker on his home tied damsel pattern with Mark Donoghue catching his 10 trout on an intermediate & fab considering the weather earlier in the week a very respectable daily rod average 3 for Saturday

Sunday a quiet day as people celebrated father’s day with the family. Overnight a drop in air temperature had helped to reduce the water temperature to 19c. M Ravenscroft caught 4 for his mornings visit with 2 on dries & 2 on snakes on a sinker. D Slessor fished a sinker with cats whisker to catch his 3 trout

Considering the weather during the week which at times pushed the water temperature to 20c+ a rod average of 2.8 is good. The morning session 8.00am – 3.00pm fished best with intermediate, sink 3 & fast sinkers with damsel, fab, booby & snakes best
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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 19th June 2022              Rod Av:  2.8      Water Temperature:  16°C

Light winds started the week with overcast skies for most of the day as a result the fish could be seen feeding hard on Pinfry. Which at times made it very frustrating for the anglers as they could see lots of fish put they proved a challenge to tempt. The best option was to try and ignore these and look for fish not switched onto the Pinfry. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walley fished for an afternoon from the bank to land a brace on Pinfry patterns at the Swan’s Nest in Toft. On the boats Steve Barby & Nigel Woolnough landed 22 fish to the boat utilising the rudder to take their fish, with runs through the open water the being the best area. Trevor Moore enjoyed good sport landing 9 fish using small black buzzers at the Saddle Bank including a 4lb 4oz “Silver Bar” of a rainbow. James & Ken Maplethorpe also enjoyed a good days sport landing 13 fish on Diawl Bachs fished on a washing line. Draycote season ticket holders Peter Elliott & Lee Patten landed 22 to the boat using a washing line with a FAB on the point and a mix of Diawl Bachs and crunchers on the droppers.

A very bright warm day Tuesday with very little to no wind all day and the temperatures hitting 20°C, however thankfully we did get a ripple in the afternoon to help with the anglers presentation. Jim Dempsey fished on the aerators with sunk lines and barred olive snakes to land 5 fish. Also using snakes to good effect was Steve Tressler who landed 10 fish on the pattern once again near the Aerators and in the deep water around C Buoy and the Tower. Draycote season ticket holder Dave Kennel & Eddie Mitchell landed 9 to the boat fishing nymphs at Rainbow Corner to A buoy and around the Hensborough Bank. Fishery Ranger Jim Sheehan enjoyed a good mornings sport landing 4 fish and losing a number of others. Jim, used a washing line on a RIO 3 ft midge tip with a Tequila FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs on the droppers. Fellow ranger Lee Henfrey fished with teammate Martin Rowson with the pair landing 18 to the boat. Martin started on the bung to take a number of quick fish before Lee started to catch on a washing line on a 3ft Midge Tip. They found fish down at the Swan’s Nest in Toft and also drifting off the Draycote Dam Wall into the open water.

Flat, calm and bright, is the only way to describe Wednesday. Draycote fished surprisingly well under the circumstances, for those that kept on the move and worked through the different tactics. Buzzers on the bung was one method that produced fish, as was snakes fished on a slow sinking line, with one or two anglers having some success on the dries. Season permit holders Ian Reeve and Colin Grainger had 11 fish to the boat using snakes and damsels along the Draycote Dam and near the Flat Stones. Mr M Foster and Mr J Vyse caught 4 fish using black buzzers and blobs, with one of the rainbows tipping the scales at 8lbs. Mr Rob Price had 6 fish to the boat for a total weight of 14lbs 1oz, the best of which was 2lbs 15oz.

Once again another flat bright day Thursday, with the conditions even hotter than the day before. All water member Paul Havard used a 6ft Midge Tip with a washing line to land 4 fish. Paul caught all his fish on a tequila booby fished on the point and landed the fish in the open water. Richard Walker fished over the Aerators with snakes to boat 4 fish in a morning session. Phil Wood fished with Gareth Bulman on their last day of a three day break. Only fishing till 2pm they landed 5 fish to the boat over the Aerators using a FAB or a small snake. Colin Campbell & Mike Gillet enjoyed a lovely days sport in Biggin Bay with the pair boating 9 fish all taken on Buzzers. Also using buzzers to land 9 fish was Gordon Bramwell & Ken Cooke, with black and red being their best colour. Lee Patten & Willy Walker used nymphs all day to land 10 fish to the boat with Green Cheeked Diawl Bach’s being their best fly.

Breezy with bright sunshine here at Draycote water on Friday, but still good returns at the end of the day. The boat pairing of Craig Middleton and Gary Martin had 14 fish to the boat on a Sunburst and Pink FAB’s in various areas of the reservoir. Season permit holder Stephen Dewhurst caught 3 fish from the bank during an evening session in Rainbow Corner. Mr D Morris and Mr F Sumnall had a dozen fish to the boat on a wide variety of patterns.

Saturday saw the weather break after the flag cracking temperatures of the previous day, with a much cooler North wind and overcast skies with showers in the morning, before some very heavy later in the evening. With Draycote hosting the 6X4s series the next day a number of anglers took to the water to practice. While there was some good scores reported the exact details of how they caught the fish. However I know that washing line on a Midge tip caught well, dries and also pulling on Di 3 sinking lines. With the best areas being Biggin Bay & Rainbow Corner.

There has been a lot of rain throughout the night, with the cool North winds remaining, with a mix of cloud and sun.

Sunday dawned cool and breezy with sporadic cloud cover and a slight drop in water temperature due to some quite heavy overnight rain. Overall, Draycote returned yet another good daily average with fish being caught in Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay, the Cornfield and Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Alan Grant caught 4 fish from the bank at Lincroft Point using an intermediate line and yellow FAB’s. Justin Owen caught 2 fish from the bank on pin fry patterns and a green buzzer. There were a total of 52 rods taking part in the Draycote round of the 6 x 4’s competition, catching 198 fish between them, giving a competition average of 3.9. The best rod on the day was Leigh Pond with 11 fish to the boat. The top team on the day were the Renegades, closely followed by the Swifts and then the Reservoir Dogs.

Eyebrook Report W/E 17th July 2022

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 9.45pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 9.45pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 9.45pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 9.45pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.00pm

View our latest YouTube video Flyfishstore – Talks Fishing

Talks Fishing will be a series of videos when we go out fishing on Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton with one of our fishing regularsWe delve into their fly box & talk to them about their fishing on our waters.

Series 1 we go out on Eyebrook with Bill Law to catch those damsel feeders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgeUzhyi_hU

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 17 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.0          Water Temperature:  20-22°C

The week started as last week ended, with high temperatures & not a cloud in the sky. With the water temperature sat at 23°C, those who did venture out were in for some challenging conditions. All Water member Ian Jobe threw caution to the wind, well he would have if there was any wind about & decided to head out over deeper water. Armed with years of experience of fishing Eyebrook in these type of conditions Ian set up his Di7 Sweep & headed out in his float tube to the Tower area. In a relatively short session Ian landed 9 fish to 4lb & plenty over 3lb, which is a great effort in the conditions. Getting his flies deep was the most important factor, hanging his flies between 10 & 20ft Ian had a lot of interest. Often this would result in a sharp pull or a positive hook up. With the hot weather due to continue, getting your flies down to where the fish are is going to prove critical to your chances of success.

Tuesday brought with it overcast skies & a very light ripple caused by a gentle south westerly breeze which remained consistent throughout the day. Despite a water temperature of 23+ fish were still feeding hard on the abundant adult Damsels in relatively shallow water. Resident Guide Andy Miller took out Jim Marlow on a short, guided session. They headed straight out to Mucky Bay & Jim had a great day, landing 10 fish, all of which came to the Blue Foam Daddy. Fish were also caught along the weed beds on the Leicester bank into Sam’s Dyke & further out in the Main Basin fishing over the deeper water. Regular angler Tim Shepherd had a very productive Last 4-hour visit, landing 6 fish in the Basin fishing his Di 7 from a float tube. These two very different methods seem to be most productive; Dries over the weed beds or fishing deep in the Main Basin. The bank preparation work over at Harrisons to Robbo’s is now complete which has opened a large area that can be fished off the bank that gives access to deep water relatively close in.

The warm weather continued Wednesday & the anglers seemed to concentrate their efforts fishing over the deeper water of the Main Basin. Fast Sinking lines such as Di 7, Di8 & the Booby Basher seemed to be the order of the day, with those fishing the deepest being the most productive. There was a lot of fish taken on the Hang, so it was imperative to stop your retrieve as the flies travelled up towards the boat. It also paid to vary the retrieve & at what point the flies were Hung, as this would invariably induce a take. The Damsel hatches are still prolific around the weedbeds from around mid-morning & there are still fish around the weedbeds which is testament to how much food is in them. Additionally, our summer stocking policy (see link at the top of the page) seems to be paying dividends with our rod average for this time of year being particularly healthy.

