Draycote Report W/E 31st 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 31st July 2022              Rod Av:  5.0     Water Temperature:  18.5°C

Monday saw a bit of a  change in the fishing here at Draycote, with good returns coming from quite a few different areas of the reservoir. The fish have definitely moved up in the water column with most catches now coming to either a washing line on a floater or a midge tip, or dries. The best areas are Rainbow Corner right on the dam wall, C buoy to D buoy and down in the bottom of Toft Shallows near the Nature Reserve. Season permit holder John Dickens had 28 fish to the boat using dries such as bob’s bits and daddies. Chris Discombe used crunchers on a washing line to net 7 fish from Rainbow Corner. Both Graham Homer and Martin Ashby used daddies to net 9 and 6 fish respectively. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had the grand total of 36 fish to the boat between them. Bob and Ian used bob’s bits in a size 12, as well as culs, before moving over to hot head diawl bachs and crunchers to net their fish from Rainbow Corner.

Tuesday started overcast and a bit muggy, with hardly a breath of wind. There were plenty of fish showing early on around the pontoon and out across the reservoir towards X buoy. During the course of the day a ripple did arrive and the great fishing that the anglers experience on Monday continued. Colin Day fished from the bank to land 5 fish taking 3 from Toft using a Jack Frost lure and the other 2 coming from Rainbow Corner on gold sparkler. All water member Paul Walker fished in Rainbow Corner from a boat to land 17 fish using Diawl Bachs, crunchers and daddies. Jem Dunn & Phil Thomas enjoyed a good day afloat boating 24 fish between them. Their hotspots being A Buoy, Rainbow Corner and C Buoy using a washing line with Black size 12 Diawl Bachs and then a foam daddy or a Biscuit and Tequila FAB. All water member Ed Douglas landed 16 fish with 11 of them coming to dries. Ed, fished in Rainbow Corner and used a daddy and CDC shuttlecock on the point. Another boat pairing using dries to great effect was Lester Booth and Nigel Nixon who landed 16 between them on dries. The fished around B Buoy with a Big Red and a Red Shipmen’s being their best pattens and commented on the “excellent fishing”.

An easterly wind Wednesday with overcast conditions. Fishing from a boat in Toft, Draycote members Colin Granger & Ian Reeve enjoyed a good morning’s sport landing 20 fish to the boat using various lures. Frank Sumnall & D Morris fished a washing line with a foam daddy on the point and then holographic diawl bachs on the droppers to boat 8 fish picking fish up from various points across the reservoir. Martin Ashby fished for an afternoon to land 9 fish using daddies on a floating line with the Aerators being his best area. Member Graham Homer fished in Rainbow Corner using Diawl Bachs and black buzzers to boat 6 fish using a floating line.

The wind remained in the East on Thursday with overcast skies, it looked a great day to be out on the water, and this proved to be the case with the rod average for the day finishing at 6.2 fish per angler. Season ticket holders Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed 21 fish between them, Peter, opted to fish dries all day to land his 11 fish. With Lee fishing a washing line and also dries. Tony Broadway & John Clifford enjoyed a good morning’s sport landing 16 to the boat. Tony used a neutral density with a Minkie, whole John opted for a floating line. Landing the fish around the Aerators and C Buoy. Fellow season ticket holders Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot landed 20 fish to the boat around the Hensborough Bank & Rainbow Corner. They used a mix of methods taking fish on Bob’s Bits, washing lining on a Midge Tip using a tequila booby and then nymphs on the droppers. The best catch of the day went to Kevin Rees who landed 30 fish all on dries, Kev fished drifting around M Buoy using CDC Culs to take his fish. Also commenting on the amount of fish over the 3lb mark.

A bright start on Friday here at Draycote led into sporadic cloud cover and light breezes. Once again the rod average turned out to be very good with anglers making good returns from several areas around the reservoir. Rainbow Corner seems to be about the best area, with the Hensborough Bank, the  Valve Tower and the Dam Wall in Toft Shallows also holding fish. Quite a lot were caught on dries such as CDC’s and foam daddies yesterday, with a few fish falling to buzzers. Season permit holder Ray Rawlings netted 4 fish on Foam daddies around A and M buoy. Paul Cramp used buzzers, cdc’s and the midas to boat 7 fish. Mr A Hodgekiss had 5 fish to the boat in Rainbow Corner, all on dries. Mr Frazer Duffy netted a total of ten fish on dries, whilst Mr Dave Reynolds had 17.

Yet another good day on Draycote Water. With good cloud cover and light breezes throughout the day, anglers made some good returns on Saturday. The Farborough Dam has switched on in the last few days with a good head of fish sitting between T buoy and the wall. Although Rainbow corner continues to be the hottest spot on the reservoir, the Valve Tower and the bottom of Toft Shallows are also producing some good returns. Mark Braun netted 16 fish from a drifting boat using CDC;s as well as blobs on a midge tip line. Sean and Debbie Gilbert had 8 fish during a half day session which all fell to klinkhammers. Lester Booth and Nigel Niixon had nearly 30 fish to the boat and remarked on “A brilliant Day”. Lester and Nigel fished up in Rainbow Corner and along the Hensborough Bank and used dries such as foam daddies and the midas. Season permit holder John Dickens had 11 fish to the boat during an afternoon session also using foam daddies as well as bob’s bits.

Overcast humid conditions Sunday, as a result the fish remained in the top few feet of the water column. Draycote member Jon Crowley landed 11 fish in short 5 hour morning session. Jon, fished at Rainbow Corner and the Hensborough Bank using orange daddies before switching to a black and gold snake also taking fish at the Swan’s Nest. Father and son due Fraser Duffer Jnr & Snr fished from a boat to land 18 fish. The pair used daddies and a washing line around Rainbow Corner and A Buoy. Another, father, and son boat was Gary & David Turner who also used daddies to land 10 fish in a morning. The pair also landed some cracking fish with 2 over 3lb 8oz and one tipping the scales at 4lb. James Collins & Sean Martin landed 22 fish between them using a variety of flies with dries, buzzers and lures all catching.

A special Thanks to Draycote Fly Fishing Association for running their “Try Fly Fishing Event” with casting instruction and an opportunity for a taster session from a boat at Draycote on Saturday.

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/

Week Ending: Sunday 31 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.5          Water Temperature: 18-19 °C

Monday saw the blustery weather from the previous week continue. The moderate to strong south westerly that started the day swung around to a west-northwest direction which brought with it some isolated showers & a cooler air temperature. This had an impact on the prolific Damsel hatches that had featured previously. The hatch did not occur until much later in the day & by mid to late afternoon the hatch was in swing. This reflected in the catch returns with anglers departing earlier in the day not doing as well as those who stayed a little later. One angler who benefited from this was All Water member Stuart Ponter who had 10 fish to the boat from Dogwood Bay. Stuart caught all his fish on Foam Daddies, brown & natural coloured during the day & once the Damsel hatch was in full flow, he swapped to a Blue Foam Daddy & continued to catch. For those who want to target the Damsel feeders it is worth remembering that prior the hatch, the fish will be feeding hard on Damsel nymphs sub surface, intercepting the Nymphs as the swim towards the weed beds.

There was gentle west north westerly breeze on Tuesday, bringing with it a gentle ripple & a cooler air temperature. As the day progressed, the gentle breeze dropped resulting in flat calm conditions. It was a very quiet day with only 5 boats taking to the water. Those that did venture out caught on Damsel nymphs & Foam Daddies fished around the weed beds from Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke. The water temperature continues to drop & as a result, there was a lot of fish moving across the Main Basin for most of the day. With the cooler weather due to continue, the surface activity will be increase & the outlook looks excellent for the rest of the week.

Wednesday brought with it a flat calm & a surface layer of mist which is indicative of a cool night. The flat calm gave way to a gentle ripple by mid-morning & it brought with it a build-up of cloud cover. Some algae about but with our water temperature at 18c it was a day for the dries with blue dry damsel, daddies, big red, cdc taking some of the better catches from across the main basin & down along the weedbeds. Jude Tuffs caught 10 for her visit, Mark Hunt fished cdc to catch his 12 trout with Lianne Frost & Chris Bobby fishing a big red to catch theirs. D Jeffrey & C Martin fished buzzer patterns to catch their 14 trout. Mr Holmes fished the afternoon session from 3pm catching his 9 up to 6.30pm on a cdc daddy.

Thursday saw the reservoir continue to fish well to the dries with fish taken on Grunters, Foam daddies, Hares Ears & Adult Blue Damsels. John Duncan landed 12 fish with most coming to the Grunters & Nige Savage had a very successful day fishing Suspender Hares Ears. All Water Member Ed Douglas was another who had a very successful day, landing 17 fish on a mixture of dries & nymphs on a Washing Lined floater. The best area remains the Main Basin with fish being taken from Dam right the way up to Robbo’s Cabin. Those targeting fish in the upper layers were more successful than those fishing deeper. There are still fish feeding hard on Damsels in & around the weedbeds along from the lodge to Sam’s Dyke. They can be caught fishing Damsel Nymphs in the morning sub surface & later in the day on Adult Blue Damsels once the Damsels begin to hatch.

Friday started with a very gentle breeze from the north which had pushed any remaining surface algae into the south corner of the dam around the pontoons. Fish could be seen moving across the Main Basin, with a large number of fish seen in front of Robbo’s Cabin. Ian Jobe ventured out in his Float Tube & had a productive day. He initially went out targeting the deeper fish & after a little interest he decided to move up in the water column. This proved to be decisive with Ian landing 7 fish & reporting a lot more interest from fish higher up. The anglers fishing the upper layers were catching fish on both Dries & the Washing Line from various locations around the Main Basin. Drifting was difficult due to the lack of wind, therefore, to maintain a mobile approach, frequent moves were necessary until the fish were located. The most productive patterns remain Foam daddies, Dry Damsels, CDC’s & nymphs.

A flat calm & an overcast sky greeted the anglers on Saturday. As the day progressed, a slight breeze developed from the southwest which formed a very inviting ripple across the Main Basin. With the water temperature of 19 & the overcast sky, the fished were sat high up in the water column & happy to feed off the surface. The reservoir fished extremely well with high catch returns recorded from both the boats & the bank. Malcolm Thompson landed 15 fish from the bank which is an excellent return for bank fishing in July. Malcolm fished the area known as the Bell, wading out to the weedbeds & targeted fish feeding in/around the weedbeds with Dries. From the boats there were some very high numbers recorded. The best method seemed to be fishing long drifts across the Main Basin with either a Washing Lined Floater, with a small booby or FAB on the point with nymphs on the droppers, or by fishing Dries. As reported earlier in the week, Foam Daddies in various colours remain the most productive Dry Flies. It is also worth trying Big Reds, Crippled Midges & the Midas, especially during the windier days forecast for the coming week.

Sunday saw the wind swing round to the Northwest & build throughout the day. Periods of overcast gave way to sunny spells as the increasing wind brought changeable conditions. The reservoir continued to fish well from the bank with Malcolm Thompson returning for a 2^nd day & landing 4 fish in a short session, all on dries & all around the weed beds. That means he has had 19 fish off the bank over the 2 days which is an excellent return for bank fishing in July. Dave Etty also enjoyed a productive bank session landing 6 from the Hawthorns area on Hares Ear CDC’s, once again fishing over the top of the weed. The boat anglers continue to catch, fishing CDC’s & Foam Daddies at various locations around the Main Basin.

With the weather forecast for next week looking favourable the reservoir should continue to fish very well.

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: 31^st July       Rod Av: 3.2      Water Temperature: 21c+

Monday surprising how strong the northerly wind blew during the late afternoon into the evening. It seems to be fishing better late morning into the afternoon / evening. Trout remain high in the water taking daddies, hoppers, small fab, small muddler with Lorenso finding a team of traditional wets fished well as well. Best area along the dam, green bay and across the mouth of the Markfield arm. Andrew Wilson caught his 4 on hoppers & muddlers with Lorenso catching 12 on daddies & team of traditional wets.

Tuesday with a northerly breeze it kept the trout in the top surface layers with the majority of anglers using a floating, various tip lines & sink tip lines with daddies, small fabs, small muddlers, diawls & crunchers. Fish seem to be in pods with various pods along the dam wall, green bay & in the mouth of the Markfield arm. Usually, the arms don’t fish during the warmer weather but Kevin Hart decided to take his tube up the Thornton Arm to see if the fish were still there from two weeks ago. He found feeding fish between 12.30pm & 4pm fishing a lightweight #5 outfit with small fab, diawl bach & crunchers he caught 7 trout. Along the main dam J Scott fished a 12” slow tip line with fab, diawl & daddies to catch his double figure catch with P Cox catching 17 on small fabs & P Hunt fishing diawl bach to catch 10. Dennis Barnes caught 3 on a small white booby pulled across the surface but reported lots of fish prepared to chase but wouldn’t take the fly. Water clarity has improved the algae has dropped out of the water.

Wednesday anglers reported pods of fish moving at times, getting them to chase or follow the fly but proved trickier to hook. Stuart Thompson fished small diawls to catch his 4 trout with Howard Davies fishing his version of the muskins to catch his 6 trout. Green bay proved productive for Ian Leach catching 10 on fab and diawl with Ian Brearley fishing daddies for his 4 trout. I Shepherd fished a Montana and hares ear for his 4 trout.

Thursday and again reports of trout feeding but proving difficult to tempt with Kevin Hart top rod on the day with 6 caught on a cruncher and fab fishing from his float tube in front of the dam. No real pattern to the day with anglers picking up odd fish on a variety of flies fished on a floater or tip line

Friday, conditions looked similar too Thursday and yet it fished far better on Friday with a rod average 3.7 Daddies, Blue Dry Damsel, cdc, diawl bach worked best with Lee Henfrey on a day off from Draycote catching 11 for his mornings visit fishing 2 dry blue damsel patterns, fishing them static was the successful method. Chris Sayer caught 6 for his mornings visit on dragonfly nymph patterns with Ian Leach & Mark Cowley catching 12 on diawl bach, olive cdc in the green bay area. Majority were caught on a floating line, washing line or one of the midge tip to 12ft tip lines. Productive area, main dam, green bay & across main basin

Saturday with the breeze in the west and cloudy anglers report trout moving, on occasion in good numbers but they were difficult to tempt. Maciek caught 4 on dries with Dave Woodall also catching 4 on a small dry sedge with Rob Anderson also reporting 4 trout. All water member Mark Hunt cracked the code by using a small Bibio, bobs bits and big red to catch his 20+trout from in front of the main car park along the dam, fishing long leaders with the flies static was the key.

Sunday a very quiet day, for the fishery & site with few general public about, everyone was at home watching the commonwealth games & the football. Only 2 rods fished for the morning session only catching 1 trout on a sedge pattern.

We are seeing an increasing number of light coloured buzzer hatching size #12 and this morning I spotted the first of the August claret buzzer. First time in a while I’ve seen daphnia in the water and you can still see damsel nymphs swimming upwards to hatch. Water Clarity is good