Draycote Water weekly fishing report week ending Sunday 28th July 2019
Tel: 01788 812018
The hot weather that ran from Monday through until Thursday of last week made for some very tough days out on the water. Lots of sun block, cold drinks and an immense amount of patience were needed in order to get the most out of the day. Sporadic overnight showers have helped the water temperature, (currently 20 degrees) and despite long days of bright sunshine, a lot of fish are still getting caught on dries. The washing line with Diawl Bachs, Crunchers or Buzzers is also proving it’s worth, either on a floater or a midge tip line. Sinking lines and snakes are producing good returns, but it seems that a lot of anglers may be fishing them too deep. A DI 3 or even a DI 5 counted down to about 6 to 8 feet, seemed to be about the best method this week, using a variety of retrieves. The weekly rod average is 2.5.
The most popular dries seem to be either culs such as The Yellow Owl, or a black Shipmans Buzzer. The best technique for dries out there is to target the wind lanes from a drifting boat. Keep your casts fairly short, say about 15 to 20 feet or so, and don’t leave the flies on the water for any more than about 10 seconds. These short casts mean that you are covering the water better, and also help with being able to see any moving fish. Fan cast, in other words keep the casts moving all around in front of you. If you have difficulty in seeing the smaller sized flies that are currently so popular, then put a large hopper or a foam daddy on the point as a “sighter”, and then one or two smaller flies on droppers above them. Keep a close eye on your “sighter”, and as soon as you see any movement in the water surface, between the “sighter and your fly line, strike by lifting the rod tip straight up, never to the side. Hopefully this may result in some good sport on your next visit.
On Monday Kevin Rees had 11 fish to the boat on dries such as Bob’s Bits, whilst John Clifford went to the other end of the spectrum and caught a dozen on Lures on a sinking line. On Tuesday the rod average took a dive in the bright conditions. This didn’t seem to deter Chris Pyke who, on the first day of his weeks fishing at Draycote leading up to the Scierra pairs match, took 9 fish, mostly on dries. Tim and Jonathan Davies were not deterred at all by the conditions, and after seeking advice from Draycote Guide Lee Henfrey, boated 6 fish on sinking lines. With air temperature of about 28 degrees and the lightest of breezes, Wednesdays rod average was only saved by the Father and son team of Mr Frazer Duffy, and Mr H and S Rae. Both pairs managed to boat a respectable number of fish on what seemed an impossible day. Thursday was the hottest day ever recorded in Britain, with the air temperature here reaching 32 degrees. Ray Wallace and Dave Ward managed 7 fish while Aneta Hojnor and Chris Czernecki caught 4. Nigel Keeber and Lee Henfrey used the “Boobie Basher” and snakes on Friday up at A buoy to catch a dozen under a very cloudy sky. Success on the dries again fell to Chris Pyke, and in a separate boat, Kevin Rees. The regular Saturday team of Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey proved that on certain days, sinking lines and lures will top anything out there. The pair netted 30 plus fish, all in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.
Sunday was a very busy day here at Draycote. We had a heat of the Scierra Pairs competition, The All Abilities Fly Fishers and the Mid Northants club out on the water, in some very miserable, wet and windy conditions. All but only a few anglers caught fish, an achievement by anyones standards. The Scierra Pairs match was won by Gary Owen and Phil Longstaff with a total bag weight of 35lbs 8 oz. In second place was Chris Pyke and Nik Tomkins with 31lbs 12oz. Third place went to our very own Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird with a bag weight of 26lbs 14oz. Well done to all those who took part.
Disabled Anglers
Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop
Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.
We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”
COMPETITIONS During August.
Anglers World Heat 3rd and 4th August 2019.
Anglers World Final 17th and 18th August 2019
Fly Dressers Guild 24th August 2019
Weather Forecast:
We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr David East from Japan, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 184 Number Trout Taken: 271 Number Trout Released: 199
Total Catch: 470 Rod Average: 2.5
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 21:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:15
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:15
Last 4 Hours from: 17:15 until 21:15 (Ticket sales available from 17:00)
Gutting Room Closes: 20:45
All Anglers to be off site by: 21:45
Tight lines,
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