Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 29th October 2017
Yet another good week with mixed weather conditions. Dull overcast windy days were interspersed with days of bright sunshine and flat calms. Testing conditions at times saw bank anglers just about having the edge over the boats although good sport was had by both. Some fish have proved to be tight in along the northern shoreline, feeding on shrimp, and are being caught on anything from a scruffy Hare’s Ear and Diawl Bachs, to bespoke shrimp patterns. Those who have avoided wading have enjoyed the best of the bankside sport having avoided un-necessary spooking of foraging fish in the margins. Fry feeding in the margins has remained sporadic with shoals of fry tending to be still holding offshore. This may change with the cooler night time temperatures we experienced towards the end of the week. In fact, this morning saw the first of the season’s frosts & the break-out of the de-icer! The week saw 245 anglers visit the fishery & catching a total of 694 trout for an overall rod average of 2·83.
Monday dawned with a light southerly breeze and sporadic showers. Draycote was in excellent form with some anglers on boat and bank getting well into double figures for the day. Season permit holder Ian Richardson used his shrimp patterns from the bank in Toft to net 14 fish, all returned. Kevin Rees, also fishing from the bank, also netted 14 fish, again on shrimp patterns. Gareth Evans and Ian Williams caught 21 fish from a drifting boat on diawl bachs and crunchers whilst John Bresnihan caught 3 fish from the boat topped by a magnificent 8lb brownie. Draycote regular Ray Cramp enjoyed a good afternoon session on the bank & landed an eight-fish limit to shrimp patterns & Fab blob on the Tower Bank.
Tuesday dawned with a blustery south westerly wind followed by showers through the middle of the day. Strong gusts made for more difficult fishing conditions which never really settled down. As a result, the bank anglers were restricted on choice of areas to fish and over the course of the day most of the boats had moved up to the more sheltered areas at the top of the wind. Season permit holder John Dews however did net 4 rainbows from the bank with regular rod Peter Allen, also on the bank, following up with three. Gareth Evans & Ian Williams were back on the water and managed 8 fish to the boat on Nemo Crunchers, UV Crunchers and Blobs. Martin Yardley landed four from a boat on a combination of shrimp patterns and sparkler booby.
Wednesday was a very different day with bright sunshine and a very light breeze. Draycote regular Alec Twaites caught 6 fish from the bank whilst Tony Broadway caught 9 on shrimp patterns. Season permit holder Brian Warwick caught 8 fish from the bank in “testing conditions”. Terry Tappenden netted nine from the Tower Bank fishing buzzers and diawl bachs and remarked on “A good day!”. Mr D Mount excelled with his total of 14 “good fish” from the bank on diawl bachs, shrimp patterns and minkies. Mr R Bacon also caught 6 “good fish” from the bank to minkies and diawl bachs.
Thursday was overcast with a light ripple. The bank fished well along the north shore where fish were once again cruising the margins and were caught on nymphs and shrimp patterns. Nick Louka caught 6 fish from the bank fishing an orange blob whilst Brian Allwood also caught 6 fish from the bank, one of which weighed 3lb 8oz. Mike Garner caught 7 fish from the bank, all on diawl bachs. Richard Dayman and Norman Perkins, visiting from Thornton Reservoir, did well fishing from the bank netting a total of thirteen between them. Ian Richardson was back in the thick of the sport. Fishing his shrimp patterns in conjunction with a Fab Blob in Toft shallows he netter a further eleven rainbows, all of which were released. Whilst the boats had a harder time of it, Dave Heseltine & boat partner Alan Greenhalgh managed a joint nine & commented on their strength.
Friday was a bright and sunny “Indian Summer” type day where the reservoir went flat calm for a couple of hours during the afternoon. Although John Hoskins managed a seven-fish bag from the boat, it was clearly a day for the margins as bank anglers were catching consistently in Biggin Bay and Lincroft Point to both shrimp patterns and lures. John Dews was on form with nine rainbows to the net but pipped for top bank spot by Tony Broadway with eleven! Ifor Bullock saw six to his net whilst Rod Dangerfield & Don Roper also enjoyed fine bank spot with a four-fish tally apiece.
On Saturday the father and son pairing of Derek & Stuart Marklow ventured out in a boat together with Derek catching nine and Stuart six. Draycote regular Ruth Kirk caught personal best brownie whilst bank fishing near the tower. The eight pounder took a self-tied fry pattern. Peter Elliott had a great day on the bank too with an eight fish limit taken & a further seven returned. Peter fished north shore marks with a cruncher, diawl bach & fab team on a floater. Kieron Barnes fished a washing line too but in conjunction with Hare’s Ear Nymphs to land nine. On the boats Rob Plume found sport pulling blobs to bring a total of eight to net whilst Dai Davies & Peter Lewis shared a combined tally of fourteen to the boat in the vicinity of “P” Buoy.
