Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 27th August 2017
Telephone 01788 812018
As ever, prospects have remained in the hands of the weather gods given the time of year & this week has been another of varied results. The warm front towards the end of the week has led to a slight increase in water temperatures but the algal bloom that has been around for the last couple of weeks has not developed further, leaving water clarity reasonable. The trout population have largely remained high in the water column and, once again, the very best of catches have been to those anglers fishing well-presented dries, especially when blessed with an overcast sky, decent ripple & development of wind lanes & slicks, which has occurred quite a few times this week. In all, 238 anglers visited the fishery this week catching a total of 729 trout to record a rod average of 3·06, a slight improvement on the previous week. The venue remains the domain of the boat angler, again as expected for the end of August. However, some good sport has been enjoyed by regular bank anglers & early fry feeding fish are still being encountered by them, especially in the area of the Overflow & Rainbow Corner.
Monday continued where Sunday left off with favourable fishing conditions and lots of fish showing – especially from ‘P’ Buoy down to the aerators. Many reported covering rafts of moving fish but finding it hard to get confident takes. Ed Douglas stuck to his dries all day in the boat, primarily Crippled Midge patterns, to end with a hard fought for 14 to the net. John Dickens boat fished in similar style managing 12 to his Big Red. Kieron Thomas & his brother concentrated on numerous drifts off the Draycote Water Dam & found a black hopper to be their best pattern. Their combined total was 28 to the net. Describing their experience as “superb”, the pair noted that their catch included six grown on fin perfect bars of silver in the 3-4lbs bracket. Monday ended the day with a rod average of 4·7.
Tuesday morning looked ideal with overcast skies & a 6-9 mph southerly breeze. Season ticket rod Kevin Rees took advantage of the conditions & managed a very creditable 21 to the net. All of Kevin’s catch was taken on his own Crippled Midge patterns on a variety of different drifts out over open water. Graham Pearson & Geoff Wanless also shared a boat & found fish willing to rise to their dries during the morning session, mainly in the slicks created off the end of the boils. However, as the day progressed they found the need to search the depths, finding trout willing to hit large lures deep. Despite conditions for the bank anglers continuing to prove tough, congratulations must go to regular “bankie” Peter Allen who caught a magnificent 5lbs brown trout which had been fry feeding at the Overflow. His specimen succumbed to an Appetiser.
By Wednesday water temperatures had crept up to 19°C & conditions proved to be tough all day with a rod average drop to 1·5. Father & son team Jim & Richard Hall nevertheless shared a nine fish tally to their boat & Ed Douglas couldn’t resist another day on the water ending with eleven. Once more to dries fished on drifts off the main Draycote Water Dam . Mr Baker fished a Big Red to land four rainbows off the Tower & also out near A buoy, whilst Mr Williams reported action in the last hour, also to a Big Red, which helped him to land three rainbows.
Thursday saw a mainly bright start and with a light westerly blowing, some cloud cover soon developed. Lea Tones drifted A to M buoy and was rewarded with 7 rainbows on a mix of dries – Big Reds, CDCs and Hoppers. He commented on the quality of his fish, together with the fact that he had also lost lots more than he managed to land. Tony Broadway also did very well in the boat using dries with 5 for the pot & a further 10 released. Dave Heseltine stuck to his red headed Diawl Bachs to land 8 as did Tim Ham who recorded a “Great Day on Hare’s Ear Nymphs”. The day ended with many coming off the water early to attend Tom Bird’s talk in the Sailing Club on Dry Fly Tactics. Seventy-Five anglers enjoyed what proved to be a very professionally presented masterclass. Our thanks go to Tom for all his hard work preparing for the evening (and giving away so many “secrets” of his success), together with the Sailing Club for allowing us to use their facilities. Thanks also to their staff who catered for us so well throughout the evening.
Friday was another of those difficult days with bright sunshine & a bit of a hike in the algal bloom. Water temperatures remained on the 19°C mark. Kevin Rees found his usual high tally of fish to the net reduced to a difficult five, albeit all on dries. However, Mr Newman & Mr Rymer worked hard alternating between dries & deep fished damsel nymphs and managed 9 & 6 respectively. They found larger, more resident fish too with 10 over the 3lbs mark & the largest at 5lbs. On the bank, regular angler & season rod, Brian Allwood managed six to black buzzer whilst Ian Richardson found a brace, one to a Minkie Boobie, the other on a Claret Hopper.
Saturday saw a rod average improvement to 3·3 despite a flat calm start. Yet again, we saw Ed Douglas on the water but this time he substituted his dry flies for crunchers which led him to a most creditable 24 fish total. Paul Morriss & Tim Llewlyn also excelled, fishing both the Flat Stones & the Aerators with a combination of Diawl Bachs fished on a washing line or dries – Bob’s Bits. They came off the water at 5pm having netted 15 apiece. Also afloat was Dave Bailey whose five fish tally to buzzer was topped with a fine 6lbs rainbow.
Sunday was hot with clear skies & little ripple. Afternoon temperatures rose to 27°C with weather forecasts predicting the hottest August Bank Holiday weekend on record. Despite this, the fishery still managed a 3·11 rod average for the day with a very even spread of catch between the anglers. Jim Brennan & Chris Discombe both managed their four fish limit & top honours on the day went to George Leaton, whose regular Sunday drive up from West London paid off with six fish for the pot and a further two released. Season ticket holder Richard Walker boat fished with Mr Davis & they did well in the heat with a combined 12 fish tally.
The beginning of next week is set to continue hot & bright but more overcast skies with cooler temperatures are forecast to follow by mid-week which bodes well for improved fishing conditions.
Weekly Boat Draw
Congratulations to Mr Mike Bowen of Bridgnorth who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 238 Number Trout Taken: 197 Number Trout Released: 532 Total Catch: 729 Weekly Rod Average: 3·06
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 20:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:15
Boat Part Day: 08:30 until 14:30 – 14:30 until 20:15
Last 4 Hours from: 16:15 until 20:15 (Ticket sales available from 16:00)
Gutting Room Closes: 19:45
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:30
Fishery News
Trout Masters
Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!
Dates for your diary:-
Competition Contact
England Youth Loch Style National Draycote:- 10th September
Book online: https://www.anglingtrustevents.net/e/121/draycote
Boatmen required for this event, please contact the Draycote Lodge 01788 812018
TEFF Fundraiser. Dry Fly Championship 16th September – Ian Colclough – 01543 689117
Angling World Holiday Final – 23rd and 24th September c/o John Horsey
Troutmasters Final – 9th October. – See Fishery staff.
Boat manners & etiquette:
As is so often the way at this time of the year, many fish tend to gravitate towards the aerators as a comfort zone & naturally many anglers wish to get in amongst the action there. Please be aware that the area is a strictly no anchoring zone.
We also respectfully ask that all anglers demonstrate good boat manners & etiquette when fishing in close proximity to other vessels there & elsewhere in general. Incidents have been occurring where anglers have rudely reversed back up their drift into oncoming boats or have cut straight into the path of a drifting boat instead of taking their turn returning to the top of the drift. This is unsporting, spoils the action & enjoyment of others & understandably leads to frayed tempers. Should you find yourself at the receiving end of repeated displays of such poor boatmanship & bad etiquette, we ask that you phone the lodge in order that we can come out to rectify the situation ourselves as deemed appropriate.
Boat Cleanliness:
Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.
Guiding & Tuition:
Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.
Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
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