Thursday was still very warm, although there were light breeze & overcast skies. Fish were still caught deep in the Main Basin, but there was also fish caught on dries; CDC’s, early on before the surface layers of the water got too warm. When fishing deep it has been imperative to get your flies as deep as possible & to fish the Hang. When trying to achieve depth, not only is it important to cast as far as you can so that the line sinks to its maximum potential, but we can also shorten our leader. By reducing the distance from our fly line to our flies or the top dropper, it enables the flies to be pulled down deeper by the sinking fly line, especially if we are fishing a booby. Fishing a single booby on a short; 5 – 6 ft leader at this time of year, when the fish are sitting deep, can be absolutely devastating. It is fished on a slow retrieve, with the occasional long pull & pause, to illicit a response from the fish.

The bright, clear skies returned for Friday & what was a gentle breeze from the South had stiffened to a northerly by the afternoon. As previous days, fish were still caught in the Main Basin over the deeper water. However, what was different from previous days some fish were caught mid-water on a washing lined fast glass. There is absolutely no doubt that most of the fish are sat deeper down the water column & as they ascend in the search of food or descend back down to the more comfortable water they were getting picked off. With the water temperature stabilising at 23 degrees, the fish are not sat cruising at 2ft down; they will move up from the depths, do what they need to do until they become too uncomfortable & then they move back down to the cooler water. The Northerly wind in the afternoon, had made the mid to upper layers of the water column more tolerably to the fish. The more recent stocked fish, in line with out stocking policy, are also more resilient to temperature than fish off a larger stamp. Mr Pattinson & Mr Eckard had a very productive day landing well into double figures, fishing over the deeper water of the Main Basin.

Saturday was a busy day at Eyebrook with 15 boats out practicing for Sunday’s 6 x 4 Competition & a cluster of pleasure anglers which included Andy Miller who was out on a 2-hour experience session. Andy hosted father & son, Harry & Teddy Ellis, who had a great time hooking & catching several fish using an Olive Barred Snake in the Main Basin, which was a great effort given the conditions & in such a short space of time. Well done, Teddy. Of those practicing, fish were caught at various levels of the water column & on various lines; Booby Bashers, Di 7 Sweeps, 6ft Tips to Floaters. The best area seemed to be the deeper water of the Main Basin with fish falling to Dries, Nymphs, Blobs & Boobies. Season Ticket holder & regular Float Tuber Neil Shilton spent the day in the Main Basin, around the Tower area & was rewarded with 12 fish which was a great effort given the conditions. All of Neil’s fish were taken on a Booby Basher fishing very deep.

Sunday started with a light Southerly breeze & a relatively clear sky which developed into light cloud cover by early afternoon. With the water stabilising at 23 degrees, it would be interesting to see how the Reservoir would fish for the latest round of the 6 x 4 Series. 52 anglers took to the water & 239 fish were caught which gave an excellent rod average of 4.6 given the conditions. To yield such a rod average in the middle of July, in the weather conditions present, is testament not only to our summer stocking policy of stocking slightly smaller triploids, but also the hard work of anglers, well done to all. Fish were caught on a variety of methods; from washing lined tip lines to pulling lures on anything from a Fast Glass to a Di7, fish were caught at a variety of depths. One angler who targeted the deeper lying fish was Neil Cohen. Neil fished a team of heavy buzzers on a 6ft tip line to great effect, landing 12 fish which is a great effort. Well done, Neil. The best areas remained the deeper water over the Main Basin, with most of the boats conducting long drifts from the Tower & Dogwood Bay on the southerly breeze.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  17th July       Rod Av: 3.4      Water Temperature: 20c+ – 23c

Monday and the start of the hot weather that’s forecast with our water temperature at 20c+ Not many anglers out with most fishing the morning session before the heat of the day pushed the temperature upwards. Bob Menhams fished over the deeper water in front of the main carpark with an intermediate & yellowish damsel pattern catching 4 trout by 11am. Pete Hunt fished a fast sinker with a bejesus booby catching 5 for his visit from the deeper water in front of the dam

Tuesday everyone fished the morning session up to 3pm with the deeper water best with intermediate down to sink 7 with booby, Dawsons olive patterns. Colin Chambers & Ian Leach both caught 4 trout for their mornings visit with Ian commenting a number of fish would follow the fly to the surface but not take.

Wednesday a quiet day rod wise. Howard Davies went up the Thornton Arm fished a sink 6 to catch his 3 trout.

Thursday a busier day with nearly all the boat out. It proved t be the best day of the week so far returning an average of 4 Most rods fished the deeper water with a few venturing up the Thornton arm in search of the damsel feeders. Again, intermediate to sink 7 lines caught fish with damsel, cormorant, cats whisker, booby and snakes. Richard Price fished a white minkie booby to catch 9 for his mornings visit, with P Hunt catching 7 on a booby. Ian Brearley fished all day with a cormorant and booby to catch 11. Ian Leach and K Counihan caught 8 for their visit on buzzer and cats whisker.

Friday & fortunately a bit of cloud & a good breeze made it quite tolerable out on the water, surprisingly at sunset there was a noticeable temperature drop. Again a mixture of lines from an intermediate to a fast sinker with diawl bach, damsel & booby. Mal & Dave Ravo caught 5 for their visit with John Bevington & Chris Sayer catching 3 each for their part day session. P Walker fished the deeper water in front of the main car park & dam finding the fish willing to take a damsel & diawl bach recording a double figure catch. Water clarity remains good

Saturday and all of the anglers opted for the morning session. Surprisingly some of the fish caught were much higher in the water than expected, Lee Henfrey was out guiding & commented the trout they caught were between 3 & 4ft down. The Harwood family caught 10 for their mornings visit catching on buzzers & cats whiskers.

Sunday & a very quiet day as the 1st day of the hot weather was forecasted. Surprisingly the trout were higher in the water than expected with G England reporting fish moving on the surface with some taking the blue damsels. He set up a washing line & caught 6 trout.

We seem to have two layers of trout, the larger triploids have gone deep & generally not feeding with the smaller triploids 1lb8oz to 1lb14oz within the top 5 feet still feeding & happy to take a fly. With a rod average of 3.4 for the week its proof our stocking policy of smaller triploid rainbows during the summer works.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Week Ending:  Sunday 17th July 2022              Rod Av: 3.1      Water Temperature:  21 °C

A muggy start to the week on Monday after a warm weekend. The water temperature at the start of the day was 21°C and finished the day at 23°C. As a result the fishing was challenging, Husband & Wife duo Debbie & Shaun Gilbert landed a brace in the morning and lost a number of others, using a Di 5 sinking line with olive barred snake and also a black dancer. Draycote member Philip Waters landed 4 fish using a fast sunk line and a lure around the Aerators and B Buoy. Chris Pyke fished using a Di 5 & Di 7 and a cat booby to land 5 fish, with Chris concentrating his efforts around the deeper water at B Buoy C Buoy and Y Buoy.

Another humid “muggy” day Tuesday with heavy cloud, despite the cloud the water temperature remained high starting at 22°C. We had a number of boats out practicing for the AMFC match the following day. One such boat was Fraser Duffy Snr & Jnr with the father and son duo landing 16 fish between them. They fished around A Buoy using a sunk lines with boobies to land their fish. Chris Pyke took the water on the second day of his package break to land 7 fish again focusing on the deep water using fast sinking lines. Another boat out practicing for the AMFC was Jack Vallis from the Royal Navy boat a dozen fish, using a Di 7 around A Buoy and the Valve Tower. As the water warms the Aerators are a great place to try, as the Oxygen brings the cooler water from the bottom and increases the dissolved oxygen levels in the water which the trout love.

