Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 24th September 2017
Telephone 01788 812018
A busy week at Draycote with improvement in the bank fishing together with the build up to the Anglers World Holidays Final which was held on Sunday. There is a good spread of fish now throughout the reservoir and the boat anglers have been recording catches from almost all parts of the venue. Bank anglers have also been fairing much better with fish being caught from the Swan’s Nest, Cornfield, Lincroft Point, Tower Bank and the Overflow. On occasion fish have been feeding right in the margins and unnecessary wading has spooked them out. As is usually the case at this time of the year, fish are being caught on a wide variety of patterns & tactics from both boats and bank. Dries remain probably the best method closely followed by washing line and nymphs as fish generally remain high in the water column. Damsels are also producing but fry patterns are being used more effectively now as more & more fish are turning to fry feeding – particularly on small perch. The rod average for this week was 3.5.
Monday started overcast with a light northerly breeze which picked up as the day went on. Dries were working well, as was the washing line with most fish being caught out in the middle of the reservoir. Ed Douglas returned 22 fish which were all caught on dries. Likewise, Kevin Rees did well on the dries, catching 13 fish on Bob’s Bits. James Raw netted 9 fish from a boat with regular Ray Cramp managing 10. Nick Righton also boated 5 using emergers.
A foggy start on Tuesday morning only began to clear up from about 10 o’clock. Season permit holder Roly Hill caught well from the bank on the Cornfield and was finished by lunchtime with five netted. Tony Broadway, also fishing from the bank, caught 13 on crunchers. Gordon Slack caught 4 rainbows from the bank whilst Stuart Lee, on a holiday visit from Canada, had 15 from the Cornfield on diawl bachs. Boat anglers Mr C & N Butler caught 4 trout apiece using lures on a sinking line. Mr L Evans netted 10 fish from a boat.
Wednesday dawned with overcast skies and a light northerly breeze with conditions looked good. Anglers reported a slow start to the day with fish coming short to the dries. Geoff Preston fished a damsel on a slow intermediate line to net 6 from B buoy. Ed Douglas performed really well once again boating 23 fish on dries! Mr G McGinley and Mr G Pelini caught 19 fish between them from a boat. Mr Rough, visiting on a 3 day break, caught 6 on a mixture of claret dabblers and nymphs.
On Thursday Graham Pearson and Keith Jones had 18 fish to the boat. They fished across the middle of the reservoir using a hover line and FABs. The highlight for Graham however, was a splendid 6lbs 8oz rainbow that fell to his Big Red dry fly tied in size 12. Draycote regular George Leaton had 5 fish to lures fished near the flat stones & Brian Warwick fished the bank to catch 4 on small black buzzers. Thornton regulars Richard Dayman and John Kirk shared a boat & netted 10 on a variety of drifts over open water. Bank fishing partners Mick Cronin and Stan Hillman had an excellent day on the bank searching out fry feeders. They landed a total of 18 fish between them, one of which was a 7lbs brown. We were pleased to welcome the English Fly Fishing Association who held their autumn match on Thursday. Thirty three anglers took part ending the day with a total of 139 rainbows between them for a match average of 4·1. David Moore won the event with an eight-fish bag weighing 17lbs 7oz. Their top guest rod however, was Martin Brocklebank, also with eight fish, but with a weight of 18lbs 1oz. Most of their fish came to slowly fished small nymph patterns fished just sub-surface on drifts across the middle from the lodge towards Lin Croft Point.
Friday was an overcast start once again and looked very promising. However, it proved to be a slow day for most with many anglers returning catches of between 2 and 4 fish. Season Permit holders Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennell reported “a tough day at the office”, with only 8 fish to the boat during a practice day for the weekends competition. John Clifford enjoyed an afternoon in the boat with 6 fish, while Steve Conway managed 3 “in tough conditions”.
Saturday was the official practice day for the Anglers World Holidays final. A total of 45 boats took to the water trying to work out the right tactics to net themselves the grand prize. Most anglers kept their cards very close to their chest and where giving no secrets away as to how they faired. The bank seemed to fish much better on Saturday with Mark Hunt returning 9 fish which he caught on fry patterns and cormorants whilst Brian Allwood netted 3 fish from Toft Shallows on a small lure. Dennis Jones caught 5 fish from the bank near the Overflow & Kasidit Leovriyakit was rewarded for his drive up from Bristol with a 6 fish tally from the Swan’s Nest.
On Sunday morning Stuart Lee ventured out on to the bank for the second time this week, prior to his return home to Canada. On advice, he fished small diawl bachs & crunchers on the Swan’s Nest to net 16 rainbows. Some were real grown on silver bars & Stuart is on his way back home now with a smile on his face. It was nice to see him again &, as always, the Draycote Team wish him all the very best. Sunday morning was a very busy start for the final of the Anglers World Holidays competition in which 100 competitors took part. Fifty boats departing from the harbour simultaneously was quite a sight & was broadcast live by organiser John Horsey. It is now posted as a video on the flyfishstore Facebook page & is well worth viewing.
Competitors were challenged by blue skies & sunshine and a cold start after clear night skies – totally different conditions to their practise day. Small flies, both nymphs & dries, appeared to be the order of the day with good presentation proving critical. Many rods later reported on the number of follows, refusals or missed takes, together with fish lost in play. At the end of the day 418 trout were landed giving a rod average of 4.18 with the average fish weight of 2lbs 1oz. Fished to a three fish kill then catch & release, the event could not have been closer in terms of the top three rods -with a single ounce separating each of them! Our congratulations go to Gareth Evans who took top honours with 11 fish for 22lbs 11oz. Second place went to defending champion Wayne Jones, again with 11 for 22lbs 10oz. Third spot, also 11 rainbows, went to Gareth Jones with 22lbs 9oz. The award for the largest fish of the day went to Martin Griffiths with a 4lbs 3oz rainbow. Our congratulations also go to Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker whose 10 fish total for 21lbs 3oz saw him take fourth place.
Weekly Boat Draw
Congratulations to Ms Jude Tuffs of Market Harborough who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 529 Number Trout Taken: 393 Number Trout Released: 1480
Total Catch: Â 1873 Weekly Rod Average: 3·5
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 19:00
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 19:00
Boat Part Day: 08:30 until 14:00 – 14:00 until 19:00
Last 4 Hours from: 15:00 until 19:00 (Ticket sales available from 14:45)
Gutting Room Closes: 18:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 19:30
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:-
Troutmasters Final Monday 9th October See Fishery staff.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FISHERY WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY FOR THIS BOAT & BANK EVENT
The Fur and Feather match.
This years Fur and Feather match will take place on Sunday 26th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.
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.
Early Morning Anglers
Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. Main gate is open from 7.30am
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
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