Draycote Water: Weekly report ending Sunday 21st August 2016.
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
A mixed week weather-wise which in itself created some ups & downs with the sport. The week saw a dip in the overall weekly rod average to 2·62 from a catch total of 518 made by 197 anglers.
A bright day combined with a complete 180° wind direction change meant Monday fished slower than in recent weeks with a rod average of 2·3. However a number of anglers did record some good catches in the bright conditions. David Prior took to the water in a boat to land 10 fish either using dries (with red and ginger being the best colour), or David found the fish willing to take washing lines buzzers and diawl bachs presented on a floating line. Another angler catching well on the boats was regular Ray Cramp who landed 14 fish. He found the fish over the Aerators and caught using a wide variety of flies with his best line being a floater. Ray’s 8 fish limit tipped the scales at 26lbs. Finally Rod Wilson and Jim Dempsey used the rudder to land 14 fish to the boat using snakes and tubes on a 3 inch per second sinking line. The pair found the fish from the boils though to D Buoy and then A to B.
Tuesday saw the sun continued this time with increased temperatures, however despite these challenging conditions, the fish remained in the top few feet of the water. On the bank Tony Broadway landed 3 fishing using washing lined buzzers on the North Shore. R Sosbe had a good day boat fishing around the Aerators to land 9 fish. Season ticket holder John Dickens used dries to land 6 fish. Another angler also using dries was Ed Douglas. Ed is currently on top form & landed 24 fish all on dries, with big reds and hoppers being his best patterns. He located fish all over the lake from Toft up to the top Draycote Dam. However, the majority of his fish came from drifting around the Aerators with most takes coming on the edge or just downwind of the boil.
The hot weather continued into Wednesday again ensuring that the fishing remained challenging. Nevertheless, a number of anglers found the method to crack the day. Those who did well found that the fished wanted a team of nymphs, either crunchers or diawl bachs, “washing lined” on a floater. Season ticket holder Jim Hall has 10 fish to the boat fishing down in Toft and Biggin Bay. Pete Scholes and his wife took the journey down from Lancashire and had a good day landing 15 fish to the boat. Their fish came from Toft with a number of them being well mended grown on fish in the 3lb plus category. On the bank season ticket holder and regular Dennis Jones landed 6 fish using a floating line and diawl bachs.
The weather improved on Thursday with a drop in winds and some cloud cover making conditions far better than the previous days. Consequently the fishing improved with some very impressive catches being recorded. Tony Broadway had a good days sport from the bank landing 9 rainbows. All his fish fell to size 14 buzzers fished over on various marks on the North Shore. On the boats Peter Elliott and Lee Patten had a great day brining over 45 fish to the net. The pair found the fish in Toft first thing in the morning when they both caught using washing line tactics fished on floating lines. Then, as the cloud came over in the afternoon, they switched to dries and caught all over the reservoir. Another angler having a fantastic days sport once more was Ed Douglas. He caught & released 29 fish all on dries. Ed found his fish around the boils and the Top Dam but also netted 7 in Toft using Big Reds and Bobs Bits to tempt them. Finally Richard Pelly had a fantastic evening sport landing 13 fish using his trusty #3 weight rod teamed with a Big Red.
After the fantastic catches of Thursday the fishing dropped off during Friday, mainly due to extremely bright sunny conditions. This combined with another complete wind change which threw the fish right off the feed. Jim Hall and Richard Hall did manage a good day from the bank fishing Lincroft Point to land 5 fish each. They both deployed a team of nymphs fished on floating lines. Bank angler Mike Garner also has found sport from the North Shore, despite the challenging conditions, taking his fish on a Black Pennell and Pheasant Tail Nymphs. Out on the boat Jamie Scott and James Foster ended their session with 9 fish to the boat from the Aerators.
Strong winds limited the fishing on Saturday with only a few hardy anglers taking to the water in the boats. While the conditions made presentation very challenging, those that did brave it out enjoyed some good sport. M Price and D Hancox landed 5 fish in a morning session from Rainbow Corner using olive snakes fished on a midge tip. Interestingly, they commented on the number of pulls and takes they had that didn’t lock up. Paul Maurice and Simon Evans also boat fished in Rainbow Corner brining 12 fish to the boat using boobies. Top boat of the day was that of Sean Hanlon and Eileen Chatwin who landed 21 fish to the boat using dries with Daddies, Hopper & Midas being the top patterns. The pair found fish on the drift from Rainbow Corner towards A and B Buoy and then drifting down the main Draycote Water Dam. Sean commented on the amount of fish they had each missed due to the big waves. He believed that it could have been a real cricket score if they had hooked up on every offer.
