Draycote Water weekly report week ending 18th March 2018
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
A great week from Monday to Friday until ‘The Beast from the East 2’ hit Draycote once more with a 17°C temperature change. The 16°C of Friday afternoon gave way to -1°C on Saturday. This cold snap did upset things slightly as the high winds forced many anglers to change their plans. This was a great shame as the fishing had been improving all week with rod averages on Thursday and Friday reading 17.7 and 11.6 respectively. However, despite this dip in the weather a total of 149 hardy anglers visited the fishery during the period & were rewarded with a total catch of 1514 trout. This represents a10.16 rod average for the period.
Monday saw the heavens open but despite continuous rain all day this didn’t dampen the catches from both bank or boat. M Glover and G Goodwin fished the Swan’s Nest using black and green tinheads to land 11 fish between them. Over the Cornfield new season ticket holder M Ravenscroft had a great mornings sport on blobs. Another season ticket holder enjoying plenty of action was Steve Robinson who also landed 11 with a black and green lure on the point and a black and red buzzer on the dropper. Out on the boats I Jones and S Loges landed 16 rainbows between them on a variety of lures.
A much-improved weather day on Tuesday with a flat calm start building to a lovely 5mph south westerly wind. On the bank. Alan Bettles enjoyed good sport on the Cornfield fishing with a black and green tinhead on a floater to land 22. Tony Ward also caught 16 from the Cornfield. Fishing higher up the Cornfield Mr Foulds used a combination of snakes and diawl bachs to land 18. Over at the Swan’s Nest side of Toft season ticket holder Peter Elliot enjoyed fantastic sport too. He used a floating line teamed with shrimps and a FAB to land over thirty. Out on the boats once more, I Jones and S Lodges also had over 30 fish to the boat fishing over Croft Shoal with dabblers and black and green lures fished on floating lines. Also, boat fishing but down in Toft, Mr Mason & Mr Ray netted 18 between them on orange lures. Another boat pairing catching well in Toft was that of Yousef Dar and Rick Ruff who landed 37 fish between them fishing with sinking lines and boobies.
A cold south easterly wind chilled things off again going into Wednesday. This meant that the best shelter was at the far end of Toft and at the bottom end the Cornfield towards Greys Barn. On the bank Mike Oliver had a fantastic day sport landing a total of 32 fish, Mike always opts for the natural approach and took all his fish on pheasant tail nymphs and buzzers. Mr R Ravenhill enjoyed good sport in Toft landing 16 fish on a variety of lures. Geoff Preston boat fished fish for a short morning session netting 14 fish on a Wet Cel 2 & floating line with gold head damsel patterns. He described the fishing in Toft and the willows at the end of the Cornfield as ‘like shelling peas!”. Season ticket holder Richard Walker took to the boat with L Merrett and between them landed over 40 fish down in Toft using floating lines in combination with weighted flies.
Lighter winds on Thursday and air temperatures of 12°C really got the fish going and even increased the water temperature to 5°C. As a result, the fishing went crazy with both boat and bank anglers all making the most of the conditions. The days rod average came out at an impressive 17.7! On the bank in the lower section of the Cornfield, just after the large copse of willows in Toft, was Peter Elliott fishing with Lee Patten. The pair used a midge tip line with a black snake on the point and an orange blob on the dropper to land over 30 fish apiece. Fishing slightly higher up the Cornfield was season rod John Dickens who landed 25 fish on a 3 inch per second sinking line and a black and green taddy. Out on the boats Adam Greenhalgh and Dave Haseltine experienced frantic action with 74 rainbows to the boat from the north shore side of Toft. They too used black and green lures plus cats whiskers fished on floating lines. In another boat was Mark Evans who used the same tactics to land 30. Making the most of a day off was Guiding & Tuition Manager Tom Bird and Fishery Management (UK) guide Lee Henfrey. Fishing around the willows in Toft, and further to the right-hand side towards the north shore, they had a “cricket score” day with over 100 fish to the boat. They used 3 inches per second sinking lines with boobies in the morning before opting for some buzzers on a floater in the afternoon. They also found fish off Lincroft Point & at Croft Shoal as well as further round in Biggin Bay. To book a guided session on Draycote with either Lee or Tom visit www.flyfishtuition.co.uk or call the lodge to speak to Tom on 01788 812018. Fishing around Croft Shoal and Middle Shoal in search of overwintered fish were season rods Ed Douglas and Jim Smith. They fished 7 inches per second sinking lines and boobies and brought 37 fish to the boat including several overwintered specimens.
