Weekly fishing update 4th August 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  4^th September      Rod Av:2.3      Water Temperature: 18c+

As we move towards the end of August we can look forward to September with its shorter daylight hours which will help reduce the water temperature and turn the fish onto the feed

Monday we saw a few of the larger claret buzzers during the late afternoon, quite often a traditional Mallard & Claret will take fish. We don’t see many use the old traditional flies, J Davidson fished Invicta & Zulu catching 2 trout a cracking 11/4roach but reported lots of interest. All Water member Ian Leach caught 5 for his visit on a floating line & fabs

Tuesday & the first morning you sensed a possible change in the air, much cooler with the water temperature at 19c During the day a good number of swallows & sand martins were down feeding with a few buzzers hatching through the day. Paul Martindale caught 3 on Hoppers & daddies with P Cox still catching on the midge tip & #12 Fulling Mill Sunburst Fab. Andrew Wilson followed the swallows & martins working the area from the corner of the wood across the Markfield arm finding straight line buzzer worked best catching 6 trout.

Wednesday was a noticeably cooler morning with our water temperature down to 18.5c with plenty of martins & swallows on the water feeding. Andy Lilley caught 8 during his morning session on olive buzzer, midge tip, 18ft leader. P Wurm fished the last 4 hours catching 3 drifting across the main basin.

Thursday with martins & swallows working the water, water temperature 18c some fish moving but proving difficult to tempt. P Wrigley fished the morning session catching 4, Paddy Fitch opted for the afternoon session picking up 4 trout with Bill Stone also fishing the afternoon catching 7 in front of the dam. The majority were taken on floating, midge tip, 12ft tip lines with Diawl Back, Claret or Olive buzzer, emergers & dries

Friday with the cooler water 18c in the morning we enjoyed a better day’s fishing. All water member P Walker caught 14 with most taking a muskins, another all water member M Hunt caught 14 on a claret bobs bits, yellow owl and big red with Paul & Sam Cook catching 6 during the last 4 hour session on daddies, muddler and sedge, other anglers caught on black emergers & diawls with the rod average 4.4 for the day.

Saturday with a nice southerly and water temperature of 18c it looked perfect and didn’t disappoint returning a rod average 4 for the day. Brian Perrie caught 8 on a diawl bach and white booby fishes washing line, M Clay caught 5 for his mornings visit with Neil Jones fishing the last 4 hour session catching 6 on small olive buzzers & black dries

Sunday and following Friday & Saturday rod averages of 4, it was surprising that the daily rod average dropped back to 2 on Sunday. Anthony Stone fished daddy patterns to catch his 2 fish, missing others. Pete Hunt & John Thomson shared their usual Sunday morning boat catching 6 on diawl bach with Tony Smith fishing the last 4 hour enjoying good sport boating 5 trout to buzzers

Water clarity is good, our water temperature is steady at 18c / 18c+ ideal for where its required to give us good sport as we move into September

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

Week Ending:  4^th September 2022              Rod Av: 2.2      Water Temperature: 19.5 °C

The week kicked off with less than ideal conditions with bright and breezy conditions with the wind coming from the Northeast. On the boats Allan Wither & Lindsey Bates enjoyed a good days sport landing 13 fish to the boat. However, they found there was no standout method or area and commented that various patterns and areas worked during the day. All water member Andy Lillie fished from the boats landing 8 fish. Andy fished over the Aerators using Red Diawl Bachs on a 10ft Midge Tip to tempt his fish. Also fishing the Aerators were Draycote members Bob Smith & Ian Richardson the duo boated 9 fish to the boat using cormorants on a midge tip line. Father and son, Kas & Wilbur Leoviriyakit enjoyed a good day boating 5 fish using a white booby fished on either a Fast Glass or a Di 5 sinking line. With their hotspots being around Lincroft Point on T buoy.

Challenging conditions Tuesday with winds coming from the Northeast once again and not much in the way of cloud cover, however, thankfully some did arrive a little later in the day although it was still broken cloud. Season ticket holder Mike Garner fished from the bank to land 4 fish on Cormorants. Taking 1 from the Swan’s Nest with the other three coming along the Cornfield. On the boats Kevin Rees did well landing 7 fish on dries with small Crippled Midge and Bob’s Bits. Kevin fished at the top dam wall at the bottom of the wind to take his fish. Will Hunt also enjoyed a good day landing 8 fish, although it wasn’t until about 4pm when Will headed down into Toft he started to catch. Will, fished by the Willow tree right down the bottom of Toft drifting out from the corner using a Green Sedge Pupa pattern to tempt the fish.

That cooler northeast wind was still blowing on Wednesday morning, hopefully helping to cool the surface temperature of the water down a bit. Fishing along the north shore is proving to be more productive of late, with fish showing up at Lincroft Point, along the Cornfield and down by G buoy in Toft. Season permit holder Dave Smith had a brace to the boat and lost many more using foam daddies down in Toft Shallows. Draycote regulars Roger and Graham Davies caught half a dozen fish using the rudder with sinking lines and black and green lures. Mr Baker and his boat partner had 3 fish on foam daddies, whilst Mr Shepherd and Mr Nicoll had 5 on boobies and diawl bachs.

The pattern of weather didn’t really change much for Thursday here at Draycote, with that cooler, north easterly blowing, and the slightest hope of rain in the forecast. Once again, there are bank anglers catching with Tony Broadway having 3 fish off Lincroft point on GRHE’s, and Mr D Taylor getting a brace form the same place. Out on the boats season permit holder Paul Havard netted 5 fish on midge tips and intermediate lines and humungus, losing another 4 in open water. The boat pairing of Bob Smith and Ian Richardson chose to drift over the Aerators towards the Draycote Dam. The pair netted a total of 14 fish between them, using an Airflo 12 foot slow tip and cormorants.

Another good start to the day here at Draycote with cloud cover and a light north easterly blowing out of Toft Shallows. The visibility has cleared up in the water quite a bit and fish can be seen moving more regularly in the top of the water. John Clifford had 4 fish to the net whilst fishing from the bank in the Cornfield and Lincroft Point during an evening session. Jamie Scott netted half a dozen fish from a drifting boat around the Aerators, using airflo’s 12 foot slow tip with diawl bachs and a FAB on the point. Draycote inhouse guide Andy Miller ventured out on to the water with season permit holder Andy Tasker. Mr Tasker netted a total of 6 fish using cormorants and floating fry patterns, from The Spit on the Hensborough Bank and the Aerators. Season permit holder John Dickens caught a total of 5 fish during an evening session, which all fell to bob’s bits.

It was overcast with a light southerly breeze on Saturday morning and turned out to be a good day for fishing on Draycote Water. The visibility in the water has improved even more, and the recent overcast conditions have helped with water temperatures. Season permit holder Mark Braun had 15 fish to the boat using a black knat on a floating line, and then a green pea on a DI7. Ian Western and his boat partner Mark Robinson had 7 fish to the boat on midas, blobs and snakes. Albert Coles had well over 20 fish to the boat using an Airflo booby basher line and snakes fished through the Aerators. Stuart Lee and Davis Hoppe netted a baker’s dozen from Toft Shallows and along the northern shore on a wide variety of patterns.

A blustery overcast day Sunday make the fishing trickier that it has been the day before. Draycote member Jon Crowley fished for his usual morning session in the morning, boating 13 fish. Using a Di 5 sweep sinking line with a black snake and a green pea. The hotspot for Jon was to fish at N Buoy just on the start of Musborough shoal. Fishery guide Andy Miller took Dave & Mick out for a 4 hour guide with the paid landing 3 fish. They fished a barred olive snake on a Di 3 over the Aerators and around B Buoy. Paul Mitchell fished with Tim Burn with the pair landing 6 fish fishing across various points of the lake using a washing line.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

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

Week Ending: Sunday 04 September 2022       Rod Av: 2.5      Water Temperature: 18°

The week began with a blustery North North-easterly which bought overcast conditions with some sunny intervals. The algal bloom was again prevalent so the search for clear water proved to be paramount. By motoring upwind anglers were able to find some clear water & those that did caught relatively well targeting fish in the upper layers. In open water where the water was more choppy, larger profiled dries such as a Foam Daddy seemed to be most productive. Whereas in the sheltered areas where the water was calmer, smaller profiled patterns such as CDC’s were more productive. Toff Crowther & his boat partner had a productive day, landing 14 fish between them, fishing Dries in clearer water, which is a great return given the conditions.

Tuesday brought with it the same blustery conditions as the previous day. The water quality in the Main Basin remained the same as the algae continued to get pushed into this downwind area. As the day progressed, clear patches started to appear up by the Willows, Seat & in front of Robbo’s Cabin. Those targeting these clear patches with floaters & midge tips were more successful than those fishing below the algae around the area of the Basin. There were fish caught on Foam Daddies fished on & below the surface & also on the washing line with dark nymphs or cormorants on the droppers.

Wednesday saw us host the England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Eliminator which determines who will represent England next season. With the same conditions as previous days 11 anglers took to the water & landed 25 fish, which gave a rod average of 2.2. Given the coverage of algae & blustery this was an excellent effort, well done to all. Congratulations to all those that qualified & a special mention must go to Steve Radcliffe who was top rod on the day with 6 fish. Steve used a washing lined floater, with nymphs on the droppers & concentrated his efforts fishing the clearer water upwind. Well done, Steve, 6 fish is a great effort. Thank you to everyone involved with the day it was a great honour for us to host such an event.

With regards to the algae & weather conditions, Thursday was very much a case of no change. The fishing remained very challenging with the search for clear water being of the utmost importance. Clear patches amongst the algae vary from day to day, so it is worthwhile taking the time to have a look around the reservoir to identify areas to fish. Once clear areas are located, fish slowly & relatively high up in the water column or even on the surface. This is exactly what All Water Member Ed Douglas did, landed 4 fish all on dries.

There was a dull start to Friday which brought some rain by mid-morning. The wind remained moderate northerly throughout the day which continued to push the algae into the corner of the pontoons. There were fish caught from both the boats & the bank with the most notable catches coming from Mr Gilmour & Mick Firth respectively. Mr Gilmour managed 2 fish from the bank at the Hawthorns on a Black Cat fished slowly which is a great effort given the current situation with the algae & that the wind was blowing onto that bank. Whereas, first time visitor Mick Firth, managed to land 6 fish from the boat, all on Daddies. With generally cooler air temperatures, cooler evenings & the forecast of rain over the next few days, the rate of which the algae will disperse should begin to accelerate.

Saturday saw the wind change direction to a Southerly which began to break up & disperse the algae lingering around the Main Basin. Consequently, the water began to clear & the reservoir fished very well. Fish were caught throughout the area of the Main Basin & there were some high returns recorded. Kevin Hart & Dave Pacey had a very productive day catching on a variety of methods fishing the north side of the tower drifting towards Harrisons Corner. Other areas of the main basin that produced were the weed beds along from the Lodge down towards the Hawthorns where fish were caught on Floating Fry patterns. Fish were also caught on Foam Daddies & washing lined floaters with a FAB on the point & nymphs above it; Nemo Crunchers & Diawl Bachs.

Sunday was a busy day at Eyebrook. We hosted an Eyebrook Fly Fishers (EFF) club match & also the latest All Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers (AAFFF)s outing. The reservoir fished very well for both events. The EFF competition was a designated Single Fly match where the participants could only use 1 fly. They could use 2 flies, but they had to be the designated Fly: in this instance, a Brown Foam Daddy. It turned out to be an inspired choice as they caught 31 fish between them, giving a rod average of 5.1. Well done to all. The AAFFF had 14 anglers taking to the water, they landed 74 fish between them which gave them a rod average of 5.2. What was equally impressive was that every one of their anglers caught, that is a great effort. They caught on a variety of methods from pulling boobies to fishing dries with the majority of their fish coming from the Main Basin. Elsewhere, local angler Dale Birch popped down for short session; landing 7 fish & Sam & Rob Edmunds had a very productive afternoon fishing Dries by the dam on the north side of the tower.

All in all, it was a tough start to the week, with algae present in the Main Basin. This area, as we know, had been holding a lot of fish. Consequently, as the water quality improved later in the week, the reservoir began to fish very well. This upward trajectory looks set to continue with the predicted weather forecast looking favourable for the forthcoming week.