Thornton weekly report 15th May 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre Payment

We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date further details visit our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  15^th May      Rod Av: 3.6      Water Temperature: 14c – 15c

Monday a pleasant start to the week with the wind forecast to freshen as the day went on. The morning session anglers seemed to enjoy the best of the sport with a washing line & buzzers, muddler pulled through the surface & dries taking fish. M Bazeley & F Chambers caught 11 for their mornings fishing, Andre Russell fished from his float tube to catch his 8 trout with R Menhams catching 4 trout for his 4 hour mornings fishing. Steve Windram fished from mid morning to early evening fishing a washing line to catch his 9 trout. Anglers reported good numbers fish moving but were coming short.

Tuesday with a change in the weather a blustery to strong at times south westerly. Most anglers fished in the shelter offered by the village bank & dam wall which wasn’t a bad area with fish moving at times but not as easy to tempt as expected. Mr Elvy & Mr Bossington caught them on black dries with James Smith fishing the last 4-hour session which produced a good rise taking his 7 trout on hopper, shipmans & fab. A black popper hopper & #14 grey bodied elk hair also attracted plenty of interest during the evening rise.

Wednesday and the much needed rain greeted the anglers with the same blustery south westerly wind. Despite the conditions the anglers enjoyed good sport with Jim Carrier & J Bradbury catching 12 for their mornings visit. Barry Deeley fished an intermediate with a damsel pattern & a floating line with buzzer & cruncher to catch his 12 before the heavy downpours drove them off the water.

Thursday again a bit blustery at times but with the wind dropping during the evening we had an excellent evening rise. David Hussey fished hawthorn & buzzers to boat his 16 trout with Ian Brearley catching 13 on damsel, buzzer & dries. Kevin Hart took to his float tube, fished along the stones into green bay with a washing line, fab-diawl-cruncher to catch his 19 trout. Bob Jones is enjoying a successful season at Thornton on this occasion catching 12 on damsel, buzzer & diawls.

Friday & yet another blustery day but once the wind fell away during the evening we had another excellent evening rise. Greg Weatherdon fished the morning session with buzzer, damsel & dries to catch his 7 trout, Jamie Scott caught 11 mostly on #12 black buzzer in front of the dam. John Bebbington fished a short afternoon session catching 6 for his visit.

Saturday and a brighter day with trout moving off and on during the day from in front of the lodge down and across the main basin and into the Markfield arm. Boat anglers are starting to get the best of the sport as the waters gin clear and the sun gets higher in the sky. Jan Webber caught 9 for his visit with Martin Clay catching 12 on buzzers for his mornings visit. B Perrie fished hares ears and diawl bach to catch his 7 trout. Mark Burrows popped down for a 3 hour evening session & caught 4 trout. Another good evening rise.

Sunday with a change of wind direction from the favoured westerly to an Easterly which definitely slowed the fishing. John Thomson and P Hunt caught 6 fishing the washing line for their mornings fishing with Dave Slessor catching 5. Mark Hunt fished the late afternoon session up in green bay and found a single dry, Grunter pattern worked better than a team of flies as he went on to catch 7 trout including some overwintered trout

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre-Payment

We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 15^th May 2022              Rod Av: 4.9       Water Temperature: 14 °C

Monday started with light Southeast winds; however, these winds did increase as the day progressed. Draycote member Dave Smith used a Midge Tip line with Diawl Bachs and Buzzers to land 9 fish from the school slips and Toft. Paul Newnam & Matt Crisp enjoyed a good day landing 17 fish to the boat using a washing line with a FAB on the point and then buzzers on the droppers. John Dickens used a mixture of buzzer, black and green lure and also dries to land 22 fish while out in a boat. Catching from the Hensborough Bank and Biggin Bay. Fellow member Lorenzo Serrano also used buzzers to land 16 fish from Biggin Bay.

