Draycote Report W/E 15th October 2023

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

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/

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Exclusion Zone  Due to the work being carried out on the Hensborough Bank there is an exclusion zone in place, clearly marked with yellow buoys. Under no circumstances are anglers to enter this area as there are divers in the water.

Week Ending:  Sunday 15th October 2023  Rod Av:  3.2  Water Temperature: 15°C

A bright day to the start the week Monday, with light weeks in the morning which dropped away completely around lunch. Tricky conditions for the Troutmasters, with 20 anglers taking to the bank hoping to be crowned champion. The session was fished bank only this year with 2 zones being chosen for the anglers to fish. Zone A, was Toft and Zone B Lincroft Point around to the Valve Tower. In the morning it was Zone A that fished best with fish being caught on a washing line set up with crunchers. Including a cracking 4lb 7oz Rainbow. In the afternoon it was the deeper water in Zone B that fished better, with Lincroft point and also the Valve Tower bank fishing well. Overall the winner of the match was Phil Green who landed 5 fish across his two sessions. The boats faired a little better than the bank with some good catches. Peter Evans landed 8 fish, using a washing line. Fished on either a 12ft slow tip or an intermediate with an Orange FAB on the point. With Peter’s best areas being around D Buoy or Y Buoy. Draycote member Graham Homer also used a washing line to great effect landing 9 fish with crunchers on the droppers being his best fly.

A calm start to the day, with low cloud with the sun breaking through around mid-morning and the wind picking up. However, the cloud rolled back in around lunch. Lee Patten & Peter Elliot fished on the boats landing 32 to the boat. With Peter opting to use dries taking 12, while Lee used a washing line to land 20 fish. Landing their fish around Rainbow Corner to A Buoy and then fishing around D Buoy. Tony Broadway fishing with Jim Hall landed 15 fish to their boat. With a bit of mix of methods, Tony used dries and then crunchers fished on a neutral density line. While Jim used snakes to great effect to land 6. Tony Broadway used dries to land 18 fish, with Midas and hoppers being his mist productive flies. Ian Bradfield fished with Paul Davision with the pair landing 26 fish to their boat. Landing them from J Buoy along the Farborough Dam wall and then around A Buoy and Rainbow Corner.

Strong blustery winds greeted us as we opened up on Wednesday morning, with the promise of showers throughout the day. Despite the conditions, those anglers that did venture out made some good returns. The bank here at Draycote is fishing quite well at the moment with the best of the fishing coming from the Swans Nest, Lincroft Point, The Old Pipe in Biggin Bay and the Tower Bank. Mr S Taylor caught a brace from the bank during a last 4 hour session, whilst Mr A Campbell had 4 fish off the bank in Toft Shallows. The best method was a floating line with cormorants and crunchers. Out on the boats Mr J Jacobs and Mr S Lloyd caught a dozen fish between them whilst fishing near B buoy. Mr Mike Nolan, Mr D Stott and Mr G Laking all had a brace each from the boats, but played their cards very close to their chest.

With a light north easterly breeze and good cloud cover, it was a great day to be out on Draycote Water on Thursday. The rod average for the day was 4.8, which is no surprise really, as fish can be seen in the top of the water column, right across the reservoir. Bank anglers are taking advantage of a great back end to the season with some good returns on a wide variety of methods and fly patterns. Draycote regular Ivor Bullock caught 4 fish from the bank using crunchers and floating fry from Lincroft          Point. Mick Cronin had a brace from the bank on lures from the Tower Bank. Stan Hillman caught half a dozen fish from the Tower Bank on a white minkie and remarked on the quality of the fish. Graham and Roger Davis took to the bank for a days fishing to net 8 fish between them. The pair used minkie boobies and fished from various points along the northern shoreline. Out on the boats the anglers were also having some great sport with Mr T fox and Mr M Hermitage netting over 30 fish between them on dries. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith had well over 20 fish to the boat between them using boobies and appetizers fished on intermediate lines. Ian and Bob fished along the Tower Bank as well As in Rainbow Corner.

Heavy overnight rain and strong winds made for an interesting start to Friday morning. A few brave souls ventured out onto the water but held to the leeward side of the reservoir. Strong winds dominated the day and limited the fishing, but perseverance paid off for all concerned. Season permit holder Ian Western caught a brace from the bank using lure patterns near the Valve Tower. Mr K Barnett and Mr R Bagnall had 8 fish between them using a mixture of lure patterns and nymphs in the top few feet of the water. Craig Middleton and Mike Smith took to the water to net 5 fish between them from a drifting boat on what they described as a very challenging day.

Light breezes with sporadic cloud cover on Saturday morning made for reasonable conditions out on Draycote Water. To be fair the fishing wasn’t easy on Saturday and this showed up in the rod average which had dropped to 3.4. Slow through the early part of the day, anglers were picking fish up on tequila blobs and humungus fished on intermediate lines. Season permit holder Paul Walley fished at various locations around the bank and netted 5 fish on cormorants and white snakes. Mr Steve Proffitt caught 4 fish from the bank at Lincroft Point using humungus as well as dries such as bob’s bits. Out on the boats young Jon Crowley used blobs on a fast glass to net 7 fish near M buoy. Mark Goodge and Sean Higgins had 11 fish to the boat using snakes on sinking lines from various areas of the reservoir. Tim Burn and Paul Mitchell caught 14 fish from a drifting boat in the top few feet of the water column using a washing line with crunchers as well as dries. Draycote regular Mr J McVay caught 5 fish on nemo crunchers and diawl bachs  from Rainbow Corner and Biggin Bay.

The first ground frost of the year Sunday morning with bright skies and Northwest winds. Not the easiest of conditions for the anglers taking to the water. On the bank the Draycote Fly Fishing Association (DFFA) hosted their Autumn bank pairs. Despite the difficult conditions there were a number of good catches from the bank for the DFFA. Paul Walley fished at either Lincroft point or in Dunns Bay to land 4 fish on black hoppers. Brian Allwood fished at Lincroft point using a snake to land 3 fish with a cracking 3lb Rainbow included in his bag. On the boats Tim & Dave Moody enjoyed a good day landing 17 fish between them using fry patterns and small snakes fished on intermediates and Di 3 sinking lines. Household all water members Neil & Sue Potts used a washing line set up with a FAB on the point and nymphs on the droppers in Rainbow Corner to land 14 fish. With the second half of the day once it had warmed fishing more productive. Another boat also landing 14 was that of Adam Labalistier and Ben Bayliss who used Di 3 sinking lines and fast intermediates with tubes and snakes. All water members Frazer Duffy Jnr & Snr landed 21 fish to their boat. Fishing smaller flies with a booby on the point and cormorants on the droppers. Landing their fish in Rainbow Corner, The Valve Tower and the Farborough Dam Wall. Fishery Manager Tom Bird fished with Jim Smith with the pair landing just short of 30 fish to the boat. With Tom using a Di 3 sweep sinking line with 2 small Snakes in olive and black. While Jim Smith used a Di 3 forty plus with 2 snake boobies. With the pair catching at Farborough Spit, S Buoy, J Buoy and the School Slips.

Upcoming Events.

21^st & 22^nd Army Championships 15 Boats.

26th November- Fur & Feather

Draycote’s closing date

The closing date for Draycote for this season will be Thursday 30^th November 2023.

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.

XC Weather – Forecast for CV23 8AB | XCWeather use this link for Draycote

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Draycote Water

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report 

Lodge – 01536 770264 & Fishery Mobile 07834581424

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/

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: 15^th October   Rod Av:  2.0      Water Temperature: 14°c

The week started with a gentle south westerly breeze that brought some cloud cover early on. As the day progressed, the wind dropped & the cloud disappeared which left the reservoir in a flat calm for much of the day. The bright, still conditions made the bank fishing somewhat challenging as the fish remained at distance in the deeper water. They may have been out of reach from the banks, but they were not out of reach from the boats. Subsequently, the reservoir fished well from the boats, with fish caught from the open water above the Island, 40-50m off the reeds at the Seat, In front of Robbo’s & off the netted bank & also round the tower in the Basin. Eyebrook Member Dean Shilton, fished Snakes from his Float Tube to take 9 fish above the Island, including a cracking Rainbow just short of 5lb at 4lb 15oz. All Water Member Andy Lilley had a very productive morning session landing 12 fish on Floating Lines & also a Midge Tip. Andy’s most productive fly was a Foam Daddy. Eyebrook Regular, Brian White caught very well in the Main Basin, fishing a Floating Line & Lures he landed 17 fish, which given the conditions was an excellent return. As you can see, despite the conditions, the fish remained high in the water column near the surface & most were caught subsurface.

Tuesday began as Monday had finished, looking like a mill pond in a flat calm. By mid-morning though a ripple had formed brought on by a building south westerly breeze which also brought a light covering of cloud. The wind at strengthened as the day wore on & on occasions it was very blustery which made for challenging conditions. This reflected in how the reservoir performed, with some finding it more challenging than others, which resulted in a varying catch return. From the bank, Kit Doleman caught 5 fish from the Chestnut to the Cowshed on a Washing Line with a Foam daddy on the point. Kit reported that there were no fish moving, but the Foam Daddy was still able to draw them up. That’s a great return from the bank Kit, well done.  Another to catch 5 was Eyebrook Member Tora Liggins. Tora took to the boat & landed her fish from 50m off the Netted Bank & also caught on a Foam Daddy. Regular Eyebrook visitor & All Water Member Ed Douglas had an exceptional day. Persevering with the Dries, trusting they would work, Ed landed well over double figures, most of which came from long drifts across the area of the Main Basin. Great angling Ed, well done.

It was a damp & blustery start to Wednesday with a strong south westerly pushing round to strong westerly as the day progressed. With the wind, came overcast skies & the occasional shower. The dense cloud meant that the fish would be up in the upper layers, feeding confidently & as it proved, happy to feed off the surface. Those that fished dries proved to be more successful than those that didn’t. Today we hosted the England Disabled Fly Fishers annual Fur & Feather which saw 17 anglers take to the water & between them they caught 64 fish which gave an excellent rod average of 3.8. Congratulations goes to Stephen Fairgrieve who was the winner on the day, well done. The most productive area was the Main Basin & the most productive method being the Dries with the Midas, Foam Daddies, Popper Hoppers all featuring high on the catch returns.

After the previous evenings heavy rainfall & the 180° change in wind direction, the fishing was always going to be somewhat challenging. In addition, as the day progressed, the air pressure began to plummet ahead of impending weather front that was due to come in overnight. Consequently, the reservoir fished slightly better in the morning than it did in the afternoon. The boat anglers generally found it very challenging, with a few fish caught relatively high up in the water column on Foam Daddies, nymphs & lures. The bank anglers found it more productive with Eyebrook Member Roy Swinfield catching 4 fish, 2 from the Chestnut & another 2 from the Island. All Water Member Jim Greasley fished further up the reservoir at the Cowshed & had landed 8 fish. Jim targeted the feeding fish around the weedbeds & his bag included a couple of fish over 3lb which is typical of the fish to be found around that area of the reservoir.

Friday was a day of strong winds & heavy rain. The wind, initially from the Southwest, moved round to a North Westerly as the day progressed & brought with it some persistent, heavy showers. Subsequently, there were very few boats out. Those that did venture out caught in the Main Basin on a variety of methods, Foam Daddies on a Floater or Pulling Lures on a sinking line. Both proved to be productive, although the strong wind meant that Pulling Lures was the easier to control.

It was a cold, clear start to Saturday with the air temperature into single figures. After an initial calm start, the wind developed into a moderate North Westerly with the “north” factor in the wind, ensuring that the air temperature remained cool. Initially, fish were caught off the surface on Foam Daddies before the autumnal sun got high in the sky but as the day progressed, fish were getting caught a few feet deeper in the water column. Eyebrook Member Bob Margery had a productive morning session landing 7 fish, 3 of which came to Foam Daddies early on & the rest to a white Snake on an Intermediate. Bob caught all his fish out from the Chestnut. The marginal areas seemed to be the more productive with a few fish coming from Dogwood Bay & the bank anglers have found that the stretch between the Chestnut & the Cowshed is still fishing well. Another Eyebrook member Keith Johnson caught 4 fish from this area earlier in the day. For the boats, the Main Basin is still holding fish, but the most productive method seems to be pulling snakes on either a Di3 or Di5, covering plenty of water from a drifting boat.

There was another early morning cold snap on Sunday, with the air temperature down as low as 2°C & the skies clear & bright. The Eye Brook was also showing some coloured water, a result of the recent heavy rainfall & was now beginning to colour some of the northern parts of Reservoir. The day started with a gentle northerly breeze that developed into a strong to moderate westerly & the skies remained bright & clear all day which made for challenging fishing conditions. There were some discussions to whether the cold start would invite some of Eyebrook’s larger resident fish to feed. We did not have to wait for long for the answer with Eyebrook Members & brothers Neil & Dean Shilton, both out in Float Tubes, landed some cracking overwintered fish. Dean had a Rainbow of 5lb 14oz & Neil had a Brown of 9lb. Both fish took fry patterns, were weighed & returned strongly. Elsewhere, All Water Member John Reynolds took 6 fish off the bank, fishing from the Cowshed to the Tern Rafts & the Limit of Fishing, on fry & shrimp patterns. Sunday saw us host the All-Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers, which saw 25 anglers take to the water in very challenging conditions. Those that caught better than others were fishing Fry imitations, be that Sparklers, Snakes or Cats Whiskers.

The forecast for the forthcoming week looks settled with an easterly breeze for the most part which will see the water temperature continue to drop & the Fry Feeding carry on.

Upcoming Events.

21^st October – Greylags – 10 Boats.

29^th October – Eyebrook Fur & Feather – All Boats.

2023 Winter Restrictions.

From the 01 November, we will be operating a reduced number of boats, 10, so pre-booking will be important. Also, the bank fishing will see some winter restrictions, with Banking Fishing limited from the Chestnut, down the Leicester Bank, to the Lodge & along the Dam, around to Robbo’s Cabin. These winter bank restrictions have been increased since last year.

2023 Eyebrook Closing Date.

The last day of fishing on Eyebrook is Monday 20^th November.

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48-to-72-hour forecast.

XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE16_8RP use this link for Eyebrook.

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Eyebrook Reservoir.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings For details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: 15^th October Rod Av: 0.6  Water Temperature:15c

Monday to Thursday we were starting to see more fish on the surface at times with anglers catching a few trout from different areas, in front of the wood, Markfield arm. Varied patterns and lines from sink tips to fast sinkers with small patterns, blobs, booby, fry fished as slow as possible best method. Anglers with fish finders report a number of fish across the main basin at 18ft although their seeing more fish moving into the shallows.

Friday, we had heavy rainfall which put the level of the reservoir up by 6inch, water clarity reduced, although I do think as the level drops & clarity improves over the next few days the fresh water, I think can only help us to get this autumn fishing better.

Sunday morning first frost of the autumn which can again only help with improving the clarity.

As I always recommend call the lodge for latest report

Thornton 2023 last day of the fishing season Thursday 30th November

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.

XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE67_1AR use this link for Thornton.

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Thornton Reservoir