A slightly cooler day in terms of air temperature, however, the water temperature was still 22°C which once again resulted in the fish sitting deeper in the water. Wednesday saw the fishery host the Association of Major Fishing Clubs (AMFC) Group 2 match. With 6 teams of 6 anglers taking part for a total of 36 anglers taking to the water. Despite the hot weather they enjoyed some good sport, catching 145 fish for a rod average of 4.14. Winning the match was Invicta with 34 fish for a total weight of 80lb 1oz, second was The Greylags with 33 fish for 75lb 15oz and in third place was Bristol Reservoir FFA with 26 fish for 60lb 12oz. The overall individual was Gary How who was the only angler to land his 12 fish limit at 5.20pm. Gary used a sliding bung and a team of hot head Diawl Bachs underneath it to catch fish at 14ft down. The best other tactics in the match were a 6ft Midge tip with a heavy buzzer on the point and then a team of Diawl Bachs on the droppers. A Di 7 40+ with 2 boobies and 2 nymphs, Di 8 with a Cat booby on the point and then a UV cormorant and a UV Cruncher. The best area in the match was to drift in the deep water from the Valve Tower to C Buoy and then off the Dam wall towards the deeper water around B Buoy. Outside of there match there was also some good catches. Jim Dempsey landed 8 fish in a morning session utilising the rudder. Jim, caught the fish deep using a Di 7 and a half with a black and gold humongous. With his best areas being a drift from the back of the Aerators towards Y Buoy and then around Y buoy. John Dickens also found the fish deep using a black snake on a Di 5 fished out the back to ensure to get as deep as possible.

There was a good north westerly breeze blowing over Draycote on Thursday morning,  with limited cloud cover. As previously reported, the warmer temperatures have moved the fish deeper in the water column and therefore the current fishery advice is to follow them into the depths of the reservoir. Sinking lines are the order of the day, such as DI5’s, DI7’s and the booby basher. Jamie Scott used a DI8 with snakes and a biscuit blob to catch 4 fish. Dave Adkins had 8 fish to the boat using black snakes on a DI7. Dave caught his fish near Y buoy,  and weighed 4 fish in for 14lbs. Andy Miller went out with Will Thomas on a 4 hour guided session and netted 8 fish. Andy and Will caught their fish on a DI7 and olive barred snakes.

Another bright and blustery day here at Draycote on Friday with a bit of colour in the water, mainly at the windward end of the reservoir. Most fish are coming to sinking lines and lures but some anglers have resorted to buzzers fished deep, (about 15 feet) on a midge tip line at the western end of the reservoir. Sam Smith used buzzers on a midge tip line to net 20 fish from Rainbow Corner. Chris Pallot used black and gold boobies on a DI7 sweep line to net 4 fish near Y buoy and lost several more. Debbie and Sean Gilbert used a DI5 with a barred grey snake up near the Valve Tower to boat 2 fish and had takes too numerous to count, but sadly did not convert these. Sean Devlin used snakes and cormorants on a DI7 to net a dozen fish  in the deeper water near C buoy.

Flat calm and bright skies made for a very warm day on the water. However this didn’t seem to affect the fish with the rod average for the day finished at over 6 fish per angler. All water member Rob Edmunds fished with Andrew Scott with the pair landing 20 fish to the boat in a half day using a booby basher with snakes. Sam Edmunds & Sam Smith also used Booby Bashers and snakes to land over 20 to the boat, with Albert Coales also doing well on these tactics. The best area on the day were Y Buoy, B Buoy and also G Buoy in Toft. Draycote member James Alexander landed 4 fish once again in a morning, on buzzers fished in the Aerators.

Sunday saw Draycote host the Scierra Pairs with 10 teams competing for 2 places in the final in on Lyn Brenig in Wales. A very warm day with temperatures hitting over 30 degrees, thankfully there was a breeze to cool the anglers slightly. Winning the Scierra Pairs, Albert Coales & Mathew Griffiths who fished by G Buoy in Toft using a Booby Basher with a black snake booby and an olive snake booby allowed to sink for 20 seconds before using a figure of eight retrieve. With their bag wight for 12 fish tipping scales at 32lb 4oz. In second place was Rob Edmounds and Andrew Scott who fished at A Buoy and also G Buoy using similar tactics to Albert & Matt. Fishing outside the competition was John Crowley who caught 7 fish using a DI7 line with minkie boobies. John caught his fish in the area of deep water between B buoy and The Valve Tower, and along The Hensborough Bank. Richard Walker used the same tactics to net 5 fish from the area around A buoy.

Eyebrook Fishery Report for the week ending Sunday 12 Jun 22.

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 12 Jun 22       Rod Av:  3.7       Water Temperature:  16-17°C

Monday brought it a stiff north westerly breeze which subsided during the day which resulted in a light ripple with periods of flat calm. The constant cloud cover meant that the fish would be very near the surface and there was an anticipation amongst those wanting to fish Dry Flies. One such angler was All Water Member Ed Douglas who had a very productive day which resulted in 18 fish to the boat; 10 of which came to the Dries. Another All-Water Member, Mark Hunt also had a good day on the dries, landing 9 fish in an afternoon session including a cracking Rainbow of 4lb +. Fish were caught from various locations around the reservoir; Sam’ Dyke & the Main Basin being amongst the most productive areas. Bank anglers have also been catching along the Leicester Bank where those who have maintained a mobile approach have benefited mostly. There has been a lot of fish showing across the reservoir throughout the day & It has paid to ring the changes until that successful pattern has been found. Patterns have been successful have been small emerging natural patterns; Yellow Owl, Shuttlecock CDC’s & Grunters. The fish are generally feeding on small emerging midges, damsel nymphs when they are present & jelly fry.

It was a very bright start to Tuesday with very little wind. What little wind there was, subsided as the day progressed leaving the reservoir covered in a flat calm for the majority of the day. This produced some very challenging conditions for the anglers, especially as moving fish could be seen all over the reservoir. Such conditions require a change of approach from the angler if they are to be successful. Those of which who opted for a stealthy approach; boat noise & disturbance kept to an absolute especially when approaching moving fish, were found to be more successful. Any disturbance will simply push the fish out of casting range. When targeting moving fish in such conditions, It is sometimes best to use a single fly with a leader that has been degreased so that it cuts through the surface tension allowing the fly to presented as it should be. It will also be a lot easier to ensure that a single fly turns over correctly. Remember to scale down your fly size to try to match what the fish are feeding & ring the changes until you find a successful pattern. When faced with a flat calm the fishing can be challenging & rewarding in equal measure. Another option when faced will such conditions is to simply ignore the fish as they feed on the surface but target them as the sit under the surface which is what All Water Member Paul Walker did. Fishing a washing lined floater with a FAB on the point & nymphs above it Paul landed 12 fish, which is great effort given the conditions.

Wednesday saw moderate westerly winds & changeable weather conditions; cloudy with sunny intervals interspersed with heavy showers.  As a result of the changeable weather conditions the fishing was a little challenging. Adrian Baggaley landed 5 fish from Mucky bay using nymphs fished on a floating line. Also in Mucky Bay Mr P Boulding landed 4 fish again on nymphs. Mr W Mathews fished in the afternoon to land 8 fish with an orange daddy being his pattern, taking his fish from near the Island. We also had the Fishing For Fun group who landed 17 between then, with washing lining and dries proving to be the best tactics.

There was a bright start to Thursday & despite the weather the reservoir fished well. There was fish caught from both the boat & bank from various locations. With the fish feeding on the Jelly Fry, Damsels & emerging olive midge the percentage methods remained either fishing Dries or washing lined floaters. Season ticket holder Mr Johnson had a very productive afternoon session from the bank landing 18 fish on Dries & day ticket anglers Duffy & Duffy landed went into double figures from the boat in what proved to be a very productive afternoon session. All water member Mark Hunt popped down for an evening session & was duly rewarded with 10 fish all taken on small dries. The most productive areas remain the Leicester Bank & out over the Main Basin, although fish can still be found from the Willows to Stoke Dry. The best fly patterns remain either small nymphs or dries with Diawl bachs, Damsels, Hares Ears & Yellow Owls, Grunters or F Fly’s proving to be the most successful.

Friday saw a blustery westerly throughout the day with intermittent cloud cover & sunny intervals. Eyebrook hosted a small party of the Romley Fly Fishers, who all had a good day, catching plenty of fish between them mainly from across the Main Basin. They targeted the upper layers of the water column with small natural patterns & in one case, in the form of a Mallard & Claret, traditional wets. Season Tickets holders Ian Steele & Bill Law had a very productive morning session, catching a high number of fish from the Mucky Bay area, targeting the Damsel feeders with small olive Damsel patterns. Out for a covert practice before their club competition the following day, Mark Searle & Gary How found fish in high numbers drifting out from the Leicester bank & across the Main Basin. The fish can be seen feeding hard in the upper layers across the reservoir where their current diet is consisting of Jelly Fry, Damsels & Emerging Midges. Local angler Max Woolnough showed his versatility venturing out to target Eyebrook’s larger predators after a previous visit, where Max saw a good number of sizable fish. His endeavours were duly rewarded landing 3 Pike, the largest of which was over 20lbs.

