Missing Report from 3rd July 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

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Week Ending:  Sunday 3rd July 2022              Rod Av:  4.1    Water Temperature:  17°C

We were greeted by a strong southerly breeze on Monday morning with light showers, which dissipated as the wind swung into the west. As per the weekend most of the fishing was along the Hensborough Bank and up in Rainbow Corner, with the majority of the fish being caught in the top few feet of the water. Season permit holder John Dickens had 14 fish to the boat on a washing line method and foam daddies. Draycote regular Kevin Rees caught a total of 10 fish on dries such as crippled midge. Steve Barby and his Boat partner caught a bakers dozen between them and remarked on “A good day out”. Mr K Nettleton, who has not fished for a number of years, ventured out for a morning session and netted 1 fish on nymphs.

Tuesday dawned with bright sunshine and a strong southerly breeze. Draycote members Tony Broadway & John Clifford fished in a boat together landing 14 between them, with Tony taking the Lion share. They opted to bank drift with the strong wind, with Tony fishing a neutral density line on the morning with a minkie, landing 7. Before swapping to a Di 3 and a white snake in the afternoon. With the best area being drifting from the Hensborough Bank out over the open water towards Y Buoy and the other side of Musborough shoal. All water member Norman Perkins landed 13 fishing a floating line, with a blob the point and nymphs on the droppers. Landing the fish at Rainbow Corner. Chris Discombe also fished at Rainbow corner going a little further out towards A buoy using a white snake on a Di 3. Ian Reeve utilised a washing line set up to land 9 fish from Rainbow Corner with buzzers and Diawl Bachs on the droppers being his best patterns.

A southwest wind Wednesday with a mix of sun and cloud with the occasional shower. Iain lang fished at Rainbow corner and A Buoy to land 7 fish on mini boobies, crunchers and hoppers with the fish taking just under the surface. All water member Ed Douglas used to dries to land 7 fish including a Rainbow at over 4lb and a brown at 3lb. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith enjoyed a good day landing 16 to the boat. They drifted from C – D Buoy using a Di 3 and a cats whisker and also a midge tip line with silver thorax pheasant tail nymph. Mr M Francis also fished around D Buoy using a dark green dabbler to land a dozen fish. Draycote RIO Masters team member fished with household all water member Albert Coales with the pair landing 25 fish to the boat. Using the new RIO 6ft hover tip with a washing lining set up was their best tactic with the top area being Rainbow Corner to A Buoy.

Thursday was a bright start,  with intermittent cloud cover and a light south westerly breeze. Draycote fished reasonably well overall, with a rod average of 3.1, with the best area being toft shallows for both boat and bank anglers. There was a good spread of fish throughout the reservoir, especially up in Rainbow Corner, through C to D buoy and on the back of Croft Shoal, but these proved to be a bit “picky” on the dries. On the final day of his 3 day break Gordon Byers netted 15 fish on damsel patterns and big reds in Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Kevin Rees had 8 fish to the boat drifting out over open water from Rainbow corner. Kevin was using dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits. John Falconbridge used the washing line method with nymphs and a FAB on the point to net half a dozen from various areas along the leeward shore. Ian Western bank fished on the Hensborough Bank to net 4 fish, one of which was an estimated 8 lb rainbow.

Almost perfect conditions for fishing here at Draycote on Friday morning, with overcast skies and a light south westerly breeze. Draycote once again did not disappoint with both boat and bank anglers making some good returns throughout the day. Ex Draycote manager Kevin Hart and his boat partner John Hoskins pulled over 30 fish to the boat between them on a wide variety of patterns, and from various areas around the reservoir. Mr Colin Day fished close into the bank in Biggin Bay to land 11 fish on red crunchers and silver PTN’s. Season permit holder Paul Walker had the same number of fish to a drifting boat using diawl bachs on a washing line with a FAB on the point. The Draycote Fly Fishers held a bank match on Friday evening in which 10 anglers took part, achieving competition average of 3.7.The winners spot was taken by Les Lerigo with 7 fish, closely followed by a tie for second place for Stephen Dewhurst and Will Hunt with 6 fish each. Third place in the competition was taken by Mark JJ 5 fish.

Saturday dawned with a strong southerly breeze and the promise of a shower or two as the day progressed. With the current weather conditions the water temperature is a steady 17 degrees, and the majority of the fish are still holding in the top few feet of the water. Good sport is still to be had on dries as well as a washing and nymphs fished off a midge tip line. Whilst some anglers favour the FAB on the point, it is worth noting that there are plenty of damsels in the water, and replacing that FAB with a green foam daddy might just entice another fish to the net. Sam Edmunds had 10 fish to the boat using FAB’s and buzzers up in Rainbow Corner and around D buoy. Chris Tuck used a suzie booby on a washing line with nymphs down in Toft Shallows to net a good number of fish. Mr I Spicer and Mr E Barder had 15 trout to the boat and one perch, all caught on a mixture of nymphs and dries.

Sunday started with a bright blue sky and flat calm conditions, however we did have some much welcomed cloud cover around 11am and a good ripple. After a successful evening bank match Friday, the Draycote Fly Fishers enjoyed their first boat match of the summer. The day was broken down into a ½ day and a full day boat competition. Winning the ½ was Husband & Wife duo Debbie & Sean Gilbert who landed 5 fish before 1pm. They fished by the Draycote Dam using a mix of snakes and also traditional lures such as a Micky Finn to land their fish. Winning the full day match was John Hanlon & Kevin Jones who landed an impressive 20 fish to the boat. With fellow Hanlon, John’s brother Michael and nephew William coming in second with 7 fish. We also had the Alex Booth Fishers out on the water fishing in the Steve Parton Memorial match. Winning the match was Baz Street who landed 3 fish weighting 7lb and realising further 6. Coming second in the match was Rod Goldthorpe who landed 3 for 6lb and returning 2. Outside of these club competitions there was some great scores. Bristol anglers Paul Roach & Graham Currie landed 18 fish to the boat drifting out of Rainbow Corner using a floating line with Diawl Bachs. Richard Hood & boat partner landed 19 fish using nymphs and also dries. Draycote Member Jim Smith fished with Ed Douglas landing over 40 to the boat. The pair commented there was no standout area, catching all across the lake. Once the cloud arrived dries proved to be the most consistent method but washing lining and snakes on a Di 3 sinking line was worked.

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/

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

Week Ending: Sunday 03 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.8          Water Temperature:  18-20°C

The water temperature continued to drop on Monday due to the blustery conditions, stabilising at 19 degrees. This has had a very positive impact on the fishing with the trout more than happy to feed high up in the water column and have been getting caught on Dries & washing line floater. During the mornings & before the Damsel hatch has occurred, the washing lined Floater with either a FAB or a Foam Daddy on the point, have accounted for a high number of fish. Upon the Damsel hatch, Blue Foam Daddies & Adult Damsel patterns have caught very well. Regular visitor Max Woolnough had a very productive day catching a very high number of fish, all on dries, from the Dogwood & Bell area. Other productive areas include across the Main Basin, particularly either side of the Tower, as the fish are clearly more comfortable sat over the deeper water.

Tuesday saw the blustery, changeable weather continue with the fish still getting caught across the Main Basin on either Dries or on a washing lined floater. Mr Heath who is here on a 4-day package enjoyed a very productive day with his boat partner as they landed well over 20 fish between them. Their success came about by initially fishing a washing line with Diawl Bach’s & Crunchers on the droppers & a FAB on point. Later, they changed to the Dries & continued to catch well on Foam Daddies & blue adult Damsel patterns. Mr Watson enjoyed a productive evening session landing 5 fishing Blue Foam Daddies in the Main Basin. If you are interested in booking one or package deals, please use the following link: http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/.https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/ . Please note that the short break package can also be split over any of our Reservoirs; Thornton, Draycote & Eyebrook. To assist you in any possible future planning, you may find some useful accommodation ideas at: https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/accommodation/.

Wednesday – light to moderate south westerly, generally good cloud cover with sunny intervals, the weather is being particularly kind to us, perfect June weather resulting in a daily rod average 6+. Floating line with dry blue damsel, cdc, damsel, cruncher & diawls caught the majority of the trout with the main dam, dogwood down to Sam`s Duke & across the main basin. M Woolnough fished the bank during the afternoon fishing dogwood & the dam catching 14 on dries & blue damsel. Mark Hunt fished the morning session with single cdc, damsel & daddy patterns catching 22 with J Llewelyn fishing a midas & cruncher to catch his 6 trout. Eyebrook member Dave Etty popped down for the last 4 hr from a boat catching 7 on a crippled midge. Water clarity is good. Best area for bank fishing is along the Chestnut tree, cow shed, Harrison corner (New overflow) and, along the dam wall. If you’re fishing the dam wall please pick up a lifejacket.

Great conditions Thursday with light winds, and overcast skies, however, the sun did make the occasional appearance. We had the Kent Police force here fishing a regional qualifier, with 13 anglers taking part. Dries was certainly the order of the day for the anglers taking part, with he best boat landing 7 fish all on dries, with adult blue damsels also featuring on the catch return. Outside of the match T Gill & R Dyer landed 13 fish between them on a mixture of washing lining with a FAB and Diawl Bachs and dry daddies. Eyebrook member Lindsey Bates fished with T Derghton using “Yellow Owls” to land 18 fish. Duncan Watson enjoyed a good evening taking advantage of the last four hour ticket to land 6 fish, 4 on a blue Damsel & 2 on floating fry. Tim Miller & Dave Hild enjoyed a great days sport boating 16 fish to the boat with Dave landing 13 of them, using a crippled midge pattern. The pair found that the Main Basin was the best area later in the evening but caught during the day in the shallow water in Mucky Bay.

Friday saw variable winds with a decent amount of cloud cover in the morning with brighter spells in the afternoon. Eyebrook continued to fish well to the Dries with Foam Daddies, CDC Emerging patterns & Blue Damsels being the most productive patterns. The Blue Damsel tend to be fishing better mid-afternoon onwards, once the air temperature has increased & the Damsel hatch has started in earnest. All water member Mark Hunt had an exceptional morning session on the Dries, fishing CDC’s & Daddies to great effect landing a very high number of trout. As to did Mick Farrell, who with his boat partner had a great day catching on Orange Foam Daddies, Blue Damsels & Yellow Owls. The best areas from the boats remain the edge of the weed beds from Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke, Mucky Bay is also holding some fish & the Main Basin. Best bank areas are the Dam, both sides of the tower & from the Chestnut to the Cowshed.

Saturday brought with it some mixed weather with a moderate to strong South Westerly, bright sunlight & some very heavy showers. Despite the weather, the reservoir fished very well with a lot of fish being caught by anglers conducting long drifts across the Main Basin. Fish were caught on various methods; however, the percentage methods were washing lined floaters or dries. On the washing line, it paid to have a bit of colour on the point; 2 tone FAB or Booby & small imitative nymphs; crunchers & Diawl Bachs, on the droppers. The weather put paid to any potential Damsel hatch, so the most productive Dry Fly was a Foam Daddy. Due to the conditions on the day, the fish seemed to prefer these larger Dry Flies rather than smaller offerings which would have been more difficult for them to see. Also, the importance of fishing from a drifting boat cannot be underestimated, as it allows you cover more water & potentially put your flies in front of more fish. The more fish that see your flies, will inevitably increase the likelihood of you catching more fish. There is still being caught from the banks, Eyebrook member Dave Etty caught on Dries up by the Cowshed area. From the boats, the most productive areas remain the open water of the Main Basin & the edge of the weed beds from the lodge to Sam’s Dyke.

Sundays warmer, more settled weather at the start of the day saw the return of the mid-morning Damsel hatch with fish being caught on Blue Adult Dry Flies from both the boats & the banks. Regular angler Max Woolnough found the Dam to be his most productive bank area, landing 9 fish on the dries with CDC’s & Blue Damsel being his most productive patterns. From the boats, Mark Goodge enjoyed a productive day fishing Damsels in the morning & then detached bodied CDC’s in the afternoon. Mark fished the Main Basin area & also found Sam’s Dyke to the Island to be productive. The weather deteriorated in the afternoon, however, the reservoir still fished well to the Dries with fishery staff Jason Pusey enjoying a productive short afternoon session with his father. Jason fished a single Foam Daddy in a variety of colours in the Main Basin. By chopping & changing the colour of the Daddy Jason was able to consistently generate interest from the fish. As the weather forecast for the forthcoming week is for warmer, more settled weather, the Damsel hatches here at Eyebrook look set to intensify this coming week.

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:  3^rd July     Rod Av: 6.8      Water Temperature: 18c+ – 19c

The past few days cooler forecast and at times strong winds have helped pull the surface water temperature to 18c+ which is excellent for the time of year. Fish are being caught on floating lines down to fast sinkers but during the last few days intermediate and floating lines were the best option

Monday and the majority of anglers are fishing the cooler more productive morning session fishing over the deeper water from the main car park in front of the dam to green bay. With the water temperature down to 18c+, cloud cover and a brisk southerly wind the trout were near the surface and prepared to chase a muddler pulled through the waves. L Ford caught 11 for his visit on a washing line pulled, A Wilson caught 8 on muddler and diawl stripped through the wave with I Leach catching 5 for his visit. A good start to the week with a rod average 4.1

Tuesday a brisk southerly with cooler air temperatures has our water temperature down to 18c. Anglers fished from green bay down in front of main dam to the car park area. Floating lines, midge tips and intermediate lines with washing line, buzzers, diawls, muddler and GH sedge was the order of the day with the trout high in the water and prepared to chase a muddler. B Jones caught 10 on diawl bach, buzzer, blue flash damsel patterns, J Taylor & D Vincent caught 12 on sedge, muddler and diawls.

Wednesday and the weather was on our side again with the water temperature 18c+ which is cool for the time of year. Fish are high in the water with floating lines, daddies, diawls, cdc, muddler & washing line working best over the main basin & towards green bay. Ian Brearley fished green bay with daddies & cdc to catch his 14 trout, All water member J Scott fished a washing line with tequila fab, diawl bach & a black pennell to net his double figure catch with P Hunt & J Thomson fishing the morning session with diawl bach to catch their 9 trout. With this unusually cool weather for late June were seeing fish being caught into the evening with D Hussey fishing buzzer & diawls to catch 13.

Thursday similar weather conditions although anglers reported fish coming short to the fly. Mick Huffer fished dries to catch his 6 trout, Colin Chambers caught 5 for his mornings visit with the afternoon & evening fishing well with J Brown boating 7 trout & Brian Morris boating 7. With these unexpected cooler weather conditions for this time of year it’s certainly the time to make the effort and get out on the water.

Friday another day of perfect conditions, water temperature 18c+, cloud & a southerly breeze all day. Busy day with anglers making the most of the conditions. Fish were up in the top few feet of the water all day & ready to chase a small muddler. Washing line has worked with small fab, muddler, daddy, booby on the point with a diawl bach #12 #14 muskins, hares ear #12 #14 or olive or black buzzer #14 #16. Best are was in front of the dam wall, green bay, stones & across the main basin. Mark Cowley who only recently too up fly fishing enjoyed his best day yet catching 29 on a washing line, Jamie Scott repeated fished the same method that proved successful on Wednesday catching fish from the dam, green bay & along the stones. Chris Sayer caught 14 for his mornings visit with Carl Bond catching 14 for his afternoon session. Tony Smith fished the last 4 hour session catching 9 trout.

Saturday and an excellent days fishing for July with a rod average 12.1for the day. Water temperature between 18c & 19c, cool brisk southerly with cloud an light showers kept the trout in the top foot most of the day. Trout were chasing small daddy muddler with the other successful method a washing line with daddy, booby or fab on the point with diawl bach or damsel patterns on the dropper. All anglers enjoyed a good day with the dam wall, green bay, stones & lower buoy area best

Sunday the wind swung to a north westerly with cloud at times ensuring most of the anglers caught high in the water with floating lines, midge tip or intermediate. Peter & Angele Post from the Netherlands fished a morning session catching 6 trout. Mark Stone fished a cormorant to catch his 5 trout for his mornings visit with Richard Smith catching 4 on a yellow owl suspender. Andrew Wilson fished a damsel, diawl bach & muddler to boat his 8 trout. With this cooler weather were enjoying some excellent last 4 hour sport with Paul & Sam Cook catching 9 trout for their 4 hour visit with Murphy & M Marston catching 10 for their 4 hour visit

Water Clarity remains good with the water temperature currently cool for the time of year