Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.
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Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 29th November 2020
Well here is the final fishing report of the season with the final day of the season also added on. Overall in the final 8 days, 307 angles visited the fishery landing a total of 1047 fish for a final rod average of the week of 3.4 fish per angler.
A very cold start to the final full week of the season with a white over frost, that did not full go till mid-morning. This was the first really hard frost of the year and as a result it took a while for the fish to start pulling. On the bank Ed Douglas fished on the Tower Bank and into Dunn’s landing 6 fish on a washing line with a FAB on the point and hares’ ears and crunchers on the droppers. Draycote season ticket holder Kevin Rees fished in Toft to land 10 fish again using a washing line with a FAB on the point, with Kevin opting for 2 shrimp patterns on the droppers. Mr D Mount enjoyed a great day on the bank landing 12 fish from Biggin Bay with all the fish falling to shrimps. On the boats all water season ticket holder Phil Mee landed 7 fish back drifting by P Buoy with a Di 5 sinking line and a snake. Fishery ranger & Guide Lee Henfrey took the water with Gaz Roberts with the pair landing 25 fish in a half day session. Fishing with Airflo Booby Basher sinking lines with 2 boobies, a brown Minkie Booby on the dropper and a black and gold Humungus booby on the point. They found the fish at P buoy fishing into the deep water off the side of Middle Shoal and then at Y Buoy again into the deeper water.
Tuesday was forecast for a dry day with a southerly wind, providing fairly comfortable conditions for all concerned. Once again the bank fishing here at Draycote is holding its own with most anglers netting at least a couple of brace. Tony Broadway caught 6 on Shrimp Patterns whist Petr Allen caught his 4 on a Black Boobie, all from the Hensborough Bank. James Kelly caught his fish from the bank on a mixture of Shrimp Patterns and Minkie Boobies.Mike Garner caught 5 fish from the bank whilst fishing in Toft Shallows and the Cornfield using Fry patterns. Phil Cross used a Cutthroat Cats Whisker to net 11 fish from the bank in various spots along the northern shoreline. Season permit holder Jim Hall took his 4 fish from the bank on Shrimp patterns along the Cornfield and Lincroft point.
The weather forecast gave some showers Wednesday morning before the wind swung to the North West and the day brightened up. However, the rain in the morning turned out to be a little heavier than showers and we had heavy rain for around 3 hours. Although as forecast the rain did subside in the afternoon it was a very pleasant day out on the water. As a result of the rain forecast we had a quieter day than we have over the past week. The anglers who did take to the water enjoyed a good day with the rod average working out at over 8 fish per angler. On the bank season ticket holder Ed Douglas landed 15 fish using a washing line with a FAB on the point and then shrimp patterns on the droppers. Ed found the fish in Toft in the morning before the wind swung resulting in a move to Lincroft point. Fishing alongside Ed on Lincroft point was Kevin Rees so also landed 15 fish using the same tactics of washing line, just with Diawl Bachs on the dropper. With John Dickens landing 9 fish again on the shrimps. On the boats all water season ticket holder Phil Mee landed 6 fish using a fast sinking line with a long leader and 2 boobies to pop the flies up from the bottom. With Phil concentrating on the shoals and P & Y Buoy. Also out on the boats Draycote season ticket holder Richard Walker landed 6 fish using a fast sinking line and a booby on the side of Middle shoal fishing around P Buoy. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey took Barry Burnham out for a 4 hour guided session with Barry looking to continue his understanding of sunk line fishing after a 4 hour guide with Lee last month. Under Lee’s observation Barry landed 7 fish using boobies on a Di 7 fishing around M buoy and then Y buoy. Fishery Manager Tom Bird fished with Cameron Rothwell with the pair landing over 25 fish to the boat. Using a Airflo Booby basher and a Di 7 sinking with 2 boobies fished 10ft apart with a black gold Humungus Booby and a natural Minkie Booby proving to be the best patterns. The pair found the hotspots to be Middle Shoal fishing at P Buoy with other fish taken at the Value Tower, Farnborough Spit and also Musborough Shoal near Y buoy.
A very cold frosty start Thursday, that did not warm up as the day moved on, and a thick pea soup fog covered the whole lake and did not lift until the last hour of daylight. On the bank season ticker holder Lee Patten landed 7 fish from the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay. Fellow season ticket holder Ed Douglas landed 9 from the bank. Ed used a washing with a FAB on the point and then shrimps on the droppers with the fish coming from The Tower Bank, Cornfield, Toft & Lincroft Point. Richard Walker fished in Dunn’s Bay to take 6 fish including a 5lb rainbow taken on a natural minkie. On the boats it was a slightly more challenging day with a complete flat calm all day and the fog made it difficult to effectively fish the recent hotspots. All water season ticket holder Ian Reeve and Matt Pittaway enjoyed a good day fishing the Farborough Dam just round the corner from the Spit with Ian landing a 6lb 2oz Rainbow taken on a fast glass intermediate. Gordon Bramwell laned 5 using a Di 7 sinking line and boobies around the Tower Bank and Biggin Bay.
A flat calm day Friday, with very cold conditions with the pontoon covered in black ice. On the bank Ed Douglas landed 6 fish sticking to his washing line with shrimps from the Cornfield and the Lincroft Point. Stephen Peart fished from the Tower Bank landing 10 fish using shrimps and a Minkie on the point, with all of Steve’s fish being fantastic sharp finned bars of silver. On the boats both Lee Henfrey & Michael Hanlon both found the fish at Y Buoy. Using Booby Bashers and Humungus boobies with black and gold or white. However, they also noticed that the fish they spooned were stuffed with shrimps. With Lee then putting a shrimp pattern on the middle dropper to take a couple of fish. Rob & Craig Middleton noticing the lads catching and dropped in behind to land 15 fish between them again on Booby Bashers and boobies. Kevin Hart fished with John Hoskins landing 18 fish on N Buoy using boobies on a sinking line and also floating fry on a floating line. All water season ticket holder Mark Hunt landed 7 fish taking 4 on suspender minkies and the other 3 falling to a single CDC cast at rising fish. Arthur Olding also enjoyed a great morning sports taking 7 fish along the Farborough Dam using a Di 7 sinking line and 2 boobies cast close into the dam. The retrieved away so the flies swept down the drop off were the fish where waiting.
A challenging day Saturday with fine rain and fog for most the day and light wind or no winds for most of the day. Fishing from the bank Adam Vicary landed 6 fish along the Cornfield, with Paul Tebbitt fishing along side him landing 3. Season ticket holder Paul Walley also fished along the Cornfield using hare ear shrimps to take 4 fish. On the boats Phil Mee concentrated his efforts over the shoals using a fast sinking line and boobies to take 6 fish. Keith Harding also found fishing deep was the key to success landing 7 fish including 2 cracking Perch. Keith fished around the Value Tower and then P Buoy in the afternoon using a Di 7 sinking line and 2 boobies. One boat showing that fishing deep was not the only was to catch the fish was that of Bruce Blackshaw & Mark Parsley. Who found that a floating line with 2 FABs and Hares Ears on the droppers did the trick landing 8 fish including a number of others pulls and swirls, with Lincroft point being the most productive area.
A very foggy was for the penultimate day of the season at Draycote with a busy day on the water with nearly all the boats out looking to make the most of the mild weather before closing on Monday. Lee Henfrey fished with Nigel Keeber out on the boats with the pair landing just short of 30 fish from the deep water around Y Buoy. With their best patterns being 2 Minkie Boobies fished 10 ft apart, however, later in the day Lee put a small Pink FAB in between the minkie boobies to pick up a couple of bonus fish. Starting next to Lee on Y buoy was all water season ticket holder & Draycote season ticket holder Jim Smith who boated over 30 fish. Using Booby Bashers and a mix of Minkie boobies and Humungus boobies, with the pair also finding fish along the Farborough Dam wall later in the day. Rob Middleton & Darren Cox also found the fish by Y Buoy like the other boats using Booby Bashers for the lines. Although, Rob & Darren found that smaller FABs worked best for them. Ian Bradfield fished with Dave Davis with the lads landing 20 fish to the boat using a mix of unweighted minkies in black, natural, and white. With the best line being a Di 5 using a slow figure of eight retrieve, with Ian commenting how clean and silver the fish are at the time of year.
Well the final day of the season finished in fine form with 50 anglers taking to the water both on the bank and the boats looking to land one final trout before the close season. The anglers who were look enough to get out one last time enjoyed some good sport with the rod average for the day 4.28. On the bank C.J Day landed a dozen fish on pink and purple lures fished on a floating line along the Cornfield. Season ticket holder Pete Allen landed 4 fish on shrimps in Biggin Bay. With Tony Broadway taking 7 on minkie boobies and shrimps again in Biggin Bay. Out on the boats Lee Henfrey enjoyed one final trip with Michael Hanlon landing over 20 fish to the boat using booby bashers at Y Buoy with Minkie Boobies and a small pink FAB. Jim Smith and Ed Douglas did the same tactics to land 32 fish with Minkie Boobies and Humungus being their best patterns with several fish also falling to a tube later in the day off the Farborough Dam. Kevin Hart landed 18 fish off N Buoy on killer shrimp patterns fished over the top of Musborough shoal on a Di 3 sweep. Just allowed to swing around on the breeze with the fish picking them up as they swung across the breeze.
All the Draycote staff would like to thank the anglers for supporting the fishery through this challenging season and we have all enjoyed having you visiting the water. We hope you all have a good off season and stay safe. We look forward to seeing you on our opening day Monday 1st March.
2021Membership: Details of our Draycote membership & increasingly popular All Water Membership are on our Draycote web site http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/prices/season-permits/
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