Weekly Fishing report 20th September 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

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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:  18^th September   Rod Av: 2.9      Water Temperature: 16c+ / 17c

Monday weather was good with anglers reporting good numbers fish feeding at times along the far end of the dam into green bay and later in the day across the mouth of the Markfield Arm. Brian Morris caught 7 on claret & olive hoppers. Jamie Scott continues to catch well using the 12ft fast tip catching 11 on black hoppers & fab. Following a colder evening & cool evening it’s the first time in months that our water temperature was 17c+, which is going the right way.

Tuesday the afternoon & evening fished best for most with Pete Cox the only angler to do well during the morning session catching 5. Pete Hunt fished diawl bach & shipman’s to catch his 8 trout. Andrew Wilson caught his first fish at 3pm but went on to catch 9 on daddies & diawls with D Hussey catching 10 during the afternoon session on Diawls & daddy

Wednesday a brisk north wind most of the day and a surprising drop in temperature during the evening. Most anglers fished daddies, hoppers with size  #12 #14 Diawl Bach, hare`s ear, black or olive buzzers with a few fish being taken on a humungus & silver booby. Barry Deeley fished a midge tip line with humungus to catch 10 trout. P Cox & N Scowen caught 10 down the Markfield arm on hoppers & quill buzzer with D Slesser recording 6 trout. Eli Snyman on his first visit to Thornton fished the afternoon session catching 5 on fab and diawl bach.

Thursday the rod average was 3.9 with shuttlecock buzzer, diawl bach, hare ear, cruncher, hoppers being the most productive patterns. All water member P Walker caught 15 on shuttlecocks & diawls with Ian Leach & M Cowley boating 28 for their visit with M Ravenscroft catching 6 for his afternoon session. Plenty of trout across the top of the Markfield arm with the dam & green bay also favourite areas.

Friday & Saturday proved to be more of a challenge, with bright weather seemingly putting the trout down. Better day on Sunday despite a fresh wind with P Eville fishing diawl bach & cat booby to catch 11 for his mornings visit with Mark Hunt fishing buzzer on a midge tip or single cdc on a floater to catch his 15 trout

The afternoon / evening session is still best with the water temperature continuing to drop, currently 16c+ expect to see daddies, hoppers, shuttlecocks, suspender buzzers being the best patterns with some fish coming to fry patterns

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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:  18^th September 2022              Rod Av: 3.1      Water Temperature: 16 °C

Good conditions to start the week with light winds from the South, overcast skies with some quite heavy un-forecast showers around lunch. Draycote member Kevin Rees fished dries all day to land 6 fish with Bob’s Bit’s and Crippled Midge being his best patterns. Another angler who used dries to great effect was Ed Douglas who landed 14 fish on dries, drifting around N- Y Buoy across Musborough Shoal. Jim & Richard Hall fished the Aerators with nymphs to boat fish between them. The boat of Lee Patten & Stuart Lee enjoyed a good days sport landing 11 fish. They used 2 foam daddies and 2 nymphs fished on a floating line drifting from Rainbow Corner over to A buoy and then out over the open water to land their fish.

The wind swung around to the North for Tuesday but remained light throughout the day. With the water temperature now at 17 degrees and fish consistently taking dries off the surface, anglers are really getting some good sport as we move towards the back end of the season. Season permit holder Lorenzo Serano had a dozen fish to the boat using a combination of daddies and cats whiskers. Mr Alan Masters used minkies in Toft and on the Aerators to boat a total of 6 fish for the day. Seasoned member Ray Rawlings caught 4 fish, pulling foam daddies on a sink tip line near D buoy. Mr G England used a combination of daddies and fry patterns to net a total of 4 fish from a drifting boat.

Wednesday started calm and overcast with a heavy mist hanging over the water. This soon cleared leaving us in bright sunshine with a breeze much stronger than forecast. A much harder day fishing wise, with the rod average dropping to 1.9. Anglers reported being able to see fish swimming past the boat quite high in the water near the Valve Tower, but these fish seemed impossible to catch. Mr White reported on a good day with half a dozen fish to the boat, caught on a mixture of cormorants and daddies. Draycote stalwarts Ian Richardson and Bob Smith had 4 fish between them to the boat on cormorants and snakes. Mr Gary Russell also caught 4 fish using olive damsels fished on a DI3 line up in Rainbow Corner. Mr Brian Joseph took to the bank for an evening session and landed a stunning rainbow of about 5lbs from the area near the Valve Tower on a small fry pattern.

Thursday dawned with a rather brisk and cool north easterly breeze and good cloud cover. Colin Day fished the bank landing 4 fish and loosing a number of others. Colin, landed 2 from Toft and two from the Tower Bank. Using a tequila blob, black spider an a Diawl Bach. Draycote members Ian Reeve & Colin Granger enjoyed a good morning from a boat. The pair landed 13 fish in the morning using buzzers and snakes fished on Di 3 sinking lines over the Aerators and near Y Buoy. Kevin Rees used dries to land 7 fish with Bob’s Bits being his best pattern. Fellow member Gordon Bramwell enjoyed a great day boating 18 fish, however, he didn’t leave any comments on how he landed the fish. Thursday also saw the English Fly Fishers Association take to the water with 30 anglers fishing to a 8 fish limit with full catch and release measuring the first 5 fish. Overall the 30 anglers caught 121 fish for a rod average of 4.03 with the winner being Andrew Wightwick who had his 8 fish, narrowly beating Ray Storer by 2cm. The best tactic by the EFFA was to fish a washing line on various different lines drifting over the open water around A & B Buoy.

A northerly wind Friday with a sunny start, however, we did see some cloud arrive around Midday. All water member Ed Douglas used a washing line set up on a 12ft Airflo slow tip to land 10 fish. Ed found the fish around Y Buoy and drifting around Rainbow Corner. Tim Grove on his final day of a 3 day break landed 7 fish using dries and also nymphs fished on a washing line. R Minor & S Cooper landed 5 fish to the boat on daddies. With the best being a cracking Rainbow of 4lb. C Butler landed 9 fish using a silver lure on a Di 3 sinking line. With his 4lb bag of fish weighting in at 12lb. All water member Craig Middleton landed 6 fish using daddies on a floating line around A Buoy and Rainbow Corner.

A cold night with the air temperature getting as low as 3 degrees. This teamed with the cooler Northwest wind meant that there was a definite autumnal chill to Saturday. Although there is still a fair bit of weed about near the shoreline, bank angling has improved quite a lot. Mick Cronin and Stan Hillman both did very well fishing off the Tower Bank on suspender minkies cast just at the edge of the weed beds. Both anglers had over half a dozen fish each and reported on catching fish up to 5lbs in weight. Mr N Hollingshead also fished the Tower Bank, landing a brace on damsel patterns. Out on the boats Mr Blythe and Mr Taylor  caught 7 fish between them using white boobies on a DI7 fished over Middle Shoal. Several anglers reported catching good numbers of fish whilst drifting near P buoy but unfortunately failed to say how they did it.

There was a fairly stiff and cool north westerly blowing on Sunday morning, which persisted throughout the day. The reservoir fished pretty well overall, with good returns from various areas on the water. The Tower Bank once again showed up on the catch return, as did Middle Shoal and the Hensborough Bank. Alan Grant caught two fish whilst bank fishing from Lincroft Point on minkies. Sunday regular Jon Crowley caught 7 fish from a drifting boat around Middle Shoal using daddies and midas. Mark Braun caught his 11 fish on black shipmans buzzers and diawl bachs. Kasidit Leoviriyakit and Neil Lyons had 20 fish to the boat between them using white boobies fished on a DI5 line up in Rainbow Corner.

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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 18^th September 2022       Rod Av:  3.1        Water Temperature: 16-17°

The week started with perfect conditions, a light to moderate southerly breeze with plenty of cloud cover. Subsequently, the reservoir fished very well with fish caught throughout the Main Basin on a variety of methods; Dries, Washing Lined Floaters & Traditional Wets. The fish remained high up in the column & were well spread, so the key factors were long drifts across the basin & fish your flies in the first couple of feet. There wasn’t an abundance of fish to be seen moving but they were sat under the surface, on the occasion they could be seen moving, if they were covered, they would happily turn on the fly & take it. Season Ticket holders Roy Swinfield & Lynsey Bates had a very productive day landing 17 fish between them. Roy caught on a Midas & Lynsey caught on Mallard & Clarets. Allan Withers & his boat partner, Mr Turner, also had 17 to the boat. They caught theirs on Foam Daddies, Crippled Midge & a Black Midas. Season Ticket holder Mr Johnson had 10 fishing Hoppers, 5 of which came from the Seat to the Willows area. All in all, it was a great start to week & with favourable weather forecast, the prospect for the week looks very good.

The reservoir continued to fish consistently well on Tuesday yielding a rod average above 4 for the second consecutive day. The wind had swung round to a northerly from the previous day but there was still plenty of cloud cover & the fish remained high up in the water column, sitting just under the surface. Fish were caught as far up as the Willows to all the way down to the Hawthorns, on or just under the surface. The Dries accounted for a good number of fish with Foam Daddies, Grunters, CDC’s & Hoppers proving to be the most productive patterns. Under the surface, the Washing Line was the percentage method with either a FAB or Foam Daddy on the point & small lightweight Black Buzzers on the droppers. Father & son duo of Nigel & Max Woolnough had a great morning session landing 20+ to boat, most of which came to the dries. All Water Member Paul Walker also had a very productive session, taking 15 fish throughout the course of the day on Buzzers, CDC’s & Foam Daddies. Regular visitor Jude Tuffs landed 11 fish on the Washing Line with a Candy FAB on the point, on what was another productive visit. As with the previous day, the fish appeared to be very “poddy” which means there would be a flurry on interest followed by periods of inactivity. This meant that the best approach would be a mobile one & those fishing from drifting boats were more successful than those who remained static.

