Fishing Report, Week Ending 24 Apr 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 24^th April 2022              Rod Av:  7.4       Water Temperature:  10°C

A great end to the bank holiday weekend Monday with yet more lovely weather, light southwest winds and warm sunny conditions. On the bank Draycote season ticket holder Stephen Dewhurst laned 6 fish from the Swan’s Nest in Toft using a team of buzzers. Also on the bank Adam & Brian Joseph fished on the last four hours with the paid landing 12 fish between them. Using a mixture of buzzers and Damsels from Lincroft Point. On the boats Mark Thistleton landed 14 fish on Buzzers from the School Slips and Biggin Bay. Dan Mcelligott landed 13 fish using a RIO Midge tip with and a team of buzzers. Draycote season ticket holder James Alexander fished with his Father in law Sharpy taking advantage of the afternoon boats. The pair landed 14 fish all on buzzers and enjoyed a fantastic afternoon out on the water. All water season ticket holder Ed Douglas enjoyed a letter day fishing a 6ft midge tip with a washing line with crunchers on the droppers. Ed, landed his fish from Biggin Bay around 40 years from the old pipe. Richard Reeve also enjoyed a good session landing over 20 fish from Biggin Bay from the boats.

The wind swung on Tuesday into the North, with the good fishing continuing with the rod average for the day 7.1 fish per angler. On the bank all water member Ken Key landed 4 fish on a mix of buzzers and cat’s whiskers. Draycote member Mike Garner landed 9 fish from the Cornfield on buzzers and cormorants. On the boats Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed over 40 fish to the boat in Toft Shallows using a washing line with a FAB on the point and buzzers on the droppers. The Philip Cresham party of anglers from Ireland enjoyed good sport from the boats along the Cornfield using black buzzers with their best boat landing 35 fish. Jess Ide landed 18 fish all on black Diawl bachs also done the Cornfield in a morning session.

The wind remained in the North on Wednesday this time with a bit of east as well. On the bank Mick Cronin and Stan Hillman enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 22 and 12 fish each from the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay and also Lincroft point on buzzers. On the boats John Dickens enjoyed a red letter days catch near the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay using buzzers on a floating line then a white and green lure on a Di 3 sinking line. Martin Brown & C Partridge also fished in Biggin Bay landing 36 fish to the boat on dries. Members Paul Walker & John Falconbridge landed 42 fish to the boat on Damsels and Buzzers. Overall it was a great day on the water despite the cool Northeast wind with the rod average for the day finishing at 11.7 fish per angler with a great evening rise the last hour of the day.

Another day of Northeast winds and bright skies. The bank fishing was slower today during the middle part of the day due to the bright conditions. However, the anglers who stayed into the evening enjoyed a “good rise” as commented by Brian Allwood who landed 4 fish. Jamie Orme also commented that it wasn’t till 7pm when the fish came on the feed. It was a day for the boats who were able to get just over the drop off. T Evans & J Bilinski enjoyed a good day landed 29 fish to the boat on buzzers fished in Biggin & Dunn’s Bay. Jamie Scott & James Foster landed 39 fish from the School Slips on a mixture of lures and then Buzzers. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey took Mike Bishop out for a 4 hour guide, with Mike wanting to look at fishing Buzzers. With Lee’s help Mike enjoyed a great day landing a dozen fish with the majority coming from the School Slips. For any guiding bookings please call Tom on 01788 812108. All water member Ed Douglas enjoyed another cricket score day on the boats fishing with a mix of crunchers, buzzers and a FAB. Again another good overall day on the water with a 8.7 fish per angler rod average.

