Draycote Report W/E 8th October 2023

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

Visit our Fisheries Websites: www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk   www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk  www.flyfishthornton.co.uk

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

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/

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

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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:  Sunday 8th October 2023  Rod Av: 5.3  Water Temperature: 15-16°C

Monday started lovely and calm with good cloud cover and a spot of rain promised in the afternoon. The calm conditions remained for most of the day. On the bank all water member Norman Perkins landed 4 fish using a washing lining with buzzers on the droppers and a FAB on the point. Draycote member James Kelly landed 3 using Diawl Bachs on the droppers and a minkie on the point. Out on the boats Draycote member Ian Reeve fishing with Steve Hibberd landed 19 to their boat. With Ian using a daddy on the point and crunchers on the droppers. While Steve Opted to used a blue flash damsel, landing their fish at N Buoy. Jim Marriot enjoyed a good day landing 7 fish including 2 cracking rainbows of 6lb & 4lb. Mr K Buckley fished with J Jones with the pair landing 14 fish to their boat on hoppers. Fishing for the second day of a 2 day break. Derek Moore & Felicity Appleton landed a dozen fish between them on a mix of dries or a washing line.

An overcast start to the day but the sun soon made an appearance with southwest winds. On the bank Draycote member Alan Grant enjoyed a good day landing 8 fish from the Tower Bank. Using a slow sinking intermediate and minkies. Also fishing on the bank Mick Cronin landed 5 fish using fry patterns, from various spot around the bank. With Mick’s best fish being a cracking rainbow of 5lb 4oz. On the boats Bob Barfoot landed a dozen fish. Drifting from the Valve Tower down to Y Buoy, using various snakes and boobies on intermediate lines. Fishing in Rainbow Corner, Ian Richardson & Bob Smith enjoyed a great days sport landing 31 fish to their boat. Using intermediate lines and sparkler boobies proved to be their most productive method on the day. Fishing with hoppers in Rainbow Corner Nick Righton enjoyed a good half day boat landing 6 fish.

Wednesday wasn’t too bad a day weatherwise, but it did get a bit bumpy out on the boats through the afternoon. The bank here at Draycote is holding it’s own with Paul Walker netting 4 fish on Kate Mclarens. Alex Campbell had a brace off the bank during a morning session, fishing crunchers off the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay. Out on the boats young Ed Douglas had a dozen on dries as well as the washing line. Visiting angler Tim Grove also had a dozen to the boat using hoppers. Staff member and in house guide Lee Henfrey had over two dozen fish to the boat during a morning session. Lee used a fast glass line with two black hoppers in between two sparkler boobies and fished along the Farborough Dam. Mr J Herman and Mr D Bartram had 16 fish between them using white snakes fished on a fast glass line.

Thursday morning was overcast at Draycote Water, with a light south westerly breeze. Despite some early forecasts it turned out to be an almost perfect day with anglers catching fish almost everywhere, and the rod average holding at around 7. Season permit holder Alan Grant took to the bank to net 5 fish on small nymphs from various points along the northern shoreline. Colin Day took 6 fish from the bank. Colin fished in Biggin Bay near the Old Pipe using humungus and commented on the quality of the bank fishing this season. Young Norman Perkins plied his trade off the bank near the Swans Nest to net 10 fish on buzzers and blobs. Draycote regular Stan Hillman caught a dozen fish whilst out on the bank using floating fry near the Valve Tower, and commented on “Some Cracking Sport”. Out on the boats Ian Richardson and Bob Smith had nearly 30 fish to the boat between them. Ian and Bob used sparkler boobies and hoppers on intermediate lines and fished in areas such as Farborough Spit, Rainbow Corner and the Tower Bank. Mr M Schofield had 14 fish to the boat using a variety of flies such as cormorants, crunchers and hoppers. Kevin Rees caught 16 fish from a drifting boat, all on dries such as bob’s bits and the F fly. Season permit holder Peter Jeffries and his boat partner had a bakers dozen to the net, and every one of them fell to a dry fly.

A windy day Friday, with a number of anglers practicing for the AMFC Autumn match. As is normally the case with practice days exact information wasn’t given up very readily. However, having spoke to the anglers it was clear that the fishery was fishing well with a number of fish getting caught. There seemed to be a couple of key methods working. One was washing line with nymphs on the droppers with a FAB on the point using various midge tips. While the other was to pull boobies using an intermediate line with hoppers or cormorants in the middle. Area’s producing fish seemed to be either drifting down the Farnborough Dam Wall from J Buoy. Coming from Rainbow Corner towards A Buoy and also off the exclusion buoys at the Hensborough Bank drifting towards M Buoy. There was also fish getting caught around X Buoy and Y Buoy.

Less wind Saturday than the day before, although it did remain in the same direction from the Southwest. On the bank Phil Green fished ahead of the Troutmasters on Monday. Landing a dozen fish while fishing in the Troutmaster zones in Toft and Lincroft to the Valve Tower Bank. However, kept the exact methods of how to himself. John Pearn also practicing for Monday used a washing line with  crunchers and a FAB to land 5 fish. On the boats the Association of Major Fishing Clubs (AMFC) hosted their Autumn match with teams from all 3 groups competing to decide the final placings for the year. Overall all the anglers enjoyed great sport landing 515 fish for a rod average of 8.0 fish per angler. There was a variety of methods used on the day. However, the best catch came from Gary How who landed his 12 fish by 1.35pm. Using a 12ft slow tip with a size 12 FAB on the top dropper 2 pearly cormorants and another FAB on the point. With the best area being 100 yards around D Buoy. Lee Cartmail fishing with Gary also landed his 12 fish by 2pm doing the same method. Other anglers found success roly-polying sparkler boobies and cormorants around the Farborough Dam Wall. With another very successful area being Rainbow Corner towards A Buoy again either using sparkler boobies on intermediates or washing lining on various midge tips.

More challenging conditions Sunday with bright flat conditions for most of the morning. As a result the afternoon fished a lot better when the cloud arrived with a  ripple on the water. On the bank Phil Green fished once again practicing for the Troutmasters and landed 6 fish on various snakes and other lures. On the boats all water member Roger Kerrison landed 10 fish using a washing lining set up around Rainbow Corner to A Buoy. With boat partner Stan Studdick landing 15 fish giving them 25 to the boat. Sam Smith fished with Albert Coales with the pair using tubes fished on sinking lines to land over 40 fish to the boat. With some cracking overwintered fish amongst them, picking fish up from nearly every area on the lake they tried.

Upcoming Events.

9^th October- Troutmasters Bank Only (BANK CLOSED)

21^st & 22^nd Army Championships 15 Boats.

26th November- Fur & Feather

Draycote’s closing date

The closing date for Draycote for this season will be Thursday 30^th November 2023.

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.

XC Weather – Forecast for CV23 8AB | XCWeather use this link for Draycote

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Draycote Water

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report 

Lodge – 01536 770264 & Fishery Mobile 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/

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: 08^th October   Rod Av:  2.8      Water Temperature: 15°c

It was a relatively quiet start to the week, with only a few boats venturing out. The fish remained in the upper layers & were caught on a mixture of the Washing Line or Dries. The Main Basin remains very productive, as does the open water between the Chestnut & the Seat. All those that did venture out caught, with Eyebrook regular Jude Tuffs & All Water Member Ed Douglas catching particularly well. Jude fished the Washing Line, whereas Ed fished a mixture of the Washing Line & Dries, they both landed 9 apiece.

There was a damp start to Tuesday, with a light South Westerly breeze which developed into a moderate westerly by mid-morning & a strong, blustery westerly by lunchtime. With the wind, came bright, clear skies which made for very challenging conditions. Bright sunlight with strong wind is never easy. The weather can have a huge impact on how the Trout behave, both negatively & positively & unfortunately, with these conditions it was the former. Subsequently, very few fish were caught. One angler who did do well was Eyebrook Member Keith Johnson who toiled hard for his 5 fish off the bank. Keith found that during the brief spells the wind dropped the fish would move right into the shallows to feed. 5 fish on a day like today, is a great effort. Well done, Keith.

Wednesday brought with it a moderate westerly wind with plenty of cloud cover & by mid-afternoon, there were some isolated patches of sunshine. The fish remained relatively high up in the water column & were caught predominately on the washing line from the boats with the open water of the Main Basin & between the Island & Robbo’s Cabin proving to be quite productive. Those who fished colour on their washing lines, be that as a top dropper or on the point, fared better than those who didn’t. The banks continue to be consistent, with fish caught from the area of the Hawthorns & down as far as the Chestnut. What has been noticeable with the banks is that during the calmer periods, the fish are more than happy to move right into the shallows. When the wind is at its strongest, they will sit that little bit further out.

The conditions in the morning on Thursday were nye on perfect, a gentle south westerly wind with consistent cloud cover. As the day progressed, the weather deteriorated to a strong westerly with sunny intervals by the mid-afternoon. The fishing reflected the weather as the reservoir fished better in the morning than it did in the afternoon, which just goes to show how important the weather is, especially at this time of year. There were some good bags caught from both the boats & the banks, the banks are really starting to hit some consistent form. All Water Member Ian Jobe caught well up by the Chestnut, landing some cracking fish as he targeted the naturally feeding fish around the weedbeds. From the boats, the fish remained high up in the water column & were caught on a mixture of Dries &/or the Washing Line. The Foam daddy featured highly on the catch returns, as did FABs, Cormorants & Diawl Bachs.

Friday was a day of mixed fortunes, with anglers catching very well & others struggling. The banks continued to fish very well with Eyebrook Member, Keith Johnson venturing up towards the Chestnut & Cowshed areas of the reservoir. Keith landed 10 cracking Rainbows on an Olive Popper Minkie fished over the top of the weedbeds. On the boats, Neil Heath landed 11 fish on a variety of methods, from Foam Daddies on a Floating Line to Snakes on a Sweep Line. It once again shows the importance of changing methods to suit the conditions as the fish have no choice but to respond to meteorological changes.

Saturday was an uncharacteristically warm day for October with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees. This warmer air temperature led to an increase in surface activity & subsequently, there were a good number of fish caught on dries from various locations around the reservoir. Popper Hoppers, Foam Daddies & Popper Fry all featured highly on the catch returns as most boats catching relatively well. Those that didn’t catch on the Dries, caught on the washing line with a Foam Daddy on the point & Diawl Bachs on the Droppers.

There was a calm, clear & bright start to Sunday. The gentle southerly breeze eventually brought with it some cloud cover that was interspersed with periods of isolated sunny intervals. There were some great catch returns recorded with the fish feeding high up in the water column & off the surface. All Water Member Ed Douglas had a great day on the Dries & the Washing Line, changing methods to match the conditions, Ed landed 20 fish which is a great return. Foam Daddies & a Crippled Midge were his most effective Dries. Sunday also saw us host the Alex Booth Fly Fishers which saw 16 anglers take to the water. Between them they caught 54 fish, which gave them a very credible rod average of 3.3. Congratulations to Kev Slater who was top rod on day, pipping Riccardo Saccone by a matter of ounces. Elsewhere Neil Shilton out in his Float Tube had 10 fish down by the Willows, fishing tight into the reeds with fry patterns.

Upcoming Events.

11^th October – England Disabled Fly Fishers Fur & Feather – 15 Boats + 2 Wheely Boats.

15^th October – All Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers – 14 Boats + 2 Wheely Boats.

21^st October – Greylags – 10 Boats.

29^th October – Eyebrook Fur & Feather – All Boats.

2023 Winter Restrictions.

From the 01 November, we will be operating a reduced number of boats, 10, so pre-booking will be important. Also, the bank fishing will see some winter restrictions, with Banking Fishing limited from the Chestnut, down the Leicester Bank, to the Lodge & along the Dam, around to Robbo’s Cabin. These winter bank restrictions have been increased since last year.

2023 Eyebrook Closing Date.

The last day of fishing on Eyebrook is Monday 20^th November.

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48-to-72-hour forecast.

XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE16_8RP use this link for Eyebrook.

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Eyebrook Reservoir.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings For details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.

https://www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Thornton 2023 last day of the fishing season Thursday 30th November

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.

XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE67_1AR use this link for Thornton.

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Thornton Reservoir

Week Ending: 8^th October Rod Av: 0.6  Water Temperature:16c

Fishing at Thornton continues to be challenging due to the weather we experienced during September & the algae that helped to cause.

Our clarity continues to improve, currently around the shallows its 3ft with our water temperature now at 16c which is what we would expect for early October.

Some anglers with fish finders are reporting a good number of trout are still in the deeper water at depths of 19ft+.

We have seen this week especially during the morning fish starting to feed on the surface with some buzzer from small midge buzzer to the usual large buzzer. Anglers also report in front of the wood and stones fry moving.

Ironically despite the fish finders showing fish in the deeper water the best of the catches has come from the shallower water in front of the wood, shallows of the Markfield arm.

Our advice, contact the fishery for the latest up to date information.

Thornton 2023 last day of the fishing season Thursday 30th November

Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.

Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.

XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE67_1AR use this link for Thornton.

Windy App – https://www.windy.com/  on their home page, enter the fishery name Thornton Reservoir