Sunday saw less gusty conditions with just a handful of anglers on the banks. However, despite the fact that it appeared fish had dropped back off the margins into open water, season rod Dennis Tidmarsh did extremely well to tempt eight on a Cat’s Whisker. Michael Hanlon and Mr D Morton also landed three each but others on the bank struggled for a take. Out in the boats Alan Grant had a good session landing eight, Dave Summers had seven & Dave Hancox was pleased with a fine rainbow of 4lbs 8oz. It was a tremendous end to the week though for Ed Douglas sharing a boat with Jim Smith. The pair fished in & around Lin Croft & Croft Shoal with red diawl bachs, blob & minkies on floating lines to take in excess of thirty rainbows in quite a frantic session!
With the first of the overnight frosts today we might well see water temperatures dropping back to seasonal norms bringing with it an increase in marginal fry bashing. Small perch have been on the menu for some time now but, hitherto, they have been holding off-shore. One final word of caution -with very low water levels this back-end, bank anglers do need to be especially mindful regarding areas of deep mud.
Yet another good week with mixed weather conditions. Dull overcast windy days were interspersed with days of bright sunshine and flat calms. Testing conditions at times saw bank anglers just about having the edge over the boats although good sport was had by both. Some fish have proved to be tight in along the northern shoreline, feeding on shrimp, and are being caught on anything from a scruffy Hare’s Ear and Diawl Bachs, to bespoke shrimp patterns. Those who have avoided wading have enjoyed the best of the bankside sport having avoided un-necessary spooking of foraging fish in the margins. Fry feeding in the margins has remained sporadic with shoals of fry tending to be still holding offshore. This may change with the cooler night time temperatures we experienced towards the end of the week. In fact, this morning saw the first of the season’s frosts & the break-out of the de-icer! The week saw 245 anglers visit the fishery & catching a total of 694 trout for an overall rod average of 2·83.
Monday dawned with a light southerly breeze and sporadic showers. Draycote was in excellent form with some anglers on boat and bank getting well into double figures for the day. Season permit holder Ian Richardson used his shrimp patterns from the bank in Toft to net 14 fish, all returned. Kevin Rees, also fishing from the bank, also netted 14 fish, again on shrimp patterns. Gareth Evans and Ian Williams caught 21 fish from a drifting boat on diawl bachs and crunchers whilst John Bresnihan caught 3 fish from the boat topped by a magnificent 8lb brownie. Draycote regular Ray Cramp enjoyed a good afternoon session on the bank & landed an eight-fish limit to shrimp patterns & Fab blob on the Tower Bank.
Tuesday dawned with a blustery south westerly wind followed by showers through the middle of the day. Strong gusts made for more difficult fishing conditions which never really settled down. As a result, the bank anglers were restricted on choice of areas to fish and over the course of the day most of the boats had moved up to the more sheltered areas at the top of the wind. Season permit holder John Dews however did net 4 rainbows from the bank with regular rod Peter Allen, also on the bank, following up with three. Gareth Evans & Ian Williams were back on the water and managed 8 fish to the boat on Nemo Crunchers, UV Crunchers and Blobs. Martin Yardley landed four from a boat on a combination of shrimp patterns and sparkler booby.
Wednesday was a very different day with bright sunshine and a very light breeze. Draycote regular Alec Twaites caught 6 fish from the bank whilst Tony Broadway caught 9 on shrimp patterns. Season permit holder Brian Warwick caught 8 fish from the bank in “testing conditions”. Terry Tappenden netted nine from the Tower Bank fishing buzzers and diawl bachs and remarked on “A good day!”. Mr D Mount excelled with his total of 14 “good fish” from the bank on diawl bachs, shrimp patterns and minkies. Mr R Bacon also caught 6 “good fish” from the bank to minkies and diawl bachs.
Thursday was overcast with a light ripple. The bank fished well along the north shore where fish were once again cruising the margins and were caught on nymphs and shrimp patterns. Nick Louka caught 6 fish from the bank fishing an orange blob whilst Brian Allwood also caught 6 fish from the bank, one of which weighed 3lb 8oz. Mike Garner caught 7 fish from the bank, all on diawl bachs. Richard Dayman and Norman Perkins, visiting from Thornton Reservoir, did well fishing from the bank netting a total of thirteen between them. Ian Richardson was back in the thick of the sport. Fishing his shrimp patterns in conjunction with a Fab Blob in Toft shallows he netter a further eleven rainbows, all of which were released. Whilst the boats had a harder time of it, Dave Heseltine & boat partner Alan Greenhalgh managed a joint nine & commented on their strength.