Friday dawned with the wind still blowing from the northeast, uncomfortable here on the south side of Draycote Water, but not so bad on the leeward shore where anglers are still enjoying some great sport. Yet another good rod average from boat and bank anglers alike, with fish being caught mainly in Biggin Bay, The Cornfield and Lincroft Point. There is also a good head of fish in front of the School Slips and drifting out over M buoy. Young Chris Pallot commented on a fantastic day out. Chris fished off Lincroft Point using buzzers on the bung to net 10 fish, which he said took the buzzers at between 6 and 10 feet. Season permit holder Sean Gilbert netted 7 fish on buzzers along the northern shore and remarked on a good day out. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith had 23 fish to the boat between them using buzzers and blobs on a floating line, around Lincroft Point and Biggin Bay. Paul Walley took to the bank to net 8 fish using a DI 3 and boobies in Biggin Bay.

Saturday came with little change in the weather. An overcast day with still that northerly wind and a bit of a nip in the air. Good sport is still to be had along the northern shoreline on small imitative patterns with the odd angler using lures fished on a sinking line to good effect. Mike Garner had 4 fish from the bank in the Cornfield using crunchers and a blue flash damsel. Mark Thistleton took to the bank to net 7 fish on damsels and buzzers. Darren and Luke Dodd used a mixture of damsels, blobs and buzzers to entice 15 fish to the net. The boat pairing of Adrian Gorman and Kevin Egan had well over 30 fish to the boat in Biggin Bay using a black diawl bach with a red cheek. Mr D Watson had a bakers dozen to the boat using static buzzers in Toft Shallows.

It was a cold start to the day on Sunday morning with the sun splitting the sky, but a cold north easterly blowing on the water. The bright conditions did not have a detrimental effect on the fishing with some high catch returns being recorded from both boat & bank. The sheltered north shore was again the area that what most productive; in particular Biggin Bay where Draycote member Mr Brown caught a high number of fish washing lining buzzers on a Rio Hover line. Due to the recent colder winds the fish have seemed to have dropped down in the water column slightly & are currently sat at around 4-6ft where they will happily take buzzers & nymphs fished either straight lined on a floater/midge tip or washing lined on an intermediate. With settled weather forecast, the outlook for the week ahead looks very promising & the fish should start to move up in the water column.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 24^th April       Rod Av:11.6                          Water Temperature: 12C

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

Monday seen the weather conditions continue to be favourable for our anglers with light winds forecast for the coming week and no real sign of rain coming in. The Rod average for the week before was sitting at 11 and is a great indicator of how well Eyebrook has been fishing lately. There is still a good head of fish to be located between the point of the Island and Sam’s Dyke. A few reports coming back that there are fish off Robbo’s Cabin area that have been taken on Diawl Bach’s and Buzzers. The fish are high in the water at times and can be taken on dries when the conditions are right. There are quite a few Anglers managing to get in to double figures from both the bank and the boat.

Tuesday seen Eyebrook continue its amazing form with the Rod Average staying north of 10+ Lots of anglers were doing well on Muskins and Pheasant tail patterns as well as Damsel Nymphs. Most people are opting for floating line, but there are a few that have been doing well on midge tip and 6-foot tips as well. Washing line with small Buzzer/ Diawl Bach patterns and a damsel booby can be a fantastic go to method at this time of year. Sometimes you can’t fish your flies slow enough. Fishing flies down to size 14 will help hold your flies up in the water while those fish are in the upper layers. Yet again, there are pods of fish being found all the way from Sam’s Dyke all the way around the Island and up to the top side of the Cow Sheds. Across on the Rutland bank, Fish have been caught at Stoke dry and along to the willows. Apparently, there are a lot of fish through that area that nobody is fishing. Surprisingly, there are only a few anglers coming back from these areas that have had a fantastic days sport. D. Willacy finished up his 3 -day package with well in to double figures and commented in our Booking in for that his 3 days were brill!! With him managing to get in to treble figures. Outstanding !!

Wednesday seen a little change in the wind with a bit of a chilled easterly, this however, did not stop the fishes from snacking on Buzzers all day long. The reservoir continued to fish well with a daily rod average of 15.8. The fish have been caught all around over with the higher catch returns being recorded from the boats as the fish have been sat in the slightly deeper water due to the brighter conditions.  The McNair group, consisting of 5 boats, had an excellent day with their party catching well & between them they had a rod average of 26.6 which is a great effort, well done to all. Small buzzers & nymphs fished on continue to take most fish on floating & midge tip lines that are fished very slow or static either straight lined or on the washing line with a FAB on the point.

Thursday’s cooler weather brought by the prevailing north easterly winds continued to chill the upper layers of the reservoir which curtailed the top of the water fishing for the time being. There were however still plenty of fish caught to buzzers & nymphs fished slightly deeper resulting in a very respectable rod average of 10.4 for the day. Straight lining seemed to be percentage method for the day with a Blue Damsel fished on the point taking a good number of fish for many of the anglers. The best areas remain off the Island, Sam’s Dyke & over the opposite side of the reservoir from the Seat area down into Stoke Dry. It has been noticeable that the fish are more willing to take smaller fly sizes with the higher catch returns are being recorded by those fishing Size 12s & 14s. It has also been noticeable that there are a lot of fish beginning to move up towards the Stoke Dry area. They are moving up the cooler wind towards the sheltered banks where the water is slightly warmer & the aquatic life more abundant.

The cold north easterly wind continued for Friday which resulted in the water temperature dropping down to 12 degrees. This did not seem affect the daily rod average too much as there was still plenty of fish caught from various locations around the reservoir. Eyebrook member Mr Farrell had an excellent day, recording a high catch return he took fish on a midge tip using Muskins & Diawl Bachs from a boat. As to did member Ian Jobe, who braved the winds in his float tube fishing the Willows to Stoke Dry area. Small buzzers & nymphs remain the percentage patterns, fished on floating & tip lines or even under an indicator; each has proved to be very successful. Despite the blustery conditions being far from ideal, All Water Member Mark Hunt managed a very respectable 8 fish, fishing a single Daddy which goes to prove that it is better to fish one fly effectively than multiple flies ineffectively. It also goes to prove that the fish won’t take much encouragement to feed off the surface.

Saturday brought a deterioration in the weather with strong north easterly winds building throughout the day. The conditions made fishing the west side of the reservoir extremely challenging. However, for those who did brave the elements in that area there were some rewards to be had with fish still getting caught around the Point area with black & green lures fished extremely slow. In these prevailing winds, by far the most productive of area was the sheltered bank of the Willows with plenty of fish being caught from both the boat & bank all the way down to Stoke Dry. Being relatively sheltered, the water was slightly warmer and those fishing natural patterns; Nymphs & Buzzers, caught consistently well throughout the day. Eyebrook members Bob Margery & Steve Lawrence had an excellent morning session off the bank catching a high number of fish between them fishing buzzers. In addition, boat anglers fishing in this area also caught very well, finding fish in relatively water the washing lined Diawl Bachs seemed to be the order of the day with a high number of fish falling to this method.

Sunday seen the weather continue with blustery Easterly winds The conditions were a little challenging for a lot of anglers trying to fish the Leicestershire bank. A majority of the fish were caught on the Rutland bank with Jordan Gayle brining 10 to the boat on a black lure between Watsons Cabin and the Willows. Colin Marriot managed 8 on Yellow Owl’s, Buzzers and red holo Diawl Bach. Eyebrook regular evening angler Tim Shepherd had a good last 4-hour session from the bank by landing a cool dozen. Flyfishstore guide Andy  Miller was once again on hand to take a group of novices through the first steps of their fly fishing adventures through life. Catch up with Rowan, Paul, Tojo, Ali and Owen on their tuition session on out Facebook page. www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

The stronger Easterly wind has finally started to move anglers away from the known hot spots and shown them that there are a lot of fish holed up in other areas of the lake. The past few days have shown that there are fish all the way down the Rutland bank as well. As the weed starts to grow, this area is fantastic for fishing the Damsel Nymphs as well as the usual favoured patterns.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: 17^th April      Rod Av: 6.1      Water Temperature: 13c

With the glorious Easter weather our water temperature has reached were we would expect it to be for mid April 12c – 13c.

Buzzer hatches are increasing during the day with the trout feeding withing the upper water column. Monday black or olive buzzers fished on a washing line or under a bung. Late morning onwards has fished best with the willows & corner of the wood to the lonesome pine favourite, although we are seeing fish move over the middle channel in front of the lodge, across the main basin and down the Markfield arm towards the tern raft. Good evening rise. All water member Ian Leach caught 10 for his visit, it was good to see Gordon Porter back out fly fishing and catching as he boated 6 with his boat partner S Thompson boating 5. David Woodall continues to catch steadily adding another 6 to his seasons tally mainly on a buzzer.

Tuesday the fish moved steadily from mid morning onwards. Lee Henfrey one of our Draycote fishery rangers and guide caught 20+ trout for his visit on the washing line with buzzers & diawls, but commented his catches improved when he switched to thinner diameter leader. P Hunt fished buzzers to catch his 19 trout with P Mee boating 10 for his visit. Andre Russell took to his float tube catching 7 for his mornings visit. Norman Perkins pulled on his waders for a spot of bank fishing along the corner of the wood down towards the lonesome pine catching 10 on buzzers & blob. Brothers A Miles & T Miles caught 13 for their mornings visit. Water clarity is gin clear, think about your leader setup & leader diameter.

Wednesday and a cooler easterly wind had most of the anglers fish the shelter offered by the wood. Fish moved off and on during the day with a good number of fish moving into the evening especially the last 30minutes. During the day P Martindale fished buzzers and diawl bach to catch his 9 trout, David Hussey caught 14 on buzzers and diawls fishing opposite the lodge. Richard Price caught his 8 fish on blobs. During the last couple hours we had an evening rise with Mark Hunt taking his 7 trout from Green Bay and in front of the dam on dries with P Wurm catching 3 trout during the last half hour of fishing

Thursday and the brisk cooler easterly wind continued with anglers once again fishing along the shelter given by the wood. Buzzers & diawls was once again the order of the day although Tony Lorrimer fished his bunny patterns to great affect catching 17 trout. Simon Weedon caught 5 on diawls, P Wrigley caught 5 on buzzers with P hunt opting to fish the sinking line to catch his 7 trout. Carolyn Brown caught a 5lb4oz rainbow photo on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  

Friday a strong easterly wind which had a cold nip to it. Again anglers looked for the shelter offered by the wood bank. Buzzers, diawls, cruncher caught the majority with a few coming to blobs & fabs. Steve fished the afternoon session catching 16 on buzzers & nymphs, Lorenso, Chris Sayer & Jack Hives all caught double figures for their visit mostly on buzzers & diawls. Barry Foxon & C McMillan caught 14 on buzzers for their mornings visit with Draycote fishery ranger & guide Lee Henfrey enjoyed a mornings fishing to himself catching double figures

Saturday and another day of fresh, colder easterly winds. Once again the anglers used the shelter offered by the wood to fish in some sort of comfort. Buzzers & diawls were the order of the day for the morning but with a drop in air temperature for the afternoon a sinking line with damsel, fab and small white snakes worked best. S Proffitt fished the bank catching 5 during the morning on damsel and buzzers. Kevin Hart & D Pacey fished size 14 buzzers to catch their double figure catch with Jan Webber fishing a cormorant pattern to boat his 18 trout. M Ravenscroft fished the afternoon session to catch his 10 trout with C Merryman and Jim Raeside catching 7 trout for their 4 hour late afternoon session

Sunday and no change to the weather a brisk cold easterly had all of the boats fishing in the shelter of the Thornton arm in front of the wood. Our local angling club Thornton Fly Fisher held their mornings boat pairs competition with Dave Leavesley and Norman Perkins winning this round, results on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  Buzzers, diawls, damsels, small white snakes worked during the day.

Our water clarity is gin clear.