Draycote Water Fishing Report w/e Sunday 14th May 2023

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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Exclusion Zone  Due to the work being carried out on the Hensborough Bank there is an exclusion zone in place, clearly marked with yellow buoys. Under no circumstances are anglers to enter this area as there are divers in the water.

Week Ending:     14^th May 2023      Rod Av: 7.2    Water Temperature:  13°C

Weekly fishing report

Another calm and overcast start on Monday saw the good sport continue here at Draycote Water. It’s an absolute buzzer fest down in Toft Shallows by the Swans Nest, and that sport continues through Lincroft Point and into Biggin Bay. There is also some good fishing to be had up in Rainbow Corner with a good stamp of over wintered fish sitting along the Flat Stones. Season permit holder Stephen Dewhurst fished from the bank to net 20 fish on buzzers from Toft Shallows. Mr Ross Davies had 15 fish to net from the bank  by the Swans Nest. All water season permit holder Lorenzo Serrano had over 30 fish from the bank in Biggin, Dunns Bay and Rainbow Corner.  Bill Brown and Ross Wilson had well over 30 fish to the boat during the final day of their 3 day break with us. The lads used buzzers and FAB’s in Biggin Bay and Rainbow Corner. Staff member Michael Hanlon caught a bakers dozen off the Farborough Dam using buzzers and a FAB on an Airflo 12 foot slow tip.

A warm start to Tuesday, with overcast conditions and a light breeze it was near perfect. However early afternoon we experienced some very heavy thundery downpours with lighting. Which brought all the boats back to the pontoon to wait out the bad weather. On the bank all water Lorenzo, enjoyed “his best day of the year” landing lots of fish from Toft at the Swan’s nest on a variety of flies. On the boats Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith landed 44 fish to the boat from Toft. The pair used a midge tip with buzzers on a washing line with a FAB on the point to take their fish. Fellow Draycote member bob Barfoot used the same tactics along the Farborough Dam Wall to land 19 fish. Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed over 60 fish with the majority of them coming to washing lined buzzer. Although 6 of them did come to dry flies.

The wind increased in strength Wednesday, with overcast conditions for the most part. However, we did have some heavy showers later on the afternoon and then off and on again showers through the early evening. On the bank Draycote member John Dickens landed 6 fish using Damsels and buzzers on a floating line. John Pearson & Grant Ashby also fished from the bank landing 9 & 3 from the Swan’s Nest and further down the bank in Toft. On the boats Craig Middleton enjoyed a good days sport landing over 25 fish. On a variety of methods such as single blob on a Di 5 sinking line, washing lining buzzers and also dries. Dave Reynolds & Ron Howard enjoyed a good days sport down in Toft using superglue buzzers fished on floating and midge tip lines. John Tootell landed 9 fish from Toft and commented that he caught on a variety of flies. Alan Mcguire landed 34 fish using Diawl Bach’s on a washing line with FAB’s and Boobies on the point fishing down in Toft.

A changeable day with regards to the weather, the wind started in Southwest with rain showers before bright skies arrived in the afternoon and the wind swung into the North. On the bank Roger Davies landed 5 fish from Lincroft point on blue flash damsel. Draycote member Paul Walley fished on the bank in the afternoon to land 8 fish. Paul used a washing line to land his fish at the Cornfield with Daiwl Bach’s on the droppers being his best flies. Out on the boats Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson used the rudder to land 16 fish in half a day across the middle. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot landed 25 fish to the boat. Fishing in Rainbow Corner and also the Tower Bank using Midge tip with nymphs, also landing 5 “overwintered lumps” in the catch. Thursday also saw the fishery host the Barclays Bank fly fishing match with competitors from all over the country fishing. It was a momentous day for the competition, being the 50 year. A great day was had by all competitors as the fishery produced a 4.3 fish rod average. Winning the day was the Thames & Solent region with all 4 anglers taking their 6 fish limit. Top individual on the day was Neil O’Shea who landed 6 fish for 13lb 1oz using the bung at the Tower bank with a beaded green nymphs being his best pattern.

A cold North wind for the anglers out Friday with overcast skies and some showers in the morning. It certainly didn’t feel like spring was in the air. Draycote  member Tim Davies landed 11 fish from Lincroft on buzzers. Stan Hillman fished from the bank also at Lincroft with a booby and then cormorants on the droppers to land 15 fish. Fishing alongside Stan, Mick Cronin landed 18 fish also from Lincroft Point. Draycote member Mark Smith used Cat’s Whiskers to land 9 fish from the Cornfield. Kev Hart fished with John Hoskins with the pair landing 35 fish. Using a washing line with buzzers and Daiwl Bachs on either a floating line or a midge tip. The majority of the boats out on the water Friday were practicing for the Airflo Open the following day. As a result exact methods and areas were kept quite, however it was clear from speaking to the anglers coming off all had enjoyed good sport.

Another cool start to the day as the wind blew from the Northeast. However it did drop around 10 and later in the day warmed with the afternoon the sun came out. On the bank Draycote member Tony Broadway landed 7 fish using a floating line with buzzers and hares ear. Husband & Wife team Tony & Ruth Kirk also fished the bank landing 5 fish on buzzers, green pea and also a daddy. On the boats Draycote hosted the Airflo open qualifying round with 9 teams looking to qualify for the International final in October at Rutland and the Open Shield Final here at Draycote in September. The teams enjoyed some fantastic sport with the 54 anglers landed 532 fish for a rod average of 9.85. Winning the day was the Reservoir dogs with all 6 members landed their 12 fish limit. In second Elinor also had all 6 members land the 12 fish limit but where beaten on weight to 1^st place. Taking the final spot to the international final was the Osprey’s who had 5 team members landing the limit and the other falling just one fish short on 11. Then qualifying for the shield final was the Soldier Palmers and Orvis Team Rutland. There was a wide variety of tactics used and fish caught from most areas of the lake. Top rod on the day was Ed Foster who drifted from Toft along the Cornfield and had his 12 fish limit in 1 ½ hours. Ed, used a floating line with 3 buzzers and a nemo on the top dropper. With the fish taking deep to start with in the first 45 mins then came up with he last 5 fish all taking the top dropper. Other productive methods being the Bung in Dunn’s Bay and the Tower Bank. As the day progressed the fish came up in the water and a washing line off a 6ft slow tip caught well. A number of competitors commented on the large number of fish moving throughout the day, and on the quality of fishing they had enjoyed whilst practicing and on the competition day. Outside of the match Bob Askew landed 15 fish from the Saddle Bank on a floating line with buzzers on a washing line between 2 boobies. The Duffy’s also enjoyed a good day landing 23 fish on buzzers.

Sunday was a foggy start with very little breeze. This all soon burned off to leave us in bright sunshine and patchy cloud for the rest of the day. Although bright most of the time, Draycote fished well on Sunday. Once again the rod average was up there with the best of them, (7.7)  with good returns coming from several different points of the compass. Mr Colin Day caught 4 fish from the bank in Rainbow Corner on buzzers and remarked that the  boats out in front of him seemed to be doing very well. Paul Walley had 5 fish from the bank on diawl bachs. Paul caught his fish from The Tower Bank , Lincroft Point and the Swans Nest. Out on the boats Richard Walker caught 10 fish on a fast sinking line and olive snakes in Rainbow Corner and along the Draycote Dam. Season permit holder Graham Homer had 11 fish to the boat on buzzers along the Corn field and Toft Shallows. Simon Enstock used buzzers and diawl bachs on a 12 foot slow tip to boat a bakers dozen down in Toft, one of which was a lovely perch.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – Lodge: 01536 770264 & Mob: 07834581424

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website:

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

2023 Membership options visit our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/

Week Ending: 14 May 23       Rod Av:  7.7       Water Temperature:    14-15°C

After a very busy previous week, Eyebrook started the new week in excellent form with a great rod average for the day of 9.8. Fish were caught all over on Nymphs, Buzzers & Dries. From the banks, Eyebrook Member Dave Etty had a very productive day landing 18 fish on Diawl Bachs, Crunchers & Buzzers & regular visitor Tim Shepherd had a great late afternoon session landing 9 fish from Mucky Bay. From the boats, Mr Bland & Cobb enjoyed a very productive day landing over 30 fish on CDC Buzzer emergers & Mr Barns & Robinson also landed well over 30 fish on Straight Lined & Washing Lined Diawl Bachs. The most productive areas remain the entirety of the Leicester Bank from the Lodge to the Cowshed & the Seat area to Stoke Dry. Spring Craneflies are becoming increasingly prevalent here at Eyebrook, so a Foam daddy is worth a shot, especially if you are looking for a less conspicuous point fly on the Washing Line. Diawl Bachs, Crunchers & Buzzers continue to take a lot of fish whether that is under an indicator, on a Washing Line or Straight Lined. With regards to Dries, any CDC emerging pattern has been doing well; Grunters, Yellow Owls, CDC Shuttlecocks, etc…..

Tuesday saw the reservoir continue to fish very well despite some very heavy showers & episodes of thunder & lightning. For the second consecutive day Eyebrook has yielded a rod average of over 9 with fish caught from both the banks & the boats from various locations. Eyebrook member Keith Johnson landed 20 from the Cowshed on a small black Foam Hopper which the fish were undoubtably taking it as a Hawthorn. Keith caught consistently throughout his short session, sometimes taking fish in very shallow water. Elsewhere from the bank, another Eyebrook member Dave Searson, caught very well down by the Chestnut on Hares Ears & Diawl Bachs & Sam’s Dyke also produced some good returns. All Water Member Ian Jobe took to his Float Tube & was duly rewarded with a great return of 18 from various locations around the reservoir. Ian caught fishing Nymphs on a Di3 & found the fish to feeding at 2 depths with the larger fish feeding slightly deeper. From the boats fish were caught from the Willows to Stoke Dry & all along the Leicester Bank up to the Cowshed. The percentage method from the boats seemed to be Washing Lining a Floating Line with Nymphs on the droppers, which is exactly what Mr Solomons & Tetley were doing as they produced an excellent return of nearly 40 fish.

It was a bright, clear start to Wednesday with a gentle westerly breeze. By the afternoon, the bright sunshine was interrupted by intermittent cloud cover & early evening there was a heavy downpour. The warm air temperature ensured that there was a prolific hatch off very small flies which the trout fed on consistently all day. This preoccupation with an abundant food source, coupled with the changeable conditions, meant the fish did not surrender themselves as readily as previous days. Fishery staff member Andy Dermott dropped into the Cowshed on his way into work & landed a quickfire 5 from the bank on a washing line with a FAB on the point & Diawl Bachs above it. Regular visitor Jonathon Holmes had a very productive afternoon session landing 17 fish using a sunken Daddy with Nymphs above it. From the boats fish were generally caught high up in the water column on either a Washing Lined Floating Line or on the Dries. All Water Member Ed Douglas landed 15 fish, most of which came to the dries. Tony Gill & his boat partner Mark Marsden had a productive day landing 20 fish between them, as did Mr Seeber & his boat partner Mr Archbald. All along the Leicester bank remains a very productive area, as does the Seat to Stoke Dry.

Thursday began overcast with a light south westerly breeze. As the day progressed, the wind swing round to the north that brought with it some very heavy showers with occasional thunder & lightning. The fish continued to feed on buzzers & were caught throughout the day on Buzzers, Nymphs & Dries when the conditions were favourable. From the bank, All Water Member John Greasley had a productive session landing 10 fish from Sam’s Dyke on the Dries, landing all his fish on small F Flies. Thursday saw us host a Police Regional Qualifier for 2 regions on the same day. Congratulations to all those that qualified for their final & a special mention must go to the 2 winners from their respective regions: Mark Mathieson & Bob Seeber. Both caught their 14 fish limits relatively early in the proceedings. Well done to both. What made the difference when fishing over pressurised fish was scaling down fly sizes. Those that fished smaller flies caught better than those fishing larger ones.

Friday brought with a cold, blustery northerly wind which meant for a chilly start to the day, curtailing an early insect hatch. The wind remained consistent throughout the day before abating by early evening. Consequently there was a slow start to the day with the fishing improving as the day progressed. The one exception to this was All Water Member Mark Hunt who fished Dries in the sheltered water behind the Island in Sam’s Dyke. Mark had a very productive morning session landing 15 fish on CDC’s & Daddies in very shallow water. Another angler who had a great day in Sam’s Dyke on the Dries was Paul Ledbrook, who landed 28 over the course of the day on Big Reds & Olives & a few on the nymphs. Enjoying their second day of a short break was Alan McGuire & Eric Neal who fished Diawl Bachs & Crunchers to land a very high number of fish between them. We hosted an early evening BBQ for the Eyebrook Fly Fishers which would with them taking to banks for the last few hours. By then the wind was lighter & therefore not as cold as it had previously been. Those that attended were not disappointed with a very productive evening session. Dave Etty got into double figures & Mark Goodge & Shaun Higgins also got amongst a high number of fish.

Saturday provided some great fishing conditions; warm air temperature, overcast skies & a gentle breeze. Subsequently, the dry flies fished very well with some great returns recorded from both the boats & the banks. If the dries proved to be unsuccessful, a washing lined floater didn’t. Paul Ledbrook followed his previous day’s exploits with another exceptional day today. Sticking with the same formula that had served him so well previously, Paul landed well over 30 fish on Big Reds, CDC’s & Grunters. During the spells that weren’t conducive to fishing Dries, Paul continued to catch on Buzzers & Nymphs on a floating line. Another angler enjoying his 2^nd consecutive day on the Dries was Mark Hunt, who this time, brought with a novice to the Dries. Under Mark’s tutelage they went on to have a great day, landing nearly 30 fish between them. Concentrating on the use of a single fly, which is a great way to start fishing Dries, they found their most successful patterns to be Big Reds & Foam Daddies. From the banks, Dave Etty was a yet another angling enjoying his 2^nd consecutive day going on to take 15 fish all on Nymphs. Eyebrook member Mr Dickson, also enjoyed his bank session, being another to land 15. With once again Nymphs & Buzzers being the most successful patterns. The most productive areas remain the entirety of the Leicester Bank; Sam’s Dyke, Mucky Bay, Chestnut, etc…. & up at Stoke Dry.

The conditions Sunday was much the same as the previous day, although there were some prolonged periods of sunshine, particularly by early afternoon. By late evening, there was a gentle ripple with a good level of cloud cover. Eyebrook continued to fish very well wish fish caught on Washing Lined Floating Lines with Nymphs on the droppers & a Foam Daddy on the point & also on the Dries, with Yellow Owls, CDC’s & Suspended Buzzers all taking more than a few fish. Fish were caught all over the reservoir with the most productive areas being Sam’s Dyke, Chestnut, Stoke Dry & the Willows. From the banks, Mr Mickley landed 9 in a morning session & local angler Dale Birch had a productive Last 4-hour session landing 5. The boats produced some very high returns with a lot of anglers getting well into double figures & there was some very good fish caught. What was a notable, was that the older, larger fish were getting caught more on the Dries, as they fed very hard need the surface throughout the day.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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Week Ending: 14^th May   Rod Av: 5.3   Water Temperature: 15c

Monday an extra bank holiday due to the coronation, wasn’t a particular busy due with rain forecast and people away. However, the fishing was good with the washing line leading the way with #16 #14 #12 black buzzer, black buzzer red cheeks, Robs UV buzzer and diawl bach best patterns. Bob Menhams fished 3 hours in the morning catching 14 on washing line off the corner of the wood. K Hart & D Pacey caught 50+ to the boat for their days visit on washing line from in front of the wood in the morning and green bay in the afternoon. Overall average for the day an excellent 15+ Lots of daphnia in the water.

Tuesday and probably the warmest day of the year, although rain was forecast we didn’t get any until a thunder storm rolled through for an hour in the afternoon. Majority of fish were caught on a washing line or midge tip line with #14 green diawl bach, #14 #16 #12 black buzzer, olive buzzer & standard diwal bach with some fish falling to dries. Norman Perkins & Steve Orton caught 22 on blobs & buzzer, Dave Coote caught 8 on green diawl, Mark Cowley caught 7 on an orange daddy, standard daddy & diawl bach. Water clarity is good with large numbers of daphnia to be seen.

Wednesday rain at times was heavy but it didn’t put the fish down with most catching on floating lines and intermediate lines. Fish a definitely moving around the reservoir with the dam into green bay starting to fish well with fish at times to be seen moving across the main basin. P Hunt and J Thomson caught 7 for their mornings visit on a fab and a Kate Mclaren a little used but great traditional pattern. John Hall also fished a morning session with a damsel nymph catching 5 trout for him. Despite the rain water clarity remains good.

Thursday boats & float tubes split themselves into three areas, Green Bay, wood bank and corner or the wood into the Markfield arm. Intermediate, tip lines & floaters fished best with a variety of patterns #14 #12 olive or black buzzer, green or standard diawl, damsel, cats whisker, cormorants & dries. Andre Russell, Richard Dunnett & Garry Cragg fished from their float tubes collectively catching 55. Martin Hosking fished an intermediate with Diawl Bach, buzzer & fabs to catch 15. Jamie Scott fished buzzers & diawls to catch his 17 trout. Peter Mcormich, Jim Thorley, Derek & Tom Brady travelled from Scotland to fish a 3 day break at Thornton catching 112 fish for their visit with the Ally McCoist damsel fished on an intermediate catching a good percentage of their catch. Good evening rise, probably the best of the season so far.

Friday, cooler conditions greeted the anglers with the wind having swung into the north. Scott Wilson & Ricky Cotteril caught 18 for their visit, Bill Holland bought Kenny Henry a beginner for his second time out with Kenny catching 4 trout, well done. Thornton Fly Fishers fished their last 4 hour floating line competition fishing from 5pm to 9pm. Prior to going out they enjoyed burgers in a roll provided by the club. 15 members took to the water catching 36 trout for a rod average of 2.4 Eventual winner was Mark Cowley catching his 4 trout on cdc patterns and daddies. All anglers reported a good evening rise despite the cold northerly wind.

Saturday the strong northerly wind persisted, and it felt cold. It proved to be a challenging day with Stuart Thompson fishing the morning session catching 7 trout. Jan Webber caught 5, T Polito & P Polito boated 6 with Richard Smith fishing quill buzzers to boat his 4 trout during a mornings visit.

Sunday and a misty start with the mist not rising until 10.00am. As the mist rose the trout started to rise with anglers reporting fish moving off and on all day. Green bay, corner of the wood and down the Markfield arm past the end of the wood fished best to dries, buzzers, diawls and fabs. John Reynolds caught 14 for his mornings visit on black buzzer fished on a midge tip, Andy Lilley caught 8 for his mornings visit fishing a washing line with daddies and buzzers along the stone bank. Kevin Hart and Dave Pacey caught 21 on floaters and intermediate lines with fab, diawl bach and booby patterns.

Water clarity is good, increasing buzzer hatches and improving evening rise, lots of daphnia in the water.