Friday saw the conditions improve even further with the temperatures in the afternoon hitting 16°C. Out on the boats fishing around the willows in Toft, Shaun Higgins and Ian Bradfield landed 68 trout between them fishing sinking lines and boobies. Howard Rutter and his wife Marion also enjoyed a great day’s sport from Toft landing 31 using a floating line with a Montana on the point but took over half the fish on buzzers on the droppers. Ian Pugh and boat partner Tim Jones fished cat’s whiskers in Toft to land 27 fish. On the bank season ticket holder Paul Walker had great sport, also landing 27. All of Pauls fish came to buzzers and nymphs. Also enjoying fantastic sport for the last four hours from the bank was Gary Turner and J Cousins who landed 15 fish each on lures from the Swan’s Nest in Toft.
Saturday saw a massive deterioration in the weather as the forecast ‘Beast from the East MK2’ returned with a vengeance. Strong east north easterly winds exceeded our safety limits for boat angling and temperatures dived 17°C from the previous day to -1°C. As a result, only 7 hardy anglers braved it from the bank. They were, nevertheless, rewarded with some good catches. Mark Hunt chilled his way through a short 4-hour session landing 7 rainbows from the Swan’s Nest on a viva. The Hollingshead’s landed 10 between them on Montanas from the same area. The best catch of the day though came from the opposite bank at Toft where Stephen Peart landed 20 using a midge tip with a hot head cat on the point in conjunction with cormorant and diawl bach droppers.
An even colder day followed on Sunday with overnight snow and ice making it a slow start for the brave anglers who fished in the artic conditions. The huge chill factor together with a fierce ENE wind led all anglers to opt for the bank in Toft. Jason Sly’s hardy efforts were rewarded with a dozen lovely trout. All taken from the bottom end of Toft near the nature reserve buoys on a floating line with size 12 black buzzers on the droppers and a goldhead keeping things steady on the point. Kieron Barnes took 4 on buzzers too whilst Steve Cullen winkled out another four to a hot head cat presented on a midge tip.
Following our exceptionally cold & wintry weekend current forecasts suggest that it will become drier, calmer & certainly less cold. Remember however, that we are still in March when even the comparatively good days can change rapidly. Therefore, whilst the prospects of a continuation of tremendous sport are high, be mindful of the elements & pay extra attention to clothing choices & layer up appropriately.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mick King of Tenbury Wells who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 149 Number Trout Taken: 177 Number Trout Released: 1337
Total Catch: 1514 Weekly Rod Average: 10.16
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until : 18:00
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 18:00
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 13:00 PM 13:00 until 18:00
Last 4 Hours from: 14:00 until 18:00 (Ticket sales available from 13:45)
Gutting Room Closes – 17:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 18:15
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
Loch Style Team Championships- 30th June/1st July- Angling Trust- www.anglingtrustevents.net
Scierra Pairs- 29th July- Phil Dixon- www.scierrapairs.co.uk
10th/11th August- Anglers World Holidays- www.anglersworld.flyfishingchampionships.uk
Troutmasters Final – Monday 8th October – See Fishery staff. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FISHERY WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY FOR THIS BOAT & BANK EVENT
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 matter 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. If waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
Follow Us on
facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore
twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore