Draycote Report W/E 16th August 2020

The local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 9th August 2020

Posted Monday 10th August 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 9^th August

The government has announced that mandatory Face Coverings are to be worn within all shops in England from Friday 24^th July. These can be a Buff type, scarf or mask etc.

This mandatory rule will cover our shops / lodges.

Overall this week 242 anglers visited the fishery landing 763 fish, producing a rod average of 3.15.

The week kicked off in fine form with a rod average of 3.9 fish per man with the majority of the fish coming out on dries fished out around the open water. The bank also fished well for this time of year with both Tony Broadway & Gordon Slack landing 4 fish each. Gordon took all his 4 fish in Dunn’s using a washing line. While Tony took 1 fish from the Cornfield, Dunn’s, Lincroft & The Overflow. On the boats Draycote season ticket holder Kevin Rees used Bob’s Bits drifting around the top dam wall to land 17 fish. Tony Fox & A Smith used dries this time CDC shuttlecocks and also F Fly’s take 25 fish between them. The pair found the fish drifting around C Buoy down to B Buoy and also around P Buoy. Tony Baldwin also enjoyed a good day on dries using a mixture of Midas and also Bob’s Bits, again Tony concentrated around the Sailing mark buoys and the open water.

Tuesday was a bit mixed weather wise, mostly overcast with some blustery conditions at times, but at least the rain held off. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had 4 fish to the boat during a morning session, all on Daddies. Season permit holder Tony Parker caught 12 fish from a drifting boat around A, B and P buoys.

Mark Hunt had 8 fish to the boat using CDC’s and Buzzers. Mr D Eames caught 9 fish using Dries in the morning and snakes in the afternoon. Keith Coley and his boat partner Bob Taft caught 9 fish from a boat using Muddlers. Mr Graham England caught 3 fish during an afternoon session using Hares Ears and Shrimp patterns. One of Mr England fish weighed 4lbs. The boat pairing of Peter Elliott and Lee Patten netted a total of 16 fish, all on Dries.

Wednesday turned out to be quite blustery but dry day with the north shore almost unfishable at times. Mr Mark Franks had 15 fish to the boat on Claret Hoppers and a Red Stimulator around D buoy. Chris Malcock caught 6 fish on Diawl Bachs, while Ian Western caught 7. Mr John Honor caught his 7 fish on Daddies. The boat pairing of Don Coe and Gordon Byers had a dozen fish between them on Big Reds and Shuttlecocks. Season permit holder Colin Grainger fished the bank down by the Swans Nest to land 4 fish on PTN’s.

Thursday was almost ideal conditions for fishing, apart from a couple of light showers in the afternoon. There weren’t too many bank anglers out, and those that were, failed to give us any returns. Out on the boats all water season permit holder Phil Mee caught 5 fish on Daddies and Big Reds. Steve Orton also had 5 fish to the boat using Daddies, Crippled Midge and a Blue Flash Damsel. Gordon Bramwell managed to net 14 fish, all on dries. Lester Booth and Mr N Nixon had 17 fish to the boat using Claret Hoppers and Midas, over Middle Shoal and Toft Shallows. Draycote season permit holder Kevin Rees caught 12 fish using dries such as Bob’s Bits.

An extremely hot day Friday with temperatures over 30 degrees for most of the day. As a result the fish got knocked a little bit of their stride with the rod average dropping to 2.9 fish per man. Rob Edmunds& son Albert bucked the trend landing 20 fish in a half day session. The pair used a Di 5 forty plus line with 2 chained eyed humongous, using a roly-poly retrieve with the fish taking after “Hanging” the flies at the boat for a long period of time. They found fish all along the North Shore, around the weed bed off the Farborough Spit and also some larger fish in Rainbow Corner. Fishery Manager Tom Bird fished the Aerators with Fiancé Sarah, landing 12 in just a few hours. Tom opted to use a Barred Olive Snake booby on a Di 5, while Sarah used a weighted olive version to start with before changing to a single FAB fished on a floating line.

Another warm day Saturday, with slightly more wind than the previous day with he breeze coming from the North. Jim Dempsey and Ifor Jones fished the rudder using Di 5 sinking lines landing 6 fish between them, with tubes being the best pattern. They picked fish up in a number of places from Farborough spit to T buoy, Middle Shoal and also the Aerators. Mr M Wooley fished over the Aerators to take 4 fish all on a blue flash damsel. Out on the water we also have the Invicta Club, who have written a report on the day:-

Invicta Carr Cup Round 2 and Carl Hunter Bowl, 8 August 2020, report by David Moore

Another good turnout of 28 members fished Draycote on one of the hottest days of the year.

Blazing sun and water temperatures of 20’ to 22’ across the lake were far from ideal conditions as boats spread out from Toft to C buoy with tactics ranging from dries to Di8 and tubes.

By midday most boats had moved downwind towards the boils, drifting towards the dam and few rods had taken more than a couple of fish.

New member Sam Smith on his first visit to Draycote was paired with David Moore who had practiced a few days previously and they got off to a good start with both taking 2 on nymphs and daddies drifting close to the bank from D buoy to the tower before moving onto the boils and C buoy where Sam took 3 quick fish on tubes and Di7. A return to the original drift and switch back to midge tips brought a fish a piece before returning to the boils and a long drift to C buoy where David caught a 6lb-9oz brown on a green and white tadpole and Sam caught his 7^th and match-winning fish.

Carr Cup table- topper Sam Edmunds was fishing with Mark Searle and after a slow start in Toft they pulled hard with tubes to take 5 fish each for the 2^nd placed boat.

The 28 rods caught 53 fish reflecting a very hard day in the sun and 30’+ temperatures.

There wasn’t a formal weigh-in but the first 4 fish were killed with subsequent fish counting as 2lbs and it was clear that Sam Smith’s bag was the winner. David Moore weighed his 4 fish at 14lb-8oz and it was agreed they were top boat with 11 fish to Mark and Sam’s 10 and received the two permits kindly donated by the fishery.

A big thank you to Mark Searle for organising the day and to fishery staff Tom and Lee for their help.

For a picture of David’s fantastic brown please visit our www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Sunday started a lot cooler with winds coming from the North and overcast skies to start the day before the sun broke through around 11.30am. The day saw the All Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers taking to the water in a club day. All the members enjoyed a great day on the water catching fish on dries, with popper hoppers being the best flies, with most of the fish coming from Toft. Although Mark Goodge did land some earlier on in the day around the school slips, the fish still came to the dries even in the sun. Season ticket holders Jim Smith & Ed Douglas landed over 30 fish to the boat, with lots of action again to dries. Jim caught a few earlier on in the day using snakes and tubes around Middle Shoal. Then when the sun broke through and the heat of the day started, Jim took a break and more relaxing way of fishing and went on the dries. To find much to his delight the fish were willing to come and take a well presented dry fly, with G buoy in Toft being the hotspot. Fishery Ranger & Guide Lee Henfrey went out with friend Nigel using the rudder, this proved to be a great call with the pair landing over 30 fish between them. Finding the fish from the Spit to T & J Buoy and then down the Farborough Dam Wall. Both Lee & Nigel found tubes to be the most successful flies with Lee on a Di 5 and Nigel on a Di 3. Overall despite the heat Draycote fished well producing a rod average of 4.08 for the day.

Bank anglers please note: The perimeter track is extremely busy with families, cyclists & joggers. Exercise caution while driving around the reservoir & observe speed limits

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Visit our online shop. We currently have a Fishery Management (UK) ltd Eyebrook Damsel Selection packs available. https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/eyebrook-daddy-selection/

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

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New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

Fishery Management UK Ltd is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the first qualifier of the NEW Angling Trust Style Autumn Series at Draycote Water on Sunday 6^th September. This is an exciting new competition where there will be cash prizes on offer for the top four anglers on the day. This is an individual, catch and release match where you will be paired with another angler in the boat. The match starts at 10am and will finish at 5pm with the angler who catches the most fish being the winner. In addition to the top four cash prizes, the top ten anglers will qualify for the spring final next year at Grafham Water on Saturday 3^rd April 2021.

The cost of this match is £51.75, this comprises of a £30 entry fee and a fishing fee of £21.75. 70% of the entry fee goes back into the prize pot for this event. The remaining percentage goes to raising funds for the England seniors, ladies and youth fly fishing teams. The more anglers that enter then the greater the prize pot. We need 16 anglers for the heat to run with a maximum of 50 anglers on the day. If 50 anglers fish (ie a sell-out) then the prize pot will be £900 split as follows: 1^st £360, 2^nd £270, 3^rd £180 and 4^th £90. If we get the minimum of 16 anglers the prize pot will be £320 split as follows: 1^st£128, 2^nd £96, 3^rd£64 and 4^th £32. The more anglers that fish the greater the prize pot will be!

The match is to be fished from drifting boats and to international rules with regards to the flies to be used.

We will also be holding further qualifiers at Eyebrook on Sunday 11^th October and again at Draycote on Sunday 25^th October. These two matches will be to fishery rules.

So, whether you’d like to try competition fishing for the first time, fish your local club matches or are an experienced match angler this event is for you!

The event is booking only and this can be done at https://anglingtrust.net/competitions/draycote-water/

For further information please email Competitions Support Officer Andy Taylor at andy.taylor@anglingtrust.net or 07946 251826

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Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 20:45pm

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 20:45pm

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 14.30pm

Afternoon Boat – 14.30pm – 20:45

Last 4 Hr – 16:45pm – 20:45pm

All Anglers Off Site – 21:00pm

Follow Us on social media

The local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 3rd August 2020

Posted Monday 3rd August 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 2^nd August

The government has announced that mandatory Face Coverings are to be worn within all shops in England from Friday 24^th July. These can be a Buff type, scarf or mask etc.

This mandatory rule will cover our shops / lodges.

The weather for Monday can certainly be described as wet and windy, with blustery south west winds teamed with showers all day. As a result we had a quiet day with most of the anglers opting to come on the better weather days later in the week. On the bank fishing at the overflow Draycote season ticket holder Colin Granger landed 5 fish. Colin used a washing line with small size 14 Diawl Bach’s on the dropper to tempt his fish. On the boats Kevin Rees fished with dries all day using Bob Bit’s to take his 10 fish. Kevin fished under the shelter of the top Dam wall drifting towards B buoy.

Still quite a strong gusty wind on Tuesday, with cloud and sunny intervals. The wind made presentation difficult at times, however it was still flies fished high in the water that caught the lion share of the catches. On the bank season ticket holder Tony Broadway used a washing line with a FAB on the point and shrimp patterns on the droppers. To land 5 fish with all of them coming from the Cornfield. On the boats Kevin Hart fished over the open water through the middle in the rough weather to take 8 fish. Kevin used sunk hoppers and dabblers on an intermediate. Tim Jones and Ian Pugh used dries all day drifting from the top dam wall taking 12 fish between them. Draycote season ticket holder Lee Patten and Peter Elliot landed 26 between them in the afternoon using dries with Bob’s bits being the best patterns once again coming out from the Draycote Dam. One angler who didn’t catch the fish high in the water, was Rudder regular Steve Barby who found the fish on a double Di 7 and Tube going from T Buoy down past the spit to land 7 fish.

Excellent conditions greeted the anglers on Wednesday with light winds and overcast skies, as a result we saw nearly all the boats taking to the water in the hope of some good sport. Chris Flay took to the water with newcomer to the sport Ann- Marie Edwards with Chris landing 8 fish while Ann lost 3 at the net. Frustrating morning for Ann, however, I am sure they will stick next time. Chris caught all of his on a home tied Damsel pattern on a floating line from the Farnborough Dam wall and then into Toft. Alex Campbell fished down in Toft for the morning from a boat landing 6 fish. Once again it was Alex’s Copper Hopper doing the damage, with an even mix of dry flies and pulling lures on a Di3. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey took to the water for his first days Guiding since we where able to resume the service earlier in the month. Taking all water season ticket holder Phil Mee, who wanted to learn about fishing dries. Phil enjoyed a fantastic day using dries all day catching fish from in Toft around G Buoy, for information on guiding please contact Tom on 01788 812018. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker & Andy Axon landed 22 fish between them fishing in Toft and from the Draycote Dam towards A buoy using dries. Richard Hood & Chris Webster also found the fish in Toft around G buoy drifting through the open water landed 26 fish between. The pair found using a slow sinking intermediate with a FAB on the point and sunk hoppers on the droppers to be the most successful tactics.

Thursday was a bright and breezy day throughout which some would think would make for difficult fishing conditions. Whilst the bank fishing is a bit slow at the moment due to water temperatures, the boat are doing quite well. Even in these bright conditions, the fish are still sitting in the top few feet of the water, making for some great dry fly sport. Mr D Eames had 15 fish to the boat around P buoy on Foam Daddies and Crippled Midge. New fishery staff member Lloyd Thompson enjoyed some great sport with much the same method on drifts around both P and D buoy. Season Permit holder John Dickens using a washing line and Buzzers to great effect to net 7 fish from a drifting boat. Chris Bobby and Leanne Frost had 18 fish to the boat between them, all on dries.

Friday gave us scorching temperatures with the mercury hitting 34 degrees in the afternoon. As a result the morning fished best with James Alexander fishing dries in the morning to land 5 fish. James, spoke to Lloyd in the morning and explained how the fish at P Buoy wanted to take crippled midge just sitting in the surface film. Taking on board Lloyd’s advice James enjoyed great sport and rose a number of others. Brothers Gary & Shaun Martin also found fish around P Buoy drifting towards D Buoy, using dries in the morning before switching to a washing line. They found a 12ft midge tip with green holographic Diawl Bachs on the droppers and a hopper booby on the point. All water season ticket holder Paul Walker fished with hoppers and buzzers in the Aerators to take 8 fish.

The weather was much better Saturday with the temperature dropping by about 10 degrees and the sun being replaced with cloud from around 9.30. On the boats Jim Dempsey & Ifor Jones used the rudder to take 15 fish between them. The pair fished barred olive snakes on a mix of Di 3 sinking lines also Di 7 sinking lines taking the fish a little deeper. The pair concentrated around the top dam wall in the deeper water taking the fish around A and B Buoy. Andrus R & G Wadsworth enjoyed a good day landing 20 fish from around A Buoy. They found that the majority of the fish (15) took a white snake while the other 5 came to an olive buzzer. Fishing for the last four hours season ticket holder Martyn Hancox landed 10 fish all on Big reds fishing around the top dam wall.

Another bright day forecast for Sunday with the cloud that was forecast in the afternoon not really materialising. With the sun out in the force over the past few days the cooler mornings have certainly been the most productive times. Season ticket holder Jim Smith took 7 on dries in the morning drifting around the school slips and N Buoy using a crippled midge and a shipmen’s buzzer. Later in the day the fish stopped being so willing to come and take a dry. As a result Jim opted to go down a little deeper using a Booby Basher and a tube over the Aerators to take a further 12 fish. Richard Walker also found success on the Aerators landing 9 fish in a morning session using a barred snake fished on a Di 5 sinking line. Tez Livin used dries all day to land 7 fish drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy. All water season ticker holders Ian Reeve & Matt Pittaway landed 15 fish between them using Damsel and Perch fry patterns. The pair found the fish around the Aerators and the Outlet.

Bank anglers please note: The perimeter track is extremely busy with families, cyclists & joggers. Exercise caution while driving around the reservoir & observe speed limits

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Visit our online shop. We currently have a Fishery Management (UK) ltd Eyebrook Damsel Selection packs available.

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

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Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 21:00pm

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 21:00pm

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 14.30pm

Afternoon Boat – 14.30pm – 21:00

Last 4 Hr – 17:00pm – 21:00pm

All Anglers Off Site – 21:15pm

Follow Us on social media

The local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Water Fishing Report w/e Sunday 26th July 2020

Posted Monday 27th July 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 26^th July

The government has announced that mandatory Face Coverings are to be worn within all shops in England from Friday 24^th July. These can be a Buff type, scarf or mask etc.

This mandatory rule will cover our shops / lodges.

The bright weather continued to start the week, however, some cloud did arrive to give a mix of bright and cloud for the afternoon. Fishing off the bank Draycote season ticket holder Ian Richardson enjoyed a good day’s sport using dries. Landing 8 fish from Biggin Bay just up from the old pipe, Ian opted for a Big Red and a Snail pattern on the dropper taking an equal mix on both. Fishing along the Cornfield, Mike Garner landed 4 fish from the bank on crunchers and a cormorant using a floating line. Out on the boats Mr D Cornforth & Mr G Cornforth landed 16 between them using a mix of snakes on sinking lines and pheasant tailed nymphs on floaters. The pair found the fish in the Aerators and also drifting around the Value tower and commented on the hard fighting qualities of the fish. Draycote season ticket holder Kevin Rees persisted with the dries even in the bright conditions to land 12 on crippled midge and Bob’s Bits.

The weather Tuesday started with bright flat conditions, that then later improved for the anglers with some cloud building later in the day and a light ripple. Draycote season ticket holder Brian Allwood landed 6 fish from the bank and was also broken twice. On the boat’s brothers Mr T Evans & Mr J Evans landed 19 fish between them fishing in Rainbow Corner using Diawl Bach’s with a small Damsel pattern on the point. All water season ticket holder Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft landing 11 fish on muddlers pulled through the surface. Chris Pyke started the first of his 3 day break in fine form taking 12 fish, Chris found a lot of fish out over the open water around P & Y Buoy. Chris mentioned how as you headed back up wind to start a drift you could see the fish moving and then. The key to catching was to make sure you covered the fish with the flies and pulled them away using a mix of FABS and Blobs.

Sunny with cloudy intervals was the weather greeting the anglers, the fish still remained high in the water. On the bank Terry Tappingden landed 6 fish all falling to Bob’s Bits, with Terry finding the fish in Biggin Bay and also off the overflow. Fishing from the boats Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker fishing with Andy Axon landed 26 between them. The pair used dries all day in Rainbow corner to take the fish using a mix of various dries. Mr B Joseph fished from the bank for half a day up till 12pm and landed 6 fish, Mr Joseph commented the sport had been best in the morning before the sun broke through taking 5 of his fish early. Mr Joseph found the fish very tight in along Lincroft point using a team of crunchers to catching the fish just feet from the bank with the flies parallel to the bank. Fishing for a half day session from the boat Chris Flay landed 7 fish including a cracking brown of 7lb. Chris, fished using a floating line and a damsel pattern drifting from S buoy just off Lincroft shoal towards Farnborough spit.

Great conditions Thursday with cloud all day, with winds of 14mph coming from the South West. As a result of the good conditions the fish responded well with 52 anglers catching 303 fish for a rod average of 5.8. On the bank Beginner season ticket holder Antony Hart landed 4 fish using a washing line set up in Rainbow Corner. Out on the boats Chris Pyke used a midge tip line with a washing line set up to take 11 fish. With all of Chris’s fish coming from the open water around P, X and Y buoy on a mix of the FABS and nymphs. Draycote season ticket holder Gordon Bramwell fishing with Mr K Cooke landed 19 fish from around B buoy using a washing line on a floater. Kevin Rees fished dries all day landing 15 fish, using crippled midge. Kevin found the fish drifting from the sailing club toward the spit, then later in the day around P buoy. Paul Mitchell fished around the top dam wall with dries and also pulling FABs on an intermediate to land his fish. Derek Moore and Felicity Appleton enjoyed a great days sport landing 29 fish between them all on Midas fishing from Rainbow Corner towards A buoy.

Another cloudy start on Friday, although the sun did break through around lunch. Draycote season ticket holder Pete Allen fished off the bank landing 5 fish. Pete took 2 from Biggin Bay, before taking his other 3 at the overflow. Pete commented that the fish where at maximum range at the outlet. With the fish taking crunchers and a small black booby on a floater. Tony Broadway also had 5 from the bank all on Bob’s Bit dry flies. Out on the boats dries still seemed to be the best method, Tony Parker fishing with Tez Livin used dries drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy and also around the Inlet to boat 19 fish. All water season ticket holder Ed Douglas also fished dries to land 13 fish. Ed found the fish around J Buoy in the morning before heading to the top dam well using a mix of Bob’s Bits and crippled midge. Stephen Peart fished with Steve Smalley with the pair landing over 30 fish on a mix of dries and also pulling blobs. The pair concentrated on the wind lanes and also fishing off the Draycote Dam going toward B Buoy.

Saturday was again overcast and warm with light breezes, and had the odd shower thrown in for good measure. In preparation for the Scierra Pairs match tomorrow, some anglers were playing their cards very close to their chest with areas and methods used, and who could blame them. Others such as Tony Baldwin note 10 fish on dries. Keith Allison caught 3 fish using Diawl Bachs, FAB’s and Big Reds. Mr R Wheeldon and his boat partner had 6 fish to the boat using dries such as Big Reds and Culs. Most of the fishing is to be had up on the Draycote dam and in Rainbow Corner, and generally in the top couple of feet of the water. With the surface temperature still down in the teens and lots of overcast days, the fishing is pretty good for this time of year. Dries or a washing line with a sparkler booby on the point and Diawl Bachs are working really well. Pulling lures such as snakes is also producing good returns, as long as nothing more than an Intermediate or a DI3 is used.

Sunday was again an overcast day with at times a strong breeze blowing through Draycote. The bank fished reasonably well for the time of year, with Mr H Lambert catching a brace on Orange Foam Daddies up in Rainbow corner. Mr S Featherstone also caught from the bank In Rainbow corner, netting 3 fish on Buzzers, whilst Mr Keith Jones had 4.

The Draycote heat of the Scierra Pairs match got under way with all competitors in fine fettle as they arrived in the morning. Once the briefing was done they headed out at 10 am in what can only be described as good fishing conditions which stood throughout the day. It wasn’t the easiest of days out on the water and some boats were seen moving constantly from place to place. With 12 fish needed for the competition only 4 of the boats bagged up with a further 2 getting in to double figures. The heat was won by the boat pairing of Rob Middleton and Steve Cullen, who bagged up pulling off Croft Shoal, which it was noted during the week was holding a good head of fish right through towards G buoy. Our congratulations to all those competitors who took part.

Bank anglers please note: The perimeter track is extremely busy with families, cyclists & joggers. Exercise caution while driving around the reservoir & observe speed limits

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Visit our online shop. We currently have a Fishery Management (UK) ltd. Washing Line pack offer on the online shop which is available here https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/fishery-management-uk-ltd-washing-line-selection/

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

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Tuition & Guided Sessions

From July 1^st we are pleased to announce that we have resumed our 1:1 casting tuition. For the latest information on tuition under Covid-19 guidelines please visit www.flyfishtuition.co.uk. For bookings please call Tom on 01788 812018.

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 21:15pm

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 21:15pm

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 14.30pm

Afternoon Boat – 14.30pm – 21:15

Last 4 Hr – 17:15pm – 21:15pm

All Anglers Off Site – 21:30pm

Follow Us on social media

The local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 19th July 2020

Posted Monday 20th July 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us/

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 19^th July

Government has announced that mandatory Face Coverings will be required to be worn within all shop in England from Friday 24^th July, these can be a Buff type, scarf, mask etc

This mandatory rule will cover our shops / lodges

A mixed week here at Draycote, with some days of fantastic sport then being followed by challenging days. With the weather playing a huge role in this, the fish are sitting really high in the water and not dropping in the bright conditions they are just not feeding as hard in the bright conditions. Meaning that a pulled fly near the surface is the best way on the bright days. Although as soon as you get any cloud cover, they are straight back on the surface feeding again. Overall a total of 337 rods visited the fishery landing a total of 1,369 giving a rod average of 4 for the week.

What a fantastic start to the week with overcast conditions and a light breeze as a result the fish responded very positively to the conditions and the fishery produced a 5.89 rod average. With the majority of the fish coming on to dries from the boats. On the bank Ian Richardson landed 7 fish from the Overflow on a mix of dries and also a washing line. With Big reds being Ian’s best dries, then on the washing line crunchers with a minkie booby on the point proved to be the best. Fellow Draycote season ticket holder Bob Smith landed 6 fish taking 2 each from the Cornfield, Biggin Bay & the Overflow on either a Bob’s Bit’s, Crunchers, or a booby on the point. On the boats Kevin Hart landed 20 fish all on dries and nymphs fishing over the open water and commented on a fantastic day. Kevin Rees found a wind lane of the front of the sailing club that went all the way to Farborough spit. Using crippled midge in his Kevin boated 26 fish. Also fishing in the same wind lane John Dickens landed 15 fish again all on dries, however, John found the fish also wanted to take foam daddies along with crippled midge. Father and son team Ken and James Maplethorpe enjoyed a great day using Diawl Bach’s and buzzers on a washing line to land 21 fish between them. With friend Trevor Moore fishing in another boat landing 9 fish commenting a “fantastic day”.

The wind swung into the North West Tuesday, with the cloud and light ripple remaining, once again nearly ideal conditions. On the bank Tony Broadway took 5 fish from the Cornfield and in Biggin Bay with 3 of them coming to dries. Fishing alongside Tony, on the cornfield Pete Allen landed 7 fish using a washing line with a small black booby on the point with the majority of his fish taking it off the surface. Gordon Slack also caught using a washing line, taking all his fish in Biggin Bay. On the boats all water season ticket holder John Kirk did well fishing a small booby on the point with Diawl Bachs on the droppers landing 14 fish. With John’s most productive area drifting around the valve tower, with a number of his fish being over 3lb. J Bilinski & T Evans enjoyed a good day using buzzers and Diawl Bach’s landing 18 fish around Biggin Bay and also Toft. Using Diawl Bach’s and muddlers Paul Walker landed 15 fish from Toft and also in Biggin Bay. Sticking to dries all day Ed Douglas landed 15 fish, the key to Ed’s success was to stick to the open water and look for slicks and wind lanes. These wind lanes all ways worth looking in for fish due to all the food getting trapped in them, which then attracts the fish.

Wednesday dawned with again almost perfect conditions , a light north westerly and overcast with the chance of a shower or two. Top of the water sport over the last couple of days has been excellent, and it’s not often we get to say that at this time of year. Dries have been working really well, as has the washing line with small size 12’s and 14’s. Season permit holder Mr A Hart caught 3 fish from the bank using a washing line. During a late evening session on the bank Will Hunt caught 4 fish on Diawl Bachs. Out on the boats Mr Phil Webb netted 7 fish on Crunchers on a washing line. Season permit holder Tony Parker had 11 fish to the boat on dries in Rainbow Corner and B buoy. Tim Groves caught 10 fish from a boat on Buzzers and Shuttlecocks. Ged Donoghue used a Popper Fry pattern and Yellow Owls to lure his 8 fish to the boat. The intrepid duo of Lee Patten and Peter Elliott took to the water for an afternoon session and had well over 30 fish to the boat between them on dries from various areas around the reservoir. Mr Gary Wharton also used dries up in Rainbow Corner to net 10 fish from the boat.

Fishing from the bank Thursday, C.J Day landed 4 fish from the overflow from the treatment work along the tower bank. With Mr Day’s fish falling to cormorants and also pheasant tail nymphs. Draycote season ticket holder Mike Garner also fished the bank Thursday along the Cornfield taking 3 fish in the morning using cormorants and also crunchers. On the boats Mr T Evans & Mr J Evans took 13 fish between them using buzzers and Diawl Bachs fished on a floating line. All water season ticket holder Paul Havard used a black booby snake on Di 3 sinking line enjoying a “Fantastic Day” taking his best ever Draycote fish weighting 7lb 6oz. Draycote season ticket holder and dry fly lover Kevin Rees, used Crippled Midge and Bob’s Bits to take 21 fish. One of the key to Kevin’s success on dry flies is that he often spends a lot of time targeting the wind lanes looking for feeding fish. Taking advantage of the evening rise Martyn Hancox landed 8 fish on dry flies drifting out of Rainbow Corner.

An overcast start to Friday was short lived, as the sun broke through around 9 o’clock. The bright conditions made for tougher bank fishing as Tony Broadway and Gordon Slack had 3 and 2 respectively on dries and Buzzers. Out on the boats Mr Dave Bailey used Buzzers and Hoppers to net a dozen fish, one of which weighed 5 lbs. Kevin Hart caught 9 fish on some Big Reds, expertly tied by Tom Bird. Mr Kev Saxton caught 8 fish from a boat using Foam Daddies and Hoppers in Rainbow Corner. Mr Matt Bird caught 3 fish whilst drifting down the Cornfield using Nymphs on a sinking line. Andy Lilley and his boat partner had over 20 fish to the boat in an afternoon session on Dries fishing over A and B buoy. Staff member Michael Hanlon caught 5 fish during an evening session on Sedge patterns.

We came into almost perfect conditions on Saturday morning, and these continued throughout the day.

Not surprisingly the rod average shot up to 8.4. The vast majority of the fish were being caught right in the surface of the water either on dries or a washing line, along the Draycote dam, in Rainbow Corner, or from Dunn’s Bay right down the north shore into the Corn Field. There were many exceptional catches during the day, the first of which was Mark Hunt, who had 26 fish to the boat on CDC’S and Sedgehogs.

Fishery manager Tom Bird ventured out to partake in the great sport alongside Draycote regular Jim Smith. The pair had over 40 fish to the boat on dries such as Cul’s, F Fly’s, and Crippled Midge, along the Draycote Dam with drifts out to B Buoy and around C Buoy also being productive. Season permit holder Andy Lilley took 9 fish in an evening session on dries such as Big Reds and Daddies. Tony Parker took his 14 fish mainly on dries following the wind lanes out in open water. Tony Fox & his boat partner also enjoyed a great day on the dries landing over 40 fish. Again using CDC’s they caught their fish drifting off the top dam wall towards B buoy and off the flat stones towards C buoy.

The weathermen could not have got it more wrong for Sunday, the 98% cloud forecast for the middle part of the day did not materialise and it was bright sun all day. As a result the fishing was more challenging that the previous day. The fish remained high in the water column, but the sun just meant they would not poke their noses up very willingly to take dries. Out on the water the Midland Counties held their annual match. The anglers in the match found Rainbow Corner to be the most productive first thing in the morning before finding the fish around the Inlet as the day progressed. The best tactics for the match anglers were pulling lures such as snakes, tubes, and blobs in the top few feet of the water either on DI 3 or Intermediate. Neil Deakin landed 16 fish all on tubes fished around the inlet, with other anglers fishing white snakes the way. Outside the Midlands county match Martyn Price & Dave Hancox used barred olive snakes on intermediate lines fishing at Rainbow Corner to take 20 fish between them. Jim Smith took to the water once again this time with Ed Douglas, landing 30 fish. Using dries early in the morning at the Draycote Dam before, using snakes on intermediates around lunch to continue catching. Then as the sun dropped later in the day once again opting for dries with shipman buzzers and CDC shuttlecocks.

Bank anglers please note: The perimeter track is extremely busy with families, cyclist & joggers. Exercise caution while driving around the reservoir & observe speed limits

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Visit our online shop we currently have a Fishery Management (UK) ltd. Washing Line pack offer on the online shop which is available here https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/fishery-management-uk-ltd-washing-line-selection/

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote

Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Scierra Pairs

Draycote 26^th July details via Phil Dixon www.scierrapairs.co.uk/heats/

Tuition & Guided Sessions

From July 1^st we are pleased to announce that we will be resuming our 1:1 casting tuition for the latest guidelines on the tuition will take please safely under Covid-19 please visit www.flyfishtuition.co.uk for bookings please call Tom on 01788 812018.

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 21:30

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 21:30

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 15.00

Afternoon Boat – 15.00pm – 21:30

Last 4 Hr – 17:30pm – 21:30pm

All Anglers Off Site – 21:45pm

Follow Us on social media

Local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 12th July

Posted Monday 13th July 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Anglers Please Note:

At times we are experiencing high level of phone calls, to ensure we speed up the booking process can you have your credit / debit card details to hand.

Bank Angler, please ensure you keep to the speed limits, the site is far busier than normal with the public, families, mothers with push chairs, children on bikes using the perimeter road, please drive with extra caution.

Thank you

Brand new in this week we have the RIO Slick Cast lines in stock, with Demo lines available. Why not book one on your next trip and feel the difference?

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 12^th July

A busy week at the fishery with a total of 301 fishing from both the bank and the boats. Overall catching a total of 1,104 fish giving a weekly rod average of 3.1. A mix week with regards to catches the overcast days at the start of the week saw some fantastic catches to dry flies fished over the open water. Then latter in the week it was the bank fishing that saw some great sport. The cooler weather is helping to keep the fish around the banks and it’s great to see the bank anglers enjoying some sport in July when traditionally they struggle due to high water temperatures.

While the strong winds continued into Monday, they came from a much more angler friendly direction in the North West. This allowed the bank anglers good access to the North shore. As a result Ian Richardson fished along the Cornfield and Biggin Bay taking 8 fish all falling to dries. Ian, found that his best flies to be either a Big Red or a Bob’s bits. With the majority of the fish coming in the morning before the sun broke through in the afternoon. Another season ticket holder on the bank was James Jelly who landed his fish on nymphs fished along the Cornfield. Out on the boat former Draycote manager Kevin Hart shared a boat with Dermot Murphy with the pair landing 10 fish between them mostly on dries. However, the highlight of the day was when Kevin landed a fabulous brown taken on a Big Red to see a picture of the brown please visit www.facebook.com/flyfishstore Kevin Rees using hoppers in the morning and then later in the day washing lines Diawl Bachs to take 12 fish. With John Dickens taking 11 on daddies again mainly in the morning before using a barred olive snake to take a further 3.

Thankfully, the wind dropped Tuesday, although the bank fishing was slightly more challenging that it had been the previous day. Draycote season ticket holder Pete Allen landed 4 fish, while Tony Broadway and Gordon Slack each landed a brace. On the boats Beginner Season ticket holder John Piper enjoyed a great landed landing 8 fish. John found the fish drifting from E buoy taking 6 from thee before taking a further 2 from Croft shoal with all the fish falling to an olive snake. Fishing for a morning Scott Graham and Paul Morris enjoyed some great sport landing 23 between them. Fishing around Farborough Spit and into Toft, the pair used Big Reds and Red Shipman’s to land the fish. Another boat paring who found dries the way to catch the fish was that of Draycote season ticket holder Peter Elliot and Lee Patten who landed 15 and 13 each all on dries with Bob’s Bits being the best fly.

Wednesday turned out to be nice calm day with a fine drizzle of rain. Mr A Hart and Mr C J Day had 4 fish each from the bank on PTN’s. Out on the boats Ms Olive Wilson and Mr K Smith caught 20 fish between them on dry flies such as Big Reds. Ed Douglas had 23 fish to the boat on dries from Rainbow corner and Toft Shallows. Another angler who caught on Big Reds was Draycote regular Andy Ross, who took 4 fish in Toft Shallows. Tony Baldwin and Paul Davidson had a field day on the dries drifting in various areas such as Toft, with most of their action on small orange and red Bob’s Bits, although as ever Paul did take fish on the Midas. Retired Draycote Manager Kevin Hart took to the water once again to net 9 fish from a boat. Kevin took 5 fish on dries and 4 on Hares Ears, one of which weighed over 4 lbs.

A steady drizzle of rain greeted us on Thursday morning with a light south westerly breeze, and these conditions continued throughout the day. Dries still worked for quite a few anglers although a lot of the fish were taken in the top of the water by those who fished the washing line. Season permit holders Bob Smith and Ian Richardson Had a baker’s dozen to the boat in Toft on Big Reds and Bobs Bits and remarked on an “Excellent Day”. Kevin Rees Had 20 fish to the boat on dries such as Bobs Bits, Culs and Hoppers. Mr T Evans and Mr J Evans had 9 fish to the boat on dries. Richard Walker used Snakes and Damsels to net 11 fish . Draycote season ticket holder Paul Mitchell also used dries to take a dozen fish fishing around G Buoy in Toft.

A much drier day Friday with a mix of sun and cloud, after 3 days of great conditions. The fishing Friday on the most part was challenging. Although the bank did fish well in fact possibly better than the boats. Tony Broadway landed 6 from the Cornfield including 2 cracking fish one at 3lb 14oz and the other at 3lb 6oz. Fishing along side Tony, Gordon Slack landed 3 fish. However, it was the evening that saw the best of the sport for the bank anglers, with a number of fish being seen feeding off the surface. The Draycote Fly Fishers held another bank match once again making sure to follow the guidelines from the Angling trust to ensure the safety of everyone. While the anglers taking part could see fish moving it needed the correct fly to tempt them. The majority of the Draycote Fly Fishers fished from the Cornfield up to the tower bank, but, some did try Rainbow Corner later in the evening. John Hanlon took top honours landing 6 fish from the Cornfield. In second place was Dave Atkins who took 5 fish, with the majority of them falling to a red cove pheasant tail. If you are interested in joining the Draycote Fly Fishers, there is leaflets in the lodge and also details below towards the bottom of the report. On the boats all water season ticket holder Mark Hunt landed 7 fish all on dries. Mark found that Daddies took 4 fish early in the day before CDC yellow owls took the other 3 late in the day. Draycote Manager Tom Bird enjoyed a day off on the water landing 7 fish, with Tom commented it was a challenging day with no consistent method. Tom taking fish on dries all the way through to a Di 5 and pulling, fishing over the open water around the shoals. The highlight of the day was landing a 4lb brown from Farborough spit taken on a sparkler. Kevin Hart enjoyed a day afloat with John Hoskins with the pair landing 14 between them on a mix of lures and dries. The hotspot for Kevin and John was drifting out from Rainbow Corner towards M buoy catching fish all the way thought the drift.

Another bright day Saturday with a gusty wind in the morning that dropped as the day progressed. The good sport from the bank continued with Draycote season ticket holder Jim Hall landing 9 hard fighting fish. Fishing along the Cornfield and into Biggin Bay Jim used a washing line with crunchers to land his 9 fish. Mr J Rudge also enjoyed a good day on the bank landing 6 fish including a smashing rainbow of over 5lb. On the boat’s rudder regulars Jim Dempsey and Ifor Jones landed 10 fish using a Di 3 forty plus line with a barred olive snake. Father and son duo of M Bosher & S Bosher landed 11 fish between them with the majority of the fishing coming from Toft. Another boat who enjoyed a good day’s sport was Draycote season ticket holder out with Iain Ross who used fry patterns at the overflow to catch their fish.

A bright flat calm day Sunday, with forecast cloud and breeze for the afternoon. However, the cloud that was forecast never arrived although thankfully the breeze did. Despite the sunny conditions the bank continued to produce with Ray Hopkins landing 5 fish on minkies. With S Featherstone taking 6 fish all on orange blobs. On the boats despite the sunny conditions it was dry flies that yielded the best results. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker landed 14 fish with a majority coming to dries, with Tony’s best areas being D Buoy, Croft Shoal and also into Toft. Another boat who found dries to the best way was Jim Smith & Ed Douglas who landed 20 fish between them. The pair used Big Red’s and Bob’s Bits to catch the fish finding fish at all area around the lake from the Draycote Dam all the way into Toft. Tim Burn also used dries and crunchers fished on a washing line on a Airflo 12ft Tip to land 7 fish.

Bank anglers please note: The perimeter track is extremely busy with families, cyclist & joggers. Exercise caution while driving around the reservoir & observe speed limits

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote

Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Scierra Pairs

Draycote 26^th July details via Phil Dixon www.scierrapairs.co.uk/heats/

Tuition & Guided Sessions

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 21:45

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 21:45

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 15.00

Afternoon Boat – 15.00pm – 21:45

Last 4 Hr – 17:45pm – 21:45pm

All Anglers Off Site – 22.00pm

Follow Us on social media

Local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 5th July 2020

Posted Monday 6th July 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Anglers Please Note:

At times we are experiencing high level of phone calls, to ensure we speed up the booking process can you have your credit / debit card details to hand.

Thank you

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 5^th July 2020

A very windy week on the whole made the fishing challenging for the most part with presentation proving difficult. However the anglers who visited the fishery landed an impressive 1,064 trout between the 290 rods who visited the fishery providing a rod average for the week of 3.6.

The strong winds that had been present over the precious weekend continued into Monday. The gusty conditions made it difficult to present flies properly. In fact the wind was such, that a restriction had to be put in place keeping Toft out of bounds. On the bank fishing from Rainbow Corner Draycote season ticket holder Brian Warwick landed 5 fish fishing till lunch, all coming to blobs. Out on the boat Tony Broadway and Dave East used the wind to their advantage by back drifting from the top dam wall. The pair used minkie boobies to land 13 fish between them. Drifting from Rainbow Corner down the Saddle Bank and across the front of the outlet, Andy Lane landed 14 fish. With the fish taking crunchers and Diawl Bach’s for Andy. Mr M Francis & A Moore found long drift from the Inlet and Rainbow Corner out over the open water produced the goods for their boat. Landing 11 fish between them on hopper and crunchers fished on floating lines.

Thankfully Tuesday saw the winds drop to a much more pleasant 14mph dropping to 8 mph on the afternoon. Fishing from the bank Pete Allen landed a dozen fish on nymphs including a couple of real crackers over 3lb. Also on the bank was the two brothers Luke and David Orton who landed 9 and 3 each, they used black buzzers in Rainbow corner to land their fish. On the boats Fishery Ranger Lee Henfrey fished in a boat with Ed Douglas. The pair found the fish drifting from A-M buoy out of Rainbow Corner, using a RIO midge tip with a Ham & Cheese booby on the point and then hoppers on the droppers. The pair landed over 15 fish in the morning before Lee left and Ed returned out on his own. Ed headed down to Toft in the afternoon and found feeding fish all over, taking over 20 fish all on dries in the afternoon. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker landed over 20 fish drifting around the Draycote Dam, Tony found short lining nymphs and hoppers to keep them high in the water was the best tactic. Bank regular Stan Hillman fished from Rainbow and all over the lake taking 7 quality fish commenting one was near a double. Kevin Rees used dries all day to take 25 fish using crippled midge and also bobs bits, Kev found the first early doors by J buoy before moving to the flat stones and around B Buoy. Fishing the afternoon Dave Hoppe & Peter Elliot enjoyed some fantastic dry fly sport from Rainbow Corner and also Toft. With Dave commenting “Toft is stuffed with fish” in the afternoon the pair landed over 40 fish all on dries.

Wednesday was mostly overcast with the odd shower and a light breeze. Again there was a lot of good sport to be had from the top of the water. Mr L Pallett fishing with Gary Haskins netted 2 dozen fish from a drifting boat using dries in Toft. With all the fish they took coming blind for the dries, which shows the merit in fishing the dries when the conditions look good for them despite not necessarily seeing fish moving. Ed Douglas took to the water once again to catch over 20 fish on dries from various areas around the reservoir. Malcolm Patrick and Ian McKenzie also netted over 20 fish from a boat using dries. Ian Reeve used Buzzers under the bung to good effect , catching 11 fish in Rainbow Corner and Toft Shallows.

A good westerly breeze greeted us on Thursday morning, which eased off by midday and swung round into the north. After an early afternoon shower the conditions looked ideal for some great top of the water sport, with some good fish moving off T and G buoy and chasing pin fry just in front of the pontoon. Season permit holder Brian Allwood caught 5 fish from the bank and remarked on some “good sport”, whilst Derek Brooks caught 4. Mr T and Mr J Evans had a dozen fish between them to the boat on buzzers in Rainbow Corner. Kevin Rees had 8 fish to the boat on dries and the washing line. Gary and David Turner had a bakers dozen to the boat during a last 4 hour session, all on dries. Draycote season ticket holder Jim Smith went out on a pm boat and caught more than 20 fish on dries from various points around the reservoir.

A strong stiff westerly blew through on Friday and made for uncomfortable conditions at the bottom of the wind in Toft. James Maplethorpe’s group landed a dozen between them from the boats on Crunchers and Buzzers fished in the top few feet of the water. Keiron Barnes took his 7 year old son Harry out fishing for the day. Harry caught his first ever, trout on a Big Red dry fly, and a big “WELL DONE” from all of the staff. Peter Elliott and Lee Patten managed 13 fish between them on dries from various points around the reservoir.

Yet another day of strong winds here at Draycote, which make presentation challenging at times with strong gusts. On the bank Jim Hall enjoyed a good day landing 10 fish from the bank using crunchers fished on a floating line and also dries. Out on the boat Jim Dempsey and Ifor Jones fished on the rudder to boat 13 fish between them. The pair found their fish drifting from Rainbow Corner to M buoy and then later in the day around J buoy to the Farnborough Dam. Draycote season ticket holders Jim Brennan & Chris Discombe enjoyed a good day’s sport in Rainbow Corner and also over the Aerators landing 23 between them. Eugene Hughes fishing up in Rainbow Corner fished dries all day despite the wind to land 8 fish.

The wind didn’t let up for Sunday, anything from the righthand side of Lincroft point was out of bounds for the boats. This meant the furthest any of the boats ventured was down into Biggin Bay with the majority taking shelter in Rainbow Corner and along the top dam wall. Kirby Fly Fishery enjoyed a club day out on the water with Jim the club organiser commenting it had been a great day. The top rods from the day found back drifting around from E buoy to Lincroft point the most successful method. With Luke Parker landing 9 hard fighting trout. Ian Dalby & M Bennett landed 12 fish between them in Rainbow Corner but did comment that the “wind had made it a challenging day”

With the wind set to drop for Tuesday we are expecting the challenging fishing the anglers have experienced over the last few days should improve and we see more catches once again on top of the water tactics such as dries and washing line.

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) event fully booked

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote

Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Scierra Pairs

Draycote 26^th July details via Phil Dixon www.scierrapairs.co.uk/heats/

Tuition & Guided Sessions

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 22:00

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 22:00

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 15.00

Afternoon Boat – 15.00pm – 22:00

Last 4 Hr – 18:00pm – 22:00pm

All Anglers Off Site – 22.15pm

Follow Us on social media

Local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 28th June 2020

Posted Monday 29th June 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/fishery-management-uk-ltd-washing-line-selection/

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Lodge / Shop is open with access limited to 2 people at any one time

Two anglers can share a boat. Boat numbers are still limited

Fishing at Draycote is on a pre booking and pre payment basis only.

Please call the lodge on 01788 812018 to make your booking.

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

Anglers Please Note:

At times we are experiencing high level of phone calls, to ensure we speed up the booking process can you have your credit / debit card details to hand.

Thank you

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 28^th June

Well its been a week of two halves here at Draycote, blistering heat for the first part of the week which then gave way to rain and then strong winds for the weekend. As a result the fish have seen a lot of changeable conditions and on the whole seem to have dealt with it well. With the 270 rod who visited the fishery landing a total of 1,235 fish producing a rod average for the week of 4.6 fish.

A south west wind and sun greeted the anglers at the start of the week. On the bank Draycote season ticket holder Ian Richardson landed 5 fish from the overflow on crunchers, and commented they are on the lovely fish. Brian Warwick fished in Rainbow and commented there was fish moving all morning and he caught his fish on crunchers. The best catch from the bank was Derek Brooks who landed 11 fish from Rainbow Corner again on nymphs. On the boats all water season ticket holder Norman Perkins landed 14 fish from in front of the overflow on Diawl Bach, Buzzers & Fabs fished on an intermediate line. Draycote season ticket holder Graham Homer fished in a boat with Roy Taylor with the pair enjoying a great day landing, 29 fish. The pair caught on nymphs in the morning in Rainbow Corner before they switched to sunk hoppers on an intermediate. Chris Discombe & Jim Brennan also fished in Rainbow Corner in the morning on buzzers before heading the Aerators in the afternoon with snakes and ended the day with 26 to the boat. Former Draycote manager Kevin enjoyed a good day in the boat with Ed Douglas with the pair landing 40 fish between them. They used the fulling mill barred olive snake using a Di 5 forty plus line, catch the fish from Rainbow Corner & Hensborough Bank drifting towards the open water.

A warm day Tuesday, but thankfully we have a good wind from the South West which meant that inevitable algal bloom was all blown into Toft meaning that most of the lake remained clear. A tricky day for the bank anglers with the hot conditions and bright sun pushing the fish out from the margins. However, Draycote season ticket holder Pete Allen landed 2 fish both over 5lb from the overflow on nymphs and also got broken by an even larger one. All water season ticket holder Paul Walker found success fishing just near the outlet from the Treatment works using small pin fry patterns on a midge tip line to net 5 fish. On the boat’s beginner season ticket holder John Piper enjoyed his best ever day, after taking up the sport late last season. John landed 8 fish on olive barred snakes and was rightly over the moon. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker enjoyed a great morning session drifting along the Draycote Dam near the concrete diving platforms to land 23 fish. Tony fished a washing line on a 12ft midge tip with Diawl Bach’s and Crunchers being his top patterns. Other good catches came from Rainbow Corner with nymphs, snakes and later dries producing the fish. Dave Bailey landed 12 fish on a mix of snakes and Diawl Bach’s. Into the evening Chris Flay & Peter Flay found tremendous sport in Rainbow Corner fishing an afternoon boat. The pair fished Damsel patterns on floating & intermediate line to land 21 between them including some near 4lb fin perfect rainbows.

The sun once again was out in force Wednesday, with the wind swinging slightly into a South Easterly during the day. Draycote is still fishing really well despite the current conditions, with a good spread of fish in several areas around the reservoir. Despite a bit of an algae bloom water clarity is still good in most places, with some fish showing in the surface of the water throughout the day. Obviously the bank fishing has slowed up a bit which is to be expected, but out on the boats anglers are still getting into double figures. Mr F Campbell caught 21 fish using Snakes on a sinking line in the aerators. Peter and Chris Flay took to the boats once again and had a bakers dozen in Rainbow Corner using Snakes. Alex Campbell had two of his six fish bag in Toft Shallows on a 12 foot slow tip and Diawl Bachs. The others came from Croft Shoal and the front of the School Slips on the same method.

Thursday was a very hot day with only the lightest of breezes. Plenty of sun block and a big hat was the order of the day. Those that did venture out were mainly the boat anglers who found fish in in Toft Shallows, Rainbow Corner and over the Aerators. Draycote regular James Maplethorpes group caught a good number of fish between them on Nemo Crunchers down deep. Richard Hood and Martin Griffiths had over 20 fish to the boat between them on slow and fast tip lines and nymphs in Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Paul Havard used a DI 5 and Olive Snakes to good effect around Y buoy.

Thankfully, Friday was the last day of the hot weather as the mercury rose to over 30 degrees for the second day in a row. As a result 3 days of hot weather did have an affect on the fishing with the fishing not quite being as good as the previous day. Season ticket holders Peter Elliot & Lee Pattern used boobies on sinking lines to land 15 fish. All water season ticker holder Jamie Scott landed 10 fish on a mix of tactics from a pink booby on a Di 7 through to Hares Ear nymphs and then later in the day dries. Finding the boils to be the most productive area. In the evening Draycote Fly Fishers held another evening bank match, once again fished to the Angling Trust guidelines for matches. The anglers found it quite a frustrating evening as they could see lots of fish moving in Rainbow Corner hitting pin fry, this proved difficult to get the right tactics but after a while success was found with Bob’s Bit’s and Popper Hoppers. Draycote season ticket holder Brian Allwood won the match with 3 fish from the overflow and lost another 3 and commented on the “good sport”. Tied in second place was Dave Atkins, Howard Lambert & Mark JJ with 2 fish again all over 2lb. Mark commented it was a great evening and lovely to see so many members out enjoying their fishing.

The wind started from the south on Saturday before swinging to the south west and increasing in strength. The rudder boat of Jim Dempsey & Ifor Jones landed 19 between then using snakes on DI 3 & Di 5 sinking line. The pair found the fish around J buoy and coming off the Hensborough Bank towards M buoy. All water season ticket holder Andy Lillie enjoyed a great mornings sport landing 8 fish none of which were under 3lb. Fishing in Rainbow Corner Andy found the fish wanted JC Diawl Bach’s fished under a bung at either 2ft or 6ft. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker also fished for half a day using dries to land 7 fish drifting out from the Draycote Dam. Mr I Tearle landed 11 fish anchored between Rainbow Corner and the Inlet using red Diawl Bach’s to great effect on a floating line. Fishing on the bank Mr Zanarov landed 6 fish on snakes on a last 4 hours session. Draycote member Martyn Hancox landed 5 fish on an evening ticket from the boat, taking the fish on nymphs fished on a floating line.

Very windy day Sunday again coming from Rainbow Corner, this did make presentation difficult. Regular George Leaton enjoyed a great day using a long midge tip with a FAB on the point and buzzers on the droppers, George landed 17 in a morning session. With 10 taking the FAB and the other 7 taking the buzzers. From the bank Mr Featherstone enjoyed a good day in Rainbow Corner lading 10 fish on an orange blob. All water season ticket holder Adam Gumby & Steve Jordan used the strong wind to their advantage to do some back drifting. Using Airflo Booby Basher lines and snakes the pair drifting out from Rainbow Corner and the top dam wall, finding some fantastic fish. Adam’s 4 fish bag weighted a very impressive 16lb 2oz while Steve’s tipped the scales at 10lb 6oz. The father and son due of Duncan and Richard Watson found a Di 5 sinking line with a pink blob and olive snake. Proved to be the winning tactic taking 20 fish between them. Fishing away from the top wall drifting from Dunn’s down through the old pipe in Biggin Bay. The partnership of Mr N Wagstaff & I Eborall landed 18 fish and 16 fish on a mix of various lures on sinking lines. Fishing for the afternoon Ed Douglas and Jim Smith fished dries under the top Dam Wall in the calmer water to land 10 between them.

With the weather forecast to be cooler this week and also lighter winds we expect the good fishing to continue into next week.

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Tom Bird Draycote Washing Line Selection £14.99 available online or at the Draycote shop

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) Booking via John Horsey

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New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote

Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

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Scierra Pairs

Draycote 26^th July details via Phil Dixon www.scierrapairs.co.uk/heats/

Tuition & Guided Sessions

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 22:00

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 22:00

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 15.00

Afternoon Boat – 15.00pm – 22:00

Last 4 Hr – 18.00pm – 22.00pm

All Anglers Off Site – 22.15pm

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Local Angling Club is Draycote Fly Fishers www.draycote-fly-fishers-assoc.co.uk/

Draycote Report W/E 21st June.

Posted Monday 22nd June 2020 by Tom Bird & filed under Reports.

Draycote Weekly Fishing Report.

Tel: 01788 812018 email: lodge@flyfishdraycote.co.uk

https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/fishery-management-uk-ltd-washing-line-selection/

Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Our COVID-19 Guidelines

Lodge / Shop is open with access limited to 2 people at any one time

Two anglers can share a boat. Boat numbers are still limited

Fishing at Draycote is on a pre booking and pre payment basis only.

Please call the lodge on 01788 812018 to make your booking.

Full details of our updated guidelines can be found on our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/latest-report/

If you are calling the fisheries after 6.00pm the staff during the evening session have extra disinfecting duties to carry out on boats, pontoon & life jackets.

The staff will always try to do the best they can for you but due to the extra workload currently involved with disinfecting, they may not be in the position to deal with your enquiry straight away. They may ask you to call back later or they will take your details to call you back.

We value your custom & appreciate your cooperation as we continue to work to the required guidelines to deal with coronavirus

Anglers Please Note:

At times we are experiencing high level of phone calls, to ensure we speed up the booking process can you have your credit / debit card details to hand.

Thank you

Fishery Report: Week ending Sunday 21^st June 2020

Overall another good week at Draycote, with 264 anglers landing a total of 1,655 fish producing a rod average of 6.2 for the week. Amongst these 1,655 fish there has been a number of comments with regards to the quality of the fish and how hard they have been fighting. With another 1,000 fish going in these week we expect the good sport to continue, into next week.

Possibly the worst conditions on Monday with not a breath of wind and bright sun, this resulted in a substantial algal boom by around 10am. This made the bank fishing very tricky and by around lunchtime the Algae round the margins made presenting a fly almost impossible. A number of anglers manged to catch a brace quickly before the algae really bloomed, with Ian Richardson catching his in Rainbow Corner on crunchers but from there on it was hard work. Out on the boats unsurprisingly the best area for the main part of the day was the Aerators. They produced high numbers of top quality fish and by the 5.8 rod average quite a few of them as well. John Dickens fished over the Aerators with buzzers fished on a floating line to land 21. While Kevin Rees fished buzzers in a washing line to take his 24 fish. However it was the pulling tactics that seemed to be the key. Fishery Ranger Lloyd went out on a day off to land over 30 fish, firstly on buzzer under the bung before, swapping to the fulling mill barred olive booby snake. This pattern was our best selling fly and its easy to see why. Lloyd fished this fly on a Forty Plus DI 7, a great line for getting a great sweeping action into the fly. The boats of Trevor Moore and James Maplethorpe enjoyed good sport landing 14 and 24 between them. The pair used Diawl Bach’s, Nemo Crunchers and Buzzers on a floating line to land their fish. First catching on the Aerators in the morning, before heading down to Toft around 4pm. In around an hour they landed over 10 fish all on nymphs fished on a floater.

Another calm day Tuesday, but thankful we did have some overnight rain and cloud during the day in intermittent spells. This did mean that the worst of the algal bloom had died off, but the water was still green, just not quite as thick. However once again it did not seem to bother the fish in Toft and on the Aerators as the fishery produced a 6.5 rod average. All water season ticket holder Norman Perkins fished down in Toft using a washing line on a fast glass intermediate to take 14 fish. He used buzzers and Diawl Bach’s on the dropper with a FAB on the point. Ian Morris commented he enjoyed another cracking day landing 30 fish. Ian fished both in Toft and on the Aerators using a Damsel with Crunchers and pheasant tails on the dropper. Mark Francis fished dabblers on an intermediate over the Aerators to take over 20 fish with the biggest measuring 24” and returned to the water. Another all water angler who caught well was all water season ticket holder John Kirk who used a black booby and buzzers to land his fish.

Wednesday started as yet another muggy day, with only the lightest of breezes through the middle of the afternoon, followed by showers. The water is still holding a greenish tinge which should be putting the fish down but again here at Draycote the general rule of thumb is not being followed by the fish. Mr E Wilson and Mr A Masters caught 14 fish between them from the bank in Toft on black Diawl Bachs and Nymphs.

Out on the boats Mr Neal Hume caught 6 fish using dries in Toft and snakes on the aerators. Mr T Brown caught 14 fish from a boat using nymphs and dries. Leanne Frost and Chris Bobby caught over 20 fish between them from a boat using sink tip lines

Heavy overnight and early morning showers knocked a lot of the colour out of the water on Thursday, and made for better fishing for the bank anglers in Toft. Young Brian Warwick took 5 good fish in a morning session using Diawl Bachs on a washing line and remarked on the quality of the fish. Ian Richardson also caught 5 fish from the bank using a washing line with Crunchers in the Cornfield and Duggies Gap. Boat angler Kevin Rees caught 29 fish on the dries drifting over open water. Martin Yates remarked on the “ great fishing” after netting 16 fish from a boat using foam daddies. Dave Kennell caught 21 fish from the boat using a floating line, a FAB on the point and Muskins. Roger Kerrison caught 10 fish during an afternoon session using Snakes and a Midas.

Friday dawned muggy and overcast, blowing up to a strong breeze by mid afternoon. Bank angler Bob Smith caught 3 good fish by the big willow in Toft using Crunchers. Bob also fished the Tower bank to net another 2 fish on Black and Peacock Spiders. Brian Allwood caught 3 fish from the bank on dries, one of which weighed over 4 lbs. Mr A Lambert caught 4 fish from the bank on FAB’s and Bobs Bits. Out on the boats Peter Elliott netted 26 fish on dries such as Cul’s and Bob’s Bits in Rainbow Corner. Kevin Hart caught 16 fish in Rainbow Corner again on dries. Kevin used a mixture of Cul’s, Bob’s Bits and the Midas to good effect drifting through Rainbow and out into open water. Mark Goodge and Shaun Higgins had over 30 fish between them to the boat on Hares Ears and Damsels and remarked on “A great day”.

Saturday Stan Hillman bank fished enjoyed good sport landing 7 fish, Stan opted to fish a washing line with a floating FAB on the point and then nymphs on the droppers. Mark Parsley also fished off the bank in both Rainbow Corner and is Toft using similar tactics to land 6 fish. On the boats the rudder boat of Jim Dempsey & Ifor Jones landed 19 fish between them using snakes and also tubes on Di 5 and Di 3 sinking lines. Another boats who used snakes to great effects was that of Adam Larbalestier and Ben Bayliss the pair found fish down the Farborough Dam wall, Toft and also Rainbow Corner. With the pair also finding DI 3 & Di 5 sinking lines the key to success. They commented on the hard fighting qualities of the fish and caught loads of 4lb fish. Fishing from the boat in Rainbow Corner Rob Middleton & Eric Caisley had a good day landing 25 between them. The pair found a washing line on either a slow intermediate or a 6ft slow tip was the key to land the fish. All water season ticket holder Ian Reeve fishing with boat partner Steve Hibbard landed 35 between them on FABs, Minkies and Diawl Bach’s. The Draycote season ticket holders of Jim Hall and Son Richard all used Diawl Bach’s all day to land 22 fish fished on a floating line.

A rainy start to Sunday, but by the time the boats took to the water the sun and come out it was a blustery south West wind, far than ideal conditions. However by lunch the cloud had rolled in again, although the wind continued to remain strong. Clive Wilkins & Mike Weaver boated 25 between them fishing over the boils using black snakes. Draycote season ticket holders Dave Hancox and regular boat partner Martyn Price also fished over the aerators using the barred olives snakes on intermediates to land 23 including some cracking 3lb rainbows. Away from the Aerators Tony Parker drifted around Rainbow Corner and the Hensborough using a 12ft fast tip with a mix of nymphs and FABS. Alister Gavin enjoyed a fantastic day’s sport landing 13 fish including a fantastic 7lb 7oz Rainbow taken on a blob. Peter Gordon used Diawl Bach’s to take 26 hard fighting rainbows from Rainbow Corner. Richard Ellis enjoyed a good day boating 18 fish with his best methods either being a floating line with buzzers or a Di 5 and a cats whisker.

Our Online Shop www.flyfishstore.co.uk

Tom Bird Draycote Washing Line Selection £14.99 available online or at the Draycote shop

Competition

John Horsey Final August 23^rd (Practice Day August 22^nd ) Booking via John Horsey

—————————————————————————————————————————–

New Angling Trust Competition for 2020 with the Final in 2021 & Grafham Water

Angling Trust Loch Style Autumn Series 2020 with two heats fished at Draycote, further details

www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1888&sectionTitle=AT+Loch+Style+Autumn+Series

Further details email Andy.Taylor@anglingtrust.net

Two heats at Draycote

Draycote 6^th September & Draycote 25^th October

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Scierra Pairs

Draycote 26^th July details via Phil Dixon www.scierrapairs.co.uk/heats/

Tuition & Guided Sessions

Tuition & Guided sessions are currently cancelled, they will resume when government guidelines allow.

Opening Hours & Boat Session

Lodge & Bank Open – 7.30am – 22:00

Full Day Boat – 8.30am – 22:00

Morning Boat – 8.30am – 15.00

Afternoon Boat – 15.00pm – 22:00

Last 4 Hr – 18:00pm – 22:00pm

All Anglers Off Site – 22.15pm

Follow Us on social media