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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 12th September      Rod Average 2.3                 Water Temperature 17  °C

ANGLER PARKING NOTICE

All Anglers please note that from Monday 23^rd August Severn Trent has requested that all anglers will now have to return their car to the main car park after unloading, if you require a yellow parking pass please ask for one in the lodge on the morning of your visit.

Bank anglers please note; Severn Trent are running an event which is taking place in Toft, using up anglers car parks and some grassed areas. This is being set up and run from Tuesday 14^th September through until the 26^th September. All bank anglers are asked to only use car parks which are available, but limited by our landlord, and to avoid areas which may interfere with the event. Please also note that there will be extra vehicles and pedestrians at this end of the reservoir throughout this time.

We were greeted by a flat calm and bright sunshine on Monday morning. Things did not look great I admit but it turned out to be a good rod average in the end, coming out at 3.6. The group from Scotland visiting us on a three day package did quite well, with Mr A Ritchie landing 14 fish on a booby basher and lures. Mr G Michie and Mr I Preston also caught 4 and 5 fish respectively on the same method. Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost had 3 to the boat between them whilst Mr D E Barnes netted 2.

Another unseasonable warm day Tuesday with the temperatures reaching 30°C, with very light winds in fact no wind at all until after 11am. Mark Braun used a Di 7 sinking line a short leader teamed with a white booby to land 9 fish, taking most of these when the wind picked up in the afternoon and he was able to back drift. Danny Lovegrove & D Nataly landed 9 between then using shrimp patterns fished on an intermediate or Di 3 sinking line with their best area being N Buoy. The package break of G Michie and his fellow Scottish anglers caught well once again on Booby Bashers with a mixture of boobies and nymphs. Taking fish from the Aerators, Tower Bank and B Buoy.

Another hot day Wednesday, this time teamed with strong gust winds from the East. As a result it was a challenging day to be out on the water. Tim Illsley a participant of an earlier tuition beginners course fished on the bank using Daddies to land 2 fish a great catch on a difficult day and having only been fly fishing a couple of months. Gordon Michie fished with A Richie landing 7 to the boat while I Preston & T Forbes landed 10 to the boat. Both boats fished on anchor around B buoy using booby bashers and boobies catching the fish deep in the hot weather.

A bright start to Thursday which became overcast with light showers in the afternoon. With a rise in both water and air temperature the fishing seems to have slowed a bit. Those who are catching are keeping on the move fishing such areas as Toft Shallows, the Aerators and  Lianne Frost and Chris Bobby had 18 fish to the boat using a mixture of a washing line and nymphs, and then dries. Season permit holder Bob Smith had a brace on dries such as foam daddies and big reds. Brian Allwood also netted a brace from a boat on Minkies.

A drizzly start to Friday, with light winds although the wind did increase as the day wore on. All water member Alec Urquhart fished with Marnie ahead of her England Ladies Qualifier on Sunday. They enjoyed a good days sport using a hover line with a washing line set up off nymphs with a FAB on the point. Ian Morris landed 7 fish fishing over the Aerators using Diawl Bachs on a floating line. Fishery Manager Tom Bird took Gwyneth Mooney & Louise Callow out on the boat for a full days guiding before the lady’s qualifier. The pair enjoyed a great day landing 10 fish to the boat trying a variety of methods and areas. The most productive method was washing lining on a RIO 3ft midge tip with a biscuit FAB on the point and nymphs on the droppers with the best sport coming in Toft.

The wind remained in the Southwest with overcast skies on Saturday. We had Cwmllynfell angling club with 9 anglers taking to the water for a club competition. With the anglers finding it a challenge landing 24 fish between the 9 of them. We also had a number of the England Youth perspective qualifiers fishing ahead of their national final on Sunday. Some good numbers seemed to be reported with Albert Edmounds landing 17 however, specific numbers and methods weren’t mentioned. We also had the ladies out practicing ahead of there national again on the Sunday with Chris Bobby & Lianne Frost boating 17 with washing line techniques on a slow glass seeming to be the best tactic around A & B Buoy.

Flat calm conditions greeted the anglers on Sunday morning with what looked like some light showers through the afternoon, which failed to appear. On the bank Jon Crowley landed 7 fish and had a number of other pulls, Jon fished from Lincroft point, using a Daddy, hoppers and Big reds and reported a lot of fish in the area just needing the wind. Michael Wright also caught 7 fish from the bank using dries both from Toft Shallows and Lincroft Point. Season permit holder Chris Bobby and his boat partner Tony Curtis had 9 fish to the boat on CDC hoppers. Mr Ford caught 7 fish, 6 on dries and 1 on a buzzer. Also on Sunday we had both the youth and ladies national taking place. Both competitions were a tight run thing with competitors changing fishing methods and areas of the reservoir throughout the day. The England Youth Match results were as follows; Izaac Slack came in third with 14 points, Albert Coales came second with 17 points, and the competition winner was Alexander Jaffrey with 19 points. Over in the Ladies National in what were very difficult fishing conditions, in second place was Lianne Frost with 3 fish, with overall winner being Gwyneth Mooney with 4 fish to the boat. Congratulations to all those who took part in both competitions.

FMUK would like to thank all the volunteer boatmen who helped with the Youth National, without who’s assistance the competition could not have taken place.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week ending 12^th September.  Rod Average: 2.5 Water Temperature:19.5c+

Monday and a change to the weather, blue skies, air temperature 27c+ not surprising with the forecast anglers opted in the main to fish the morning session. Emad Razi & his boat partner caught 12 for their mornings visit with P Cross & S Windram catching 5 on buzzers

Tuesday, early morning mist gave way to blue skies & another hot day. Anglers fished the deeper water with most finding success on sinking lines with booby, small humungus, damsels & buzzer. Pete Cox caught 5 for his mornings visit with All water members P Mee & H wood catching 3 for their mornings session as did Arthur Olding. D Wilton, R Dunster & P Wrigley fished the afternoon session catching on nymphs

Wednesday and a good southerly breeze was most welcome. Some fish to be seen moving off & on during the day but they proved picky fish to catch. Most anglers fished the washing line, intermediate or sink 3 – 5 fly lines with buzzers, diawls, cats whiskers and booby. Thornton angling club secretary P Birdsall fished with his son boating 6 on booby for their afternoon visit. John Thomson fished the washing line to boat his 4 fish on buzzers during his mornings session. The anglers concentrated their fishing across the deeper water.

Thursday, a little cooler overnight with our water temperature dropping to 19.5c+ Its not been hot long enough yet to push the fish deep but some success was had with a DI3. During the day anglers caught on floating lines, midge tip, intermediate & DI3 with cruncher, tadpole, blob, fab, diawls & claret buzzer. Andre Russell, S. Frakes, T. Ward, R Dunnett fished from their float tubes catching 21 trout between them. Ian Leach had fish come to his dries in the morning but wouldn’t take them properly with Ian changing to a tadpole & cruncher in the afternoon to catch his 3 trout. Peter Wrigley fished the afternoon & evening a few fish were moving with Peter taking 1 on a dry & 2 on buzzers.

Friday, overcast, humid day although the forecast rain missed us. Floaters, midge tip, intermediate were the popular lines with claret buzzer, fab, hopper, small muddler & montana being the popular flies. Paul Martindale caught 5 on buzzer, hopper & muddler with  Steve Proffitt fishing a montana to catch his 4 trout. P Mee fished a fab & buzzer washing line to catch his mornings fishing 4 trout with Carl Bond fishing the evening session catching 3 trout for his visit.

Saturday anglers caught their trout in the top 3ft on floaters, midge tips or intermediate or in the bottom 3ft with sink 7 lines. Flies working in the top 3ft were #14 red or claret bobs bits, hoppers, small daddies, claret buzzer, olive buzzer or black & red buzzer or muddler. On the sinking lines booby or cats whisker. Jan Webber caught 4 on a booby, Martin Clay fished buzzers for his 4 trout as did B Perrie who caught 5. The party of Wallace, Kerr & Gillies caught 11 with a size #14 bobs bits taking the lions share of the catch.

Sunday for much of the day little or no wind. Fishing was similar to Saturday with anglers catching in the top 3ft or bottom 3ft. Thornton members S Zeleny & S Swinfield caught 6 for their mornings visit on fast sinkers & booby. Member John Thomson fished the washing line catching 5 on buzzers for his mornings visit with  Karl Dobson using pheasant tails to catch his 5 trout. Paul & Sam Cook fished the last 4 hours with an orange & natural coloured daddies putting 3 fish in the boat for them

Water Clarity is good

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 12^th Sep 21               Rod Average:3.3                  Water Temp: 17 C

Monday started off as a hot day. You wouldn’t think we were in to autumn at this point. TH e weather seemed to knock the fish off kilter a bit and made things a little bit more challenging for the anglers heading out on the water. Quite a few people tried the bank for a change, but the fish were just out of range for them which lead to a hard day on the bank. the boat anglers were having slightly better success. Franny Coleman was top rod on Monday managing to land 9 fish. In the morning the fish were taking orange daddies, but in the afternoon he found that they were more likely to take a tequila blob.

On Tuesday Daniel O’Hare brought a group of 10 Anglers to the lake and it was clear that they all knew what they were doing out on the water. Top Rod from the group was S Strachan who managed to get well in to double figures by himself. With a majority of the boats from the group getting well in to double figures in hot, bright, and still conditions. I was really surprised at the haul of fish landed. The method on the day for most of them was fishing 2 FABs with a single buzzer in the middle. Cast it out on a floating line and then leave it. The fish were running away with the buzzer in the middle or occasionally with the FAB. Eyebrook also hosted the family and Friends of Nigel Sudborough for a memorial gathering for him. Nigel had been a long-term angler at Eyebrook and had a great fondness of the Lake. As well as his fondness for Eyebrook, He had been the Commanding officer at the RAF unit that the original Dambusters came from during his distinguished career which lead to him attaining the prestigious rank of Air Vice Marshal. The Memorial was capped off with an RAF fly past from an RAF Typhoon which dipped the wing and banked left as a salute to Nigel and his family.

Wednesday seen the hot still weather provide that extra bit of a challenge as it started to affect the fish. Our anglers couldn’t quite work out what they wanted or get in to the right depth where the fish were sitting. Top Boated pair on the day were Season ticket holders Clive Moore and Ian Jobe. They persevered to bring 8 to the boat while fishing daddies and small buzzers. P Lingard managed 1 from the dam wall on a green daddy and had a few more pulls and bits of interest. A really good result considering that the bank fishing has been really difficult for quite a period now.

Thursday seen a little bit of improvement for our anglers as the rod average crept back up to 3.7. Eyebrook Season ticket holder R Swinfield had a cool 10 fish to the boat fishing a small booby and 2 size 14 Diawl Bach’s. Roy said that minimal movement was the key. R Taylor had a 4 hour guide session with Fishery Management Guide Andy Miller. After the guided session, he ventured out on to the water to put in to practice what he had learned and landed 8 fish on the day.

Friday, and the fishing kept getting better. Anglers are still heading out on the boats for the better action. All water ticket holder P Walker managed to get in to double figures, as did D Naylor and Eyebrook Season ticket holder K Johnson. Lots of fish were falling to hoppers, sedges, CDC’s and Diawl bach’s. This just shows that a lot of fish are still near the surface despite the hot bright weather experienced earlier in the week.

Saturday has been the busiest day of the week so far and the fact that a majority of anglers managed to net fish just shows that Eyebrook is still producing good results despite the weather that has rolled through this week. Andrew Farmer was top rod on the lake on Saturday with an impressive dozen to the boat. M Glister rounded off his 2-day package with 7 to the boat. With a fair few other anglers picking up 4 and 5 fish to the boat it looked to be a really good day for those that found fish and presented something that garnished interest from the trout.

Once Again, Eyebrook hosted the AAFFF who were battling it out to see who would win the Unfinished Fly Trophy for 2021. 20 Competitors headed out on to the water on a warm day with very little breeze. The anglers were spread all over the main basin area and early sightings of rods bending was a positive indication. 1^st place went to Steve and Norma Cranston with a combined 4 fish bag weight of 10lbs 5oz. Steve was over the moon at finally winning the trophy. 2^nd place went to Ian Bradfield and Paul Davidson, and in 3^rd place was Phil Mee and Horace Wood. Once again, the AAFFF club done an outstanding job of looking after their anglers and making sure everybody got out on the water to enjoy themselves. Mark Goodge, Shaun Higgins, Dave Davies, Ian Bradfield and the rest of the helpers do a fantastic job of looking after anglers with reduced mobility to ensure they get the opportunity to enjoy a great days fishing on lakes like Eyebrook and Draycote. If you’d like to get involved, look them up here: All Ability Friendly Fly Fishers. Once Again Fisher Management Guide Andy Miller had the pleasure of guiding Colin Pennington on an 8-hour session to assess his casting. Colin had very little wrong with his casting and promptly put a few fish in the boat. Colin has been a competent competition angler in the Soldier Palmers but has had a few years away from fishing and is now starting to get back in to his fishing.

To book a Guided session or casting tuition to iron out those errors and gain those extra yards check out our guiding and tuition here: Guiding & Tuition

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 5th September         Rod Average 2.8                  Water Temperature 17  °C

BOATMEN NEEDED

On Sunday 12^th September Draycote is hosting the Youth National final. For the event we will require boatmen, however, we are unsure at the point how many. If you’re interested please give the lodge a call and leave your name and number then we will give you a call back to confirm your place as a boatman when we know exact number.

ANGLER PARKING NOTICE

All Anglers please note that from Monday 23^rd August Severn Trent has requested that all anglers will now have to return their car to the main car park after unloading, if you require a yellow parking pass please ask for one in the lodge on the morning of your visit.

Bank holiday saw a number of boats take to the water enjoying the longer weekend. All water member Neil Shilton fished with brother Dean the pair fished floating fry patterns to land 15 fish between them. Ed Douglas fished dries all day landing a dozen fish and rose a number of others. Fellow dry fly enthusiast John Dickens landed fish using Bob’s Bits. Mr McVay used Big Reds, Daddies and Bob’s Bits to land a dozen fish. Draycote members Paul Walley and Mark Johnston-Jones drifted from B Buoy to the Aerators landing 17 fish on FABS and muddlers. The key on Monday seemed to be keep the flies high in the water, as the fish feed high in the water column with the cooling water temperatures.

The final day of August and once again the cold Northerly wind made for a definite chill on the water. Draycote member Tony Hart fished the bank at Lincroft point to land 3 fish. Out on the boat All water members Norman Perkins & Steve Orton landed 9 fish to the boat fishing boobies. Kevin Rees used Bob’s Bits dry flies to land 10 fish. Stuart Lee fished on a PM boat landing 7 fish in Toft with Claret Hoppers being his best pattern, with a lot of other fish being rose and lost.

The cold north easterly continued through Wednesday with the threat of the odd shower which never appeared. Season permit holder Paul Walley caught 7 fish mainly drifting in the Aerators using minkies. Young Mike Garner ventured out on to the bank to net 3 fish on crunchers from Toft Shallows. Mick Cronin also fished the bank and netted 5 fish on a sinking line and lures from the Tower Bank. Mr D and Mr L Orton had a dozen fish to the boat between them from the top few feet of the water on a variety of nymphs.

The overcast and breezy conditions should have given some good fishing through Thursday morning but by lunchtime things were looking a bit slow. Things must have picked up in the afternoon however as the rod average for the day came out at 3.9. Season permit holder Steve Lees had a total of 8 fish to the boat using dries, and then a washing line with nymphs. Tony Broadway used the same methods to net a bakers dozen. Paul Havard caught 9 fish, starting in Rainbow Corner  and then moving through into Toft Shallows in the afternoon. Paul used a midge tip line with nymphs and a booby on the point. Lianne Frost and Chris Bobby had 26 fish between them to the boat on a washing line with a FAB on the point and then dries. Kevin Rees had half a dozen, all on bob’s bits.

A number of bank anglers fished Friday, with C Massey fishing at Lincroft point landing 3 fish on daddies. Alec Twaites fished in Toft near the Willow Tree only landing 1 put reported chances to daddies that if they had stuck would have put his catch in double figures. Draycote member Simon Ringer fished off the bank for the last four hours landing 5 fish on a variety of flies Daddies, Nemo crunchers and FABS. Husband & Wife members Debbie and Sean Gilbert enjoyed a great morning with Debbie landing 5 fish using a Sink Tip line with a blue flash Damsel and a black dancer taking her fish at Lincroft Point and Toft. Matt Baggott fished with Mike Goodwin with he pair landing 8 fish using a Di 3 sinking line and minkie boobies. Also, on a boat Geoff Allsop fished with Graham Wood landing 19 fish on Corixa patterns, Green Hoppers and white lures. Dave Naylor & Steve Houlton landed 23 between them on hoppers and CDC’s. Former Manager Kevin Hart fished with John Hoskins landing 24 fish to the boat washing lining crunchers.

Another overcast day for the most part with the sun making an appearance late in the afternoon with light winds coming from the Northeast. Darren Woodman fished with Mr Clark in the second of their 2 day break landing 16 fish to the boat using Hot Butt Yellow Owl CDCs. Lindsey Simpson fished with Mr Lumsdon with the pair landing 8 fish using a washing line set up catching in Toft and around the Blue boat down the Farborough Dam Wall. On the water we also had Scottish Power Group fishing there Annual match with 19 anglers taking to the water landing 58 fish for a rod average of 2.9 fish per angler. With the majority of their fish getting caught drifting through the Aerators.

Another bright and sunny day at Draycote on Sunday with light breezes. A good amount of the catch return is coming from Toft Shallows however, other areas are producing as well such as the Aerators by the Valve Tower, Dunns Bay and Rainbow Corner  Jon Crowley netted 7 fish from the bank using a white booby and then the ever popular big red dry fly. Season permit holder Ed Douglas had 18 fish to the boat, all on dries. Mr S Bray caught 4 fish using an orange lure and orange blobs. Later on into the evening “Tim and Sean” caught 6 fish near the Aerators.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk 

Week ending 5^th September   Rod Av 2.7  Water Temperature 17c+

Coolish bank holiday Monday, but great weather for the fishing with our water temperature at 17.5c the trout were up & about on the feed. Fish were moving over most of the reservoir although the largest concentration seems to be down the Markfield arm. A real mixture of flies took fish on the floating line, muddler & cats whisker pulled through the surface, claret bob bits, hoppers, cdc, olive or red buzzers, shipman’s, pheasant tail & diawl & as you would expect as we move into the autumn the daddy. Top rod on the day was All Water member Ian Leach with 10 trout on hoppers, daddies, shipman. K Dobson caught 7 on bobs bits, daddies & nymphs, Bob Menhams caught 5 on a cats whisker pulled with P Mee taking his on buzzers. Good evening rise.

Tuesday, damp cold day, but anglers report good numbers of fish moving from late morning into the evening, plenty of follows but the trick was to get them to commit fully & take the fly! P Cox caught 5 for the morning session catching most during the latter part of the session. P Wurm fished the last 4 hours evening session finding good numbers of fish moving along the Markfield arm with the fish willing to take a red dry fly as long as it was small, Peter finished the session with 5 trout to the boat

Wednesday and it’s fishing better late morning, afternoon into the evening with small buzzers, few of the larger claret buzzer & some daddies drifting onto the water. The Markfield arm to the stones seems to be holding a good number of trout. T & J Evans caught 14 between them on dries & cdc, M Litchfield caught his 6 trout in the afternoon with fish chasing a fab & booby across the surface, Jim Carrier caught 5 for his mornings visit. Water temperature 17c which is good for top of the water sport.

Thursday Andre Russel, S Frakes, R Dunneth fished from their float tubes catching 28 trout between them on hoppers, cruncher, blob, diawls and montana. Paul Martindale caught 7 for his visit with L Serrano catching 7 on daddies during his afternoon / evening session

Friday and a mixed day with dries, buzzers, nymphs & fry patterns recorded on the return sheet. Mark Hunt during a morning visit caught 8 on a floating fry, Malcolm Beck fished daddies for his 3 trout wit C Bond fishing the afternoon session catching 5 on red diawl & blob with All water member Mr Ravenscroft catching his 4 fish on an olive snake pattern.

Saturday the trout are up on the surface with late morning, afternoon & evening session best. Markfield arm continues to hold a good number of fish with Jan Webber finding fish all the way down the arm to the tern rafts. Jason Harrison found a single orange blob on a floater but stripped through the surface created lots of follows with Jason boating 7 trout, Thomas Bell also boated 7 trout with Martin Ward fishing the afternoon session catching 10 on a orange fab, tequila booby pulled through the surface. All Water member Tim Price fished a black popper hopper to boat his 4 trout

Sunday and again a mixture of flies caught from dries, hares ear, diawls to booby and snakes. Trout were rising well from early afternoon into the evening although they proved difficult to tempt at time, Ged Odonoghue bout his 8 year old granddaughter fishing for the afternoon with Ged catching his fish on the grunter with his granddaughter catching her first ever Thornton trout on a diawl bach

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery 

Week ending 5^th Sep 21                 Rod Average: 4.1                 Water Temp: 18C

This week started with a stiff NNE wind coming down the lake on to the pontoons averaging between 14 – 16mph. The conditions lasted throughout the week, making it a little bit more challenging out in the open water, but shelter was available along the Rutland bank. With nicely oxygenated water at a temperature bordering on 18 degrees, the fish were active in the top layers of the water column and were more than happy to come to dries and nymphs fished sub surface. A further stocking of 1500 rainbows from Westacre took place on the Wednesday, not only to help maintain the fine form that the reservoir has been in this summer but provide fresh impetus to the autumn fishing.

On Monday, Mr Benjamin and Mr Simmonds started their 3-day session by taking 11 to their boat, whilst Mr Cheery and Mr. Turner had 7. Mark Hunt fished the afternoon session and took a baker’s dozen on CDC’s and daddies. The wind remained in the same direction on Tuesday with similar results. Best drifts were from the willows across to the Leicestershire Bank whilst anchored boats fared best either off the willows, in Harrisons or against the weed beds on the Leicestershire bank. Top boat on Tuesday was Mr Benjamin and Simmonds who had 13, but the best fish of the day was a fine 6-and-a-half-pound brownie taken by Ian Brearley on a daddy.

Wednesday saw the Eyebrook hosting an English Disabled Fly Fishers national eliminator which was fished to competition rules. The wind remained the same as the previous two days, but the fishery still provided good sport. 14 anglers ventured afloat for the 6-hour competition and nearly everybody caught with a competition rod average of 4.33.  Jim Watts was top rod with 12 fish with Steve Cranston second with 8 trout. Further details of this competition and information on the EDFF can be found on our Facebook page. Also on Wednesday, visiting anglers Alan Simmonds and Neal Benjamin finished their 3-day package with a further 6 fish bringing their 3-day total to a creditable 30 Fish. Eyebrook regulars Ian Jobe and Clive Moore landed 14 during their all-day boat session, whilst Ged O’Donoghue landed 9.

With the conditions on Thursday remaining the same as the previous few days, the majority of anglers fished similar drifts and tactics that had been successful earlier on in the week. Dries were producing the goods with Daddies, Hoppers, yellow owls, and Popper Hopers some of the patterns moving fish.  Sub surface tactics included straight lining, the washing line and pulling lures. Successful sub surface patterns included blobs, boobies, FABs, diawl bachs, Pheasant tails and buzzers. Draycote stalwart, Ed Douglas went afloat with staff member, Lee Henfrey and took over 30 to their boat using dries whilst Ged O’Donoghue was afloat again, this time, joined by regular partner Steve Orton and between them they took 20 fish. Colin and Christine Davies travelled down from North Wales on Thursday for a two-day package and enjoyed some fine sport, landing 15 using Boobies, Diawl Bach’s and black buzzers.  Although the predominantly northerly wind had made the Leicestershire bank very difficult for the bank anglers due to the wind and coloured water, the Rutland side of the reservoir was more accessible, and Mr Labrum spent some time there working the bank and was rewarded with a fine brace.

The wind became a little bit lighter on the Friday but held that North Easterly direction making conditions perfect for drifting from the seat, all the way along the Rutland bank to the Netted bank. occasionally the wind would change to an easterly which would push boats out towards the Island. This didn’t really matter as there were fish everywhere out in the open water. They’d come out of nowhere and attack boobies and foam daddies. This was more out of curiosity than feeding. The more confident takes were coming to Claret hoppers and small Culs. Quite a few anglers were also having some great success on small Diawl Bach’s, buzzers and Crunchers. Coral coloured FABs seemed to be working well as well.

Saturday was almost identical to Friday, but there was a lot more sunshine and a little bit less wind. A few folk struggled to connect to takes or suffered the frustration of fish trying to drown their larger dry flies. But the anglers that had the better percentage of hook ups were those fishing Diawl Bach’s, Hares ears, crunchers and buzzers. Tequila blobs and coral blobs were working really well as attractors.

Sunday seen Eyebrook hosting Thornton Fly Fishers, Draycote Fly Fishers and Eyebrook Fly fishers for a long overdue gathering of anglers that fish our waters. The weather was fantastic for the morning but as lunch time approached, the cloud disappeared, and things got a little bit warm. The friendly match was fished as a blind pairs match from 08:30 to 12:30, then from 13:30 to 17:30, this way, nobody knew who their boat partner was until the end of the match. Due to us having an odd number, one angler was drawn twice from the hat to fill the last space for the weigh in. Lots of anglers had a few fish early in the morning and were looking forward to a BBQ and a few cold drinks by lunch time. There was plenty of chit chat and banter before heading back out for the afternoon session. After the weigh in John Hanlon and Ian Jobe were the clear winners with 8 Fish weighting in at 17lbs 12oz. John had the biggest fish weighing in at 3lbs 13oz and Ian Jobe weighed in a fish at 3lbs 8oz. The Thornton Fly Fishers kindly donated a few bottles of wine and some chocolates for 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place. Full results can be found on the fishery management FB Page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 29^th August Rod Average 2.8                 Water Temperature 17 °C

BOATMEN NEEDED

On Sunday 12^th September Draycote is hosting the Youth National final. For the event we will require boatmen, however, we are unsure at the point how many. If you’re interested please give the lodge a call and leave your name and number then we will give you a call back to confirm your place as a boatman when we know exact number.

ANGLER PARKING NOTICE

All Anglers please note that from Monday 23^rd August Severn Trent has requested that all anglers will now have to return their car to the main car park after unloading, if you require a yellow parking pass please ask for one in the lodge on the morning of your visit.

The week started with some drizzle first thing in the morning with the wind remaining in the North, later in the day the sun broke through and resulted in a very warm day. The fishing started where the previous week had left off, with Daddies featuring high on the catch reports. Dave Mynors with 2 other boats with all the boats catching their limit and returning other with Orange Daddies being the best pattern around C Buoy. William Hunt landed 6 fish on a cream sedgehog fishing around C Buoy. Mr C Merry also enjoyed a good day landing 7 fish.

A cloudy day Tuesday with the wind remaining in the Northeast. Graham Homer fished on the boats using a washing line with Diawl Bachs to land 7 fish. Graham stuck to long drifts over the open water to land his fish. Matt Crisp & Paul Newman landed 7 fish from the boat in a half day session using orange daddies. Geoff Allsop & Graham Wood landed 11 fish to the boat, Graham using daddies and hoppers while Geoff opted for shuttlecocks.

Yet more great conditions Wednesday with cloudy skies and light winds from the Northeast, these couple of days really helping to switch the trout back on. Fishing from the bank Mr M Wright landed 6 fish with 4 falling to a Bibio hopper and the other 2 on snail patterns fished over the weedbeds, with all the fish coming from Lincroft point. Mark Braun landed 15 fish using a washing line drifting from C, B & A buoy with a FAB on the point and gold ribbed hares ears on the droppers. A great day to christen his new Vision Stillmanic Reel. Draycote members Bob Smith & Ian Richardson landed 17 fish between the on a mix of dries and washing line. With muskins and Nemo crunchers being the standard pattens, the pair also reported lots of lost fish. Former manager Kevin Hart landed 11 fish washing lining crunchers from C- B Buoy. Mr J Thompson landed a dozen fish on small dry flies with a size 14 olive shuttlecock & Size 14 olive para hopper being his top pattens.

A cloudy start to the day, however the sun made an appearance around mid-morning, this appearance of the sun made the fish more finicky that the previous day. Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson used the rudder to land 16 fish in a half day, using Di 3 sinking lines and snakes. Stuart Lee visiting from Canada fished with Draycote member Tony Broadway, with the pair landing 15 fish to the boat. Using washing line tactics around C & B Buoy. Fellow Draycote member Gordon Bramwell and Ken Cooke landed 15 fish also using a washing line with a small pink and sunburst FAB being their best fly. Lianne Frost & Chris Booby boated 21 fish between them on a mixture of washing lining and also dries fishing around the open water in the middle of the lake and also around G Buoy in Toft.

There was certainly a chill on the water Friday with the cool northerly wind, reminding us that we are approaching the end of summer. All water members Norman Perkins & Steve Orton fished together in the boat landing 10 fish on dries with daddies being their best pattern. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith landed 9 fish between then in Toft using a minkie booby on the point and then nemo crunchers and muskins on the droppers and reported lots of swirls. Ian Watts & Paul Cramp landed over 20 to the boat using white humungus boobies pulled on a Di 3 sinking line. Kev Hart once again fished this week landing a bakers dozen from Toft, catching on washing lined crunchers and also CDC pattens and Big Reds.

A bright breezy start greeted  the anglers at Draycote on Saturday morning, and these were the conditions for most of the day. Mike Garner did well off the bank down in Toft Shallows, netting 4 fish on crunchers, as did Tony Kirk, who also netted 4. Jim Dempsey and Ivor Jones had 17 fish to the boat on sinking lines and lures. Steve Cullen and Stuart Lee also netted 17 fish from a drifting boat on a wide variety of patterns.

Sunday was forecast for some bright conditions but good cloud cover remained for most of the day. Overall the reservoir fished quite well with a lot of fish being caught in Toft Shallows. Good returns are also coming from D buoy in Dunns Bay, and also C, B and A buoy up in Rainbow Corner. Nearly all methods are working including lures fished in the top few feet of the water on sinking lines. Most anglers however, are using either dries or a team of nymphs fished on floating or midge tip lines. Sean and Debbie Gilbert had a few fish and also said that they dropped a few using a variety of patterns such as an orange fusion blob. Stuart Lee and his boat partner fished dries for most of the day and boated 10 fish between them. Season permit holder James Alexander and his boat partner Alan Sharpe had a total of 7 fish to the boat, again using various patterns and methods.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk 

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery 

Week ending 29^th August   Rod Av 2.9   Water Temperature 18c

Bit of a mixed start to the week with some catching well whilst others struggled. All water members Phil Mee caught 6 on buzzers and diawls whilst P Walker caught 9 on a washing line, Fab on the point with buzzers on the dropper. A few of the larger claret buzzers were showing but nowhere in the numbers we would expect.

Tuesday a better day for the majority of the anglers fishing the morning session, J Carrier caught 5 on buzzers whilst Thornton member P Cox fished the Dawsons olive to catch his 7 trout. CDC and Sedgehogs helped P Birdsall & M Norman to their 5 trout with Bob Menhams finding a cats whisker pulled on a floating line through the wave caught him 5 trout for his 4 hour mornings visit. Carl Bond fished the evening session catching 4 and losing another 4 on orange blob, damsel and buzzer with Carl reporting a nice evening rise across the top of the Markfield arm.

Wednesday Max Bazeley, Frank Chambers & Liam Ford caught 13 between them for their groups morning visit reporting plenty of follows to a small booby or muddler stripped through the surface. Thornton member Stuart Thompson caught 5 for his mornings visit with M Litchfield boating 5. Fish were moving off the stones, dam and green bay but the majority were into the Markfield arm down level with the end of the wood.

Thursday and the fish are starting to move during the day and into the evening with a good number of fish during the afternoon and evening moving down the Markfield arm. Float tubers S Frakes, R Dunnett & T Ward caught 40 between them with the majority being caught after lunch into the evening on muddlers, midas. Claret hopper & claret diawls. Thornton member Neil Bates caught 4 for his afternoons visit with Russ Martin fishing the last 4 hour session catching 5 on an orange shipman.

Friday and despite fish to be seen feeding on the surface some rods found a sinking line was the best approach using booby, blob, humungus and snake patterns during the day. Late afternoon into the early evening some success was had with claret hopper, small daddies, GH Sedge and buzzer patterns. M Cross and C Sayer caught 11 for their mornings visit, it was good to see M Beck back out fishing again and catching, recording 5 trout for his visit. R Bartley on his first visit to Thornton fished the last 4 hours boating 2 but losing another 4 trout during the evening rise.

Saturday & were starting to see the early afternoon into the evening starting to fish with some of our larger claret buzzer showing in the afternoon & evening. J Hickey caught 4 on a small montana, Keith Cowen having not fished for the last 12 weeks was rewarded with 5 trout for his visit with M Carrig fishing the last 4 hour session reporting plenty of fish moving as he went on to catch 2

Quiet day on Sunday with few rods on the water. Andrew Wilson fished hoppers and cdc buzzer to catch his 4 trout, P Hunt & J Thomson caught 8 for their mornings visit wit S Zeleny catching 4 for his mornings session. Most of the fishing is been concentrated along the Markfield arm and out in front of the wood with increasing numbers of fish to be seen moving, its definitely starting to fish better late morning through to the evening.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery 

Week ending 29th Aug 21              Rod Average:2.2                  Water Temp: 18 – 16.5C

The start of this week has seen a lot of the anglers spread out across the lake in search of pods of fish. Early indications were that fish are still out along the netted bank area and in to the open water. we have also had reports of fish between the Hawthorne’s and the point of the Island and then from the top of the Island to the Chestnut tree just outside Mucky Bay.

Monday saw our anglers have some steady sport to drifting boats. Most of the action came to foam daddies (natural and orange colours), grunters, midas and small CDC shuttlecock patterns. All water Season ticket holder Roger Kerrison was top rod on the day with a cool dozen fish to the boat while fishing various dry fly patterns. Others were having some success with sunburst FABs and small black crunchers.

Tuesday seen a lot of the anglers landing around 2 fish a piece, mostly to small black or red emerger patterns and occasionally a foam daddy. But top rod of the day was Eyebrook season ticket holder Karl Cowzer who managed to land 8 fish by fishing a single dry fly. Sometimes less is more.

Wednesday seen anglers pick up the occasional fish from different parts of the lake. Chip and his son Brandon managed 8 fish to the boat as well as a fantastic 2lbs Perch. But top rod of the day was Ian Brearley, he managed 9 to the boat while fishing Daddies and Yellow Owls.

Half way through the week and we can see that a majority of fish are being taken on dries and emerger patterns. Drifting boats have had the majority of the success due to them being able to cover more water. The banks are still proving difficult due to the fish enjoying their feeding out in the open water but that could all change in the coming weeks as the weed starts to recede and the water temperatures cool.

Thursday saw the wind coming from the north and hitting a steady 15mph according to the weather reports but in the morning, it looked to be coming from the North East on to the lodge. The conditions presented their own challenges, but most of the anglers had a hard time to find fish willing to come to the net. Reports were coming back about fish coming off in play or at the net due to being lightly hooked. Brian O’Hara was top rod on the day with a half dozen to the boat.

The weekend saw us experience the same sort of wind conditions that been coming down the lake all week. With wind coming from the North East, it makes it a bit more challenging in around the more exposed areas of the main basin. The fish that had been out from the netted bank have started to move along the Rutland bank up towards the willows area. Friday seemed to be the better day of the weekend with quite a few of the anglers catching 4 or more fish throughout the day. Saturday seen a lot of angles pick up 1 or 2 fish from different areas. But once again, All Water Ticket Member Ed Douglas got well in to double figures once he figured out the right method. On Sunday, a lot of anglers were picking up 2 or 3 fish throughout the day on the boats. Once again, Daddies were accounting for a majority of the fish.

If fishing daddies’ static has fish trying to drown the fly but not take it, try a couple of CDC’s with a daddy on the point. If they are coming up and chasing in the surface, try a popper hopper with a hog daddy on the point and tweak it through the waves, the sport can be amazing. Fish have been taking daddies sub surface as well while anglers have used them to fish washing line style rather than using a booby or a FAB.

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 22^nd August Rod Average 4.6      Water Temperature 18‘C

ANGER PARKING NOTICE

All Anglers please note that from Monday 23^rd August Severn Trent has requested that all anglers will now have to return their car to the main car park after unloading, if you require a yellow parking pass please ask for one in the lodge on the morning of your visit.

The wind was stronger than forecast to start the week coming from the West Northwest, these strong winds seemed to bring the fish higher in the water feeding just before the waves. All water members Chris Bobby & Lianne Frost enjoyed a good day landing 15 fish around J & T Buoy fishing washing line set ups on slow intermediates. Andrew Farmer fished around the Top Dam wall drifting out towards the open water to land 7. Fishery Ranger and Guide Lee Henfrey fished for a half-day session with friend Gaz Roberts. The pair landed 23 fish with Lee taking the majority fishing with a Di 5 40 plus sinking line with an olive snake and a sparkler on the top drop. With drifts around J, T and N Buoy their most productive.

The winds remained in the Northwest Tuesday with mostly overcast conditions for the day. Draycote season ticket holder Mike Garner fished from the bank landing a brace on a Sedgehog from the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay & along the Cornfield. Dave Atkins fished from a boat landing 11 fish from around X Buoy with dries working and also snakes fished on a Di 3 sinking line. Jack Vallis fished with a Di 5 sinking line and a sparkler booby to take 7 fish drifting the open water. Mr N Woodroff used a washing line set up to land 17 fish. Tony Baldwin used dries and also pulling to take a dozen fish.

Another overcast day Wednesday, which once again meant the fish came to flies fished high in the water. All water season ticket holder Norman Perkins landed 17 fish using foam daddies with orange being his best pattern. Norman found the fish around the Valve Tower and then around Y Buoy. Traveling Welsh anglers Llyr Evans & Gerwyn Evans landed 18 fish to the boat again on daddies with Daddyhogs being their best patterns landing fish up to 5lb. Draycote season ticket holder John Dickens landed 14 fish on red Bob’s Bits. Francis Campbell used snakes on a Di 5 sinking line to land a baker’s dozen. Fishery ranger and top guide Lee Henfrey fished for a morning session landing 27 fish using a Di 5 forty plus sinking line with a sparkler booby. Lee found the majority of the fish around J & T Buoy and took them on a very fast roly-poly retrieve.

A busy day Thursday with anglers starting to arrive to practice for the Anglers World Final held on Sunday. We had a mix of sun and cloud with wind coming from the South West. Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson landed 14 fish using the Rudder with majority coming around Y Buoy. Although the pair reported a number of fish sitting deep and did land fish on a Di 7 sinking line. Draycote season ticket holder Gordon Bramwell enjoyed a good days sport landing 19 fish using a Midge tip and a size 12 FAB on the point. Lee Patten & Alec Urquhart landed 18 fish to the boat again using a washing line set up. Ben Robertson found foam Daddies in orange and tan to be there best pattern landing over 20 fish.

Near perfect conditions Friday with light winds and overcast skies. All water member Jamie Scott landed 16 fish on a variety of flies with a 6ft midge tip being his best line landing the majority of the fish over the Aerators. Mr Newman fished with his son landing 14 in a half day with dries being their best option. A number of anglers once again took the water practicing for competition on Sunday. These anglers’ best methods were fishing dries, washing lining with some fish getting caught pulling as well.

Over the weekend we hosted the Anglers World Final with 50 boats taking to the water practice on the Saturday. The Saturday seemed to be a very mixed affair with some anglers reporting great numbers up towards 20 fish while others struggled, making for a very interesting match come Sunday.

On the Sunday the wind started in the west with overcast skies, however the wind swung round to a Northwest as the day wore on a complete 180° from the previous practice days. The majority of the boats headed off towards C Buoy and coming down from there on open water drifts. When the fishery staff headed out it was clear that some anglers had got the method cracked with 2 time double winner Gary Morris already landing 8 fish after just a couple of hours. Later in the day on our second fly check we had reports of some great numbers with Dale Burgess having 15 fish, Phil Thompson & 16 year old Alexander Jaffrey also on 15. When the anglers come back it it was Phil Thompson who had taken the win with 20 fish, Alexander 2^nd with 18 and Dale Burgess 3^rd with 15 and Gary Morris just falling short of 3 on the bounce also on 15. All 4 anglers found that fishing high in the water to be the most productive. Phil’s winning set up was a FAB on the top dropper, nymphs and then another FAB on a Airflo 6ft slow tip. While Alex used a RIO Midge Tip with a tequila FAB two muskins and then a tequila booby on the point. With long drifts starting around C,B & X Buoy the winning areas. For pictures of the event please see www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk 

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery 

Week ending 22^nd August   Rod Av 2.0   Water Temperature 18c

Cool start to the week with the water temperature at 18c. Fish were high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly in particular a muddler but as is often the case lots of follows, exciting sport doesn’t always lead to fish been hooked. All water member Dave Skudder caught 3 for his mornings visit but reported lots of follows to a muddler. Ian Brealey fished a washing line with a booby on the point & nymphs, buzzer on the dropper catching 10 for his visit. Fish are starting to spread themselves out through the reservoir with fish to be seen opposite the lodge to the stones & from the dam across to the Markfield arm.

Tuesday a cool overcast day with our morning water temperature at 18c. Conditions looked perfect and returned a rod average 4 for the day. B Perry fished a fab and olive buzzer to catch 9 trout, Neil Bates pulled a muddler with a red headed diawl to catch 6 for his afternoon session, Arthur Olding popped a white booby across the wave to catch his 7 trout with Phil Mee catching 6 for his mornings visit. Morning session still producing best with a few fish moving during the evening.

Wednesday, despite fish moving at times they proved difficult to put in the boats with anglers reporting missed takes, lost fish or fish coming short to the fly. J Carrier changed to a DI3 catching 4 and losing a further 3 trout for his mornings visit. S Wilson caught 12 for his days visit with the muddler being the successful fly

Thursday the trout proved difficult to tempt, plenty of fish to be seen moving at times but they proved difficult to tempt with a few fish taken on small #14 #16 diawls & buzzers. David Hussey fishing the afternoon session found the secret a small olive or brown buzzer catching 8 for his visit. Most of the buzzers hatching are still small #14 #16 we would expect to see the larger claret buzzer #10 #12 start to show any time.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday were similar days, fish moving at times but on the whole proved difficult to catch, fish chasing a pulled fly, nipping nymphs and buzzers, swirling, drowning dry flies but didn’t take the fly, frustrating at times. Mornings still fishing best with Chris Sayer catching 3 for his mornings visit, Jan Webber opted for a booby on a fast sinker to take his 3 with B Sibley also taking 3 for his mornings visit. L Ford & K Evans fished buzzers during their morning session to boat their 6 fish

Water clarity is good, were waiting for the large claret buzzer & daddies to show

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery 

Week ending 22^nd Aug 21                Rod Average:                        Water Temp:

This week has seen the Eyebrook Reservoir perform particularly well for August. As all avid Fly anglers are aware, August can be a really hard month on the water.

Monday started off a little bit slowly for most of our anglers, but all water ticket holder Paul Walked had an outstanding day getting well in to double figures fishing from a boat. Most of his fish fell to Diawl Bach’s and Damsel Nymphs.

Tuesday seemed a little bit more settled with the occasional shower. The conditions were fantastic for fishing from a drifting boat. Most anglers managed roughly 3 fish to the boat. But the regular anglers that fish Eyebrook almost religiously were rewarded with higher numbers. Yet again, washing line method or straight dry flies were working best.

Wednesday seen a bit of a change in feeding habits of the fish. Plenty showing in the surface, they’d chase through the surface, they’d come up and look at dries, they’d take the occasional nymph. But on this day, Mr R. Champney managed 15 fishing traditional wets and a foam daddy. A. Thomas and R. Thomas had well over 20 to the boat while fishing small buzzers and foam daddies. Slowly we are seeing an increase of anglers getting good results from fish taking daddies again.

With winds being a little stronger on Thursday, presenting a dry fly was a little more challenging for most. However, all water ticket holder Ed Douglas once again put in a masterclass of dry fly fishing to get well in to double figures. The cooling water temperatures are helping as it is keeping the fish in that top 2 feet of water. Ideal for anglers who like to fish dries or the washing line method.

Friday was yet another fantastic day out on the lake. With a couple of anglers getting in to double figures and quite a few more picking up 3 or 4 fish. A majority of fish fell to Bob’s Bits, Shipman’s, Foam Daddies, Midas and CDC Emergers. A lot of the fish were out in open water but quite a few anglers decided to stay around the area of the netted bank along to Robbo’s where a majority of the action has been taking place in the past week or so.

Saturday was a bit of a wet dreary day. The sort of day you wouldn’t really think about digging your floatant out of your box. But the wet weather doesn’t bother the fish. They were still looking up and looking for their next tasty morsel to land on the water. Funnily enough, dries even work when it’s wet. Quite a few anglers have now switched from fishing a booby or FAB on the point, they are now fishing washing line method with a foam daddy. This method can be deadly at this time of year.

Sunday carried on from the Saturday as being a but gloomy with the occasional squall coming out of nowhere. Initially the fishing was a little slow for a few anglers and not many fish were rolling in the surface as they had been the day before. Then at around 11AM the fish appeared. Reports were coming in about fish coming short to the daddies when fished static, but if they were twitched through the waves, the trout would have a go at them. Regular fishing buddies and Eyebrook season ticket holders Dave Chadwick and Steve Lawrence had a cracking morning session out on the boats managing to get 15 fish to the boat between them on very different methods. Dave persevered with foam daddies while Steve was pulling snakes just sub surface. All water member Mark Hunt once again put in a good shift fishing dries throughout the day. Finding it difficult to convert interest to solid lock ups, he constantly revised what he was fishing until they steadily started taking rather than drowning the flies. Mark noted that after a sudden downpour, the fish seemed to go down and stop looking for the dries. But 20 minutes or so later once it had passed, they’d start coming up again.

This week has really seen an uptake in the fish coming for the Daddies as well as hitting small Buzzers and Diawl Bach’s fished on a floater or midge tip. Daddies have been just as effective being fished sub surface as they have been in the surface. Don’t be afraid to try some traditional wets such as Silver Invicta.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk 

Week Ending 15th August Rod Average 3.6 Water Temperature 19‘C

The wind had dropped from Sunday, however remained gusty at times, with sunny intervals making the fishing a challenge to start to the week. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey fished in the morning landing 9 fish using an Airflo Booby Basher teamed with a Gold & Silver Tube. Lee used a fast Roly-Poly retrieve to keep the fly about 3 feet down. Kevin Rees fished on dries all day around A & B Buoy to land 6 fish with his best flies being small Bob’s Bits. Alex Campbell also fished around A buoy and the Outlet using 2 foam daddies’ fish on a floating line to land 4 fish. 

A busy day Tuesday with lots of anglers making the most of the overcast conditions hoping for some good sport. Draycote members Lee Patten & Peter Elliot found the fish willing to taking providing the good sport they hoped for, with he pair boating just short of 40 fish. They both used different tactics with Peter opting for dries while Lee using a washing line set up to tempt his fish. Fellow Draycote member Tony Parker landed a dozen fish using a mixture of dries and washing line techniques. Ed Douglas stuck to dries to land 16 fish with Ed’s best drifts being from X buoy down towards J. With a number of wind lanes opening up Ed reported them to be full of fish. In the evening we saw a great fall of flying Ants as a results the afternoon and evening boats caught well on Fiery Brown dries in various different forms. 

Wednesday was another good day for fishing with light breezes and good cloud cover. Mr P Hallam had 5 “quality” fish overall, on dries such as Shipman’s buzzers and midas, from rainbow corner, A and M buoy. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith caught 9 between them, again on the dries. The dries were working really well for Mr I Tearle and Mr N Mead. They had 40 fish to the boat between them, all on “fiery brown”. Kevin Rees and Ed Douglas also used the dries to good effect, getting well into double figures on Bob’s bits and Shipman’s buzzers. Kevin Hart and Lee Henfrey caught 14 fish between them using sinking lines and lure around A and B buoy up near the Draycote Dam.  

A bright start to Thursday with the cloud arriving around lunch. Draycote season ticket holders Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell Landed 19 fish using washing lining techniques using a mix of nymphs, FABs and daddies. Gordon Bramwell fished with Phil Thompson with the pair landing over 20 fish to the boat using a midge tip line and washing line techniques. Fishery Manager Tom Bird took David Holding & Geoff Brooks out in a boat on a 4 hour guide with the pair enjoying good sport landing 9 fish between them and losing a number of others. The best methods being a RIO Midge Tip Long with cormorants with a blob on the point and then two daddies fished on a floating line with the orange daddy being the best pattern. 

Friday turned out to be a very windy day, with some gusts up into the high 20’s. This made for difficult fishing at times, but the rod average still came out at a very reasonable 3.0. Andrew and Nathan Blackwell had 7 fish to the boat on foam daddies. Mr K Saxton caught his 4 fish on poppers. Adam Larbalester and Ben Bayliss had 17 fish between them on snakes and sparklers, daddies, and claret bob’s bits. Mr A Wilson caught 4 fish on a single biscuit blob and boobies.

Saturday turned out to be a great day for fishing with good cloud cover and a light south westerly breeze blowing out of Rainbow Corner down across the reservoir. During the last few days the water temperature has dropped again and now good numbers of fish are being caught in the top few feet of the water column. There are some good catches being made on various techniques such as dries, a washing line fished on either a floater or a midge tip, and also pulling lures just under the surface. Ed Douglas boated 19 fish on big reds and bob’s bits. Nick Parker caught 9 fish using a sink tip line and boobies. Dan Mcelligott had 7 fish to the boat using olive snakes pulled fast, just under the surface on a DI 5. Dan spent part of his day in a boat with staff member Lee Henfrey, who using the same technique boated 17 fish. Mr Ian Watts managed a dozen fish to the boat, all on dry flies. Tom Bird and his boat partner Craig had nearly 40 fish to the boat which they did using various lures pulled just under the surface of the water.     

A breezy day Sunday with the wind still coming from the South West with sunny and cloud intervals. Despite the sunny conditions at times the majority of fish stayed high in the water. Season ticket holders Paul Mitchell & Chris Bobby enjoyed a good days sport landing 29 fish to the boat. The pair both opted for a washing line set up Chris using a floating line while Paul used a Slow Glass. There cast involved a foam daddy on the top dropper, nymphs and then a FAB on the point. The best drift the pair found was around J Buoy to the blue boat and then T Buoy to the spit. Jim Smith & Ed Douglas fished around A, B & C Buoy to land a dozen in a half day with dries working for Ed while Jim used a sunk line and a sparkler. The All Ability Friendly Fly Fishers took to the water with 18 members landing just short of 80 fish. The best catches from the group came to dries with Midas, daddies and hoppers all featuring well. 

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery 

Week ending 15th August.  Rod Av 2.9   Water Temperature 18.0c – 19c

Monday our water temperature was 18c+ with the first of our larger claret buzzers on the water, its going the right way for August. Steve Windram and P Cross caught 7 for their visit on buzzers, hoppers and daddies, Peter Wurm fished the last 4 hours boating 2 but reported fish moving prepared to chase but they proved finicky when it came to taking the hook.

Tuesday and a water temperature of 18c greeted the anglers. Trout were high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly with small muddler, booby, diawls & damsels all taking fish. A rod average of 4.4 for the day. Pete Cox caught 9 with the Dawsons olive the successful fly, all water member P Walker caught 15 on buzzer, damsel & booby, Arthur Olding caught 9 fishing an intermediate with a white booby on the point & a small fry pattern on the dropper. Best area: Green Bay, stones & dam across to the Markfield arm with boats on the drift producing best.

Wednesday a still start to the day but once the breeze picked up the trout were once again high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly. Andre Russel fishing from his float tube caught 8 on a montana pulled through the surface, Jason Harrison caught 4 using similar patterns, Bob Jones also fishing from a float tube caught 4 on a daddy, booby & cruncher with all anglers reporting follows & pulls to a pulled muddler.

Thursday a warmer brighter day with the air temperature 25c+ by lunchtime. A change to the previous few days with the trout in less of a chasing mood. Tut & Bet Miles fished a #16 diawl static to catch their 6 trout during mornings visit with M Armstrong catching his fish in the afternoon on dries.

Friday with a fresh breeze the trout were once again high in the water with dries, buzzer & washing line taking fish. Paul Martindale caught 11 on buzzers & diawls, R Morton & A Iliffe caught 9 for their mornings visit.

Saturday Brian Sibley fished the morning session catching 5 with C Green & B Newton catching 7 for their mornings visit with Mark Hunt fishing cdc, bobs bits & buzzers to catch 18 for his visit

Sunday fish were moving when the rods first got out on the water & were prepared to chase a fly pulled but were difficult to get them to commit & take the fly, exciting sport. Richard Callis found later in the day a green & black lure worked with Thornton member Andrew Wilson opting to fish the washing line catching 10 trout on buzzers.

With the shortening of the daylight hours & our water temperature around 18c, with good water clarity we should see the buzzer hatches improve as well as the evening rise

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 15th Aug 21           Rod Average:4.2              Water Temp: 19C – 18C

This week continued in fine form with the trout staying close to the surface. Most anglers opted to fish the washing line method with either a small booby or a FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs and Crunchers up the line. All water ticket holder Norman Perkins was top rod on the day fishing a FAB with small Buzzers to snare a cool 10 fish from the boat. A lot of the fish are being taken out in open water between the draw off tower and the Netted bank.

Tuesday seen things slow down a little, but most anglers still managed 2 or more fish to the boat. The few bank anglers that ventured out really did find it challenging. A few of the Boat anglers were having some success on Cats whisker patterns.

Wednesday seen the weather conditions settle a little bit better for fishing from a drifting boat. A nice steady breeze was enabling a lot of anglers to drift from the tower all the way past the netted bank. this enabled quite a few of them to pick up pods of fish cruising just below the surface. Yet again, washing line method worked best on floating line, midge tip, 6-foot slow tip or a slow intermediate line. A few reports coming in about fish chasing boobies in the surface when pulled. John Riley was top rod on the day with well in to double figures with a midge tip fishing the washing line method. 

Thursday turned out to be another fantastic day, yet again a nice steady breeze made for pleasant fishing conditions. Lots of anglers were catching on FABS as well as nymphs and small lures. The fishing was going so well, some of our anglers were even breaking out the traditional wet fly patterns. All water ticket holders Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost were in to double figures with FABS and dries. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Lindsay Bates was joined out on the water by R Keeber, the pair managed a cool 20 to the boat between them using Midas Dries and pearly Whickams. With a rod average above 4 for the past few days, it was no surprise there were so many happy anglers coming off the water at the end of the day.

Friday morning started off with perfect conditions in the morning, but as lunch time approached, the wind started to pick up speed. This made fishing a little more challenging but offered the advantage of windblown terrestrials as the local farmer began harvesting in the field adjacent to the fishery. Mark Hunt took advantage of this to take 12 fish as did Steve Houlton and Dave Naylor who had 10 to the boat. With the fish moving up and down as the sun came out or went behind clouds, season ticket holder Mr. Farrell used a slow glass matched with pheasant tails, diawl bachs and cut throat boobies to catch and return over 20 fish.

Saturday saw the whole fleet out, with nearly every boat practicing for Sunday’s 6×4 competition. With this in mind, the majority of anglers kept their findings to themselves, although there were plenty of rods bending throughout the day. Some anglers however did record their catches, and these included several double figure catches. Best fish of the day though was a well-conditioned Brownie of about 12 pounds taken by Peter Costin, a photo of which can be found on the Fly-Fishing Large Reservoirs Facebook page. Sunday saw the whole fleet out with 52 anglers involved in the competition which was fished from 0900 to 17.00. Overall, 274 fish were caught and returned for a competition average of 5.2. Top rod was Eric Caisley who netted a baker’s dozen. Top team were the Renegades. Season ticket holder, Malcolm Thompson spent the morning fishing from the bank near the Hawthorns and fishing a hares’ ears on a sink tip line caught 5 whilst members Dave Chadwick and Steve Lawrence netted 6 fish using snakes and Blobs

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 8^th August     Rod Average 4.7      Water Temperature 19‘C

With the recent drop in water temperature a fair amount of fish have been caught on dries, and hopefully this will continue as we move on into August. It was fairly busy for a Monday here at Draycote with 30 rods out on the water, mostly in boats. Season permit holder John Dickens caught 6 fish on a crippled midge. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had a bakers dozen on orange foam daddies and big reds around D buoy. Kevin Rees caught 18 fish on dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits.

Tuesday was very humid through the middle of the day but with some good cloud cover here and there. The rod average is hovering around the 3 mark at the moment with Andy Axon and Sean Porter putting 8 fish in the boat between them. Season permit holder Tony Parker and his boat partner Nick,  had 21 fish which all came to the dries when they had some cloud cover. Keith Coley and Bob Taft fished sinking lines with lures to boat 9 fish in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.

Wednesday was mostly warm and calm with bright conditions through most of the day, which made for tough fishing at times. Season permit holder Dave Adkins had 6 fish in the aerators on diawl bachs and cormorants. Mr M Francis had a total of 12 fish to the boat on a red stimulator and a green dabbler. Mr S Brown had half a dozen fish to the boat around A buoy. Mr C Jacques also had 6 fish which he caught on big reds and a gold lure.

On Thursday we had some heavy rain during the late afternoon but Draycote seemed to fish well right throughout the day. Peter Elliott and Lee Patten had over 30 fish to the boat on dries such as bob’s bits and also a washing line and nymphs. Paul Havard caught 7 fish using a 6 foot midge tip line with crunchers, diawl bachs and a tequila booby. Sue Potts and Andy T had 18 fish to the boat using blobs and crunchers around A and B buoy. Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost used dries and a washing line to catch 25 fish between them. Kevin Rees caught over 20 fish, all on dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits. Staff member and

Draycote guide Lee Henfrey had nearly 30 fish to the boat during a morning session fishing sinking lines through T and S buoy and off Farborough spit. Lee is well versed in this method of fishing and in his time here at Draycote has taught many anglers how to turn those dog days of summer into good fishing days. Why not book a session with Lee and learn how to catch when the fish just don’t seem to be biting.

The wind on Friday was blowing a lot harder than originally forecast and made for uncomfortable conditions at times. Draycote fished hard all day but John Dickens put the dries to good use  netting 11 on claret bob’s bits around B buoy. Dave Naylor and Steve Houlton had 20 fish to the boat between them on hoppers around X buoy. Season permit holder Richard Parris caught off the bank during an afternoon session using CDC’s.

Saturday was overcast and a bit windy, with showers promised for the late afternoon. Draycote fished really well posting a rod average of 6, with a lot of fish being caught in the top few feet of the water. Lee Henfrey and Kevin Hart took to the water for a morning session and put about 50 fish in the boat by early afternoon. The method they used was heavy sinking lines with tubes and humungus, but pulled just under the surface, down the front of the Farborough Dam. Season permit holder Chris Pallott caught 4 good fish from the centre of the reservoir on  a DI5 and snakes. Lianne Frost and Chris Bobby had 23 fish to the boat from various areas of the reservoir, all on FAB’s. The Invicta Fly Fishers took to the water with a total of 29 anglers, producing a club rod average of 6.58

Sunday was again overcast and blustery with light rain forecast throughout the day, however the rain didn’t really continue much after lunch. With the overcast conditions the majority of the fish caught came from the top few feet. Jon Crowley fished from the bank landing 6 fish from Rainbow Corner on a black and green booby fished on the end of a washing line. Tim Burn & Paul Mitchell fished together in a boat landing 21 fish using FABs and Boobies on a washing line fished on an Airflo 12ft Slow tip. Michael Hanlon fished for a half day landing a dozen fish using a Di 3 sinking line and humungus. Mr A Hoffrock landed 18 fish all on dries drifting from the Draycote Dam wall going out.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 8^th August.  Rod Av 2.6   Water Temperature 19c – 20c+

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

As we move into August a noticeable shortening of the daylight hours which in turn will help to reduce the water temperature & is a sign that were not too far away from the autumn & its dry fly sport to daddies & hoppers.

Monday anglers reported fish feeding but they proved difficult to tempt with Thornton member P Hunt fishing a mini muddler to take his 5 trout. The Rev Chip party of 4 anglers caught 13 trout with damsel patterns being the most successful fly. Our evenings fishing remains patchy with the cooler morning session still providing the best of the fishing

Tuesday the Markfield arm fished best with all water member Arthur Olding top rod for his mornings session catching 10 trout on an Intermediate with a booby on the point with small nymph on the dropper. Pete Cox fished a floating line with diawls and Dawsons olive to catch his 6 fish during a mornings session. Mornings without doubt continues to be the most productive session

Wednesday was a warmer, brighter day which certainly slowed the fishing. Paul Martindale fished in green bay with buzzer patterns, reporting plenty of fish moving during the morning but not taking the fly properly with Paul managing to boat 5 trout for his morning’s session. Other rods struggled catching 1 or two fish on a variety of methods from a floating line to fast sinker with buzzer patterns, blob, booby, bloodworm, diawls and snakes all mentioned, a day when it was difficult to find the consistent method.

Thursday & Friday, an unsettled forecast with the threat of heavy rain kept the rods away. Local angling club Thornton Fly Fishers secretary Peter Birdsall fished with Mick Norman taking 3 each for their mornings fishing with two of Micks fish taking a dry. By Friday morning our water temperature was 19c+ going in the right direction. Richard Callis caught 7 for his mornings visit on buzzers with Chris Sayer catching 4 & John Bebbington 3 trout for their part day visit.

Saturday & an excellent start to the weekend, cooler, overcast with the water temperature closer to 19c. Trout were in the top of the water & prepared to chase lures & nymphs but also take the dry with confidence. Fish were well spread across the reservoir from the dam to the mouth of the Markfield arm. Brian Sibley & Alison caught 6 for their mornings visit wit Jason Harrison finding a black & green lure pulled through the top on a floater created lots of follows & takes with Jason landing 7 for his mornings fishing. Mark Hunt went for the dries, big reds, cdc & grunter boating 15 trout for his days fishing.

Sunday another cooler, showery morning with the rods out for the morning session reporting fish moving and prepared to chase a muddler but were reluctant to take, Alasdair Blakemore party caught 8 for their mornings visit catching on muddlers and washing line. Thornton member A Wilson fished a claret bumble pattern on the top dropper and diawls on the dropper pulled through the wave creating plenty of follows and boating 5 trout.

Mornings is still the most productive period although this morning our water temperature is 18.5c and the first of the larger claret buzzer out in an appearance, with an unsettled forecast we should hopefully see some evening rises. Water clarity is good

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery 

Week ending 8^th Aug 21                  Rod Average:4.6                  Water Temp: 21C – 19C

After a few cooler days with a bit of wind, fish have been moving in the surface all over the lake, but the main concentration of fish has been in the main basin area close to the dam and the draw off tower. With Monday being quite a muggy day with not a lot of wind, most anglers were experiencing a multitude of different things from the fish. Occasionally the fish would come up and take a single CDC, where others were taking nymphs like Diawl Bach’s fished on a washing line method. Some Anglers were commenting that the takes were very subtle and then others were getting hard takes that were snapping their leader. Top rod on the day was Alan McGuire with 8 fish to the boat. Alan was fishing washing line method with a sunburst blob which accounted for most of his fish. Not a bad start to his 2-day package. As in previous weeks, a majority of the action came to those out on drifting boats, whereas the bank anglers struggled to get fish to the net.

Wednesday seen Eyebrook hosting the English Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Competing for the Presidents Cup on a bright sunny day with not much wind. Eyebrook provided some fantastic sport for the 15 Competitors with 81 fish between them giving a Rod average of 5.4. Biggest fish on the day was From Stewart Hume with a Rainbow of 3lbs 12oz. Top rod on the day was Paul Davidson with an outstanding display of angling by landing 20 fish. All competitors were welcomed back in off the water to a fantastic buffet set up by Pauline and her trusty crew. The fishing remained on top form for a majority of our anglers out in the boats. Jamie Thomas enjoyed his first outing on Eyebrook in years accompanied by Darren Wharton, the pair managed well in to double figures each fishing a multitude of different flies and methods, but Jamie stayed on for a little while and was impressed with the evening rise and continued to take fish on big red’s and small CDC’s. Eyebrook produced a whopping Rod average of 6.2 on this day despite the conditions being bright and still.

Thursday had The EFFA team meet up of a friendly competition out on the water. A few of the anglers had been out the day before and had some amazing sport. So obviously news was getting around the groups on areas, flies, and lines. Most of the flotilla spent most of the morning searching the open water around the dam area to Robbo’s cabin with a few fish coming to small boobies fished on a midge tip or dries on a floater. By the afternoon the group found where the main concentration of fish were and set up drift after drift along the Leicestershire bank from Dogwood bay to the Hawthorne’s. most anglers were on midge tips and slow intermediate lines and taking fish on boobies and Nymphs by casting out and retrieving with long steady pulls. Top Rods on the day were Andrew Wightwick and Steve Otteridge. John Goldie was the winner of the free boat draw at the prize giving. Overall, 25 Anglers caught 179 fish for a rod average of 7.46. Special mention needs to go to Eyebrook Season ticket holder Malcom Thompson who had an outstanding haul of 16 fish to the net while fishing from the bank. An outstanding feat considering the bank fishing has been extremely challenging lately.

Friday kicked off with being damp and overcast. The forecast heavy rain has seen most anglers opt to find other pursuits that are a lot drier. Meanwhile, the staff are keeping on top of boat maintenance and general admin around the lodge. From those few brave souls that ventured out on a blustery wet day Eyebrook Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell had an outstanding day getting in to double figures fishing washing line method on a midge tip with a cutthroat cats whisker booby and a couple of diawl bach’s. All water ticket holder Mark Hunt persevered with big reds and Bibio crippled midge to get in to double figures despite the conditions being far from perfect for fishing dries.

Saturday seen a good number of anglers covering a lot of the lake and taking fish from mostly along the Rutland bank on a multitude of methods, but the most productive methods were the washing line or dries. A few anglers had great success and managed to get in to double figures. Saturday ended up with a rod average of 4.8 obviously a sign that the drop in water temperature is bringing the fish back on to the feed.

Sunday was a bit of a quieter day giving our anglers plenty of water to explore. A majority of the anglers out today managed some good numbers of fish to the boat on cats’ whiskers and even baby doll patterns. This just goes to show that the old patterns still work, and they are worth a go every now and then.

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 1^st August 2021     Rod Av: 5.3  Water Temperature: 18c+ / 19c+

A bit of a change in the weather from the weekend with a bright flat calm day on Monday. DFFA member Michael Wright ventured out onto the bank to net 5 fish from Lincroft Point. Michael also lost another 4 fish and said that he only caught when the cloud cover came in. Season permit holders John Dickens and Lorenzo Seranno had 6 fish in total. Lorenzo caught 3 fish pulling in the aerators, whilst John caught 1 fish pulling and another 2 on a crippled midge.

A difficult day Tuesday with none of the anglers really finding a consistent way to tempt the fish. The best catch came to all water season ticket holders Ged O’Donoghue and Steve Orton the pair landed 4 fish between them on shrimps, buzzers and minkies fished on intermediates. With other anglers landing 1s commenting it was hard work, but still better than work.

Wednesday was rain on the forecast for most of the day, which never really happened. Although, the fishery did get some heavy thundery downpours later in the day. T Evans & J Bilinski landed 7 fish from Rainbow Corner. Draycote season ticket holder Stephen Dewhurst landed 6 fish drifting from Rainbow Corner and then down towards the Sailing Club. Fishing from the bank for the last 4 hours Slav & Jony landed 4 fish between them, a good sign the fish are starting to move back towards the banks with the cooler weather.

Thursday with the unsettled cooler weather helping to reduce the water temperature Draycote switched on finishing with a 7.4 rod average for the day. A variety of methods worked with sinking lines snakes, fabs & blobs working around A,B,C & J,T buoy with anglers on the drift over open water catching on midge tips with nymphs, buzzer & fab or floating lines with bobs bits, big reds & hoppers #14 #12. Water clarity is good.

Friday was overcast with showers and light winds. The bank anglers struggled to catch as the temperature of the water is still keeping the fish out in the deeper parts of the reservoir. Mr Naylor and Mr Houlton took the only boat out on the water on Friday and netted a total of 29 fish on dries such as hoppers and daddies.

Saturday was again overcast with light winds but definitely fished well with a rod average of 7.1.  Both James Kelly and Paul Lloyd had a brace each from the bank whilst Mick Cronin netted half a dozen. The boats fared better with a lot of anglers getting well into double figures. Quite a few methods were putting fish in the net such as dries, a washing line with nymphs fished on an intermediate line, and even nymphs fished on a DI3. Andy Lilley used CDC’s to catch some of the bigger fish from the middle of the reservoir, netting 10 overall. Kevin Rees, along with David Hoppe and Peter Elliott also resorted to dries to net well over 30 fish each for the day. Mark Braun caught a bakers dozen up in Rainbow Corner using a DI3 and red diawl bachs. Richard and Jim Hall had 14 fish to the boat on dries and FAB’s. Mr T Moore and Mr J Boxham had a total of 10 fish to the boat on crunchers and FAB’s.

Sunday & the dries reigned supreme with a number of anglers catching double figure numbers on crippled midge, bobs bits, big reds & small hoppers generally size #12 #14 with anglers reporting lovely silvered trout up to 4lb taken on long drifts across open water. Washing line was another successful method with small red diawls & hares ears. Water clarity is good with our water temperature closer to 18+c

With the cooler forecast for the week & our water temperature at 18c its looks as if early August could provide excellent top of the water sport

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.ukThornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week Ending 1^st August     Rod Average 1.6   Water Temperature 20c – 22c

Monday the morning session was still likely to be the most productive with All Water members Steve Windram & P Cross fishing the top 3ft of water in front of the main car park with holographic buzzers catching 10 trout between them for the morning session. Despite a good evening rise on Sunday filmed and posted at www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore the evening rise Monday was poor, having said that J Brody fished 4pm till 8pm & caught 3 again on holographic buzzer

Tuesday was a mixed day, Arthur Olding caught 3 on an intermediate with small booby and nymphs with other rods catching 1 or 2 fish to damsels and olive booby

Similar mixed fishing continued on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, All water member Ian Leach and I Brearley catching 8 on damsel patterns

Saturday & Sunday with overcast cooler temperatures anglers reported fish feeding on the surface especially during the early morning. Adan Gunby and S Jordan fished a washing line to catch their 12 trout with Andrew Wilson also fishing a washing line with a claret bumble been an effective fly

Water Clarity is good

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 1^st Aug 21                 Rod Average:2.9                  Water Temp: 21C – 19C

With cooler more overcast days forecast , we should be expecting to see the fish starting to come up in the water column and hopefully start to see a few fish starting to move on the surface. Monday proved to be a little bit challenging for most out on the water. However, all water Season Ticket holder Ian Jobe was once again showing how well he knows Eyebrook. Ian managed to get into double figures from his float tube and fishing a Di7 line. Fishing deep wasn’t quite getting the results he was looking for. But after adjusting his count down to around 10 seconds, it gave him the indication that the fish were indeed starting to come back up to the surface levels after a week or so hiding in the depths. A week ago, a countdown of 30 – 40 seconds was putting the Di7 down at 20 feet deep. With a count of 10, the line is getting you into around 6 – 7 feet deep. Just a clear indication of understanding fishing a sinking line can produce some fantastic sport. If fishing a sinking line is something you are missing out on, then why not try a guided day with one of our fantastic guides who can enlighten you on the finer details of fishing sinking lines.

Tuition Days

With Tuesday starting off a bit cooler we were definitely witnessing a bit of a change in the weather front. The afternoon was still hot and humid which didn’t help the anglers out. The fishing being presented was still really quite challenging and only a few managed a fish to the boat. With the changes in water and temperature, it was making the fish behavior quite unpredictable.

Wednesday proved to be yet another challenging day with most of our anglers getting takes that were tentative and hard to convert to a solid lock up. Those that managed to hook fish were often beaten at the net as the fish slipped the hook and escaped. Regular boat partners Clive Moore and Ian Jobe had a day where Clive managed more than Ian. Obviously a more trying day for Ian after having such a good day a few days before from the float tube. Sinking lines were not performing as well as they had done just a few days before. The cooler overcast weather is starting to bring the fish out of the depths and making it a little more challenging to figure out what depth the fish are holding at.

Thursday saw a few of the anglers starting to catch fish closer to the surface. Ron Brown had great day out searching the reservoir and managed to take a few fish by the Island out in open water and then again just outside dogwood bay. He was fishing the washing line method with Diawl Bach’s and a floating fry pattern from a drifting boat.

Friday presented us with some gentle winds in the morning with the occasional bluster of wind. Quite a few fish have been seen moving just off the tower and drifting boats were having some success. A Smith and T Fox had an outstanding day fishing small dries and catching a boatload with both of them getting well into double figures. A clear sign that the fish have come well up in the water.

Saturday saw quite an increase in the rod average as our anglers were starting to find fish in the upper layers. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Malcom Thompson managed a cool dozen from the bank just by the Bell. He was fishing small CDC patterns. All water ticket holder Mark Hunt was top rod on the day getting well in to double figures while fishing a Bibio Grunter. Mark said that the fish were coming blind to the fly.

Sunday was a strange day with the weather. The morning started out perfect for fishing dries, but then the rain started and kept going for most of the morning. By lunch time the temperatures started to rise, and it became very humid. Fish were still topping and tailing out in the open water and kept the anglers focused on them. Eyebrook Season ticket holders Steve Lawrence and Dave Chadwick had a cracking morning session by getting into double figures each while fishing intermediate lines and lures. On a whole, the lake produced some fantastic sport on a variety of different methods. A lot of the anglers managed good numbers of fish to the boat and the day ended with a fantastic rod average of 4.3

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 25th  July 2021     Rod Av: 5.2   Water Temperature: 23.5 °C

The week started the way the weekend ended, with temperatures hitting high 20’s to low 30’s as a result the water temperature started the day at 22.5°C. Phil Murphy & Craig Dootson landed 10 fish using fast sinkers and lures. Ian & Shaun Gaskell used Booby Bashers fished with sparklers around A,B & D Buoy to land 15 fish to the boat including a couple of nice perch. John Hurst & Richard Ellis also enjoyed a good day landing a dozen fish.

Once again the sun made a big appearance Tuesday, however all the anglers came equipped with fast sinking lines and the rod average finished at 6 fish per angler. All water season ticket holder Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft with the pair boating 21 fish. They fished with Di 7 sinking lines and bright lures back drifting through the Aerators down to B Buoy to land their fish. Another all water season ticket holder Chris Bobby fished with Mark Macleod landed 27 fish using Booby Basher sinking lines and a mix or cormorants and boobies. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey fished with Martin Rowson landing 23 fish to the boat again using Booby Bashers with various sparklers with the majority of the fish coming from between B & A Buoy.

After the 2 previous hot days the water temperature Wednesday started at 24°C, however despite this the fish still could be found willing to take a fly deep in the water column. Ged O’Donoghue fished with fellow all water season ticket holder Steve Orton with the pair landing 20 fish to the boat. Ged took the lion share of the fish as Steve left earlier in the day. Ged, caught the majority of his fish in the Aerators using Diawl Bach’s and a small fry pattern on the point on sinking lines. Mark Braun fished around A & B buoy using a black booby on a Di 5 sinking line to land over 15 fish to the boat. Fishery Guide Andy Miller took reservoir beginner Phil Waters out for a beginner boat session, landing 8 fish and some cracking Perch. Phil loved the session and had action for the entire time as well as learning all the key skills to handle a boat safely on his own. For bookings for any tuition please give Tom a call on 01788 812018.

Another hot day with the water temperature still sitting at 24°C at 7am in the morning. Although once again the fish responded to flies’ fish deep. Mr B Clark & J Lee landed 12 fish using Di 5 and Di 7 sinking lines with minkies and cutthroat cat whiskers. There best area was around the Aerators. Season ticket holders Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell landed 15 fish to the boat using Booby Bashers and Di 7 sinking lines fishing around A & B Buoy.

Friday saw a number of boats practicing for the Angling Trust Loch Style Championship being held over the weekend. The water temperature had dropped by half a degree over night with it sitting at 23.5°C. However it was still the fast sinking lines that caught the majority of the angler’s fish with the main concentration of the fish coming from the deep water around A & B Buoy, with other teams practicing around D Buoy catching fish as well with sparklers and cormorants featuring well. Outside of the match Ged O’Donoghue landed 16 fish fishing over the Aerators with Diawl Bach’s on the droppers and a fry pattern on the point. Rod Wilson used the rudder to great effect using a Di 7 sinking line and gold and silver tube drifting from Y-B Buoy landing 25 fish to the boat. Kev Hart fished with John Hoskins landing 30 fish back drifting on Booby Bashers from P Buoy across to Y Buoy.

The weekend saw the fishery host the Angling Trust Loch Style Championships with 5 teams competing for a £1,800 prize pot. With £1,100 going to first and £700 to 2^nd place, the practice day showed the fish sitting deep and booby bashers and Di 7 sinking lines were the best method to catch them. The change in wind had knocked the fish off the feed and it was a difficult first session  with the wind making it hard to get the flies down to the fish.  However, as the anglers honed in on the methods during the day the catch rate went up, with the third session yielding the most fish. At the end of the first day The Renedages were leading with 31 fish, Fly Boys in second with 21 fish and Greenwell Persuaders in third with 18 fish. The fish came to flies fished deep on Booby Bashers and Di 8 sinking lines in the deep water around B Buoy. A slightly better day weather wise on Sunday saw A lot more fish being caught and the chance of positions changing in the competition. It was touch and go at times but in the end the Fly Boys landed 69 fish for 3021cms to take first place. The Renegades were runners up with 59 fish for 2589cms. Well done to all those who took part. Further details of the competition can be found on the Angling Trusts website.

Outside the match over the weekend Jim Dempsey & Ifor Jones landed 24 fish using the rudder with Gold & Silver Tubes fished on a Di 7. Richard Wood & J Humes landed 16 fish on minkie boobies fished out the back of the boat around the Aerators. Kevin Hart and his boat partner Dave Pacey netted a bakers dozen on Sunday.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.ukThornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week Ending 25^th July.  Rod Av: 2.6   Water Temperature: 23c+

Monday with the forecast giving high temperatures for most of the week. Anglers took our advice and fished the morning session, hoping to catch cooler temperatures before they went up during the day. Surprisingly fish are still been caught in the top 5ft with Phil Cross fishing a midge tip with olive buzzers to catch 5 trout for his mornings visit. Richard Price fished and okey dokey to take his 3 trout.

Tuesday and another hot day, Pete Cox fished a gold headed Damsel to catch his 4 trout, John Lund fished an olive barred snake to catch his 2 trout with my grand daughter catching her first trout photo on our social media page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Wednesday & the hot weather continues with few rods out on the water, John Thomson fished buzzers and was rewarded with 3 trout, excellent fishing in the conditions

Friday & our best day of the week with a rod average 5.1 Chris Sayer & Mick Cross fished a booby to boat 15 trout for their mornings visit, Greg Weatherdon caught 4 on a damsel, with P Hunt & J Bebington both catching 6 trout for their visit.

With the cooler forecast for the weekend & excellent fishing on the Friday expectations were high but in reality the fishing proved challenging with Mark Hunt catching 5 for his visit with all other rods registering 1 or 2 fish

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 25^th July 21               Rod Average:2.04                Water Temp: 21C+

Weather reports looked fantastic for the start of the week, if you were looking to top up your sun tan. But for us fly anglers, it made for grim reading, bright skies and very little wind. Undeterred, John Duncan headed out on to the water and spent a good part of the day fishing over the deep water and was rewarded with 8 fish to the boat. Fantastic angling in such harsh hot and still conditions.

Tuesday seen All water ticket holders Ian Jobe and Ged O’donoghue venture out on their float tubes. Ian quickly figured out that the fish were really deep, and he was getting plenty of action on a Di7 line with lures to get in to double figures of fish to the tube. Ged wasn’t getting the same sort of results but was really happy that he got to try out his new flippers. After a bit of a chin wag with Ian, Ged started to think about upgrading his float tube so that he would have a bit more elbow space for his retrieve. This could have been the contributing factor in the difference in results.

Wednesday seen Ian Jobe back for another day out on the water with his regular boat partner and Eyebrook Season ticket holder Clive Moore even though it was a couple of degrees lower than the previous 2 days, it certainly didn’t feel that way. The pair persisted out in the open water around the dam area and managed to bring 9 fish to the boat between them. Obviously, the fish were a bit more elusive than the day before but still willing to put in the occasional appearance. This just shows that not only does Eyebrook produce fantastic sport for the dry fly angler when the conditions are good for it, but it will still produce fantastic sport if you are willing to put on those heavy sinking lines and get down deep when the surface temperatures start to rocket, and clouds are a rare thing to see in the sky.

Thursday started off a bit cooler with a cool mist on the water. The temperatures were starting to drop slightly and were presenting some really good conditions for fishing. However, on this day the fish just didn’t seem to want to come out and play. As the day progressed, the temperatures started to rise, and the clouds disappeared once again. The boats that had ventured out were all in the right sort of areas, but everybody struggled to get a pull back on the line.

Friday seen a slight upturn in visiting anglers. This was probably due to the cooler conditions than we have previously been experiencing. All water ticket holders Adam Gunby and Steve Jordan kicked the day off by calling the lodge to report that they had brought a large Brownie to the boat. Andy Miller was morning boatman and rushed out to weigh the fish and get some pictures before safely returning the stunning 12lbs Brown back to the water. An outstanding result for Adam Gunby. Read all about it on our Facebook Page. www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore. The day still proved challenging for a lot of the anglers, but most managed a fish or 2 to the boat. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Bob Margery had a fantastic session by successfully landing 11 fish. Bob was fishing a Di7 with a Humungous. It may not be everybody’s idea of pleasure fishing but getting the flies down to the right depth on hot spells like this is the key to catching a few fish.

The weekend saw a change in the weather with Jim getting his jacket out of the car due to it being a little bit cooler than previous mornings. A bit more of a gentle breeze from the East should have seen the fish coming up in the water. However, the change in conditions didn’t seem to be to the liking of the fish, with the majority of the rods struggling to find fish willing to take their offerings. The exception though was Aurelijus Petraitis and his boat partner, Vythutas Vhitkey who fished lures on DI7’s to boat 17 fish between them. Sunday saw a similar day weather wise, with a moderate north-easterly wind and overcast conditions and again only one boat found the fish, Steve Lawrence and Dave Chadwick using fast sinking line and Humungus to boat 12 fish, drifting from Robbos cabin toward the Valve tower.  The other boats and the bank anglers found the conditions difficult and fish hard to come by.

With more moderate temperatures forecast for the coming week, together with some rain, it seems probable that these stabilised weather conditions and resultant cooler water temperatures will encourage the fish to feed and provide our anglers with some good top of the water sport with dries and nymphs.

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

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 18th  July 2021     Rod Av: 2.85            Water Temperature: 22.5 ‘C

Light winds to start the week, which did pick up later in the day and come from the North, with a mix of sun and cloud for the day. All water member Norman Perkins fished buzzer and a FAB on a floating line around A, B & C Buoy to land 8 fish. Draycote household members Debbie & Sean Gilbert landed 8 fish to the boat using a barred olive snake booby and FABS. Draycote member Ian Reeve once again took to the water fishing with friend Paul the pair landed 17 fish. Landing them on a variety of methods from dries, blobs with nymphs and then booby snakes fished on sinking lines. Richard Parris fished from the bank for the last four hours taking 3 fish all on dries with Big Red being his best pattern.

An overcast start to the day with winds coming from the North, however, later in the day the sun did make an appearance. The morning water temperature is now at 20°C, this had caused the fish to drop deeper in the water column. However first thing anglers did tempt a few on dries, John Dickens landed 3 quick fish on crippled Midge around B Buoy, as to did Chris Pyke however as soon as the air temperature warmed up the fish could not be tempted on dries. Draycote season ticket holders Tony Broadway & John Clifford landed 29 fish to the boat using fast sinking lines and various different snakes and lures. Steve Barby used the rudder to good effect landing 16 fish fishing around A, B & C Buoy. All water member Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft landing 19 fish back drifting through the boils on sunk lines.

A bright day Wednesday, with he winds coming from the North West. Despite these conditions season ticket holder James Kelly enjoyed good sport on the land landing 5 fish on Diawl Bachs and Damsels. On the boats Bob Smith & Ian Richardson landed 8 fish to the boat on shrimp, snakes and FABS and commented on “the lovely fish”. Chris Pyke once again took to the water landing 9 fish using a Di 7 sinking line and sparkler boobies. Trevor Moore & James Maplethorpe enjoyed a good day landing 15 fish on Diawl Bachs and crunchers fished on a floating line on a 24ft leader 150 yards from Rainbow Corner.

Well the sun that was forecast did arrive until much later in the afternoon, as a result a number of fish were moving first thing in the morning, however the majority of the fish still fell to sunk line tactics. Draycote season ticket holder Dennis Tidmarsh landed 4 fish on a Forty Plus Di 7 and had a number of good pulls fished a snake on a DI 7 forty plus. All water season ticket holder Paul Havard landed 7 fish using a Midge tip and nymphs in the morning, before switching to a DI 5 and a black snake to land his other 5 fish. Lianne Frost & Chris Bobby enjoyed a good days sport landing 15 fish to the boat using sunk lines and various lures. Former manager Kevin Hart fished with John Hoskins with the pair landing 25 fish to the boat using a Booby Basher and sinking lines with a mix of snakes and tubes, with their best area being the Aerators.

Once again it was a bright start on Friday with the same conditions due to stay with us all day. Sinking lines are just about the safest bet at the moment, with the odd fish falling to a midge tip and nymphs, but generally earlier on in the day. Debbie and Sean Gilbert used olive barred snakes to tempt 7 fish to the boat, concentrating their efforts over the deeper water around the aerators. Season permit holders Chris Discombe and Jim Brennan had 16 fish to the boat using sinking lines and lures fished over A and B buoy. Chris Pallot used sinking lines and snakes to catch 3 fish in deep water drifting around in the middle of the reservoir

Hot and bright conditions on Saturday meant that the majority of the fish would be taken in deep water on sinking lines. With it being flat calm, fish could be clearly seen in the surface of the water but these proved very difficult to catch. Most anglers spent the majority of time over A and B buoy, the aerators and generally the deeper parts of the reservoir. The general method of the day was DI 7’s and DI 5’s, with lures such as snakes and minkie boobies. Most rods were practising for the Scierra Pairs match on Sunday so were playing their cards very close to their chest, hence the limited information.

Sunday dawned and once again we were in the Costa Del Draycote, with just the slightest of breezes. Amongst the pleasure anglers was Richard Walker who boated 5 fish on damsels during a morning session. The Draycote round of the Scierra pairs competition was in full swing with a total of 34 anglers taking part in what looked like extreme conditions. Despite this there were quite a few full bags of fish with 8 of the pairs getting time bonuses for finishing early. First back to the pontoon were Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird having boated 12 fish in a little over an hour and a half. They were closely followed by Sam Edmunds and Sam Smith, who hit the pontoon bang on 12 o’clock. The afternoon was then interspersed with a number of pairs rolling in with even heavier bags which obviously made the earlier finishers a bit nervous. Final results were; Tom Bird and Lee Henfrey in third place with a bag weight of 36 lbs 6 oz, Dean and Glenn Appleby in second place with 39 lbs 4 oz, and the competition was won by Sam Edmunds and Sam Smith with a bag weight of 39 lbs 5 oz.

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.ukThornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week Ending 18^th July.  Rod Av: 3.1   Water Temperature: 21+c – 23c+

A good start to the week with a rod average 4 with anglers following our advice & fishing the morning session. Main car park, dam wall & green bay were best areas again with intermediate & midge tip lines with damsel, #14 red diawl, #14 #16 bright olive or black buzzer & pin fry patterns. A Illiffe & R Moreton shared a boat catching 5 trout, A. Adams fished small black buzzer to catch 11 for his mornings visit with all water member Ian Leach also fishing buzzer to catch 5. Bob Menhams fished a combination of hoppers & black buzzers catching 4 for his 4 hour visit. Water clarity is good.

Anglers heeded our advice and came early, we managed to get the boats out before 8am as we tried to beat the heat. Main car park, dam & green bay the deeper water areas is were most of the anglers headed concentrating their fishing to intermediate & midge tips. All water member Ken Key fished a team of hares ear & caught 6 trout, P Cox also fished hare`s ears to take his 7 trout with Richard Price fishing bunny leach & sparkler to catch his 7 fish with Mick Litchfield fishing dazzlers to catch his 7 trout as they targeted pin fry feeders. P Hunt caught 8 with Arthur Olding fishing the deep channel down the Markfield arm were he had plenty of nips and pulls boating 3 trout. Another excellent mornings fishing for July with a daily rod average 4.9

Wednesday the water temperature at 7.30am was 21c we managed to get the boats out before 8.00am. Phill Mee fished diawls & fab to catch 6 trout with D Slessor catching 6 also. M Armstrong fished the afternoon session catching 3 on a sinking line & blob with David Hussey fishing the 2.30om to 9.30pm session boating 14 trout on diawls & buzzers fished static on a floating line.

Thursday a warmer morning with the water temperature 21c+ fortunately cloud did arrive & a fresher breeze did arrive around 9am Angler were spread out across the reservoir from the deep channel down the middle of the Markfield arm across to the dam wall

Cool of the morning fished best with Terry Miles fishing with cloud building Terry too himself to the Markield arm 2hr 15 min later he was back at the pontoon having caught 8 on damsel. His brother A Miles & Bet fished black buzzers catching 6 for their mornings visit. P Hunt fished to 4.30pm catching 13 with Carolyn Brown catching her 3 on minkie booby. Andy and Christine Warren fished the mouth of the Markfield arm with fast sinkers an intermediate to tale their 6 fish for the mornings visit

Friday and the forecasted heat started to build; water temperature was 21.5c at 7.30am climbing to 24c by 4pm. Few rods out on the water Richard Bowers fared the best fishing a short morning session from his float tube catching 3 trout

Saturday & Sunday the high temperatures arrived, understandably few anglers out with some taking our advice and visiting Draycote where the cooler aerator line & generally deeper water will still offer some sport

Thornton Water temperature at 7.30am was 22.5c and would climb during the day. Few rods out over the weekend not surprising with the forecast. Mark Hunt had an exceptional Saturday considering the conditions. He started with a sinking line but quickly switched to a 6ft tip line with a small damsel and grey boy buzzer catching 10 trout for his mornings visit

Sunday another quiet day with the temperature forecast to be 29c. S Zeleny & S Swinfield fished sinking lines to catch their 3 fish with John Thomson & P Hunt fishing a floater with buzzers to boat their 5 trout

With another week of high summer temperatures forecast we recommend you fish the morning session we will if at all possible try and get you out on the water a bit earlier than 8.30am

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 18^th July 21               Rod Average:1.5                  Water Temp: 21C+

Monday started off as overcast with light winds from the North West. The day was relatively quiet. Despite the conditions being near perfect, only a handful of anglers ventured out. This was probably due to a historical sporting moment in England’s history. The few anglers that ventured out in the morning had a few fish, but in the afternoon after a bit of a deluge things became more difficult for the anglers venturing out on the lake.

The wind had maintained its direction and slightly increased from the previous day. With fish showing in the surface all along the dam frontage and all the way up to Robbo’s cabin at about 100 yards from the bank, we were expecting a lot of good action for our anglers. However, the fish seem to be preoccupied with something that the anglers are struggling to replicate. Mr Adams had 5 fish that fell to buzzers or cormorants. But yet again Mark Hunt managed 5 on dries on a day where the fish were being very finicky about what they were taking.

Midweek saw the weather start to settle. With a NNW wind at an average 13mph at its strongest, the fishing should have seen a few fish being taken on dries or just sub surface with damsel nymphs and olive crunchers. But, despite the great conditions, our anglers were still struggling to put a finger on what exactly the fish were taking. Top rod on the day was Ewan McGregor who managed 8 to the boat while using a selection of dries that he was given by Mark Hunt. A lovely gesture by one of our All-water Season ticket holders. Just another example of how friendly and welcoming our season ticket holders are and it isn’t just restricted to our staff. Richard Sutcliffe had a cracking guided session out on the water with Andy Miller and managed one of our new resident Brownies which made his day. However, not to be outdone, Andy Miller then managed to land a stunning 8lbs 8oz Brown. Andy had them both fishing sinking lines and booby snakes. Sometimes when the fishing is challenging, you need to get down and use those big nasty lures

Thursday saw Eyebrook being hit with a Northerly wind. The weather reports were saying a top average wind speed of 13mph was to be expected. However, our anglers were experiencing slightly stronger than they thought. The conditions were fantastic for getting out and doing a bit of drifting. But once again, the fish were proving to be elusive even though they can be seen moving through the water all over the lake.

Friday and Saturday seen the Mercury rise on the thermometer making the chances of taking fish in the upper layers extremely challenging. There was still the occasional fish breaking the surface. There are a number of theories as to why the fish were crashing around in the surface. But those that persevered with dries struggled to get a pull on their line. Some were fortunate enough to pick fish up on nymphs on sink tip lines. However, those that were a bit more daring and employed the use of Di5 and Di7 lines with fry patterns were picking fish up over the deep water.

Sunday saw Eyebrook play host to the Midland Counties cup where 12 boats with 24 anglers ventured out on to the water. Most of the fleet were around the main basin area and fishing all manner of lines and flies. Mark Redfern was top rod. He weighed in his 6 fish limit for 12lbs 10oz. His boat partner Rich Miller also caught his 6 fish limit making them the only boated pair to catch their limit. Outstanding angling in such challenging conditions. Ultimately the Foremark team were victorious with the team weighing in 24 fish between the 8-person team. The rod average for the 24 anglers was 2.3 which was a fantastic result considering Eyebrook has tested even the most seasoned of anglers in the past week.

Looking forward in to next week; the conditions are looking to be hot and bright with very little wind, ideal conditions for anglers that don’t normally fish Sinking lines to get out there and give them a go. With the sunny conditions expected, it is advisable to wear some sunblock and adequate protection from the elements.

Covid Update 13^th July 2021

Governments lifting of Covid legal restrictions in England on the 19^th July 2021

The UK Government on the 19^th July due to the success of the vaccine rollout is moving the country towards a more normal lifestyle, as we learn to live and work with Covid, always present in one form or another within the community.

Currently a high daily infection rate of 30,000+ people and expected to increase.

Government advises us to continue to wash & hand sanitise our hands regularly, manage our own social distancing & wear face masks / coverings within enclosed crowded public spaces.

Basically, their asking us to take our own sensible precautions.

What will it mean for you the angler visiting Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton Fisheries.

Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton fisheries will continue to:

• Disinfecting, we will continue to disinfect boats & lifejackets after every session

• Hand sanitiser will be provided at the lodge entrance & booking in & out area, we recommend you carry your own hand sanitiser & use it as required.

• Staff Face Masks, staff will be provided with face masks / coverings to wear within the lodge, it will become a personnel choice for them.

• Customer Face Coverings, will be at their own discretion, but government advice is they should be worn if you’re in a crowded public space

• Pre-payment requested for boats & day permits, as it prevents queuing within the lodge.

• Pre-payment moves you through the booking in & out area & away out fishing quicker.

• Pre-payment allows the lodge staff more time to interact with the customers, offering fishing & tackle advice.

• Pontoon, fishery staff will still manage angler numbers on the pontoon and continue to issue you with your boat number.

• 3 People will be allowed per boat

• Competitions, it will become easier for organisers & the fishery staff to manage large groups, angling club, associations, competitions especially at the weigh in & presentation. However, be prepared at any competition / event to follow the fishery, competition, club organiser Covid guidelines for any event.

Thank you for your cooperation during the last 16 months, and as we move forward.

Ifor Jones

Fishery Management

Flyfishstore