A cloud start to the day, put the sun did break out in the afternoon with a strong Southwest wind to go with it. On the bank Draycote member Brian Allwood landed a cracking fish 4lb 8oz which took a buzzer, fishing in Alberts Bottom in Biggin Bay. The picture of this cracking fish can be found on www.facebook.com/flyfishstore Also on the bank Paul Walker landed 3 fish in a half day from the old pipe in Biggin Bay on Buzzers. Another bank angler who landed 3 on buzzers was Bernard Stebbing who fished the last 4 hours. On the boats Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith landed 30 fish to the boat. The paid used straight line or washing lined buzzers along the Hensbrough bank to land the fish and commented “a cracking day, silver torpedoes”. Chris Discombe fished in the middle from Y- X Buoy using a green lure to land 11 fish having an “excellent day” Dan Mcelligott landed 24 fish with 6 coming to buzzers and the rest falling to a white snake on an intermediate line, with the school slips and the Hensborough Bank being the hotspot. Jeff Ide fished for the afternoon landing 9 fish all taken on dries with his best being a rainbow of 4lb 7oz.

Draycote experienced some much needed rain on Wednesday which didn’t stop until around 3pm, as a result it was quite day. Mr D Stott fished for a morning from a boat landing 11 fish, using Buzzers fished on a straight line at the Hensborough Bank. This is the first time Mr Stott had used this method and showed how effective it can be. Draycote Fly Fisher member Neil Berry fished with his friend Lawrence Greasley using black lures to great effect landing 7 by Y Buoy.

A breezy and bright start to Thursday morning with once again a good spread of fish throughout the reservoir. Paul Havard fished from a boat up on the Hensborough bank to land 13 fish on buzzers and nymphs. Young Richard Walker had 8 fish to the boat on lures fished along the Draycote Dam. Season permit holders Mr J Vyse and Mr M Foster had over 30 fish to the boat between them on black buzzers from various areas around the reservoir. Chris Bobby and Leanne Frost had a bakers dozen whilst keeping on the drift on dry fly patterns. Mr M Osborne drifted along the dam wall near the Swans Nest to net 18 fish on a fast glass line and black and green lures. Mr P Williams commented on “A Great Days Fishing”, after netting 7 fish on a teal and black and bobs bits. Draycote stalwart Tony Plummer used buzzers fished along the Draycote Dam to net his 8 fish and called up to let us know what a good day he’d had. Ed Douglas had a good day out on the dries. Ed kept on the drift in various areas of the reservoir, netting well over 30 on small patterns.

Friday started overcast and fairly calm with the promise that it was going to blow up a bit as the day progressed. Sure enough, as forecast, there was quite a strong westerly blowing across the reservoir from about eleven onwards, with a fair amount of the boats seeking shelter under the Draycote Dam. Om the bank Colin Day landed 2 fish from Rainbow Corner on buzzers, however, the boats done the lion share of the sport. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith landed 34 fish all on buzzers either fished on a straight line or a washing line at the school slips and the Hensborough Bank. Draycote RIO Masters team member Sam Smith enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 22 fish on small buzzers at the Hensborough Bank and Rainbow Corner. Scott Miller & his boat partner landed over 40 fish using buzzers in Rainbow corner and The Hensborough Bank

A very different day on Saturday to the previous day with little or no wind, teamed with bright  sunshine. They were certainly not ideal conditions to say the least, with some anglers struggling to find feeding fish. Some anglers reported that they could see plenty of fish moving in the surface in various areas around the reservoir,  but that they didn’t seem to be interested in feeding. Bank anglers didn’t have a lot of luck in the bright conditions, with only the odd fish caught here and there. Mike Garner netted just one from the Cornfield on a diawl bach, while Will Hunt caught a brace from Lincroft Point. Season permit holder Mark Braun had 16 fish to the boat on a white snake fished on a DI 7 line around A, B and C Buoy. Scott Miller and his boat partner netted 25 fish, drifting from T Buoy to X Buoy using 2 FABS and 2 nymphs on a floating line with the fish picking out the FABS on the top dropper and the point.

It was a bright start to the day on Sunday with the promise of a light south easterly breeze and good cloud cover by the afternoon. Considering how well Draycote has been fishing lately, we were all looking forward to hosting the England qualifier as well as our regular Sunday pleasure anglers, and in true fashion, the reservoir did not disappoint. Ken and James Maplethorpe fished just off Lincroft Point out towards E Buoy, and boated well over 30 fish between them on size 12 black and olive buzzers on a floating line. Season permit holder Le Lerigo used a DI 7 line and lures to net 9 fish, one of which was a beautiful brown trout which tipped the scales at 6lbs 8oz, which was returned. Sunday regular John Crowley netted 7 fish from the bank by the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay and Toft Shallows, using buzzers on the bung. Ed Douglas boated a total of 12 fish, 7 of which came to the dries. The Draycote round of the England Qualifier was a well attended event with 28 rods taking part, who produced a rod average of 8 for the day. For details of the positions and results check out our Facebook page.  www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre-Payment

We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 15 May 22       Rod Av: 7.9       Water Temperature: 14 °C

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

Monday morning produced a nice ripple on the water which grew choppier as the day progressed. With the westerly wind favouring the Leicester bank, which is currently holding a lot of fish, it was no surprise that the bank anglers found the conditions to their liking. Roy Swinfield fished buzzers on a washing line to net over 20 fish from the island. Lyndsey Bates also took over 20 fish during his evening bank session. Despite a strengthening wind, the bank continued producing into the evening, with anglers fishing the last 4 hours from the bank enjoyed some good sport. The strengthening wind made the boat fishing a bit more difficult, although Mr Winterburn and Mr. Stanbridge boated 13 fish during their afternoon visit. Eyebrook regular Kenny Waters went afloat in one of our 2 wheely boats and took 8 fish, keeping 6 for the pot. Most of the day’s catches fell to natural patterns such as buzzers, diawl bachs and Muskins fished either straight lined or washing line style. Damsel nymphs are starting to show, and it won’t be long before we start to see the adults hatching.

Tuesday brought far from ideal conditions with a strong wind & bright sunlight for prolonged periods. This, however, did not seem to detract from the fishing as there was some excellent catch returns being recorded from the boat & bank producing an impressive daily rod average of 10.6. All water member Jamie Scott had an exceptional day catching fish throughout the day on washing lined buzzers with a Damsel Booby on the point & switching later to the dries, where he continued to catch using a Foam Daddy & Crippled Midges. The bank fished very well later the dries where CDC emerging patterns seemed to be order of the day with numerous bank anglers catching well into double figures. The most productive areas remain the Leicester bank from the Hawthorns all the way around to the Cowshed from both the boat & bank where the fish continue to feed hard on the abundant aquatic life that is present. For the more adventurous anglers, Stoke Dry is also holding a good number of overwintered fish where in the right conditions they can be taken on dries. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey hosted Tony & Kai for a short 4-hour session. They had an excellent morning catching numerous fish washing lining buzzers in Sam’s Dyke where the fish could be seen clearly swimming under the boat.

Wednesday certainly a day of two halves with a south westerly moderate wind greeting the anglers in the morning before increasing to a strong northerly during the afternoon bringing with it spells of heavy rain before settling back to a light south westerly for the evening. Washing line, straight line buzzers and dries worked during the day with the platforms down to Sam`s dyke, hawthorn in the afternoon in Mucky bay with the Chestnut to Stoke Dry also fishing. A Meadows on a three-day break package enjoyed another excellent day with their boat catching 30 trout. David Keeble fished a washing line with diawls as well as dries and emergers to catch his 14 trout, Mark Hunt fished Amber & black hoppers for his 14 trout during a late afternoon visit with L Bates fishing a floating damsel and buzzer to catch his 20 trout. Overall despite the afternoons weather a good days fishing.

