Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 3rd September 2017
Telephone 01788 812018
Yet another week of contrasting fishing conditions with a mix of highs & lows in results as a consequence. Some of the highs have indeed been exceptional & the weekly rod average continues its rise, ending this period at 3·63. In total, 227 anglers visited the venue this week taking 242 trout & returning 583.
Monday saw a challenging start to the week with very bright, sunny, hot conditions topped by a flat calm start. Most rods struggled as a result. But top marks to Richard Reeve who worked really hard for twelve on dries. Richard fished Big Reds & CDCs on drifts between the Overflow & A Buoy. Dennis Tidmarsh & boat partner Ian Western also excelled given the conditions with 15 to the boat.
Tuesday saw high cloud & a light north west breeze together with an improvement in water clarity. Dry fly & nymph enthusiast Ed Douglas was back on the water & enjoyed great sport landing 20 rainbows on small home tied dry fly patterns. Whilst C Buoy & the Aerators produced well for him, Ed was one of many commenting on how well spread the fish are now all over the venue. Colin Adams & John Maxwell shared a boat for 8 & 12 respectively, whilst Keith Coley & boat partner Bob Taft had another good day with a 14 fish total – all off the surface. Sport, albeit sporadic, has begun to pick up for the bank rods with Peter Allen, Gordon Slack & John Dews all netting three apiece.
Wednesday was a great day out on the water. Rain on a 9-10 mph breeze early on followed by calm & overcast from mid afternoon. Ironically, the top five rods were the first five to book in that day. In total they landed 75 rainbows equating to a 15 fish rod average between them. Virtually all of their fish came to dries presented over deep open water. Andy Birkett & Brent Vinall started their 4 day holiday break in grand style with an 18 & 10 fish tally. Colin Adams & John Maxwell were back for more fishing CDCs & Klinkhammers to take another 11 & 18, whilst Ed Douglas, also unable to stay away from the place, also took 18 on small dries.
Thursday saw anglers experiencing a very hard morning with a light SW breeze but extremely bright sunshine. As always though there are bound to be some that master the conditions &the best of the sport went to Bernard Orr who did well with 8 for the pot plus another 6 caught & released to a variety of nymphs & dries in size 12 & 14s. The Birkett/Vinall partnership came in with 10 each to the net, mostly to very small diawl bachs fished on a washing line. Most anglers were seeing lots of fish but struggling to persuade them to take. The day ended on a rod average of 2·7. The majority of fish were to be found way out over open water & no fish were caught by bank anglers on Thursday.
Friday dawned to another bright sunny, but quite chilly, start on a 6-7 NNW breeze. Clear night skies are helping to slowly knock back the high water temperatures of such a hot summer. Terry Tappenden enjoyed a very good session on the bank with a four fish limit & another four caught & released. Stan Hillman & Mick Cronin also bank fished, recording five fish each by the end of their stint. Friday though was to see the performances of Andy & Bruce peak. Fishing a 50/50% split of dries & washing lined nymphs, they had a fantastic third day with 35 & 22 rainbows respectively. Crippled Midge & Midas were their top dry fly patterns with small Diawl Bachs their favoured nymph. Also in the boats Paul Newham & Eric Rymer found a joint 16 tally, all off the top, to Orange CDC “F†flies
Down to earth with a bump on Saturday, with extremely sunny skies & a mirror flat calm for most of the day. For Andy Birkett & Bruce Vinall it was a hard final day to their mini holiday & they had to work especially hard for their 13 fish (5 & 8) final total, once more to a mix of dries & nymphs. Richard Slater made the best of the conditions too, managing to tempt a dozen to his dry fly presentations over deep water. It was nice to see Tony Parker back on the water, afloat with Andrew Lewis. He commented on how they really had to work at it but they fined down to very small nymphs & managed a most creditable ten fish each before coming off early. Saturday saw a 3·2 rod average (which was down from a strong 5·37 the day before).
The arrival of gusty SE winds with a notable nip in the air, albeit forecast, was not what anglers wanted for Sunday. Whilst many struggled because of this, others did get to grips with the change & some good results were recorded. Of note was that comment after comment in the return sheets read, “driesâ€, “driesâ€, “dries†! The boat of Mike Weaver & Clive Wilkins did very well with 14 & 1 respectively to Daddy patterns & Midges. Ed was back yet again & he mixed tactics with 11 coming to his dries & a further 9 to Crunchers.
The best of the sport , for weeks & weeks,  has been out over the deeper, open water out from the main Draycote Water Dam & “central basinâ€, no doubt due to cooler water in that location. The spread of fish though is now clearly more widespread – indicative of a drop in the water temperatures. There has been a good hatch of small black buzzer throughout the last week which is also no doubt why the claret & black crippled midge patterns have produced so well of late. We have also seen a fair few daddy long legs on the water & it won’t be long before they are having a significant impact on the trout’s diet. Keep your eyes peeled also for the first of the back-end fry feeding, which cannot be far off. Some has already been witnessed but so far, it has been sporadic. Although we’re edging into that autumn period, there are three full months still to go with much fine sport to be had!
Weekly Boat Draw
Congratulations to Mr G Owen of Coalville who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.Â
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods:  227     Number Trout Taken: 242  Number Trout Released:  583 Total Catch:  825        Weekly Rod Average: 3·63
Current Fishing Times:
Bank:Â 07:30 until 20:00
Boat All Day:Â 08:30 until 20:00
Boat Part Day:Â 08:30 until 14:30 -Â 14:30Â Â until 20:00
Last 4 Hours from: 16:00 until  20:00 (Ticket sales available from 15:45)
Gutting Room Closes: 19:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:15
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.
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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