The strong & blustery westerly wind continued Saturday & brought with it changeable weather conditions. Cambridge Fly Fishing Club Invicta joined us for a club match which saw 32 of them take to the water catching 185 fish between them giving them a credible rod average of 5.7. Congratulations to Ray Storer who was top rod on the day with a great return of 18 fish, followed closely by Fraser Duffy jnr & Gary How who both had 15 fish. For his sterling effort Ray was a recipient of a free boat voucher donated by the Fishery Management UK team & we would like to thank Invicta for what was an extremely enjoyable day. It was great to see you all. The successful tactics for was long drifts across the main basin where they were picking up fish on washing lined floaters & tip lines in the upper layers of the water column. There was also plenty of fish being caught from the bank with Season Ticket holder Bob Margery landing 12 fish from the Bell area on Hot Head Diawl Bachs fished in the top 2 ft. Other productive bank areas were the south corner of the dam, the Hawthorns & Sam’s Dyke.

Sunday was yet another day of strong & blustery westerly winds that brought changeable weather with it. The reservoir continued to fish well yielding a daily rod average of 5.2 with fish caught consistently from both the boat & bank. Season Ticket holder Steve Lawrence had a very productive morning session from the bank landing 11 fish from the casting platforms between the Bell & the Hawthorns fishing nymphs high up in the water column. Whereas the boat anglers caught well drifting across the open water of the Main Basin either fishing dries or washing lined floaters with a 2 tone FAB on the point & small nymphs above it.  The more settled weather forecast next week will only enhance the surface feeding activity as the fish continue to feed on emerging midge across the open water. Additionally, there are still plenty of feeding fish around the margins where they are feeding on either the ever-increasing number of damsel nymphs or the jelly fry beginning to gather around the weedbeds.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  12th June      Rod Av: 4.1    Water Temperature: 17c

As we move ever closer to the longest day on the 21st June the weather may not be great for BBQ but for the fishing its certainly on our side with the water temperature at 17c we should continue to see fish feeding especially when there’s cloud cover.

Monday a good start to the week with a rod average 5 with trout moving off & on all day especially down the Markfield arm. Although the dries & washing line method are taking the majority some fish are coming to damsel nymph & booby patterns. Greg Weatherdon caught 7 on a booby & damsel, Richard Price fished buzzer & blob to catch his 7 trout, L Ford shared a boat with I Leach catching 16 trout with Andrew Wilson catching 13 on washing line booby & buzzers with cdc patterns during the evening rise.

Tuesday and a rod average 4.5 with a variety methods taking fish. R Michalak caught a further 6 trout on a daddy muddler stripped as fast as he could through the surface. Barry Deeley fished damsel patterns on an intermediate & buzzer on a floater to catch his 8 trout, K Morrissey & P Flude caught 6 for their mornings visit with H Davies catching 26 on damsel with one of the trout he caught an overwintered trout had been feeding on perch fry. Horace Wood caught 6 for his visit with P Mee catching 8. Anglers fished opposite the lodge across the main basin in front of the dam although they reported good numbers feeding down the Markfield arm.

Wednesday & the weatherman got the forecast wrong, the rain & strong wind never came, but it did see a number of rods cancel or move their bookings to later. Russ Martin went down the Markfield arm had plenty of offers boating 2 trout. Pete Maguire fished the afternoon with a suspender damsel pattern had plenty of offers & boated 5 trout.

Thursday with the fresh south westerly winds still with us its helping to keep the water temperature at 17c and the trout in the top few feet. Good number trout down the Markfield arm willing to chase a small muddler stripped through the surface, but they are coming short to the fly. Damsel patterns featuring more and more with some anglers still catching on dries. Andre Russel fished a morning session from his float tube catching 10 trout on olive cormorant and damsel patterns fished along the dam. Ian Brearley caught 9 on daddies with Nigel Woolnough fished dries to catch his 8 trout, with Paddy Fitch catching 6 for his afternoon session.

Friday and again a mixture of flies taking fish, muddler, hopper, popper hopper, small daddies, damsel & booby. Chris Sayer caught 10 on an olive buzzer and olive booby, Mr & Mrs Warren fished a booby to catch 6 trout to 4lb8oz with Carl Bond fishing the evening session catching 5 on hopper and red diawl. Another day of fresh westerly winds with most anglers fishing along the shelter offered by the dam.

Saturday another breezy bright day with a touch of algae in the water. Most anglers fished out of the wind along the shelter offered in front of the main car park, dam wall & green bay onto the stones. Angler caught as the day before on a variety of lines from a floater to a midge tip, intermediate to a fast sinker. Martin Clay & B Sibley caught 17 on buzzers, cats whiskers, Jan Webber fished a fast sinker with a cats whisker booby & orange fab to catch his 8 trout with Mark Hunt catching the majority of his 14 trout on a 6ft midge tip with diawl bach & fab.

Sunday much brighter conditions although the fresh North Westerly breeze was a relief, most anglers fished in the sheltered water in front of the main car park, dam & green bay to the stones. Mr Butterworth & partner caught 6 for their mornings visit on a floating line with a small black lure, T Thompson fished an olive booby on an intermediate to catch his first fish before opting to a fast sinker & olive booby to catch his next two trout. Mr Dudley fished the morning session catching 3 trout on a buzzer with P Cook fishing the last 4 hour session, fish moved during the last 90minutes with Paul catching two on a muddler.

Water temperature has stayed steady at 17c due to the brisk & at times cool breeze, we do now have a hint of algae. General fishing conditions are good.
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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 12th June 2022              Rod Av:  5.3      Water Temperature:  15°C

A damp start to the week with rain first thing, however this soon cleared to give near perfect conditions with a light ripple and overcast skies. However, these perfect conditions meant it was perfect for the fish to gorge themselves on small midge and the first of the season Pin fry. As a results “comments of loads of fishing moving but couldn’t match the hatch” were reported on the catch return. On the bank Stan Hillman enjoyed a good day landing 7 fish using buzzers and small pearly pheasant tailed nymphs. On the boats John Dickens landed 8 fish on a mixture of dries and pulling casting at moving fish. Fellow season ticket holder Kevin Rees stuck to dries to land 9 fish with small patterns being his best tactic. Fishing around OL, J & N Buoy. Draycote managers Tom Bird & Alan fished together for a few hours in the afternoon landing a dozen fish. The pair both used dries with their best patterns being a small olive CDC, crippled midge and a Klinkhammer. They found the most productive areas to be drifting around J Buoy and then at Y Buoy. With the key being to watch the moving fish and make sure to get an accurate cast in front of them.

A bright start to the day with cloud forecast to arrive around lunchtime, however while it did arrive it remained sunny for much of the afternoon with very light winds. On the bank all water member Ken Key used a stick fly along the Cornfield to land a nice brace of fish during a morning session. C.J Day enjoyed a great day on the bank landing 6 fish. Colin took 2 fish from Biggin Bay, 2 from Toft and 1 at the Hensborough Bank all on Damsels. Before taking his final fish along the Cornfield on a silver buzzer. On the boats Bob Askew landed 7 fish on Muskins fishing from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy and Biggin Bay. Richard Pelly & Tim Sly enjoyed a good day using dries to tempt “tricky pin-fry fish” landing 10 fish to the boat. Another angler who used Pin Fry patterns to good effect was all water member Jamie Scott who landed 6 fish. However, the best catch of the day went to the boat of James Maplethorpe & Trevor Moore who fished in Biggin Bay using a straight line with Buzzers and Hot Head Diawl Bachs with size 14 black buzzers being the best patterns. The pair also commented that 10 of the fish were between 3-4lbs, if you are unsure on the term straight lining why not watch the video on the method over on our YouTube Channel. (40) Fly Fish Store – Fishing Straight Line Buzzers – YouTube

A calm but cloudy start to Wednesday morning, which brightened up as the day progressed. In good cloud cover, numerous fish are showing in the surface of the water all over the reservoir, with small dries (12 to14’s) being one of the best ways to target these surface feeders. However, once the sun starts to shine, it’s time to ring the changes. These fish obviously move down a few feet in the water column and are then  better fished for with a midge tip or floating line with a team of nymphs, either with a FAB on the point, or a heavy buzzer just to help the flies move deeper in the water. Michael Ravenscroft used dries, and a gold ribbed hares ear to boat 9 fish from various areas around the reservoir. Draycote regular Will Hunt caught 11 fish in the area around the Valve Tower and C buoy on black palmered lures. Ed Foster used a wide variety of patterns to boat 10 fish at the flat stones. Season permit holder Chris Discombe used buzzers to net 7 fish from Biggin Bay and the Hensborough Bank.

Overcast conditions on Thursday with winds from the Southwest. All water member Paul Havard enjoyed a good day on the boats landing 8 fish, Paul used a 3ft RIO Midge Tip with a biscuit booby on the point and crunchers on the droppers. With his best area being drifts from the Hensborough Bank to N Buoy over the open water. Ian Richardson & Bob Smith enjoyed “a good day” fishing in Rainbow Corner from the boats. They used CDC’s and a washing line with a booby on the point to land 12 to the boat with some “lovely fish” amongst there catch. Gordon Bramwell & Ken Cooke also fished around Rainbow Corner and the Hensborough Bank landing 20 fish to the boat fishing a washing line. Draycote member Kevin Rees enjoyed a good day landing 12 fish all of which took crippled midge. Mr N Masters & P Williams enjoyed a good day boating 19 with Mr Williams using dries with hoppers and shipman’s buzzers being his top flies. Wile Mr Masters used wets to land his fish.

It was a bright but blustery day here at Draycote on Friday, with a good amount of fish being caught in a lot of different areas of the reservoir. Draycote regulars Colin Grainger and Ian Reeve had 16 fish to the boat between them using a “Gordon Slack” special and snakes on intermediate lines. Mr Peter Harris used  buzzers on a washing line to net 5 fish from Rainbow Corner. Season permit holder Ray Rawlings had 4 fish to the boat, again up in Rainbow, using crunchers on a washing line with a FAB on the point. Dennis Tidmarsh caught 8 good fish using snakes on a sinking line along the Hensborough Bank and the School Slips.

Not the best forecast I’ve seen for Draycote with quite windy conditions for Saturday, and perhaps a spot of rain through the afternoon. An excellent days fishing overall with the rod average rising to 7.9, and fish falling to a wide variety of patterns and techniques. Season permit holder Mark Braun used a white booby snake on a DI 7 line, drifting from the Valve Tower to D buoy to net 24 fish. Jake Munroes party of 4 anglers visiting us from bonnie Scotland reported on having a great day out, netting over 40 fish between them. The lads fished mainly up in Rainbow Corner, using patterns such as white snakes on a sinking line, and the green sleeves diawl bach on a floater to make a success of the day. Rob and Sam Edmunds fished buzzers on a floater, as well as blobs on a sinking line to net nearly 30 fish between them. Rob and Sam fished in various areas around the reservoir, but had most of their success near the Dive Platforms and the Valve Tower. Keith Harding and his boat partner used buzzers as well as pin fry patterns to boat 17 fish from the area around Rainbow Corner and the Inlet. Season permit holder Mark Thistleton caught 20 fish from a drifting boat. Mark worked his way from P to E buoy using pink and olive snakes on a sinking line.

A windy yet warm day Sunday, with gusty westly winds making it choppy at times. Draycote member Steven Dewhurst fished from the bank at the Swan’s nest to land a brace with them falling to a blob fished on the point and pin fry patterns on the droppers. On the boats Jon Crowley fished over middle shoal using a 12ft slow tip with an orange blob on the point and 2 pearly cormorants on the droppers to land a dozen in half a day. Sunday also saw the, all abilities friendly fly fishers take to the water with the 13 members landing 64 fish for a 4.92 rod average. The best boat was Dave Davis & Horace Wood who landed 17 fish. The pairs best tactic was to fish small black buzzers on a floating line in Rainbow corner with the other anglers from the club also catching on black buzzers. Draycote member Jim Smith enjoyed a good day landing 29 fish using a Booby Basher sinking line with a friendly tube. Jim found the fish at C Buoy and along the Hensborough Bank. With he key being to leave the line to sink for 5-10 seconds before starting a roly-poly retrieve with the hang being a crucial element with a number of fish taking right at the boat.

Fishery Report, Week Ending the 05 June 22.

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 10.00pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 10.00pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 10.00pm
Last 4 Hr: 18.00pm – 10.00pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.15pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre-payment policy. The 2022 details are on our website:  http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 05 Jun 22       Rod Av:  2.5       Water Temperature:  15 – 17°C

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

The week started with excellent conditions for fly fishing, a nice gentle ripple with a good amount of cloud cover. Fish were caught from both the boat & bank with either washing lined nymphs or dries being the percentage methods. Season ticket holder Dave Etty had a productive session from the bank, taking 6 fish & having numerous other chances up by the Cowshed down to the Chestnut. He finished his session down in Sam’s Dyke where he witnessed the fish feeding hard on damsels. All water season ticket holder Ed Douglas had an excellent day from taking a high number of fish from various locations, all falling to very small Olive Emergers. Ed attributed his success to a mobile approach, fishing from a drifting boat & not leaving his dries sat too long on the surface. The benefits of fishing from a drifting boat at this time of year should not be underestimated as you are covering more water in the attempt to locate fish & you are constantly fishing fresh water in front of the boat. As the day drew to a close the first batch of jelly fry was observed seeking shelter around the pontoon.

Tuesday was a challenging day with the fish feeding hard on the abundant natural food items available to them. What was also apparent is that in their search for food the fish are beginning to migrate further down the reservoir from Mucky Bay to the Cowshed & over to the Willows & Stoke Dry. Having said that, there are still fish being caught in Sam;s Dyke but not in the numbers that they were. Washing lined floater with small nymphs or fishing small olive dries still seem to be the best methods. All water member Andre Russell had a very productive day out in his float tube, adopting a mobile approach he landed 12 fish on buzzers & nymphs. Day ticket angler Mark Woolnough also adopted a mobile approach fishing small olive dries from a drifting boat & took fish from Sam’s Dyke, Mucky Bay & Robbo’s Cabin. The bank is still producing with Mr Jennings taking 7 fish on emerging midge patterns.

Wednesday was a busy day with us hosting the England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Floating Line only competition. 19 anglers took to the water & they caught 55 between them giving a healthy rod average of 2.9. Congratulations goes top rod on the day Neil Hodgson who had 9 fish & Dave Porter took the Frank Roberts Trophy for the biggest fish with a beautiful rainbow of 2lb 11oz. Well done to all participants, it was great to see you all & we look forward to seeing you all again. There was fish caught all around the reservoir from both the boat & bank & anglers reported that there were plenty of fish moving all over. However, tempting these fish was easier said than done. One angler who managed to work them out was Mr Woolnough who used a Split Wing Olive Dry to tempt 14 fish on what proved to be a challenging day. Other successful methods were once again a washing lined floater with small nymphs & lightweight buzzers up the cast & fishing a single yellow owl Dry Fly. One of the benefits of fishing a single fly is that you can concentrate on the presentation of that fly & fish that one fly correctly, which can make all the difference when targeting tricky fish.

A challenging swirling wind made things slightly tricky for the anglers on Thursday. Eyebrook member Neil Shilton fished in his float tube in the main basin to land 4 fish. On the bank Andrew Famer fished at the Willows on the Rutland Bank to land 5 fish. However, it was the boats that produced the best results. All water member Paul Havard landed 5 with all of them taking the tequila booby fished on the point as part of a washing line set up. Paul landed 1 from the Island while the other 4 fish came just down the bank from the Willows. Colin Smith & Craig Cowen enjoyed a good days sport landing 18 fish to the boat taking fish from various points all across the lake with a washing line a FAB and then small olive dries taking their fish. All water member Ed Douglas landed 12 fish taking them from Mucky bay and in the main basin on a small hopper and small CDC patterns.

Quite a gusty wind Friday coming from the Northeast meant that the Leicester bank was a little coloured, meaning the bank anglers fishing headed over to Mucky Bay or the Willows on the Rutland bank. Tim Shepard fished for the afternoon at the willows to land a brace on dries. Mr Critchley fished on his final day of a 4-day break from the bank and landed 3 fish from Mucky Bay. On the boats all water member Mark Hunt used small CDC dries and also an adult blue flash damsel to land 7 fish from Sam’s Dyke and Mucky Bay. Fellow all water household member Rob & Sam Edmounds used Damsel patterns fished just under the surface in Sam’s Dyke to land 9 fish in a morning session. The best catch of the day went to Ed Douglas who once again used dries to land his fish. Ed, landed 18 fish drifting from the Rutland Bank into open water and also in the Main basin from the netted bank. With grunters and small hoppers taking the majority of Ed’s fish.