Thursday saw yet more great sport here at Eyebrook with the rod average for the day finishing at 8.4 fish per angler. Stuart Normington fished from the bank, enjoying a red-letter day with some great sport landing 28 fish on buzzers and Diawl bachs. Jude Tuffs also fished from the bank in Sam’s Dyke near the fence line landing 9 fish all taken on dries. Utilising a float tube to great effect was all water member Andre Russell who landed 15 fish working along the Leicester bank and into Sam’s Dyke. Fishing from a boat in the morning Mr M Layman & Mr J Baker landed 21 fish using buzzers and then CDC dries to take their fish from Mucky Bay. Ant Middleton & Graham Walker enjoyed a good day landing over 40 fish to the boat using buzzers on a washing line also dries landing their fish in Mucky Bay and The Chestnut tree. Eyebrook hosted a contingent of Northern Police Forces who took to the water for an internal competition and a great day was had by all the anglers with them landing over 110 fish between them.

Friday 13^th was unlucky for some, namely the trout, with the brook returning an excellent daily average return in excess of 8, for the 40 odd anglers who took advantage of a lovely spring day, albeit becoming blustery as the day wore on. As was the case all this week, the go to methods were washing lining buzzers and diawl bachs, straight lined buzzers or  the bung with buzzers and diawl bachs. Dries were also accounting for numerous fish, with Amber & black hoppers, yellow owls, hawthorn patterns and CDC being some of the successful patterns. Both the bank and boats were successful with the Leicester bank holding fish all along from Dogwoods to the Cow sheds, with Sam’s Dyke and the island being particularly fruitful. Ruth and Tony Kirk netted over twenty between them and regular, Mr Johnson also had over 20 fish during his bank session. Float tubing was also rewarding with season ticket member, Ian Jobe taking 20 fish during his afternoon paddle. Mr Nesbitt landed twenty odd fish during his boat session, whilst Ben Robertson and his three colleagues landed an average of 16 apiece during their afternoon and evening session. Other boat anglers moved away from the Sam’s dyke and Mucky bay area and found less crowded conditions as well as lots of fish along the willows, the netted bank and Robbo’s. The evening saw an informal get together for members of the Eyebrook fly fishers, some of which enjoyed some successful bank fishing before enjoying an evening   Bar- B -Q, details of which can be found on their face book page.

Saturday and another busy day at the Eyebrook with the boat and bank anglers enjoying the good sport with buzzers, shuttlecocks, cdc emergers and dries all taking trout. Eyebrook member S Sibley fished 4 hours during the morning from the bank landing 6 trout to 3lb8oz on cdc buzzer, cdc also accounted for a 5lb rainbow for Mr Jacobs. M Farrell & C Marrs took a boat up to Stoke dry fishing cdc emergers to catch their 50 trout. Were seeing the trout starting to favour smaller flies than the week before with #12 & #14 olive or black buzzers taking a good number as Darren Dodd discovered fishing Sams Dyke catching 26 for his visit. A few Mayfly starting to show with R Ron catching 4 trout on a mayfly pattern. Billy McGranaghan & Alan Martin down on a three day package fished the last 4 hours catching good numbers during the evening rise. Details of our short break packages on our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/short-break-packages/

Sunday brought with it some nye on perfect conditions & Eyebrook’s excellent form duly continued. There were some very high catch returns recorded from both the boat & bank. Sam’s Dyke, once again is proving to be a particular hot spot with fish falling to a variety of methods from Washing Lined Floaters to Dries. On the washing line, small nymphs & buzzers on droppers with either a Foam Daddy or FAB on the point will elicit a response from the natural feeding fish. Whereas on the Dries, Yellow Owls, CDC’s & Hawthorn Fly’s will be enough to generate interest from the trout feeding up & around the surface. The fish are well spread along the Leicester Bank from the Hawthorns to the Cowshed with some slightly bigger fish being caught on the north side of the Island. Stoke Dry is also harbouring some of the larger fish where fishing Dries in the shallower water, when the conditions allow, seem to be the percentage method.

Eyebrook hosted Mid Northants Fly Fishers for a friendly competition where 16 anglers enjoyed a great day from the boat. All participants caught, with some catching well into double figures giving them a rod average 7.5

The Eyebrook is enjoying an excellent season.