Draycote Water weekly report week ending 7th May 2017
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
With slightly cooler temperatures this week Draycote has seen a bit of a mixed bag as far as fishing is concerned. Monday and Tuesday seemed fine, but quite a cold north easterly wind with sometimes very bright conditions seemed to slow things down from Wednesday onwards. There were some good buzzer hatches around to start with, but these started to thin out as the week went by. Only a slight drop in wind speed over Saturday and Sunday helped the fishing to improve. Over the weekend swallows could be seen feeding on the wing at the bottom of Toft shallows, to be followed very quickly by trout feeding right in the surface of the water. Bank anglers reported that the fishing was still a bit hit and miss however, with only a few of them managing any more than a brace. The boats seemed to fair a bit better, having the ability to cover fish out in the deeper water. General feedback from the anglers was that there were plenty of fish showing in the surface in Toft and in Biggin bay, but they were proving difficult to catch. Those anglers who kept on the move and patiently went through the patterns seemed to fair better. The middle and the deeper parts of the reservoir are now producing some good over wintered specimens and on the right day, dries such as Crippled Midge and Bobs Bits are accounting for some good catches. Drifts around P buoy over middle shoal and X buoy to the Farborough dam have worked very well. There have also been some good fish caught by D buoy in Biggin Bay and of course F buoy over Croft Shoal. The weekly rod average was 5.1
On Monday Mr Phil Davies caught 25 fish from a boat, drifting in the Cornfield. Mr P Donegan and Mr M Sloss had some “Amazing fishing” on boobies, blobs and buzzers. Draycote regular Mick Cronin had 11 fish from the bank. Season permit holder Mick Hanlon had 9 fish from the bank on a mayfly nymph and a blue damsel. Season permit holder Mr Martin Hancox caught 6 fish from the bank during an evening session.
Tuesday proved a better day for fishing with Ed Douglas netting 15 of his 20 fish from the boat on dries. Jim Smith also did well from a boat, netting over 20 fish on a washing line and buzzers. Draycote regular Eugene Hughes had over 30 fish to the boat on a humungus whilst fishing around the tower and in biggin bay. The bank anglers did well with Mr Alan Bettles catching 16 fish in Dunns bay on a white and green lure. Season permit holder Tony Broadway caught 11 fish from the bank. Steve Gibson did very well during an evening session netting 10 fish from the bank.
After a cold start Wednesday proved yet again to be one of the best days of the week producing a rod average of nearly 7.0. It was good to see season permit holder Dennis Jones back out on the water, netting 7 fish from the bank on diawl bachs. Mr S Summers commented on “An excellent day” out on a boat having caught 10 fish. Mr I Morris caught 16 fish from a boat using buzzers and diawl bachs. A Police inter clubs match took place on Wednesday with Sussex A team taking first place. Best bag of the day went to Mr Paddy O’Grady with 8 fish for 24lbs 4 oz.
Thursday was very windy with heavy gusts and bright sunny conditions. Despite this Peter Elliott managed 12 fish from the bank in the Cornfield. Paul Beasley caught 11 from the bank on buzzers. Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennel did really well from the bank netting over 20 fish between them. Season permit holder John Hanlon caught 6 fish from the bank on an evening session.
On Friday it was very windy again with some tough fishing conditions. This didn’t hamper things for Mr Andy Croucher though, who had 20 fish to the boat in Toft on buzzers, blobs and a black hopper. The boat pairing of Mr R Jones and Mr T Ham also did very well with 25 fish to the boat between them. Friday also saw the arrival of Steve McGregors party visiting us from Scotland on a three day package. The lads endured some tough, sometimes very choppy conditions with most of them catching well into double figures each day on various lures and snake patterns.
On Saturday the conditions improved a bit with Mr D Keir netting 12 fish from a boat. Mr R Ball also did well with 21 fish to the boat. Draycote regular Steve Conway also had a good day out in a boat with 13 fish on buzzers and diawl bachs. Mr G McGinlay and Mr G Pelini had 28 fish to the boat between them. Jim Hall caught caught 6 fish from the bank, whilst Steve Gibson had 5 fish from the bank in an afternoon session.
On Sunday Mr D Lang caught 20 fish from a boat on black buzzer. Mr Phillip Davies netted 11 fish from a boat. Mr A Davison had 17 fish to the boat on black buzzers. Draycote regular Jim Smith caught 16 fish from a boat on buzzers and dries.
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Weekly Boat draw:
Congratulations to Mr Bob Wallinger of Lincoln who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 324 Number Trout Taken: 528 Number Trout Released: 1131
Total Catch: 1659 Weekly Rod Average: 5.1
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until : 21:00
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:00
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:45 PM 14:45 until 21:00
Last 4 Hours from: 17:00 until 21:00 (Ticket sales available from 16:45)
Gutting Room Closes: 20:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 21:30
Fishery News
SAGE AND RIO DAY THIS COMING SATURDAY
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. With less than two weeks to go and limited slots remaining. Reserve your free place by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.
Tuition Days- Beginners Courses
Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently one space 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 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 book a slot 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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