Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 12th November 2017

A lovely start to the week on Monday – calm winds teamed with bright skies and cool autumn temperatures. Season ticket holder Ed Douglas fished from the Swan’s Nest with shrimp patterns and crunchers on a washing line to take nine rainbows. Also on the bank was fellow season ticket holder Kevin Rees who also fished shrimp patterns on the washing line but from the old pipe in Biggin Bay. He ended his session having netted seven.  Joining Kevin later in the day at the old pipe was Ray Cramp who landed eight on a mix of shrimp patterns and lures. Out on the boats was Mike Murphy who enjoyed great sport anchored off Farnborough Spit. He fished minkies on a floating line & enjoyed great sport with twelve to the net.

A wet day Tuesday put off a number of anglers. However, those who did venture out into the rain and the SE winds enjoyed good sport. Gordon Slack fished from the Swan’s Nest with a combination of buzzer and shrimps to land 10 fish. John Dews also fished on at the Swan’s Nest to land 6 fish including 3 cracking rainbows over 3lb. His biggest tipped the scales at just over 4lbs. Also on the bank was Rodger Kerrison who landed six from various mark around the lake. On the boats Alan Carleton and Wally Beeson enjoyed good sport landing eight to the boat fishing off Farnborough Spit using a midge tip with a minkie on the point, and nymphs on their droppers.

Out on the boats Wednesday Tony Plummer and Colin England enjoyed hectic sport ending with 22 to the boat. They deployed sinking line tactics with a minkie booby fishing at Farnborough Spit. Also doing well in the boats Richard Ellis landed 7 fish using boobies fished on a Di 3 sinking line including a lovely 4lb brown. Richard Bird also fished well from the boat landing eight lovely fish. On the bank, Jude Tuffs and Tony Broadway fished at Lincroft Point to land 8 and 7 fish respectively. The pair opted for washing line tactics. Mr Burns enjoyed a good last four-hour session from the boat landing 8 rainbows on a Damsel nymph fish from the far side down towards the Cornfield.

Thursday saw overcast conditions for most of the day with a North Westerly wind and sport proved to be brisk for many. On the bank Alec Twaites landed 5 fish from the bottom of Toft fishing with shrimp imitations. C J Day fished from Lincroft point with a washing line to land 7. Out on the boats Ed Douglas and Jim Smith enjoyed good sport landing 25 to the boat. Their day got off to a great start when Ed took a 6lb brown from Farnborough Spit. The tactics for the morning were a minkie on the point and nymphs on the droppers. However, around the middle of the day a slight increase in temperature caused the fish to come up in the water with Ed catching on crunchers on a washing line around middle shoal, Jim even managed to catch one on dries. Another boat doing well was Simon Peck and Terry Smith who landed 18 fish to the boat. They located fish tight in along the Cornfield ad found black and green lures on a Di 3 to be the best tactic. Steve Owen and his boat partner enjoyed good sport with over 10 fish to the boat, again using black and green lures on di 3, but they fished around Farnborough Spit. This was once more the location for Mike Murphy who, like Monday, used a minkie on a floating line to land a further eight rainbows. Chris Aubrey and Ian Reeve enjoyed great sport on the last four hour ticket with 16 fish to the boat using snakes and humungus lures on a sinking line over on the Cornfield.

Friday saw a gusty start with a NW wind blowing between 12 and14 mph. Whilst there were only a couple of boats on the water, the banks were well attended. Fish location proved difficult for many, but those who found them enjoyed fine sport. Tony Broadway landed nine taking a fine three pounder for the pot, whilst Lea Tones netted seven which included three fin perfect grown on 3lbs plus fish all with rays in the tail. He fished white & coral pink minkies or black & green goldhead tadpoles on a sink tip line. Peter Elliott & Lee Patten bank fished down in Toft with both fishing cruncher patterns in conjunction with a FAB blob. Peter finished with very creditable 13 rainbows all caught & released and Lee caught nine taking a fine eight fish limit for the pot which was topped by a fine rainbow of 4lbs 2oz.

The overcast skies & light breeze on Saturday saw anglers catching well in the vicinity of the spit using sinking line tactics with minkies. Visiting from Foremark, Ricky Cotterill had a great day in the boat using his own perch fry pattern to land eleven fine rainbows together with some specimen perch! Howard Lambert enjoyed his first introduction to reservoir boat fishing & fished fry patterns under the watchful eye of guide Tom Bird. He was pleased with how much he learnt and can be seen on our Facebook page proudly displaying his fin perfect 4lbs 4oz rainbow. www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  . Off Croft Shoal in a boat Brian Shields also got into the action landing six on a black minkie presented on an intermediate line. Kieron Barnes stayed on the bank & washing lined Hare’s Ear Nymph patterns with small boobies to land nine. Mike Oliver did similar, but stuck to his own Pheasant Tail Nymph pattern on his droppers to net eight. Brian Warwick followed close behind with four nice fish taken & two more returned.

The week ended on Sunday with bright, cold conditions & a biting NNW wind which gusted on occasion in excess of 30mph. This led to most of the boats seeking the shelter of the north shore marks, but the fishing was generally hard for all, but especially so for the bank anglers. Ed Douglas struggled for a brace, but Mr Knight managed four for the pot and Dennis Tidmarsh caught & released five. Out in the boats with the Leicester Disable Fly Fishers, Ian Bradfield proved to be top rod with a seven fish tally. Martyn Price & Dave Hancox also did well in the chilling conditions landing 6 & 3 respectively. Deep tactics with various boobies proved to me the order of the day for most.

With only a couple of weeks left of this season, weather forecasts continue to predict a variety of conditions. With stock levels high & some good feeding ongoing, those of you fortunate enough to be able to pick your moments will benefit from the best of the remaining action.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr Leaton of Hounslow who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 211  Number Trout Taken: 236   Number Trout Released: 410

Total Catch:  646 Weekly Rod Average: 3.06

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 1615

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 16:15

Last 4 Hours: 12:15 until 16:15 (Ticket sales available from 12:00)

Gutting Room Closes: 15:45

All Anglers to be off site by: 16:30

Fishery News

Season Permits

There is currently a lengthy list of anglers interested in Draycote Water season permits.  Nevertheless, we advise anyone who has an interest to contact us in the lodge to have their name added to it. Telephone 01788 812018

The Fur and Feather match.

There are just a few places left for this year’s  “Fur and Feather” match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight-fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard-pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this matter will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

More up to date information

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 22nd October 2017

A week dictated by the extremes of exceptionally windy autumnal weather. The aftermath of ex hurricane Ophelia wrote off Monday, as regards any prospects of boat fishing, and Storm Brian prevented any boats from being allowed out on Saturday. Although wind speeds dropped overnight, Sunday was also extremely rough & gusty & boats had to be restricted to the top half of the reservoir. Nevertheless, although not easy, some good sport was enjoyed by many to both boat & bank during this reporting period with some fine specimen browns & rainbows coming to net. The week saw 231 anglers visit the fishery returning a rod average 2.2.

Despite no boats being allowed out, seven hardy souls did venture out onto the banks on Monday. Best of the bunch was season ticket holder Kevin Rees who managed six rainbows to his own shrimp patterns in Rainbow Corner about the only fishable location that day!

Conditions improved on Tuesday & both boat & bank anglers got amongst fish. On the bank Tony Broadway landed eight of the twelve he hooked fishing nymphs & shrimp patterns at various spots along the north shore. Concentrating on the overflow, Peter Allen netted seven using Pheasant Tail Nymphs & Black Buzzer. Enjoying his regular morning boat, Ron Blackwell had a nice brace including the best fish of the day, a 4lbs rainbow. Craig Cowan & boat partner Ian Dobbie fished the Draycote Water main dam, as well as J buoy, for a joint total of nine.

A wind change into the east together with overcast skies & occasional drizzle on Wednesday appeared to be the catalyst for excellent sport that day. Norman Perkins fished a blob in conjunction with diawl bachs from the bank & caught ten whilst Y0usef Dar & Mike Oliver battled it out all day, mainly in Biggin, on Pheasant Tails propped up with small boobies, ending their session with a very creditable seventeen apiece! In the boat Tom Johnson stuck to the fry feeding theme & fished Boobie Minkie for seven rainbows. Willie Cairns fished Minkies down in Toft & also found fish, bringing six to the net by the end of his day. Top of the returns for Wednesday though was Mr Francis who fished drifts from half way down Biggin Bay to D buoy. He utilised a traditional team on a floating line to land a total of fifteen. Most came to a Zulu on the top dropper with others taking a slightly weighted Red Tag on the point.

Good sport continued for many into Thursday, with John Hall in particular, having a tremendous bank session on Lin Croft. He soon established that the rainbows were happy to hit his black & green lures & proceeded to catch a four-fish bag for the pot with a further thirteen caught & released. It was nice to have Andy Birkett & boat partner Brent Vinall back on the water & they similarly concentrated their drifts in the Lin Croft area. Fishing a combination of small Hare’s Ears, size 14 diawl bachs in conjunction with floating fry, they brought eleven & eight respectively to the net. Friday saw a change to a strong south westerly but it proved to be very good for the bank anglers. Brian Allwood weighed an eight-fish bag for 17lbs 12oz, released a further four & also lost five in play. He fished buzzer in Biggin Bay. Kevin Rees also stayed on the bank & netted eight as did John Dickens, both fishing shrimp patterns. Meanwhile, also in Biggin, Dave Adkins stuck to his tried & tested Pheasant Tail Nymphs and also caught eight, all of which he released. The boat anglers on Friday were finding it harder than the bank boys but Messrs Lind & Williamson found four each on big lures fished deep & reported loads of fish lost. Andy Birkett & Brent Vinall ended their boat fishing break on Friday too, but not before their small diawl bachs had accounted for another ten rainbows.

Sport was then effectively halted with the arrival overnight of Storm Brian. Although centred on coastal areas, it still brought inland wind speeds well above safety levels together with gusts in excess of 50mph and, as such, no boats could be allowed out. It unfortunately put the dampeners on the Army Angling Federations end of season boat weekend with us although 15 of them decided to bank fish, Rainbow Corner was really the only reasonable bet in terms of fishable water, but only nine trout were recorded for the day.

Sunday saw some subsidence in the winds which dropped to just within safety limits. However, it was directly in the west with powerful gusts. Boats were allowed out but for safety, had to be restricted to the west of a line from the harbour to Lin Croft Point. A lot of boats tucked themselves under the shelter of the Draycote dam and Rainbow corner, but some did brave the elements and venture into Biggin bay, which seemed to be partially sheltered at the upper end near D buoy. The difficult conditions meant that only 46 fish were caught on Sunday, dropping the rod average to 1.1. A tough day all round, particularly for the Army lads, some of whom had travelled quite a distance to get here. There were some successes on the bank, with Draycote regular Mick Cronin catching 5 fish from the Tower bank on minkies. Another bank angler, Mr R Hyde, caught 6 fish in Biggin bay on black buzzers.

Season Permits

There is currently a waiting list for season permits here at Draycote water however, we strongly advise anyone who is thinking about having a season permit to contact us and have their name added to the list as soon as possible.

Telephone 01788 812018

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr John Dews of Coventry who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 231  Number Trout Taken: 206  Number Trout Released: 307

Total Catch: 513  Weekly Rod Average: 2.2

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 18.00

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 18:00

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 13:00 – 13:00 until 18:00

Last 4 Hours from:  14:00 until  18: 00 (Ticket sales available from 13:45)

Gutting Room Closes: 17:30

All Anglers to be off site by: 18:15

Season Permits

There is currently a waiting list for season permits here at Draycote water however, we strongly advise anyone who is thinking about having a season permit to contact us and have their name added to the list as soon as possible.

Fishery News

The Fur and Feather match.

This year’s Fur and Feather❠match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this matter will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

More up to date information

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main  Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 15th October 2017

It’s been a very blustery week at Draycote with warm temperatures and sporadic showers. The fishing has been reasonably good overall with the bank anglers just having the edge over the boats. The cold nights we were praying for which would switch the fish onto the fry, have not arrived yet, so dries and nymphs are still working throughout the water. Fish are being caught in all areas of the reservoir at the moment with some good browns being caught around the tower. Rainbow corner is fishing well from the boats drifting onto A buoy, but from the bank it’s not fairing so well. Biggin bay, Lincroft point and the Cornfield are producing good returns for the bank anglers but boats are doing better drifting from F to G buoy and along the Farborough dam.  The weekly rod average is 2.7.

On Monday we hosted the Troutmaster final. The weather was kind with light breezes and overcast conditions in which 86 anglers tried their best to lift the trophy.

Fish were caught on all 5 sections along the banks with both the cornfield and the near side of toft being the best spots. A lot of boats were congregated out in the middle of the reservoir near P buoy but a few anglers were also successful drifting past J buoy near the boat pontoon. As I’m sure most of you know by now, the winner of the competition and the 2017 Troutmasters champion is Iain Barr. All the staff here at Draycote water would like to congratulate Iain on winning what in the end was a very tight finish and close fought competition. Photos on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Fishery Management UK Ltd  would also like to thank all the volunteer stewards who turned up on the day to help with the competition, without who’s assistance the event could not have taken place.

On Tuesday Brian Allwood caught 6 fish from the bank and reported that there was good sport to be had on buzzers. Mr M Baggott caught 5 from the bank on a humungus. Season permit holders Tony Broadway and Gordon Slack ventured out in a boat to catch 10 fish between them. Mr J White caught 5 fish from a boat on a green cruncher.

Wednesday was a very blustery day with only a few anglers braving the conditions. Dennis Tidmarsh caught 6 fish from a drifting boat. Rod Goldthorpe caught 5 fish from a boat. Ian Shobbrook caught 2 fish from the bank.

On Thursday Season permit holder Ian Richardson caught 3 fish from the bank on hares ears and crunchers from the tower bank. Dave Kennel caught 4 fish from the bank on a pink snake. John Dickens caught 12 fish from the bank on shrimp patterns. Mr C Stradling caught 5 fish from the bank in biggin bay on shrimp patterns. Draycote regular Mr Neill Berry caught 4 fish from the bank on a FAB.

Friday was a better day for fishing although the wind picked up in the afternoon. Jamie Scott caught 3 fish from a boat as well as a number of perch. Mr R Smith caught 8 fish from the bank. Draycote regular Mr Steve Barby caught 8 fish from a boat, one of which was a 6lb brown. Season Permit holder Mr Graham Homer and Mr B Barry ventured out in a boat for the day in which Graham boated 4 fish and Barry landed a beautiful brown estimated to be around 6lbs.

On Saturday season permit holder Brian Warwick caught 7 fish, bank fishing near the swans nest. Mr M Laycock caught 6 fish from a boat. Mr G Moody caught 12 fish from a boat while Mr M Hennessey caught 13. Season Permit holder Mr Paul Walley caught 9 fish from the bank. Father and son team Jim and Tom Marriott caught 7 fish from a boat.

Sunday started out calm but as the day went on it turned out to be yet another choppy day out on the water. Martin Price and Dave Hancox took advantage of our 4hour guided fishing package and went out with in house guide and England Team member Lee Henfrey. During their 4 hour session the pair managed to catch 10 fish between them, and then went back out onto the water afterwards to boat another 7 fish. Mr Alan Grant also had a good day catching 7 fish from a boat while Draycote regular Mr Jim Smith caught 11 fish during an afternoon session.

Season Permits

There is currently a waiting list for season permits here at Draycote water however, we strongly advise anyone who is thinking about having a season permit to contact us and have their name added to the list as soon as possible.

Telephone 01788 812018

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr Martin Price of Coventry who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 285 Number Trout Taken: 345 Number Trout Released: 432

Total Catch: 777  Weekly Rod Average: 2.7

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 18.15

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 18:15

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 13:00 – 13:00 until 18:15

Last 4 Hours from:  14:15 until  18:15 (Ticket sales available from 14:00)

Gutting Room Closes: 17:45

All Anglers to be off site by: 18:45

Fishery News

The Fur and Feather match.

This years Fur and Feather match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this matter will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main  Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 8th October 2017

Telephone 01788 812018

It’s been yet another interesting week here at Draycote. With the rod average at 2.9 it’s fished well, with bank angling improving as we march on towards the end of the season. A large number of anglers were visiting us from far and wide towards the end of the week, trying to get a feel for the place for the Troutmasters final on Monday 9^th October. The venue was put to the test over this past week and I have to say, there is not an area of the bank or from the boats were fish have not been caught.

Monday was a dull damp day with a cold north westerly blowing. Ray Cramp fished an afternoon session on the bank to net 13 fish, whilst Kevin Rees netted 18 fish from the bank with a washing line and shrimp patterns. Tom Morris took to the boats with a friend visiting from overseas to catch 3 fish in an afternoon session.

Tuesday was a very busy day which turned in a rod average of 4.9. Tony Broadway took to the bank to catch 12 fish on crunchers. Jude Tuffs caught 7 from the bank in Biggin bay. Mr E Jarvis caught 7 fish from a boat. Mr M Rough caught 6 fish from a boat on claret dabblers and nymphs. Geoff Allsopp caught 10 fish from the bank with the best weighing 4lbs and commented on A great day. Mr Steve Barby caught 6 fish from a boat, the best of which weighed 4lbs 8oz.

Wednesday was an early start for us, trying to get some good shots of the sunrise for the photographers. Someone else with an early start was Tony Broadway, who managed 15 fish from the bank, again on a washing line and crunchers. Matt Harris and Andy Lane fish around the tower and the deeper water on the Draycote dam using floating fry patterns to net 25 fish between them. But the best fish of the season so far fell to a pink booby for Mr A Jackson, a beautiful 11lb brown trout, which was duly photographed and returned, well done. Photo on or Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Thursday was bright and blustery with the wind blowing from the north west. Brian Warwick managed 11 fish from the bank, whilst John Dickens caught 8 fish from the bank on shrimp patterns. Mr M Rough netted 6 fish from a boat on crippled fry patterns and crunchers.

Again the bank anglers were doing well on Friday with fish being caught all along the north shore although casting wasn’t easy with the breeze swinging round from time to time. Tony Broadway managed 7 fish from Biggin bay whilst Peter Elliott had 6 fish from the same spot. Mr Paul Walley caught 11 fish from the bank on a silver muddler. Dave Adkins also managed 11 from the side of Lincroft point on a variety of lures. Don Roper caught 8 fish from Lincroft point on a big red fished off his double hander.

Saturday saw many anglers splitting their day between boat and bank whilst practicing form Mondays Troumasters competition. They played their cards very close to their chest but all seemed to be pleased with their day out on the water. Mr N and Mr M Hollingshead caught 11 fish from the bank in Biggin bay using buzzers, damsels, nymphs and a cats whisker.. Ant Meadows caught 12 fish from a boat whilst his boat partner, David Neilson had 4. Mr Neill Deakin caught 7 fish from the bank on snakes. Mr A Bennett and Mr M Randall caught 11 fish between them from a boat. Mr Roger Davies caught 3 fish from the bank. Mt Trevor Wadds caught 8 fish from the bank on a cats whisker.

Sunday was a very busy day on Draycote with both the boats and the bank fully booked. Season permit holder Mr Brian Allwood netted 8 fish from the bank on buzzers and reported on Good sport. Peter Elliott and David Hoppe caught 15 fish from a boat in various areas around the reservoir. Steve Gibson caught 6 fish from the bank in Dunns and Biggin bay. Rhys Llewellyn reported on having had some Great sport from a boat, netting 9 fish and losing 20+. Paul Walley had 11 fish from the bank on a minkie and Diawl bachs. Lee Cheshire caught 5 fish from around the tower on a cats whisker.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr Sid Kelly of Solihull who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 319  Number Trout Taken: 255  Number Trout Released: 690

Total Catch: 945  Weekly Rod Average: 2.9

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 18.30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 18:30

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 14:00 –  14:00 until 18:30

Last 4 Hours from:  14:30 until  18:30 (Ticket sales available from 14:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 18:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 19:00

Fishery News

The Fur and Feather match.

This year’s Fur and Feather match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this matter will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main  Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 1st October 2017

Telephone 01788 812018

A quiet start to the week after the busy previous week leading up to the Anglers World Championship Individual Final. It also saw a noticeable change in the weather with cooler daytime temperatures, slightly stronger winds and more consistent rain. It certainly feels like the start of Autumn here at Draycote. As a result the fish are certainly starting to hit the fry and can be caught on a wide range of fry patterns. However, whilst fry patterns are starting to work, some of the best catches this week have come to dries.

Dries ruled the way on Monday with the top catches both coming to various dry fly patterns. Season ticket holder Kevin Rees used small bobs bits fishery very low in the water to catch 9 lovely Rainbows. Kevin found the fish around A buoy, Y buoy and X. Another season ticket holder who used Bob Bits to great effect to tempt 7 rainbows to the boat was John Dickens. John fished around the Draycote Dam wall and out towards B buoy to catch his fish. Tim Gunn also enjoyed a good days sport boating 9 fish.

It was a brighter day Tuesday, with the wind coming from the South East. Gordan Slack fished the bank at the overflow to land 3 fish on washing lined small size 14 buzzers. Utilising the same tactic by the side of Gordan was Pete Allen who landed 8 fish. Ray Cramp also fished the bank to land 11 lovely trout. Out on the boats Ed Douglas used CDC Shuttlecocks to land 10 fish, Ed found moving fish near the tower and his stealthy dry fly tactics proved successful to enjoy good sport on a challenging day. Chad Pritchley & Phil Harding enjoyed a good days sport landing 13 fish to the boat. Husband and Wife team Howard and Marion Rutter landed 17 fish to the boat using olive and black buzzers.

It was a foggy start on Wednesday with Anglers struggling to see the water from the lodge. On the bank Tony Broadway fished with Stuart Lee. The pair started at the swans nest catching a couple before a move to Lincroft point produced the results with Tony landing 9 and Stuart landing 6. The best tactic for the pair was washing lined crunchers. Season ticket holder Brian Warwick fished the old pipe in Biggin bay to land 6 fish again fishing the washing line this time with a white booby on the end and two black buzzers. Mr Stradling also fished in Biggin Bay to land 6 fish this time, 4 on the cats whisker and 2 on a sparkler booby. Out on the boats Mr Evans and Mr Bilvinski enjoyed good sport landing 12 to the boat on dries.

Overcast wet conditions teamed with a light westerly wind Thursday looked ideal fishing conditions, and while there were good catches recorded from both the bank and boats anglers reported a great number of fish coming short. Tony Broadway fished the bank once again but this time from the Tower Bank and Dunns bay to land 8 fish again on washing lined crunchers. Fishing the bank alongside Tony was Ms Jude Tuffs who landed 4 fish. Out on the boats Mr Butler used a sinking line with a silver lure around the Top Dam wall and the tower to land 10 fish. Including a 10lb and 5lb brown. Jim Smith also fished in a boat finding fish around the tower and the top dam wall but this time fishing dries with a size 14 big red being his best pattern. Season ticket holder Kevin Rees also fished dries with bob bits being his best pattern with Kevin landing his 8 fish down in Toft.

A wet start to the day Friday with a light south westerly wind, although the day soon brightened up around 10.30. Fishery Ranger Tom Bird headed out early to try for some of the fantastic browns that had been caught recently by the tower, using a Di 7 sinking line and a tube Tom was rewarded with a lovely brown around 7lb, see the picture at www.facebook.com/flyfishstore. Season Ticket holder Peter Elliot took to a boat with Tony Baldwin with the pair landing 35 to the boat all on dries. The pair found the fish around A buoy, N buoy, X buoy. A mixture of dries worked from Midas, bobs bits and hoppers. Steve Barby enjoyed a good day landing 16 fish from various points in the lake with tubes proving effective. Irish fishing guide Larry McCarthy and son John enjoyed a good day on the dries landing 11 fish to the boat. Richard Reeve also fished from the boats drifting out of Rainbow Corner to land 8 fish.

A bright start to the day Saturday, however the cloud did come over in the afternoon. Derek Bravington fished the bank at the old pipe in Biggin bay to land 5 fish all of which came to washing lined Diawl bachs. Out on the boats Jim Smith had 19 fish on dries with 17 of them taking the big red. Jim found fish around B buoy, the Draycote Dam, X buoy and near the tower. Also on the boats was Gareth Jones out with John McCarthy the pair landed 30 fish to the boat including a fantastic 5lb rainbow. The best tactic for the pair was to fish dries with crippled midge being the best pattern. Also out on the boats was Tony Cartwright fishing with a member of the Irish party boated 20 fish, fishing washing lined nymphs and fry patterns down the Farnborough Dam wall. Mr Peat fished on the rudder over the boils to land a lovely 6lb 6oz brown that can be seen on the flyfishstore Facebook page www.facebook.com/flyfishstore Â

A gusty overcast day Sunday, with a gusty south westerly wind. Not ideal conditions for the annual Packington Round Robin Competition. With three teams of 8 competing, the overall winners were Packington with 53lb 3oz second was Foremark with 40lbs 1oz and in third was Colwick with 26lb 7oz. The Individual winner on the day was Mark Sturgess who had 8 fish for 24lb 8oz, Mark fished along the Draycote Dam with small minkie patterns. Thornton Fly Fishers also held a memorial match, with the winner being Russ Jackson with 4 fish. Outside of the club competitions Gareth Jones and Larry McCarthy had over 20 to the boat. The pair found the fish around N buoy and down the Farnborough Dam On small claret crippled midge patterns fish sunk just under the surface. Mr E Dinsdale also had some good success fishing with Damsels down the top dam wall.

Looking ahead to next week, the cooler temperatures and the shorter day light hours are really starting to switch the fish onto the fry, with several great browns and rainbow being caught on fry imitations. The settled weather towards the backend of the week should really produce some great sport with the reservoir currently holding 18,185 fish.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Tony Broadway of Coventry who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 319 Number Trout Taken: 290 Number Trout Released:454

Total Catch: 744  Weekly Rod Average: 2.3

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 18.45

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 18:45

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 14:00 –  14:00  until 18:45

Last 4 Hours from:  14:45 until  18:45 (Ticket sales available from 14:30)

Gutting Room Closes: 18:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 19:15

Fishery News

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Dates for your diary:-

Competition                                                                                Contact

Troutmasters Final – Monday 9^th October – See Fishery staff. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FISHERY WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY FOR THIS BOAT & BANK EVENT

The Fur and Feather match.

This years Fur and Feather match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). Fishing hours will be 9-4pm due to the reduced daylight. This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this matter will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main  Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. The main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 24th September 2017

Telephone 01788 812018

A busy week at Draycote with improvement in the bank fishing together with the build up to the Anglers World Holidays Final which was held on Sunday. There is a good spread of fish now throughout the reservoir and the boat anglers have been recording catches from almost all parts of the venue. Bank anglers have also been fairing much better with fish being caught from the Swan’s Nest, Cornfield, Lincroft Point, Tower Bank and the Overflow. On occasion fish have been feeding right in the margins and unnecessary wading has spooked them out. As is usually the case at this time of the year, fish are being caught on a wide variety of patterns & tactics from both boats and bank. Dries remain probably the best method closely followed by washing line and nymphs as fish generally remain high in the water column. Damsels are also producing but fry patterns are being used more effectively now as more & more fish are turning to fry feeding – particularly on small perch. The rod average for this week was 3.5.

Monday started overcast with a light northerly breeze which picked up as the day went on. Dries were working well, as was the washing line with most fish being caught out in the middle of the reservoir. Ed Douglas returned 22 fish which were all caught on dries. Likewise, Kevin Rees did well on the dries, catching 13 fish on Bob’s Bits. James Raw netted 9 fish from a boat with regular Ray Cramp managing 10. Nick Righton also boated 5 using emergers.

A foggy start on Tuesday morning only began to clear up from about 10 o’clock. Season permit holder Roly Hill caught well from the bank on the Cornfield and was finished by lunchtime with five netted. Tony Broadway, also fishing from the bank, caught 13 on crunchers. Gordon Slack caught 4 rainbows from the bank whilst Stuart Lee, on a holiday visit from Canada, had 15 from the Cornfield on diawl bachs. Boat anglers Mr C & N Butler caught 4 trout apiece using lures on a sinking line. Mr L Evans netted 10 fish from a boat.

Wednesday dawned with overcast skies and a light northerly breeze with conditions looked good. Anglers reported a slow start to the day with fish coming short to the dries. Geoff Preston fished a damsel on a slow intermediate line to net 6 from B buoy. Ed Douglas performed really well once again boating 23 fish on dries! Mr G McGinley and Mr G Pelini caught 19 fish between them from a boat. Mr Rough, visiting on a 3 day break, caught 6 on a mixture of claret dabblers and nymphs.

On Thursday Graham Pearson and Keith Jones had 18 fish to the boat. They fished across the middle of the reservoir using a hover line and FABs. The highlight for Graham however, was a splendid 6lbs 8oz rainbow that fell to his Big Red dry fly tied in size 12. Draycote regular George Leaton had 5 fish to lures fished near the flat stones & Brian Warwick fished the bank to catch 4 on small black buzzers. Thornton regulars Richard Dayman and John Kirk shared a boat & netted 10 on a variety of drifts over open water. Bank fishing partners Mick Cronin and Stan Hillman had an excellent day on the bank searching out fry feeders. They landed a total of 18 fish between them, one of which was a 7lbs brown. We were pleased to welcome the English Fly Fishing Association who held their autumn match on Thursday. Thirty three anglers took part ending the day with a total of 139 rainbows between them for a match average of 4·1. David Moore won the event with an eight-fish bag weighing 17lbs 7oz. Their top guest rod however, was Martin Brocklebank, also with eight fish, but with a weight of 18lbs 1oz. Most of their fish came to slowly fished small nymph patterns fished just sub-surface on drifts across the middle from the lodge towards Lin Croft Point.

Friday was an overcast start once again and looked very promising. However, it proved to be a slow day for most with many anglers returning catches of between 2 and 4 fish. Season Permit holders Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennell reported “a tough day at the office”, with only 8 fish to the boat during a practice day for the weekends competition. John Clifford enjoyed an afternoon in the boat with 6 fish, while Steve Conway managed 3 “in tough conditions”.

Saturday was the official practice day for the Anglers World Holidays final. A total of 45 boats took to the water trying to work out the right tactics to net themselves the grand prize. Most anglers kept their cards very close to their chest and where giving no secrets away as to how they faired. The bank seemed to fish much better on Saturday with Mark Hunt returning 9 fish which he caught on fry patterns and cormorants whilst Brian Allwood netted 3 fish from Toft Shallows on a small lure. Dennis Jones caught 5 fish from the bank near the Overflow & Kasidit Leovriyakit was rewarded for his drive up from Bristol with a 6 fish tally from the Swan’s Nest.

On Sunday morning Stuart Lee ventured out on to the bank for the second time this week, prior to his return home to Canada. On advice, he fished small diawl bachs & crunchers on the Swan’s Nest to net 16 rainbows. Some were real grown on silver bars & Stuart is on his way back home now with a smile on his face. It was nice to see him again &, as always, the Draycote Team wish him all the very best. Sunday morning was a very busy start for the final of the Anglers World Holidays competition in which 100 competitors took part.  Fifty boats departing from the harbour simultaneously was quite a sight & was broadcast live by organiser John Horsey. It is now posted as a video on the flyfishstore Facebook page & is well worth viewing.

Competitors were challenged by blue skies & sunshine and a cold start after clear night skies  – totally different conditions to their practise day. Small flies, both nymphs & dries, appeared to be the order of the day with good presentation proving critical. Many rods later reported on the number of follows, refusals or missed takes, together with fish lost in play. At the end of the day 418 trout were landed giving a rod average of 4.18 with the average fish weight of 2lbs 1oz. Fished to a three fish kill then catch & release, the event could not have been closer in terms of the top three rods -with a single ounce separating each of them! Our congratulations go to Gareth Evans who took top honours with 11 fish for 22lbs 11oz. Second place went to defending champion Wayne Jones, again with 11 for 22lbs 10oz. Third spot, also 11 rainbows, went to Gareth Jones with 22lbs 9oz. The award for the largest fish of the day went to Martin Griffiths with a 4lbs 3oz rainbow. Our congratulations also go to Draycote season ticket holder Tony Parker whose 10 fish total for 21lbs 3oz saw him take fourth place.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Ms Jude Tuffs of Market Harborough who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 529   Number Trout Taken: 393  Number Trout Released: 1480

Total Catch:   1873 Weekly Rod Average:   3·5

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 19:00

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 19:00

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 14:00 –  14:00 until 19:00

Last 4 Hours from: 15:00 until 19:00 (Ticket sales available from 14:45)

Gutting Room Closes: 18:30

All Anglers to be off site by: 19:30

Fishery News

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Dates for your diary:-

Troutmasters Final Monday 9^th October See Fishery staff.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FISHERY WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY FOR THIS BOAT & BANK EVENT

The Fur and Feather match.

This years Fur and Feather match will take place on Sunday 26^th November 2017. The match is a pairs event (fishing with your own boat partner) which, as usual, will be fished to reservoir rules (but rudders will NOT be allowed). The event will be fished to an eight fish limit (normal permit prices apply) together with a special discount boat price of £15 per boat (reduced from the normal £24.50). This will equate to a cost per angler of £36.50. The winning pair will win a Christmas Hamper each. Second & third prizes will be wines & spirits with port for the largest fish. Boats can be booked in the normal way at the lodge or by phone on 01788 812018.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better, or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main  Draycote gate, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. Main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

 

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 17th September 2017

Telephone 01788 812018

Another week where the quality of the fishing has been directly linked to the weather conditions. Some big westerly & south westerly winds significantly hampered the action on the first four days of this reporting period. Conditions improved by the end of the week, which as expected, hailed the return of some fine top of the water sport. A total of 268 anglers netted 874 trout giving an overall rod average of 3.2 for the week. Whilst action has continued for the dry fly enthusiasts in the boats, increased evidence of fry feeding has also been seen. Large numbers of roach and perch fry are now being found in fish that are being prepared for the pot. Photo on our facebook www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Monday began on a SW wind which quickly developed into a powerful westerly &we saw only 9 rods on the water. They had no real alternative but to hunker down in Rainbow Corner & only 10 fish came to the net. Tuesday was also a blustery day but, despite rough conditions on the bank, Mr C J Day did well with a 4 fish total as well as a 2lbs+ perch! Boat anglers commented on how tough things were in the wind but perseverance paid off for a hardy few with Ed Douglas netting 9 on Big Reds & Bobs Bits. Dave Ward had half a dozen to Bibio Hoppers & Ray Cramp took an 8 fish limit on lures. Mr C Butler caught 10 rainbows with best fish weighing in at 4lbs 5oz taken on silver fry patterns fished deep. Nick Righton also did well on his evening boat with 5 to the net on CDC emergers. Wednesday saw a return of very strong westerly winds with gusting above 30mph at times. Only three boats ventured out & were once more forced to fish the only shelter available up in Rainbow Corner. Whilst most anglers drew a blank, Mr J Lawrence did exceptionally well to land 8 on size 12 & 14 Bibio Crunchers.

Windy conditions continued into Thursday& the fishing remained hard. Eight anglers braved the bank managing eight fish in total whilst 15 anglers, out in six boats, netted a total of 27. Friday saw a welcome drop in the water temperature to 15with the wind settling to a 6-8 mph WNW & overcast skies.  The fish reacted accordingly & a total of 221 were taken during the day by the 53 rods on the water. Jim & Richard Hall enjoyed a morning boat together& landed 4 rainbows each on very small dries tied by Jim on size 18s. Paul Davison finished his boat session with 19 to his midas dries & the pairing of Messrs Naylor & Houlton also had fine sport on Hoppers & G&H Sedge with a 33 fish total. Mr Wakeham boated a brace of fish the best being a fine brown trout of 7lbs 4ozs whilst Kevin Rees stuck to his self-tied small bob bits to net 17. Brian Lowson & Ian Malpass mixed Big Reds & Red Midas for 8 & 7 respectively. Again, most of these fish have been taken on drifts out over open water especially within wind lanes or slicks. Some good sport was also enjoyed by bank anglers with Gordon Slack taking a fine 4lbs+ bar of silver on a buzzer pattern at the Tower Bank. Brian Warwick fished buzzers on the Cornfield landing five rainbows with Colin Grainger landing a brace on a small red sugar lump emerger in Toft.

Saturday was overcast with a light north westerly breeze and some light showers in the afternoon. Dries once again worked really well as did the washing line and buzzers, despite the lack of a good hatch. Lots of good numbers came from A buoy and along the Draycote dam. Biggin bay also fished very well as did the central area around P, X and Y buoy. Once again Toft shallows fished with limited success, with lots of fish showing around the central area of G buoy. These fish have been a bit shy over the last couple of weeks but with the recent drop in water temperature (15’c), it shouldn’t be long before they really switch on.

Draycote regular Melvin Severn fished the rudder to good effect boating 12 fish. Mr J Bellamy caught 16 fish from the bank on PTNs. Mr P Davis had 10 fish to the boat on a variety of patterns. Mr Ian Colclough organised the TEFF Fund raising match on Saturday with a total of 23 rods taking part. The group managed a rod average of 6.7 between them with the match being won by Mr Paul Davidson with a total of 19 fish to the boat. Second place went to Mr Tony Baldwin and third place went to Mr Richard Slater. Biggest fish of the day was 55cm long and was caught by the match organiser, Mr Ian Colclough. Well done to all those who took part.

Sunday started much like Saturday but with a colder bight to the northerly breeze. Mr George Leaton caught 12 fish along the Draycote dam and the flat stones on damsels, with fish up to 4lbs in weight. Mr M Nolan caught 9 fish from the bank. Mr Nick Dunn caught 10 fish from a boat. Draycote regular Jim Smith caught 19 fish on dries around Y buoy. Mr Ian Bradfield caught 8 fish from a boat, all on dries. The Stanley Harrison Trophy was the prize for Mid Northants anglers on Sunday. A total of 21 anglers took part, netting 69 fish between them for a match rod average of 3.2. Well done to all those who took part.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr John O’hara of Nuneaton who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 268  Number Trout Taken:275 Number Trout Released:599

Total Catch:  874 Weekly Rod Average:  3.2

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 19:30

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 19:30

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 14:00 -  14:00 until 19:30

Last 4 Hours from:  15:30 until 19:30 (Ticket sales available from 15:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 19:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 19:45

Fishery News

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Dates for your diary:-

Competition  Contact

Angling World Holiday Final, All Boats Booked for this event Saturday 23^rd and  Sunday 24^th September  c/o John Horsey

Troutmasters Final 9^th October.  See Fishery staff.

As is so often the way at this time of the year, many fish tend to gravitate towards the aerators as a comfort zone & naturally many anglers wish to get in amongst the action there. Please be aware that the area is a strictly no anchoring zone.

We also respectfully ask that all anglers demonstrate good boat manners & etiquette when fishing in close proximity to other vessels there & elsewhere in general. Incidents have been occurring where anglers have rudely reversed back up their drift into oncoming boats or have cut straight into the path of a drifting boat instead of  taking their turn returning to the top of the drift. This is unsporting, spoils the action & enjoyment of others & understandably leads to frayed tempers. Should you find yourself at the receiving end of repeated displays of such poor boatmanship & bad etiquette, we ask that you phone the lodge in order that we can come out to rectify the situation ourselves as deemed appropriate.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Early Morning Anglers

Due to a number of complaints from the residents of the houses by the main gate at Draycote, could all anglers arriving early in the morning please keep noise to a minimum level, and if waiting for any more than a few minutes, please switch off your engines. Main gate is open from 7.30am

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

Follow Us on

facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Fishing Report w/e Sunday 10th September 2017

Telephone 01788 812018

Despite yet another week of varying weather conditions the sport remains consistently good for boat anglers, with good returns coming from lots of different areas of the reservoir. Toft still isn’t at it’s best but some persistent souls have caught fish whilst drifting around G buoy. The bank fishing has improved a bit over the last week or so, but with the current water temperatures still high, those who keep on the move and keep changing tactics are the ones who are making the better returns. The weekly rod average was 3.2.

After the bright and breezy day, the overcast and lighter winds of Monday looked like the week would get off to a great start. While the fishing was good with a rod average of 3.8 it didn’t quite explode like was expected. Ed Douglas took to the water landing 11 fish, all on dries with CDC shuttlecock being the best fly. Season ticket holder Kevin Rees used dries to good effect landing 7 fish, all on small brown bits. Rob Keeber fished dries and diawl bachs to boat 12 fish from various points around the lake, with the open water proving a productive area.

Good conditions Tuesday with cloud cover and a light south westerly wind saw the rod average increase to 4, even through the final hours sport was hampered by a huge rain storm coming through. Bank anglers Peter Allen and Gordan Slack used fry patterns in Rainbow Corner to land 4 and 3 fish a piece. Out on the boats Ms A Honor and Mr Czernecki landed 10 fish to the boat using washing line tactics around A and B Buoy. Mr Woodruffe landed 7 fish, all in the last hour before the rain on bibios fished in the top 2 feet of the water on an intermediate line. Mr K Coley and Mr B Taft enjoyed a good days sport back drifting down the Draycote dam wall with 7 inch a second sinking lines and buoyant flies to land 14 fish to the boat.

More overcast conditions greeted anglers on Wednesday, and as a result the fish where in the top 2 feet of the water. The fish were certainly looking up for food with dries proving the most successful tactic. The fish seemed to have moved to all areas through the middle of the lake, with drifts from X,P,A and B buoy proving productive. Joe McGuigan led the way with 17 fish, all falling to yellow owl CDC shuttlecocks. Mr T Evans and Mr J Bilinski used hoppers to great effect landing 11 fish to the boat. Tony Smith also found dries to be the best method, however he caught using small bobs bits in a variety of colours. Mr Russ Logan and Mr Rob Leighton enjoyed a good days action boating 18 fish with Russ using a silver Invicta while rob opted for a sparkler booby. Season ticket holders Colin England and Tony Plummer also used dries to boat 12 fish.

A sunny start to the day on Thursday did not look that promising. But with the cloud cover arriving earlier than expected, and a light breeze picking up, the day began to look very promising indeed. Colin Grainger and Ivor Bullock caught 2 fish each from the bank. Ian Richardson, also caught 2 fish from the bank. Ian fished by the overflow using boobies and minkies.  Mr Joe McGuigan found it a bit tougher going but still managed 9 to the boat, again on yellow owls and various dries. Draycote regular Mr Jamie Scott caught 7 fish from a drifting boat. Season Permit holder Dennis Tidmarsh ventured afloat with Mr Rod Goldthorpe to net 16 fish between them. Mr Ray Cramp, also fishing from a boat netted 8 fish, one of which weighed 4 lbs. Frazer Duffy went out for an afternoon session and caught 7 fish. Kevin Rees had 14 fish to the boat on various dries such as bobs bits. Mr J Wilkinson Boated 21 fish on a wide variety of methods.

On Friday the bank fishing seemed to improve a bit with Keith Hughes catching 2, Peter Allen catching 4 and Gordon Slack catching 5 fish. Well done Gordon. Mr Lloyd McNally caught 5 fish from a boat, all on dries. Mr D Holroyd netted 7 fish from a boat. The father and son boat pairing of Mr J Hall and Mr D Hall caught 10 fish between them from a boat, all on dries. Mr Steve Conway ventured out for an afternoon session and netted 9 fish in Biggin bay. Mr Scott Graham and his boat partner caught 20 fish during an afternoon session, again on various dries. Ed Douglas netted 19 fish from a boat, all on dries. Friday also saw the arrival of one of the AMFC matches. 30 rods took part, netting 181 fish to give a match average of 6.0. Well done to all those anglers who took part.

Saturday started with a blustery south westerly wind and sporadic showers. There were quite a lot of young anglers out on the water, having a practise day before tomorrows big event. The reservoir fish hard in the windy conditions but there where some good returns. Mr Mark Hunt caught 8 fish from a boat using a midge tip line and nymphs. Mr Jim Dempsey caught 5 fish on the rudder. Mr R Allan netted 6 fish from a boat. Mr M Hollingshead caught 3 fish from the bank by the overflow, using a variety of patterns such as buzzers and cats whiskers.

Waterproofs and warm clothing were required for The England Loch Style Youth National, held on Sunday here at Draycote. The budding stars of the future ventured out on to the water on what was to be a challenging day. All 20 rods boated a very respectable 48 fish between them. Congratulations to Ryan Campbell on becoming the Youth National Champion 2017, with 11 fish. Also a big well done to all the other young anglers who took part. Despite the weather there were some good returns from other anglers as well.. Mr Frazer Duffy returned for another days fishing and netted 8 fish from a drifting boat.  Mr P Hallam caught 6 fish. Mr R Burcher caught 5 fish from a boat.

Weekly Boat Draw

Congratulations to Mr J Bilinski of Brackley who is the winner of this weeks free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 308  Number Trout Taken: 424  Number Trout Released:572  Total Catch:  996    Weekly Rod Average: 3.2

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 19:45

Boat All Day:  08:30 until 19:45

Boat Part Day:  08:30 until 14:00 –  14:00  until 19:45

Last 4 Hours from:  15:45 until  19:45 (Ticket sales available from 15:30)

Gutting Room Closes: 19:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 20:00

Fishery News

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Dates for your diary:-

Competition                                                                                     Contact

TEFF Fundraiser.  Dry Fly Championship 16^th September “ Ian Colclough  01543 689117

Angling World Holiday Final  23^rd and 24^th September  c/o John Horsey

Troutmasters Final  9^th October.  See Fishery staff.

As is so often the way at this time of the year, many fish tend to gravitate towards the aerators as a comfort zone & naturally many anglers wish to get in amongst the action there. Please be aware that the area is a strictly no anchoring zone.

We also respectfully ask that all anglers demonstrate good boat manners & etiquette when fishing in close proximity to other vessels there & elsewhere in general. Incidents have been occurring where anglers have rudely reversed back up their drift into oncoming boats or have cut straight into the path of a drifting boat instead of  taking their turn returning to the top of the drift. This is unsporting, spoils the action & enjoyment of others & understandably leads to frayed tempers. Should you find yourself at the receiving end of repeated displays of such poor boatmanship & bad etiquette, we ask that you phone the lodge in order that we can come out to rectify the situation ourselves as deemed appropriate.

Boat Cleanliness:

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates.  Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

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