The gusty, cold North Easterly wind continued Saturday which had by now, coloured the majority of the Leicester Bank. Anglers venturing out from the bank stuck to the clearer, sheltered Rutland shoreline & they all were duly rewarded with everyone catching. Season ticket holders Bob Margery & Malcolm Thompson both had productive morning sessions catching 4 & 6 fish respectively. From the boats Sam & Rob Edmunds’s, accompanied by Albert Coales, had a very productive day catching over 20 fish between them. There has been plenty of fish moving up & around the surface in most areas but getting them to take has been the challenge. It will pay to adopt a mobile approach & be prepared to ring the changes in order to find the successful pattern of the day. Damsel patterns just under the surface have taken a few fish. So to have small CDC emerging patterns; Yellow Owls, Grunters, Hoppers have also accounted for a few fish either fished dry on the surface or wet just under the surface.

Sunday brought with it a stiff North Easterly breeze with heavy rain which lightened as the day progressed. Amongst the anglers to venture out were the Alex Booth Fly Fishers who had 12 anglers fishing the Alex Booth Memorial club match. It was a tough day with the 12 anglers catching 24 fishing, giving them a rod average of 2. Congratulations to Riccardo Saccone who was the top rod on the day with 10 fish. Riccardo caught his fish in & around the clearer water in Sam,s Dyke, stroking back a Tequila Booby on a Di 3 just under the surface. Given the blustery weather conditions, this was an exceptional return & just goes to show the importance of fishing a method to suit the conditions rather than trying to make the conditions suit the way you want to fish. Season Ticket holder Neil Shilton also had a productive day from his float tube netting 4 fish & having numerous other opportunities. The forecast for the week ahead indicates some better weather to come which should increase the amount of surface activity at Eyebrook.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807
Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  5th June      Rod Av: 6.2      Water Temperature: 16c

Our water temperature is excellent for the time of year at 16c and were seeing good numbers of trout feeding on small midge and the first of the pin fry

Monday with fish moving off and on all day anglers were catching trout throughout the day with good numbers in front of the dam wall. Two very different approaches worked, #14 #16 hares ear, buzzer, Sedgehogs cast directly at feeding trout and then stripped as fast as you could, or single #14 #16 emergers, dries, shuttlecocks cast 6ft in front of feeding trout and fished static allowing the trout to move onto the fly. Andre Russell float tubed catching 13 trout, B Morris caught 5 with P Wurm fishing the evening rise with #16 owls hooking 9 but only landing 3, never the less, exciting sport.

Tuesday was overcast in the morning with showery rain, surprisingly cool at times. Trout continue to feed on huge hatches of tiny midge, buzzer & reports of pin fry especially in front of the main dam. Lots of fish reported coming short to the fly or hooked & lost. Dave Pritchard for the morning session landed 1 but lost a further 7 trout. Phil Mee & Steve Faregrieve returned 9 for his mornings visit.

Wednesday & better conditions with trout moving from in front of the lodge, across the main basin, Dam & into the Markfield Arm. Float tubers A Russell, Steve Frakes & Rik Dunnett all caught good numbers of trout fishing in front of the main dam, their method was to fish a sedgehog , buzzer, diawl, damsel, cruncher or booby, throw at the fish, pull away creating wake, the fish chased. Andy Hubbard & Tony Bokenham caught 15 on damsel, buzzer & snake patterns. Diawl Bach worked for S Wilson & D Dyer helping them to their catch of 23 trout. Thornton Member David Hussey fished the last 4 hours in front of the main car park catching 5 on buzzers.

Thursday with trout again to be seen feeding across the reservoir with anglers reporting good numbers of fish down the Markfield arm. A mixture of small dries and emergers to nymphs & buzzers caught fish, with some reporting better sport on a static fly whilst other caught by stripping the flies through the surface. Ian Brearley and S Higgins shared a boat catching 40 trout between them with some falling to a daddy and Sedgehogs. P Wrigley and R Dunster caught 15 with buzzers helping the Harris father & son catch their 11 trout. Tony Lorrimer fished his successful rabbit patterns picking fish up all over the reservoir.

Friday a cool blustery east wind greeted the anglers. Despite the weather anglers reported fish willing to take a dry or chase a small muddler through the surface with a good number of trout reported down the Markfield arm with D Skudder catching 5 on a small muddler pulled quickly through the surface for his mornings visit.  Tony Smith fished the last 4 hour session catching 4 on dries with A Capener fished a washing line catching 7 on a small green buzzer. Dries such as the Orange Daddy, small H&H Sedge caught a number of trout with Lee Henfrey catching 20 on a midas. Trout are high in the water & are prepared to chase a fly pulled.

Saturday another morning with a cool fresh easterly, although it didn’t affect the fishing with a rod average of 8.1 for the day. Mixture of methods caught fish from muddlers, dries to booby. Jan Webber caught 9 for his visit on orange cats whisker & booby, T. Michalak enjoyed an exciting day fishing a daddy muddler with trout eager to chase his muddler through the wave catching 12 for his visit. Mark Hunt stuck to his tried & tested dries sedgehog & F Fly catching 21 for his visit.

Sunday a very quiet day due to the bank holiday festivities & the poor forecast. Anglers missed out on an excellent days fishing with Gary Owen fishing the afternoon session down the Markfield arm catching 28 on dries between 2.30pm & 8.30pm, excellent fishing.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018
Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

 

Week Ending:  Sunday 5th June 2022              Rod Av: 2.5       Water Temperature: 15 °C

Monday dawned with the ideal conditions of overcast skies and a light westerly breeze. A good day for the dries, as season permit holder Kevin Rees found out, netting 10 fish from a drifting boat in various areas around the reservoir. The young pairing of Peter Elliott and Lee Patten fished the washing line method, using a floating line with FAB’s and nemo crunchers to boat twenty fish between them. Ian Richardson and Bob Barfoot had 9 fish to the boat between them, using cormorants as well as dries such as crippled midge and klinkhammers.

A very mixed day with regards to the weather with some very heavy rain showers throughout the day. On the bank Andrew Tasker landed 3 fish on his first visit to Draycote after attending a beginners tuition day earlier in May, a very well done Andrew and we look forward to seeing you in the banks throughout the season. On the boats John Jones landed 7 fish on a Bejesus booby and crunchers landing his fish at Toft and also the Hensborough Bank. Jason Hermon also fished from the boat landing 5 fish on Buzzers in Rainbow Corner. All water member Norman Perkins landed 10 fish using a washing line with a FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs in the middle fishing around the Outlet and the Hensborough Bank.

Great conditions with light winds with cloud and sunny intervals. On the bank Stan Hillman landed 5 fish on a pearly pheasant tail with regular fishing partner Mick Cronin also landing 3. On the boats Jim Dempsey used to Rudder to land 9 fish with small tubes being his best pattern. Draycote member John Dickens used dries to land 8 fish, another season ticket holder who used dries to good effect was Kevin Rees. Kevin fished by Y Buoy using small F flies and other small emerges to land 9. All water member Paul Walker fished with John Falconbridge around the Hensborough Bank and the outlet landing 21 fish to the boat. With FABs, crunchers, Diawl Bachs and Damsels being their best patterns. Mr C Cowan & C Smith landed 13 to the boat using a mix of dries and also washing lining. Mr Tresser fished for the last four hours in a boat for the evening landing 6 fish on a green snake by A Buoy.

Once again at Draycote the conditions for fishing on Thursday were excellent, albeit, with a little bit of sunshine thrown in for good measure. The fish are well spread throughout the reservoir and being caught on a wide variety of patterns. As reported previously there are a number of fish taking a tiny green midge off the top of the water, and these can be caught with either very small patterns or, by pulling a lure through them to knock them off their stride. Tim Joyce and his boat partner Jon Smith did well on black buzzers fished in the bottom of Toft Shallows, netting 13 fish from a drifting boat. Richard Walker caught 5 fish in the aerators using foam daddies on the top and then a DI 6 with black and green snakes. Draycote regular Tony Plummer had a total of 8 fish to the boat, one of which was a rainbow of approximately 7 lbs, which was returned. Mr John Jukes had 6 fish to the boat using red holographic diawl bachs and a montana. Season permit holder Brain Allwood had 3 fish from the bank on buzzers.

Good conditions for fishing at Draycote again on Friday with maybe a chance of a shower later on. On the second day of their 3 day break Both Tim Grove and Jon Smith had a dozen fish to the boat, using small black buzzers in Toft and Alberts Bottom.  Mr D Brooks and Mr M Warren had 3 and 4 fish respectively from the bank using buzzers and FAB’s on Lincroft Point.  Mr J Morgan Parker caught 9 fish from a boat, both on dries and crunchers with a FAB on the point. The father and son pairing of Dave and Mike Lee had 8 fish to the boat between them, all on dries. The Draycote Fly Fishers held the “Gordon Griffiths One Fly Challenge” on the bank on Friday evening which was attended by 9 anglers. Not the easiest evenings for some, but the lads did produce a competition rod average of 2. A great evening was had by all members, with the results being as follows; In third place was Anthony Hart with 2 fish and a finish time of 5:40, in second place was Brian Froggatt with a brace and a finish time of 5:30, and in first place was Stephen Dewhurst with 3 fish and a finish time of 5:25. The club would like to thank Mr Ray Rouse for supplying some quality flies for the competition again this year.

 

Saturday morning dawned with cloud cover and a very strong north easterly wind. Apart from the odd angler, most chose to ply their trade along the leeward shore, fishing in the Cornfield, Toft Shallows, Alberts Bottom and Biggin Bay. One angler who did venture out into the wind was season permit holder Mark Thistleton, who ended up boating a dozen fish on a pink snake over Y and A buoy. Mark Braun caught 14 fish drifting in the Cornfield on a black booby. Dave and Mike Mee caught 7 fish between them using dries such as shipmans buzzer and klinkhammers. Wayne Propert caught his 7 fish using black buzzers in Toft Shallows. Andy Lilley went and fished from the bank for only a couple of hours and managed one from Lincroft Point.

Heavy rain both through the night and today has put paid to many angler’s day out on Sunday here at Draycote water. However, there were a few brave souls who ventured out in a torrential downpour this morning, possibly heading for the north shore and at least a bit of relief from the weather. As the rain eased up, season permit holders Chris Bobby and Leanne Frost put a dozen fish in the boat, all on dries. Jon Crowley had 11 fish during a morning session. Jon was drifting from Y to B buoy and along the Hensborough Bank using a washing line and buzzers, as well as a black and green lure on a sinking line.

Eyebrook Fishery Report; Week Ending 29 May 22.

Posted by & filed under Reports.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Follow Us on our social media
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Fisheries Opening Hours & Boat Session
Lodge & Bank Open: 7.30am – 9.45pm
Full Day Boat: 8.30am – 9.45pm
Morning Boat: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Afternoon Boat: 3.00pm – 9.45pm
Last 4 Hr: 5.45pm – 9.45pm
All Anglers Off Site: 10.00pm

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 

Pre-Payment
We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 29 May 22       Rod Av: 3.1       Water Temperature:  16-18°C

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

There was a steady start to the week with 34 anglers catching 179 fish, giving a rod average of 5.3. Fish were caught primarily on the dries with the fish coming blind to flies presented static, any unnatural movement would cause the fish to shy away. Capitalising on the fish feeding on the surface was Martin Griffiths, who had a very productive Last 4-hour session from the boat with all his fish coming to dries. Another successful tactic was to washing line a floating line with Diawl Bachs up the cast, which is what Mr A Thomas & Mr R Thomas had done & had a productive day from the boat landing well over 20 fish to the boat. The most productive areas remain the Leicester Bank in its entirety where fish can be found all the way along it. Even from the bank it is essential to remain as mobile as possible to locate the fish. Once located, the fish will feed confidently & happily take Dries presented properly. Another area that is holding fish is the area of the basin where fish can be found feeding high up over deeper water.

Tuesday bought with it some unsettled weather with intervals of bright sunshine & a blustery wind from the west. The changeable weather seemed to reflect in the fishing in what proved to be a challenging day. However, there was still plenty of fish caught from the Leicester Bank area with Emerging Dry Fly patterns & a washing lined floater, with nymphs up the cast, again proving to be the percentage methods. Mucky Bay to the Cowshed seemed to be a very productive area along this bank with fish caught from both the boat & bank. Further south along the Leicester Bank; Dogwood Bay to the Sam’s Dyke is still holding plenty of fish. The Trout in this area have been witnessed feeding aggressively on the abundant Damsel nymphs present & as we all aware, this can provide both excitement & frustration in equal measure. A method that can sometimes prove effective in these circumstances is to pull something quick through these actively feeding fish to try & elicit a response.

Wednesday with the blustery conditions continuing most of the bank & boat anglers fished along the platforms to Sams Dyke & Mucky Bay. Dave Searson fished a morning session off the bank catching 6 trout on damsel patterns as did Gordan Thorand. Keith Cowser fished 4 hr from a boat picking up 10 trout for his visit. Kevin Hart spent most of his visit fishing mucky bay with #14 quill buzzer and an orange bobs bits to catch his 14 trout. Wednesday regulars Ian Jobe & Clive Moore found the afternoon session was far more productive catching 18 trout. There are still pond olives hatching in good numbers down Stoke Dry with an increasing number of damsels and sedges also adding to the trout’s menu. Water clarity is excellent try and fish as long a leader as you can and as low a diameter as you have confidence to use.

Thursday and were starting to see pin fry around the pontoon, time for the Barron’s Pin Fry pattern. These, together with the Damsels which we are now seeing in ever increasing numbers, are the next instalment of the annual Eyebrook larder. Both pin fry and damsel patterns are available from the lodge. With the                 blustery conditions continuing, most of the bank & boat anglers fished along the platforms to Sam’s Dyke, around the island and into Mucky Bay. Natural patterns continue to do well, with buzzers, crunchers, Diawl Bachs, damsels and hare’s ear patterns all featuring in the catch returns. With the prevailing conditions, a daily rod average of just under 3 was not unexpected, although some anglers were rewarded with better catches, top boat being that of Mr Skipper who netted twelve.

Friday was still very bright with a troublesome north-westerly wind blowing down the reservoir, probably the least favourable combination at the Eyebrook. All in all, it was a repeat of the previous days, with small naturals, either just under or on the surface being the better options. The Leicestershire bank, being slightly sheltered from the wind, performed best. Given the calmer water nearer the margins, the bank fished well, with nearly all those who fished from the bank catching, top rod being Eyebrook member, Mr Johnson with eight on CDC patterns. Top boat was Mr McClean and Mr. Kelly R Kelly with 14 who were successful using size 16 Hares’ ears and damsels.

Saturday was a very busy day with us hosting a Cancer Charity Day Boat Pairs competition. It was a very successful day with an excess of £1800 being raised for such a great cause. A special mention must go to the event organiser Steve Owen, who’s hard work & dedication ensured the day was such a success. 42 anglers took to the water & caught 143 fish, giving them a rod average of 3.4. Congratulations to Richard & John Hood who took first place with 16lb 12oz, closely followed by Martin Griffiths & Graham who had 16lb 10oz & 3rd was John Goodwin & Mark Rose with 16lb 8oz. Thank you to all the competitors who supported the event. In addition, Season Ticket holder Neil Shilton enjoyed a very productive day from his Float Tube where he netted a good number of fish with the cream of the crop being at exceptional Rainbow Trout of 9lb 12oz. A truly magnificent specimen, it was weighed & it returned strongly to grace another net. It just goes to show that there is no substitute for hard work & commitment as Neil can be seen every weekend out in his Float Tube targeting the bigger fish.

Sunday morning brought a stiff, chilly breeze from the North & bright sunlight. As the day wore on the wind did not albeit, however the bright sunlight was interspersed with intervals of dense cloud cover. The changeable conditions reflected in what was a challenging day on Eyebrook with reports of plenty of fish moving but they seemed very reluctant to take. Anglers that caught well, fished very small imitative patterns be that on the surface or below it. All Water Member Kevin Hart did just this & had a productive day, landing 10 fish on what was a very tricky day, fishing small buzzers in Sam’s Dyke. Scaling down fly sizes is a proven method when the fishing becomes challenging & can often be the difference in us catching or not. The fish that have been seen moving on the surface are taking a very small olive-green midge so in our quest to “match the hatch” it is very important that we address the size issue first as this will increase our chances of eliciting a response from a feeding fish. The closer your fly size is to what the trout are feeding on the better chance you have of catching.

 

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807
Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre Payment
We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date further details visit our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  29th May   Rod Av: 3.9      Water Temperature: 16c

Monday, trout sipping off the surface in front of the lodge, these fish are feeding on small olive or black buzzer #16 or smaller. Best approach is a long leader and single dry, emerger, cdc #16 Chip Kawalsingh  fished small dries to catch 6 of these trout. Were seeing increasing number of damsel with midge tip or Sink 2 lines with damsel nymphs best for these. With the excellent water clarity some anglers are starting to find success over the deeper water with Sink 3, 5 or 7 lines with fabs, blobs or booby, all in all a day when a variety of methods and flies caught fish with a rod average 3.8

Tuesday with trout again sipping small midge / buzzer off the surface but proved tricky to catch. Peter Wrigley straight lined a traffic light buzzer & bloodworm pattern catching his 8 trout at a depth of 10ft. Carl Bond caught most of his trout during the evening session catching 7 on hopper & black buzzer patterns.

