Draycote Water weekly report week ending 23rd April 2017
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
Another good spring week at Draycote, but we would welcome a period of sustained settled weather. This week anglers experienced some extreme conditions, varying from cold blustery winds, to bright sunshine & flat calms. Nevertheless, the black buzzer hatch continues with midge pupae remaining high on the trout’s menu. Action on dries has also been a significant factor this week, spearheaded by our own Tom Bird, who has been targeting large over wintered fish, mostly over open water in calm conditions.
Monday proved to be quite testing for the bank anglers, although Rob Keeber undoubtedly led the way with an 18 fish buzzer caught total. Out on the water the pairing of N & C Dunn switched between dries & buzzers & between them brought a total of 26 to the net. Monday was also the last session of a “Three Day Break” package for Mike & Dave Mee. They fished buzzers & diawls to land 18 for the day. They described their break as a “Fantastic 3 days – best ever!” – having caught a total of 78 trout using a mix of nymphs & dries. Andy & Ian George went afloat on Tuesday & got into action pulling snakes deeper in the water column. The tactic paid off with 9 & 11 to the boat respectively. Ray Cramp bank fished lures at Dunn’s Bay taking 7 rainbows for 17lbs with the best at 4lbs. Brian Warwick, also on the bank, stuck with his buzzer tactics to catch & release 15.
Wednesday saw the first of the week’s flat calms & sport proved to be most elusive for most bank anglers. However, Tom was out on the water early searching out grown on rainbows with his dries. He did experience a slowish morning but things picked up in the afternoon with Tom & boat partner Jim Smith ending the stint with 19 spectacular rainbows up to 6lbs to the net. Most of their fish came to a black crippled midge pattern fished out over open water. In contrast, Eugene Hughes pulled lures deep all over the venue to land over 30 up to 5lbs. Meanwhile, Colin Campbell, after fishing from his “Weekly Draw” prize boat with Mike Gillett, commented on their “great day on buzzers” with catches of 17 & 23. Season rod Paul Liversage took advice from Eugene, following an encounter on the water, & his subsequent change to deep lure tactics led to one of his best days with two dozen to the net!
Peter Elliott, Mike Garner, Kevin Rees & Ian Richardson all got well into double figures on the bank on Thursday, which was overcast with a gentle breeze. They all fished buzzer tactics with Peter recording two rainbows over 5lbs and a 5lbs+ brownie all caught & released. Kevin’s catch came to washing lined buzzer & included “two blue torpedoes”. (Most anglers who encounter the blues have been commenting on their fighting qualities). Eugene Hughes was back afloat & although part of his 25+ catch came to deep pulled lures once more, the overcast conditions led him to break out the dries as well. Toft & the Farborough Dam fished exceptionally well & anglers were all commenting on seeing rising fish everywhere. Thursday also saw the venue play host to the Greater Manchester Police with eight boats out. Their combined catch of 108 trout represented a rod average of 6·75 per man. They started their session on sunk line pulling tactics switching to nymphs, & later dries as the day warmed up & the buzzer hatch heightened. Friday peaked with a rod average for the day of 7·7 and great action on both bank & boat. Many bank anglers got into double figure catches with Mike Sinclair for example on 15, Ed Douglas 19, John Dews 15 & Tony Broadway on 21(including a 4lbs rainbow taken for the pot). Father & son team Jim & Richard Hall also both got into double figures on the bank. Buzzers washing lined with FAB blobs accounted for most fish, although Roger Davis fished damsels for his 9 fish total. Out in the boats rods were bending to all sorts of different tactics. Visiting us from Northern Ireland, Martin Allen & Paul Douglas began their “Three Day Break” with 25 & 20 to the boat on dries & buzzers taken along the Hensborough Bank. Mr Jones & Mr Branagar fished tubes on Di7 lines for 8 apiece as did our own Lee Henfrey who found 15 beauties deep during a midday stint. Chris Hart was into double figures & his catch included a 5lbs rainbow which took a Cat’s Whisker. The afternoon boat pairing of James Collins & Shaun Martin went even deeper with Di8s catching 19 & 11 respectively. James catch included a 5lbs rainbow, a 5lbs brown & two blues! Tom was afloat once more on his day off, again with Jim Smith, with both fishing dries all day. They had a spectacular session with both rods into double figures, including many wintered specimens. Again, the crippled midge was the top pattern in brown, black & claret. They found fish throughout the venue spending much of their session searching open water for rising fish. A total of 435 trout were recorded for the day!
Both Saturday & Sunday proved to be hard for the bank anglers with fish appearing to drop off the margins into deeper water. Cooler winds also led to many boat anglers reaching for their sinking lines & adopting pulling tactics and not everyone managed to find the answers. However, Graeme Bell’s party of 14, gathered from all over the country to be with us for the weekend, quickly found themselves into fish. They chose a diverse variety of tactics including dries, buzzer snakes & damsels reporting Rainbow Corner & Toft Shallows as their favoured areas. They caught a total of 190 on Saturday followed by a further 177 on Sunday, when Biggin Bay proved to be productive for them. Despite a slow morning, Andy Ross shared a boat with Dave Adams & enjoyed good sport in Toft from early afternoon once they anchored up & fished straight lined buzzer to bring 20 rainbows to the boat. It was also nice to welcome the Leicester Disabled Fly Fishers who shared five boats, including the Wheelyboat, and recorded a total catch of 51. Richard Walker also had a good day with blues of 5lbs 6oz & 4lbs 4ozs in his bag. Martin Allen & Paul Douglas finished their break on fine form too, this time with 40 to the boat on buzzers from Toft. That gave them a final tally of 105 netted during their annual 3 day spring break with us. (See you again soon guys!) A welcome drop in the wind, & creation of some slicks, led to some good evening dry fly action for a few of the Sunday boats – most especially the rod of Nick Board. He used a size 14 Adams in one such slick resulting in seven hook-ups & lots of follows.
The weatherman currently forecasts a few days of cold “polar air” with potential for wintery showers………when will spring properly arrive & stay
Weekly Boat draw:
Congratulations to Mr Owen Laye of Burbage who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 412 Number Trout Taken: 616 Number Trout Released: 1929
Total Catch: 2545 Weekly Rod Average: 6.17
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until : 20:30
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:30
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:30
Last 4 Hours from: 16:30 until 20:30 (Ticket sales available from 16:15)
Gutting Room Closes: 20:00
All Anglers to be off site by: 21:00
Fishery News
Sage & Rio Day
Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. Limited slots remaining. To reserve your free place, please call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Tuition Days- Beginners Courses
Saturday 6th May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Course now full
Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently two spaces available
Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available
Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available
Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information
Trout Masters
Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!
Dates for your diary:-
Competition Contact
England Ladies Mixed Pairs Match – Sunday 30th April – Ms Hilary Thompson – 01664 474268
England Eliminator – 27th and 28th May – Ian Colclough – 01543 689117
Scierra Pairs Match – 25th June – Visit website.
Alex Booth Memorial – 29th June – Roy Lewin – 07762 746825
Angling World Holiday Heat 5th and 6th August – Visit website
TEFF Fundraiser. Dry Fly Championship 16th September – Ian Colclough – 01543 689117
Angling World Holiday Final – 23rd and 24th September
Troutmasters Final – 9th October. – See Fishery staff.
Boat Cleanliness:
Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.
Guiding & Tuition:
Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk For more information or to book a session call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..
Tight lines
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