Draycote Water Fishing Report w/e Sunday 1st April 2018.
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
A week of cold blustery conditions intermingled with some heavy showers has made for some uncomfortable fishing at times. Nevertheless, the180 hardy souls who braved the elements this week were rewarded with excellent sport from the boats and bank. A total of 1474 trout were landed representing a weekly rod average of 8.18.
On Monday the bank anglers were catching well into double figures with Ed Douglas and Mike Oliver netting 15 and 16 respectively. Ed’s fish came mainly to buzzers with Mike catching on his Pheasant Tail patterns. Draycote regular Alan Bettles netted 13 the Cornfield on black and green lures. Norman Perkins, John Kirk and Richard Dayman were also on the bank and netted a very respectable total of 31 fish between them. Their best fish was a 4lb rainbow. Kevin Rees caught 10 fish from the bank and Ray Cramp caught 6 fish which weighed in at 16 8oz. Meanwhile out on the boats Jamie Scott and James Foster netted over 40 rainbows on a variety of nymphs & lures, mainly from Toft. Paul Angell and Tony Parker concentrated on drifts from Lin Croft to The Cornfield & had 31 fish to the boat on buzzers.
Tuesday started with southerly winds and a light drizzle although this cleared as the day went on. Jim Hall fished from the bank in Toft taking 7 on damsels. Roger Kerrison also bank fished catching 10. He experimented with a variety of different patterns whilst Roy Painting caught 4 & Brian Allwood netted 3 to buzzer tactics. Out on the boats Trevor Heseltine caught 9 fish, also on buzzers whilst Dave Malpas netted six.
A flat calm start to Wednesday with a north westerly breeze later but only a few anglers took to the water. Draycote regular Geoff Preston caught 10 fish from the boat on his favourite damsel pattern, whilst Steve Orton had 14 to the boat using minkies, Pitsford Peas and boobies.
Thursday’s anglers fared well despite a blustery south easterly wind and scattered showers. Most of the action was down in Toft shallows where boat and bank anglers alike were catching in good numbers. Season permit holders Peter Elliott and Lee Patten, fishing from the bank, netted 20 fish between them. Ian Richardson remarked on “excellent bank fishing”, after catching 15 fish on damsels. Roger Kerrison was also back for more fun & managed another 15 fish from the bank in Toft. Thursday was also day one of the annual visit from the “Paisley Patterns”. Ten anglers made the journey from Scotland for a three-day break with us and immediately started netting fish in large numbers. Over the three days the lads caught a total of 518 fish, giving them a rod average of 17.2 per angler per day! Although they deployed a variety of tactics, most of their fish came to lures.
Good Friday started with reasonable weather & good numbers of fish coming from Dunn’s Bay, Lin Croft, The Cornfield and Toft. Bank anglers Jude Tuffs, Neil Shilton, Paul Walker & Andy Lane all getting near or into the twenties with lots of fish coming to buzzer tactics, whether straight lined or presented under an indicator. The Paisley boys concentrated their efforts on drifts along the lodge side of Toft & had a remarkable day with many fish coming to their mini zonker patterns. By mid-afternoon however, conditions deteriorated with the start of torrential rains although both boat & bank continued to produce. Despite the torrents the rod average for the day, with 40 rods on the water, was an excellent 11.2
The rains persisted overnight. This slowed things up to an extent on Saturday, although sport remained brisk as evidenced by the final day for the “Paisley Patterns” who netted a further 114 between them for their final day. Tony Marchant & Stuart Greenwood landed 8 & 7 respectively to their boat but it was notable that they needed to fish boobies deep & slow on sink rate 5 lines to locate their fish. Mark Braun was top rod on the bank with 8 to the net, followed by season rods Steve Gibson with 6 to his black buzzer team & Alan Grant with 5.
Guiding and Tuition manager Tom Bird kicked off his 2018 guiding season on Sunday with young George Clarke. At 10 years of age, George is the youngest client Tom has taken out. But what he lacked in years he made up in both fishing ability and casting prowess. During the session George hooked & landed six lovely fish and missed a few more. It was his first introduction to boat fishing as he looks to learn the art of boat craft ahead of the England Youth qualifiers here at Draycote on 9th September. If you’re interested in a guided day to improve your skills, from boat control to any particular method, you can book one of our guides via http://www.flyfishtuition.co.uk/guiding/ or by calling the Draycote Lodge on 01788 812018 to speak to Tom directly.
Paul Lloyd & Dave Pacey shared a morning boat on Sunday & located fish holding below ‘D’ Buoy & Dunn’s Bay. Fishing black lures and Cat’s Whiskers on slow sinking lines they matched each other fish for fish & came of at lunchtime having brought a total of 22 to the net. Ed Douglas spent the day on the bank in Toft where he experienced consistent sport to a team of buzzers landing 14. Peter Bierenacki did similar and a creditable one for the pot followed by a further 8 caught & released.
Although I had to scrape slushy snow from the car first thing this morning, the forthcoming forecast for the week shows improving conditions & temperatures, so let’s hope that that the real beginning of spring is indeed actually just around the corner.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Dave Adams of Hardingstone, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 180 Number Trout Taken: 219 Number Trout Released: 1255
Total Catch: 1474 Weekly Rod Average: 8.18
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until: 19:45
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 19:45
Boat Part Day: am 08:30 until 14:00 pm 14:00 until 19:45
Last 4 Hours from: 15:45 until 19:45 (Ticket sales available from 15:30 )
Gutting Room Closes – 19:15
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:00hrs
Fishery News
Fishery Management UK Ltd Stocking Update.
Our trout suppliers have been in touch to inform us that due to the extreme cold, wet & wintery weather conditions experienced during late February & March they have struggled to achieve sufficient growth rates to bring enough stock up to the 2lb+ (900g) trout size for our Draycote stockings booked during early April.
We will continue to stock as planned, we have a busy April booked with day rods, groups & competitions, but expect during the next couple of weeks to see some fish stocked at a slightly reduced size than expected at Draycote with some fish being stocked at around the 1lb12oz upwards (800g+) size while our suppliers get the extra time required for enough of their stock to reach the 2lb+ range.
Hopefully with better weather conditions this blip in the expected growth rates at the farms will be rectified by mid-April.
Ifor Jones
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
HELP! Lift required to fishing waters…
“Good Day to all you Fly-fishers,
I am sure many of you will know PAUL WALKER (a successful Foremark & Draycote angler)– if only by sight as you tote your bags to the water. Despite being fit as a flea Paul is no longer able to drive.
It would be wonderful if someone could come to the rescue and help with transport. I can deliver Paul to your home and pick up later – anywhere up to 10 miles from Breaston (DE723BH)
Paul has fished fly all his life and would be happy to share skills, all costs, and pleasures.
A regular or a one-off, Paul would have done the same for you.
Thank you. Enid Walker
Phone /text Paul on 07727 255315 0r 01332 873605”
Tight lines,
The Draycote Team
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