Windy forecast for Wednesday with not many rods out on the water. Ian Leach ventured out catching his 5 trout on a variety patterns from fab, damsel to a muddler.

Thursday and another blustery day, benefit of this current cooler blustery weather is our water temperature has dropped back to 16c ideal to keep those trout in the upper layers. Phill Moore fished a morning session catching 6 trout, Peter Wrigley returned for another half day catching 5 trout on buzzers. Tony Lorrimer caught 16 for his visit, catching 8 of them off the top during the last hour. Mark Hunt continuous to catch on his #14 #16 dries this time an F Fly catching 12 for him during the last 4 hour session

Friday and another day with a blustery wind, this occasion a stiff north wind. Main Car park area fished best, T. Keeber and grandson caught 9 for their mornings visit on small damsel & olive diawl bach in the top foot of water. J Bebbington caught 7 on buzzer with P Walker catching his trout on fabs, buzzer, diawl bach and damsel. Straight line buzzer was the method some rods caught  with the point buzzer at 10ft. By 8.30pm the wind had fallen away with fish moving down the Thornton arm, main car park and across the main basin with S Proffitt catching 4 during the last hour on quill buzzer.

Saturday with lighter winds the trout were up and about most of the day with anglers reporting good numbers fish moving in front of the dam. Water clarity is excellent with fish taking #14, #16 dries, emergers and buzzers. Paul Martindale fished along the dam wall towards green bay catching 11 on #14 black hopper. Jan Webber caught 11 on diawl, olive booby and brown hopper with M ODonoghue on his first visit to Thornton catching 9 on fab and cruncher

Sunday back to a cooler northerly wind, although it didn’t stop the trout from feeding on the surface with good numbers of trout moving along the dam wall. Thornton Fly fishers held a club competition with 5 anglers catching their 4 fish limit with ounces separating the top three places, with Norman Perking coming out on top.

With a week of mixed winds & temperatures we are seeing increasing numbers of damsel with huge hatches of the smaller midge. Water temperature is 16c which should ensure the trout are in the top few feet of the water.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018
Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre-Payment
We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 29th May 2022              Rod Av: 3.4       Water Temperature: 15 °C

Monday was a beautiful day with overcast conditions and a soft south westerly breeze. Once again it can be said that Draycote is holding a good head of fish, which are well spread throughout the reservoir. Methods of catching have changed slightly over the last few days with more anglers using sinking lines such as DI 5’s, DI 7’s and the booby basher with lures. In some areas anglers are seeing a lot of fish moving in the surface of the water but proving very difficult to catch. It is likely that these fish are preoccupied on a very small green midge which can be, because of it’s size, quite difficult to imitate. There are, in this case two courses of action, either tie on that size 22 olive midge pattern you happen to have with you or, move on to different areas where you are more likely to catch. Season permit holder Kevin Rees had a bakers dozen using dries from various areas around the reservoir. Ian Richardson used the washing line method with diawl bachs to net 5 fish, one of which was a beautiful fully finned rainbow of 4lbs. Mr David Willacy used the midas to good effect also netting 5 fish. The boat pairing of Peter Elliott and Lee Patten caught 8 apiece on a mixture of dries and the washing line with buzzers and diawl bach’s.

A very mixed day Tuesday with heavy rain at times, bright warm sun and then strong winds. As a result it was a challenging day out on the water. There was fish moving in the open water around B Buoy for most of the day. However they were preoccupied on a very small green midge, which meant they didn’t want to look at much else. Phil Gray fished in Rainbow Corner to land 4 fish on black buzzers, although it wasn’t till much later in the day when the fish seemed to switch on. Members Paul Walker & John Falconbridge enjoyed a good day in the tricky conditions landing 15 fish to the boat. The pair commented that it switched on later in the day and it was buzzers, FABS and lures that caught their fish. Fishery Manager Tom Bird fished with Sam Smith with the pair landing 6 fish to the boat on a mix of nymphs fished on a washing line and then sparklers and boobies fished on a sunk line, but sounds like they missed the best fishing by calling it a day early.

A windy day Wednesday with cloud cover and showers throughout the day as well. All water member Paul Havard fished in Rainbow Corner using buzzers to land 8 fish with size 12 black buzzers being his best patterns. Also fishing in Rainbow Corner on buzzers was John Kelly & Stephen Mclean who landed 18 fish. Their best buzzer was a size 10 black buzzer with red cheeks with anchoring their best tactic. Brothers Roger & Graham Davies enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 12 fish to the boat utilising the rudder to good effect. The pair found the fish over the open water from the top dam wall using tube flies on an intermediate line. Another angler who used the rudder to land his fish was Jim Dempsey who landed 14 fish, with tubes also being Jim’s best fly. Andy Ross & Dave Barratt landed 9 fish between them using black and orange buzzers on a midge tip in Rainbow Corner.

A breezy day Thursday with cloud cover for the entire day. On the boats season ticket holder Paul Mitchell & Gordon Bramwell enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 15 fish to the boat. They fished with orange foam daddies and suspender Hare Ears to land their fish. The best areas being from A-B Buoy and coming from the top dam wall. Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot enjoyed a good day landing 10 fish from Hensborough Bank & Rainbow Corner with small gold and silver cormorants being their best flies. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey & teammate Ron Gent fished ahead of the Airflo Open Heat on Saturday. The pair enjoyed a great days sport using a Slow Intermediate line fishing over the open water with a mix of hoppers and boobies, using a roly-poly retrieve. Else where a lot of other boats practiced ahead of the match at the weekend put kept the methods close to their chest to try and get the edge for the match. However, word on the grape vine was pulling and washing line was the best methods with the fish sitting high in the water.

Another breezy day Friday, however, this time the sun shone all day, making it a more challenging day than the previous day. Once again most of the boats taking to the water were practicing ahead of the match the new day. Resulting in exact information and tactics were being kept very hush hush. Draycote RIO Masters team with fishery guide Lee Henfrey did well using a Single Hand Spey 3D line and a mix of hare’s ears and midas, fishing in the open water around A, OL & J Buoy. Other teams also fished out in the open water fishing a mix of hoppers, cormorants and also washing lining tactics to take fish. Some teams also dries to be very effective even in the bright sun. Outside of the competition practice Andy Ross & D Barrett landed 8 fish at the Hensborough Bank fishing with buzzers from an Anchored boat.

Great conditions Saturday for the Airflo Open competition with 10 teams of 6 competing for 3 places through to the grand final in October and 2 places through to runners up 1 day final here in September. Overall it was a nice fair match with the 60 anglers landing 217 fish for a rod average of 3.62 fish per man. There was a real mixture of score with some anglers doing very well and others struggling, however, all reported seeing lots and lots of fish moving. They just proved very difficult to catch as they were located onto small flies. Winning the match was team Elinor who landed an impressive 46 fish. With Ed Foster having his 12 fish limit by 14.24 Ed, used a 3ft midge tip with 2 FABS and 2 nymphs at S buoy. Also, doing well on this tactic in the same area and same team was Tony Baldwin. Away from this area other good catches came from Martin Rowson of Draycote RIO Masters who fished in Toft around the nature reservoir buoys and also G Buoy. Iain Gaskell used dries to great effect catching around C & B Buoy. There was also some cracking fish caught with Hywel Morgan landing a 5lb 8oz fish taken on the bung. Outside of the match Liz Astill landed a lovely fish from the bank on a Diawl Bach taken from the Cornfield. Gareth Jones & Kieron Jenkins from Airflo took advantage while the match was on to get out in the spare boat and enjoyed good sport on small size 16 dries in Biggin Bay. The key to their success was small dries and very light tippet cast into the area of moving fish and left alone and let them come back round to find the flies.

A lovely calm start to Sunday morning with good overcast conditions which brightened up as the day progressed. Trickier conditions over the past week has seen boats moving around throughout the day in order to gain the upper hand on the fish, which are concentrating their efforts on some very small flies. Ed Douglas boated 7 fish on dries such as small hoppers. John Crowley fish off the bank in the Cornfield using a DI 3 and black boobies to net a total of 5 fish. Mark Braun, who also fished from the bank caught half a dozen from Lincroft Point using a gold ribbed hare’s ear. Out on the boats Ben Bayliss and Adam Larbalester had a bakers dozen between them on fry patterns and an olive snake from Toft Shallows and the Farborough Dam. Season pemit holder Mark Thistleton who also ventured into Toft Shallows boated 7 fish on olive snakes.