Wednesday brought with it some early mist which quickly disappeared once the sun began to rise. As the mist lifted it revealed a flat calm & fish could be seen moving across the reservoir. Washing Lined floaters & Dries continued to be the percentage methods with the fish still sat high up in the water column. Successful Dry Fly patterns included the usual suspects for this time of year, Hoppers, Foam Daddies, Grunters & CDC’s. Whereas on the Washing Line, a Foam Daddy or FAB on the point with Diawl Bachs & lightweight buzzers on the droppers. As well as being a successful Dry Fly, Hoppers have also been proven highly effective fished just under the surface & twiddled back. The most productive area continues to be the Main Basin, with fish found as far down the reservoir as the willows which is indicative of the decreasing water temperature.

Thursday started with a good degree of cloud cover which gave way in the afternoon to some very bright &    sunny intervals & consequently the reservoir seemed to fish better in the morning than it did in the afternoon. Despite the brighter conditions in the afternoon, the fish remained in the upper layers & were still some caught on the Dries & on the Washing Line, just not as frequently as they were in the morning. All Water Member Ed Douglas had a very productive day on the Dries landing 12 on a variety of patterns, mainly Bobs Bits & CDC’s. Those fishing the washing line caught on Booby’s & FABs on the point & Diawl Bach & Buzzers on the droppers. When fishing the Washing Line in changeable weather conditions, remember by changing your point fly you can alter the depth you are presenting your flies. FAB’s contain less foam than Boobies so they generally sit slightly lower in the water. These subtle changes can sometimes make such a difference to your catch rate.

A strong, blustery North Westerly winds & clear, bright skies were the conditions that met anglers on Friday. Those that did venture out found the fishing somewhat challenging. The fish remained high up in the water column & those that could present their flies correctly, just under the trough of the wave fared better than those that could not. Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell achieved this by fishing Cormorants on a Slow Intermediate, landing 10 fish in the process from the Hawthorns.  Another Season Ticket holder Keith Johnson also had a productive day, landing 9 fish pulling Hoppers, drifting the open water between the Island & Robbo’s Cabin. Malcolm Petrie & Colin McMonagle, fishing Day 1 of a 2-day short break, found plenty of fish in Harrisons Corner & along the North side of Dam. They landed 11 fish between them on black blobs & reported they had a lot more interest.

There was a cold, clear & bright start to Saturday. A light to moderate westerly developed into a strong blustery North-westerly. A second consecutive day of bright, clear skies & strong winds made the fishing again, somewhat challenging. Boat anglers sought shelter from the prevailing winds & there was fish caught along the Hawthorns, 100 – 150m off the bank. Enjoying their day 2 of a 2 Day short break, Malcolm Petrie & Colin McMonagle had yet another productive day, landing 12 fish on various patterns & methods. They targeted the fish feeding in the upper layers & chopped & changed throughout the day to continue catching. For those interested in one of our short break packages please follow the link below: https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/ The short term weather forecast indicates less wind & more cloud cover which bodes well for the coming days.

Sunday started with a very light north westerly breeze with plenty of cloud cover. The cloud cover remained consistent throughout the day, whereas the wind by midday, had developed into strong & blustery north-westerly before swinging round to the north. The wind direction & speed made fishing previously productive areas effectively, somewhat challenging. We hosted the latest fixture in the All-Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers (AAFFF) calendar which saw 19 anglers take to the water. Due to the wind, they opted for an early weigh in at 1430hrs & by that time they had caught 26 fish between them, which given the conditions was a sterling effort. After the weigh in some opted to return to the water for the late afternoon, which, by this time had saw the wind begin to abate. This proved to be an inspired decision as the reservoir fished better with the more favourable weather conditions. Most of those returning added to the fish they had caught previously with All Water Member Roger Kerrison adding 5 to his bag & Dave Porter adding 3. The most productive areas were Harrisons Corner, Robbo’s Cabin & 150m out from the Hawthorns with Dries & Washing lined floaters proving yet again to be the most productive methods.

Date for your Diaries: The 2022 Eyebrook Fur & Feather will be held on Sunday 23rd Oct. The Fur & Feather is a Pairs Competition fished to a 12 fish Boat Limit & Fishery Rules. The price is £83.50 per pair which includes 2 x 6 fish Tickets & Boat costs, Members can use their season tickets & just have to pay for a member’s boat. For anyone who is interested please call the Lodge on 01536 770264 for bookings.