Sunday was also beset with continuing hard, windy conditions & anglers found the fish well off the feed. Although many rods blanked, Frank Sumnell clearly had the magic touch on the day with a fine 8 fish boat limit and a further four caught & released. It was a pleasure to have the Horwich & District Fly Fishing Club back on the water on Sunday but a shame that they were largely beaten by the conditions with just 7 fish to thirteen rods. Four of those came to Tom Elliott who had been using a black & green booby.
Snail, shrimp, buzzer & fry all appear to be the main food items currently & it has also been noticeable how many fish have been sipping empty buzzer shucks off the surface. The week has once more demonstrated that those rods recording the large catches are also the anglers who are known for excellence in both leader preparation & presentation. Use of smaller dry fly patterns has also resulted in more takes during this period.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 197 Number Trout Taken: 156 Number Trout Released: 362
Total Catch: 518 Weekly Rod Average: 2·62
Current Fishing Times :
Bank: 07:30 until 20:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:15
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:15 PM 14:15 until 20:15
Last 4 Hours from: 16:15 until 20:15 (Ticket sales available from 16:00)
No Gutting of Fish after 20:00
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:30
In order to maintain the accuracy of our records could all anglers please ensure that they fill in the catch return sheet before departure. If not in the lodge it will be found on the counter in the gutting room next door.
Boat anglers are also politely reminded of the ruling that there is no anchoring within 100 yards of any pontoon or aerators. This is especially relevant to the harbour pontoon as its own mooring chains & anchors extend out a considerable distance from the end of the harbour & are easily fouled.
Boat anglers may wish to note that we now have a rudder for hire at the daily rate of £7. It can be pre booked at the time you make your boat booking.
Congratulations to Jude Tuffs of Market Harborough who is the winner of this week’s Free Boat Draw.
Demo Tackle
We now have a considerable amount of Sage & Rio demo tackle available to try at Draycote. The following link will take you to the website where you can check out the available items: We have added a 10ft 7wt SAGE ACCEL to our demo rods. The Sage One is currently in the process of being phased out. Very limited stock left. Contact the Lodge for details of special offers.
http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/demo-tackle-3/
Forthcoming events:
Beginners Tuition Day on Saturday 17th September hosted in house by our own Kevin Hart & Tom Bird. Contact the lodge to secure a place or book online via www.flyfishstore.co.uk
Bank Angler Car Park
Angler Car Park number 7 will remain partially closed while Severn Trent repair a footpath and will be using the car park to store stones for the repairs. Anglers wishing to fish in the areas below car park number 7 will have to park in either car parks 6 or 8 and walk to the area.
Selling of Fish
Anglers are not allowed to sell fish to members of the public on site.
Disabled Parking Bays
Anglers need to ensure that even for short periods whilst obtaining a fishing permit, they only use the disabled parking bays adjacent to the main car park, if they are the holder of a duly displayed “blue badge”.
Gutting Room
Please be aware that the Gutting Room refurbishment has now been completed. Much work has taken place & we would ask that you respect the facility and leave it in the same way in which you would wish to find it. Please also note that no fish are to be gutted after 20:30
Returns
Many anglers have been failing to book out at the end of their fishing. In order to maintain the accuracy of our records could all anglers please ensure that they fill in the catch return sheet before departure. Too many anglers have been failing to do this of late & this distorts the figures leading to potential fishery management issues.
Anchoring
Boat anglers are also politely reminded of the ruling that there is no anchoring within 100 yards of any pontoon, aerators or the Tower. This is especially relevant to the harbour pontoon as its own mooring chains & anchors extend out a considerable distance from the end of the harbour & are easily fouled.
Bank Anglers car passes should be, booked prior to coming fishing as we only have a limited number available. Some anglers came close to being disappointed this week when almost all of the available passes were used.
Rudder Hire
Boat anglers may wish to note that we now have a rudder for hire at the daily rate of £7. It can be pre booked at the time you make your boat booking.
Tight lines
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