Friday was a bright and sunny “Indian Summer” type day where the reservoir went flat calm for a couple of hours during the afternoon. Although John Hoskins managed a seven-fish bag from the boat, it was clearly a day for the margins as bank anglers were catching consistently in Biggin Bay and Lincroft Point to both shrimp patterns and lures. John Dews was on form with nine rainbows to the net but pipped for top bank spot by Tony Broadway with eleven! Ifor Bullock saw six to his net whilst Rod Dangerfield & Don Roper also enjoyed fine bank spot with a four-fish tally apiece.
On Saturday the father and son pairing of Derek & Stuart Marklow ventured out in a boat together with Derek catching nine and Stuart six. Draycote regular Ruth Kirk caught personal best brownie whilst bank fishing near the tower. The eight pounder took a self-tied fry pattern. Peter Elliott had a great day on the bank too with an eight fish limit taken & a further seven returned. Peter fished north shore marks with a cruncher, diawl bach & fab team on a floater. Kieron Barnes fished a washing line too but in conjunction with Hare’s Ear Nymphs to land nine. On the boats Rob Plume found sport pulling blobs to bring a total of eight to net whilst Dai Davies & Peter Lewis shared a combined tally of fourteen to the boat in the vicinity of “P” Buoy.
Sunday saw less gusty conditions with just a handful of anglers on the banks. However, despite the fact that it appeared fish had dropped back off the margins into open water, season rod Dennis Tidmarsh did extremely well to tempt eight on a Cat’s Whisker. Michael Hanlon and Mr D Morton also landed three each but others on the bank struggled for a take. Out in the boats Alan Grant had a good session landing eight, Dave Summers had seven & Dave Hancox was pleased with a fine rainbow of 4lbs 8oz. It was a tremendous end to the week though for Ed Douglas sharing a boat with Jim Smith. The pair fished in & around Lin Croft & Croft Shoal with red diawl bachs, blob & minkies on floating lines to take in excess of thirty rainbows in quite a frantic session!
With the first of the overnight frosts today we might well see water temperatures dropping back to seasonal norms bringing with it an increase in marginal fry bashing. Small perch have been on the menu for some time now but, hitherto, they have been holding off-shore. One final word of caution -with very low water levels this back-end, bank anglers do need to be especially mindful regarding areas of deep mud.
Weekly Boat Draw
Congratulations to Mr Dennis Tidmarsh of Birmingham who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Congratulations to Mr Dennis Tidmarsh of Birmingham who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 245 Number Trout Taken: 242 Number Trout Released: 452
Total Catch: 694 Weekly Rod Average: 2·83
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 16.45
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 16:45
Boat Part Day: 08:30 until 13:00 – 13:00 until 16:45
Last 4 Hours: 12:45 until 16: 45 (Ticket sales available from 12:30)
Gutting Room Closes: 16:15
All Anglers to be off site by: 17:00
Fishery News
Season Permits
There is currently a lengthy list of anglers interested in Draycote Water season permits. Nevertheless, we advise anyone who has an interest to contact us in the lodge to have their name added to it. Telephone 01788 812018
The Fur and Feather match.
This year’s “Fur and Feather” match will take place on Sunday 26th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight-fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.
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 matter 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 staff Lee Henfrey or 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. Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.
More up to date information
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.
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!
Early Morning Anglers
Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
Follow Us on
facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore
Number Rods: 245 Number Trout Taken: 242 Number Trout Released: 452
Total Catch: 694 Weekly Rod Average: 2·83
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 16.45
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 16:45
Boat Part Day: 08:30 until 13:00 – 13:00 until 16:45
Last 4 Hours: 12:45 until 16: 45 (Ticket sales available from 12:30)
Gutting Room Closes: 16:15
All Anglers to be off site by: 17:00
Fishery News
Season Permits
There is currently a lengthy list of anglers interested in Draycote Water season permits. Nevertheless, we advise anyone who has an interest to contact us in the lodge to have their name added to it. Telephone 01788 812018
The Fur and Feather match.
This year’s “Fur and Feather” match will take place on Sunday 26th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight-fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.
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 matter 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 staff Lee Henfrey or 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. Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.
More up to date information
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.
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!
Early Morning Anglers
Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
Follow Us on
facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore
twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore