Draycote Water Fishing Report Sunday 9th April 2023

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2023 Membership Options visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/

Week Ending:     9th April 2023           Rod Av: 4.4     Water Temperature: 8°C

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Monday turned out to be a good day for fishing with good cloud cover through most of the day, and a light  south easterly breeze. Season permit holders Peter Allan and Tony Broadway had 7 fish to the boat in Biggin Bay, all on hares ears. Ed Douglas had 9 fish to the boat on buzzers fished static on a floating line.

Ian Reeve and Ian Hibberd had over 20 fish to the boat and were able to show us some cracking photos on the pontoon yesterday evening. The fish fell to buzzers and black and green snakes. It was good to see Eugene Hughes back out on Draycote. Eugene netted over 20 fish to the boat using humungus fished on a DI 7 line around M, Y and P buoy. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had 10 fish to the boat between them near the Tower Bank. The pair caught their fish using a mixture of boobies fished slow on a DI5, and buzzers fished on the bung.

Tuesday was a beautiful day to be out on the water. Light breezes and good cloud cover meant that through the early part of the day fish could be seen moving in the surface of the water. There is now a good spread of fish throughout the reservoir with reports of good catches coming from a wide variety of areas. Draycote regular Stan Hillman fished from the bank to net a brace on damsels fished on an intermediate line. Lee Henfrey and fishery manager Tom Bird took to the water to net over 20 fish on a mixture of buzzers and hares ears during a morning session. The pair fished along the Farborough Dam and down in the Cornfield. Season permit holders Paul Walker and John Falconbridge had nearly 30 fish to the boat between them but said that it was a struggle through the early part of the day. A of their fish came to damsels and black buzzers at the western end of the reservoir. James Maplethorpe and Trevor Moore plied their trade in Biggin bay and the Cornfield netting a god number of fish on black buzzers fished on a floating line.

A southerly wind Wednesday which did later swing into a Southwest, with the day starting overcast with rain starting late morning. On the bank Draycote season ticket holder Mark Smith landed 6 fish on a Cat’s Whisker fished on a floating line. With fellow season ticket holder Jim Kelly landing 5 fish on buzzers and a green lure. Taking 1 fish in Rainbow Corner, with the others coming from Toft later on in the day. Andy Berkett & Brent Vinall out on the boats landed 23 fish using buzzers and then pulling with snakes. Draycote member James Alexander landed 10 fish using olive snakes from Toft. Mr N Whatton & T Waddington enjoyed a great day landing 34 fish on buzzers and Diawl Bachs from Toft and then along the Cornfield. Mr T Rowley & G Beagarie landed 27 to the boat catching on buzzers in the morning along the Farborough Dam wall before heading up to the Draycote Dam wall and catching on lures.

A wet start to Thursday with the wind remaining on the Southwest before swinging into the Northwest later in the day, with the sun making an appearance in the afternoon and thankfully Draycote avoided the heavy local showers. On the bank season ticket holder Bob Askew enjoyed a great days sport landing 17 fish from the Swan’s Nest using a Cat’s Whisker. Out on the boats Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith enjoyed a good day landing 29 fish to the boat. The pair also recorded “plenty of overwintered fish up to 4lb” They fished the Tower bank and used Buzzers under the bung to land their fish. Felicity Appleton & Derek Moore fished at the Swan’s Nest in a boat landing 38 fish and like, Bob who was on the bank used Cat’s Whiskers to great effect. Andy Berkett & Brent Vinall fished their final day of a 3 day break boating 37 fish. The pair opted to fish straight lined buzzers all day and remarked it had been a “great 3 days”

A frosty start to Good Friday which soon warmed up leaving a beautiful warm spring day, with light winds from the Northwest. Fishing from the bank John Hall landed 4 fish from the Cornfield using a Damsel. Taking advantage of the last four hour ticket from the bank Mr J Mackay landed 7 fish all on buzzers from Toft, a great catch in a short 4 hour session. On the boats David & Gary Turner landed 22 fish to the boat using buzzers. They found the fish in the morning tight along the Cornfield at Dougie’s Gap where the trees come down to the waters edge. Then in the afternoon at the Tower Bank, with both anglers commenting that the fish while tight to the bank were sitting deeper that expected. Draycote member Ian Reeve fished with Colin Granger with the pair boating 13 fish. With the best flies being buzzers and a small Cat’s Whiskers, landing fish from Toft, Farborough Dam Wall and Biggin Bay. Another boat that used Cat’s Whisker to great effect was that of P Sutton & R Andrews who landed 22 fish. Draycote member Martyn Hancox used a white tadpole to land 11 fish in a 5 hour session. Fishing up around the Tower Bank and then later in the day at the Flat Stones Paul Newnam & Matt Crisp boated 16 fish all taken on buzzers including 2 cracking fish at 6lb.

A near identical day weatherwise as the day previous, as a result of the 2 warm days, there had been huge of large buzzers. On the bank Mr J Fox enjoyed a great days sport landing 12 fish all on buzzers, from Toft. Tom Rochford also fished from the bank landing 4 fish on buzzers and Diawl Bachs. Out on the boats Chris Tuck and Christopher Jarratt landed 23 fish with the best method being the bung. With the key to fish the flies deep with most of the fish taking at 12ft. The best area the lads found was along the Tower Bank. Andy lane fished a midge tip with a team of buzzers in Biggin Bay and the Cornfield to boat 22 fish with his best flies being a crisp packet buzzer. Ben Beckwith & Dave Dixon also fished buzzers to land 14 fish between them. Ian Spicer landed 14 fish all of which took black buzzers on a midge tip with his best fish a fantastic overwintered rainbow which can be seen here www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Sunday started fairly bright and calm and stayed that way through most of the day. Season permit holder Andy Jordan caught a brace from the bank on red cormorants. Local angler Paul Lloyd caught half a dozen fish from the bank. Paul fished at the Swans Nest using 12 foot slow tip line and black buzzers. Draycote regular Stan Hillman caught 9 fish whilst bank fishing from the Tower Bank using blood worm patterns, black buzzers and hares ears. Out on the boats season permit holder Les Lerigo netted a total of 10 fish from the Cornfield on a mixture of snakes and buzzers. Jim Smith and Ed Douglas had over 30 fish to the boat using buzzers and dries at various points around the reservoir.

On Sunday we ran our very popular Rio and Sage day. This is a day when we are visited by Simon Gawesworth of RIO, Peter Knox and Chris Anderson of SAGE along with Jim Fearn & Martin Robinson of Guide Flyfishing. It’s an opportunity for anglers to come along and meet the people who help design RIO & SAGE products, with the opportunity under their guidance to try out various RIO lines and SAGE rods. There was also the opportunity to go out fishing with RIO & SAGE products under the guidance of our Draycote guiding team, Lee Henfrey, Jim Sheehan & Tom Bird. The day was both extremely busy and successful with all staff and guides fully booked throughout the day. A quick lunch was eaten on the move in between the morning and afternoon sessions before things finally came to a close at 6pm in the evening. At this point in time, just to show how keen they are, our visitors from across the pond went out fishing for a couple of hours, with all of them hooking into some good quality trout to finish off what was a very successful day.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

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

2023 Membership options visit our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/

Main Entrance Road Maintenance – The Great Easton Road main entrance to Eyebrook is now open as normal.

Week Ending: 09 April 23                    Rod Av: 9.0    Water Temperature: 10-11°C

There was a cold, clear start to Monday which warmed as the day progressed. More importantly though, it was dry which given the weather at the weekend was a welcome break. The water clarity was still in a state of deterioration at the start of the day but by late afternoon it was starting to clear. It was a quiet start to the week & out of those venturing out, All water member Ian Jobe had a very productive day. Fishing from the float tube, Ian landed 14 fish, catching along the margins up the Willows & Stoke Dry on nymphs.

After a frosty start, Tuesday developed into a right & sunny, spring day. Once the air temperature had increased & the sky had begun to fill with Buzzers the fish started to feed. Fish were caught from both the boats & the banks with various methods. Stewart Normington straight lined Nymphs from the bank & had a very productive day landing 17 fish from the Hawthorns/Sam’s Dyke area. Max Woolnough worked out the fish preferred Buzzers fished static, so he opted to fish black buzzers under the Bung for his 10 fish. Elsewhere, Eyebrook Member Gareth Brooks & his boat partner Clive had 19 fish to the boat fishing the early season favourite, Black & Green lures down the Hawthorns. The Eye brook is now running clear which means the water clarity up the top end of the Reservoir will start to dramatically improve.

Wednesday brought with it a light south westerly breeze & plenty of cloud cover. By late morning/early afternoon there was a light drizzle that developed into light rain brought in by a now moderate south westerly wind.  As predicted, the water clarity up the top end of the reservoir had improved & consequently this whole general area fished very well. Experienced & knowledgeable Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey was out with All Water Member Ed Douglas, knowing that the top end of the reservoir would more than likely clear first, they headed up to Stoke Dry. Getting into fish straight away they had a very productive session landing a high number of fish on Washing Lined floaters with a FAB on the point & nymphs above it. Also on the boats, fishing day 2 of a 5-day short day package, Fergie Ferguson caught a lot of fish 3ft down on the Bung. Fergie was also fishing the Rutland Bank, but a bit further along from Stoke Dry towards the Willows. The fish along the Rutland bank were feeding hard on Buzzers & were getting caught consistently throughout the day. The most productive methods for these fish were either straight lined buzzers, washing lined buzzers or the bung. From the bank, Eyebrook member, Keith Johnson had a good session landing 6 fish on small black Muskins from Sam’s Dyke. The fish seem to be moving slightly further out from the margins & those wading seem to be the more successful.

It was a very damp start to Thursday, with the rain giving way to bright sunshine in the afternoon. The wind had swung round to a North Westerly by late morning & built in strength as the day progressed. Bright sunshine & a strong wind always makes the fishing more challenging. Given the conditions, the reservoir fished very well with fish caught from the boats & the banks. Those on the bank found it more of a challenge when the wind changed & began to colour the Hawthorns & Sam’s Dyke. Eyebrook member Roy Swinfield had a productive day, fishing natural patterns on floating lines, down at the Hawthorns & Sam’s Dyke. Max Bazeley & Keith Johnson both landed 6 fish from the same area, which was very respectable, given the cold winds & conditions. There were some great catch returns from the boats with the visiting Paisley Patterns Fly Fishing Club enjoying the first day of a 3-day short break landing 90 fish between 5 of them. Rob Green also had a great day, landing over 20 fish whilst teaching his daughter to fly fish. The fish have been feeding hard on the buzzers & have been caught on the Bung, Washing line & straight-lined buzzers. The most productive boat area has been the Rutland bank from the Willows to Stoke Dry.

Despite an overcast start, Friday developed into a great example of a warm spring day with hardly any breeze. This saw the fish continue to feed hard on the buzzers throughout the day & subsequently Eyebrook again fished very well. There were some very high catch returns recorded from various locations, but the most productive area remained the Willows down to Stoke Dry. Fish fell to Buzzers fished in all manner of methods, Washing Line, Straight Line & under the Bung. Those on the washing line found the Nymphs to be more successful than Buzzers. Being lighter, they remained in the fish feeding depth for longer with the black Muskins proving to be a particularly effective fly when fished on the washing line. Which is particularly useful when fishing the shallower areas. There were a few anglers out practicing for the forthcoming Greys Pairs qualifying round & some fish were found in the Main Basin, Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke area. Now this could well be a case of that the fish from the latest stocking, were finally beginning to make an appearance, time will tell.

Saturday was a very similar script to Friday, both weather wise & fishing wise. The only real variation was that the fish that were found previously in the basin & along Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke were now very prominent & showing up in great numbers. This would surely pose a question or two for the Competitors of tomorrows Greys Pairs about where to start. What would not help with this, was that there was still plenty of buzzer feeding fish getting caught on Buzzers & Nymphs over along the Rutland Bank, from the Willows down to Stoke Dry. Today also marked the last day of a 3-day visit for the Paisley Patterns party who had an exceptional 3 days on Eyebrook. Between the 5 of them they had 255 fish between them over the 3 days. Well done all, we look forward to seeing you all again in September. From the banks, Eyebrook members Bob Margery & Steve Lawrence had 7 & 6 fish respectively in Dogwood Bay, fishing the Washing Line with a Fab on the point & Nymphs above it.

Sunday saw Eyebrook host the latest round of the Greys Pairs. Fished to a 12 fish boat limit, with a time bonus, all 19 boats reached their limit. In the build up to the Competition the Willows to Stoke Dry had fished really well & fish were beginning to show from Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke. On the day the Rutland Bank just did not fish, probably succumbing to weeks previous angling pressure. The Leicester Bank, however, did fish, with all the Pairs getting finished there, even those who initially started on the opposite bank. Fish were caught on a variety of methods, pulling on sinking lines, nymphs under the bung, washing lined nymphs & straight-lined buzzers. Well done to all competitors & congratulations to all those that qualified for the 2023 Final on Lyn Brenig. Elsewhere, Eyebrook member Malcolm Thompson landed 8 fish off the bank down the Hawthorns to Sam’s Dyke on nymphs. It has been best to remain mobile to find the fish, even on the banks, if you have had no interest in 30mins….. move.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2023 Membership details Visit   www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/ for details of our 2023 membership options

Week Ending: 9^th April   Rod Av: 4.3      Water Temperature: 9c+

Monday and at last a decent weather forecast. Fishing proved to be trickier than expected although Howard Davies found the winning combination of black diawl bach which caught him 11 trout. Other anglers caught with floating or midge tip lines with #14 #16 black buzzer, cruncher, diawl bach. With the lighter winds it must be worth looking down the Thornton arm.

Tuesday & a better days fishing with a 5.0 rod average. Anglers took our advice with the better forecast allowing anglers to comfortably fish the Markfield arm. Anglers caught using a DI5 with black & green or silver black humungous or fished a midge tip or floating line with #14 black buzzer, #12 cruncher. Mark Stone caught 5 for his mornings visit, S Fairgrieve & K Cowen caught 12 with H Wood & P Mee catching 16. Dave & Sharon Ryalls fished an indicator to catch their 10 trout with P Broad fishing a diawl bach to catch his 8 trout. D Gillfillan also fished a morning session catching his 8 on humongous patterns.

Wednesday, fish are opposite the lodge, wood & corner of the wood with anglers also finding fish down the Markfield arm to the Tern raft. Yesterday afternoon martins were working the main basin all afternoon, a sure sign that a hatch was taking place. Richard Dayman caught 20+ with the majority down the Markfield arm past lonesome pine on his white & green pattern. Greg Weatherdon caught 6 off the corner of the wood on damsel and diawl bach with Martin Hosking catching his 6 on various patterns, cats whisker, fab, cormorant & crunchers.

Thursday and a wet start to the day, which improved by 9.30am. Anglers took our advice and fished the corner of the wood down into the Markfield arm. Our guide Lee took Chloe & her grandfather out for a two hour experience session catching 6 on buzzers under a bung, photographs on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore Dave Pritchard fished buzzers in front of the lonesome pine catching 4 trout with T Lorrimer catching the majority of his 6 trout down the Markfield arm.

Friday an early frost gave way to a light wind and at times warm sunshine. Majority of the anglers fished from the corner of the wood and down the Markfield arm using sink 3 lines or floaters. The bung is also working, 6ft leader below the bung with top dropper 3ft point fly 6ft. Black buzzer #14 #12, small cats whisker, blue flash damsel were the top patterns. S Wilson & D Dyer caught 12. Ian Leach & M Cowley boated 13 for their visit with L Serrano catching 12. John Bebbington fished black buzzers to catch his 8 trout with Chris Sayer catching 7 for his mornings visit on a variety of patterns.

Saturday with another early morning frost it was mid morning before the fish started to feed. Opposite the lodge and down the Markfied arm. Sink 3 lines with blobs, cats whiskers and buzzers or a floating line with diawl bach, small black nymph patterns and buzzers. Howard Davies caught 15 for his mornings visit on a black diawl bach, Keith Cowen fished a cats whisker to catch his 6 trout with B Sibley & M Clay catching 11. Mark Hunt fished an afternoon catching 9 on diawls and bobs bits. Bobby & George caught 30 on boobies and buzzers.

Sunday with a south westerly offered good conditions. B Perrie caught 11 on black buzzers, All Water member J Reynold caught 10 also on black buzzer with N Organ and Mick Revell fishing from their float tubes catching 19 on diawls, cruncher and damsel. With the area opposite the lodge and down the Markfield arm best with the majority catching 30yds+ off the bank.