Weekly report 14th August

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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:  14^th August      Rod Av: 1.7      Water Temperature: 22c+

Start of a new week with a forecast giving another heatwave. Monday our saving grace was the breeze which came and went during the day. Pete Hunt fished cdc during the first hour as fish were moving catching a couple before moving to a diawl bach finishing the day on 9 trout. The Davies fished the morning session with a washing line setup catching 6 on buzzers. Water clarity remains good

Tuesday, little if any breeze coupled with higher daytime temperatures had the morning session to early afternoon fish best. P Cox fished the same successful method as last week, found feeding fish in green bay getting success on a midge tip with a #12 Fulling Mill Sunburst Fab & diawl bach catching 6 for his mornings visit. Jamie Scott caught 4 on a 12ft slow tip to diawl bach & buzzer with Mark Cowley catching his 3 on daddy, diawl & apps. With the temperature rising through the day very little activity during the evening.

Wednesday, with another high temperature day forecasted we recommended that anglers fished the cooler morning session. We got the anglers out early at 7.30am with fish to be seen feeding from when they went out along the dam wall, green bay, orange buoy. With only two rods out they both hooked fish a day rod fished a sinking line with black tadpole hooking two but frustratingly losing them by the boat. All water angler Mark Hunt fished a 12ft tip line, buzzer & micro booby. Our varied stocking policy with smaller average triploids stocked for the warmer summer months is certainly working, the smaller triploids remain higher in the water & are still feeding, and they recover & return better. You can read details on our stocking policy on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/ 

Thursday and Friday with the air temperature pushing 29c, again we recommended anglers fished the cooler morning session & got the boats out earlier at 7.30am. Very little to report, trout were moving but feeding on huge hatches of small / tiny green midge. Hopefully with cooler weather forecast next week we start seeing improving numbers of the larger buzzer #12 which will be far easier for us to replicate.

Saturday & Sunday followed the same as the two previous days, few anglers about, little to report. Fish finder showed the fish at all depth from a few feet down to 20+ feet.

The change in the weather, for the better should see a fresh breeze at times, lower daytime & night time temperature which will lower the water temperature

We recommend you call the lodge for latest update 01530230807

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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:  Sunday 14th August 2022    Rod Av:  3.2     Water Temperature:  22°C

Draycote was mirror calm with clear blue skies and very warm on Monday morning. These conditions prevailed through most of the day which made for some difficult fishing for some. Mr P Flay ventured out in the afternoon for a few hours and netted 3 fish from the deeper water up near the Draycote Dam. In house guide Lee Henfry took Mr David Copson and his grandson out on one of our 2 hour experience sessions through the warmest part of the day. They used a DI5 sinking line and white lures to good effect around B buoy, boating 6 fish in total.

Tuesday was another dog day of summer, flat calm and bright with hardly a breath of wind. The fish have definitely pushed down now into the deeper parts of the reservoir, but some anglers have proved that in the right areas with the right tactics, there is good sport to be had. The best area is up on the Draycote Dam. Anywhere up there around B buoy and the Valve Tower, using DI5’s and DI7’s with lures has put fish in the boat for most of our visitors over the last few days. Dave Reynolds and Andrew Lewis had a dozen fish to the boat “On the deck” using sinking lines and lure patterns. Dave and Andrew fished at the western end of the reservoir near B and C buoy over the deeper water. Mr Andrew Lewis boated 4 fish using much the same method, whilst Mr G Head caught 3.

Thankfully there was a ripple Wednesday, although it was still another scorching hot day. The best method was fishing down in the water column where the fish had moved looking for the cooler water. All water member Paul Havard landed 4 using a black and gold Humungus, using a RIO Deep 6 drifting from Y Buoy to B Buoy. Draycote member Phil Waters fishing in the same area at B Buoy to also land 3 fish. Frank Sumnall fished with D Morris with he pair landing 5 fish to the boat using sunk lines and a mix of boobies and mini lures, picking fish up at various drifts across the lake.

The wind came from the Northeast Thursday, with the high temperatures remaining. As a results it was a quite day at the fishery, with only a few boats deciding to take to the water in the afternoon. Stuart Wallace down on holiday from Scotland enjoyed a good afternoon’s sport landing 6 fish. The method Stuart opted for was a black snake fished on a Di 5 sinking line at B Buoy. Andy Brown also fished for the afternoon landing 5 fish. With the key like Stuart, a dark coloured fly fished on a sunk line. Andy, used a black humungus on a Di 7 fishing from B Buoy to the valve tower. With the warmer water temperatures currently at Draycote the fish are sitting deeper so focusing around the deeper water using fast sunk lines has been the key to catching with dark flies providing the best sport.

Friday dawned with no change in the conditions, except for a light north easterly breeze. Not the easiest day out on the water, but Draycote did return an average of 2.3. Deeper tactics are the order of the day, with sinking lines and lures producing the best bags. Ged Argyle netted 5 fish using black and gold lures in the top 6 to 10 feet of water, drifting around the Aerators, the Valve Tower, B buoy and A buoy. Barney and his group of anglers used the last 4 hour permit to net 4 fish between them on snake patterns fished deep. Fishery manager Tom Bird ventured out onto the water for a couple of hours through the middle part of the day. Tom used a DI7 sweep and black and gold snakes to net 5 fish from a drifting boat. Tom worked the area around the Aerators and the Valve Tower, as well as B buoy.

What a brilliant day at Draycote Water on Saturday. Despite the current weather conditions the fish are taking lure patterns and small competition sized boobies fished on sinking lines. The reservoir returned a rod average of just under 9 yesterday with most but not all the catches coming from around A,B and C buoy. Sean Devlin boated 10 fish whilst drifting from Y to B buoy using black snakes on a sinking line. Season permit holder Mark Braun had 26 fish to the boat around A buoy, using black and gold boobies fished on a DI5 and a DI8 sinking line. Mr Richard Slaters party of 6 anglers caught a grand total of 61 fish between them. The lads fished over A, B and C buoy using amongst other things, gold arsed cat boobies, again on sinking lines. Draycote regular Tim Davies netted 3 fish during a morning session, on sparkler boobies and sinking lines, in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.

Yet another bright start to the day on Sunday with only the hint of a breeze. Draycote season ticket holder Jon Crowley landed 6 fish including a brown. Jon, fished at A & B Buoy using a Di 7 sinking line and a sparkler booby to land his fish finishing at 12 to beat the worst of the heat. Fellow season ticket holder Endi Seglins  also used boobies’ fish on a Di 7 sinking line at A Buoy to land 8 fish in just 3 hours in the morning. Gavin Lau enjoyed some good sport landing 3 fish on olive or black booby snakes. Gavin, found the fish between B Buoy and the Valve Tower with his best fish tipping the scales at 4lb. Fishery guide Lee Henfrey took Pietra Diaz out for a morning session giving her some tips on catching in the hot weather. They landed 5 fish to the boat using booby bashers and snakes fished out of the back of the boat. With Pietra landing a cracking 4lb fish which can be seen on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

With the hot weather due to break on Monday evening and into Tuesday, we are expecting to see a reduction in water temperatures, which should bring the fish back up in the water column.

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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 14^th August 22       Rod Av: 2.8          Water Temperature:  22 – 23°C

It was a stifling hot start to the week, soring air temperatures & very little breeze resulted in the Algae appearing in full bloom. However, there were areas of clear water out in open water & it is best to work these areas intensively, trying various methods & depths until you can locate the fish. It sometimes pays to ignore the few fish you can see as these may not be interested in feeding & target the fish you can’t.

Tuesday saw no let-up in the oppressive weather with ever rising temperatures & no breeze whatsoever. The weather did little to help the Algae as much of the reservoir surface remained perfectly still. The main difference on Tuesday was the number of diving birds working the water which indicated that there was clearer water below the algae. Armed with this information anglers were advised to fish deeper in search of clearer water & therefore the fish. Out guiding a client, fishery Guide Andy Miller heeded this advice & had a successful session finding fish a Booby on a Di7 across the open, deeper water of the Main Basin. Andy also found that fishing the hang to be a key component of his success. Elsewhere, Paul Cramp out practising for the weekend’s 6 x 4 landed 7 fish which is excellent given the conditions. Paul again fished deep using a Di7 & was also able to find a few clearer patches which usually resulted in interest from the fish.

Wednesday brought with it a welcome consistent breeze from the East. This assisted in pushing the algae into a localised areas which resulted in an increase of clearer areas. The reservoir fished better therefore, yielding a daily rod average of 3.8 which is good given the water temperature & patches of algae. Those who fished deeper were the most successful using boobies on a Di 7 with the best areas being the north side of the tower in the main basin. All water members Clive Moore & Ian Jobe caught well in the basin, landing double figures & whilst out practising for the forthcoming 6 x 4 competition at the weekend Neil Cohen had 7 fish to the boat. The fishing is challenging at the moment but there are fish there to be caught if you are willing to go after them.

Thursday was another challenging day as the easterly breeze continued to push the algae towards the lodge. The air & water temperature continued to increase which exasperated the fish further & this reflected in the catch returns with 8 anglers catching 4 fish. Down on a 3-day package break, Neil Heath & his boat partner, Allan Withers, fished Boobies & Diawl Bachs on a Fast Glass & 3 Sweep over the deeper water of the Basin. With yet more Easterly winds expected, dispersing the algae into a specific area, the prospects for the rest of week look very promising.

On Friday All Water member Ian Jobe took to the water in his float tube & caught 9 fish on a Humungus Booby fished on a Di 7 deeper & slow in the Main Basin. This is an exceptional return given that the conditions had not changed from previous days & one of his was one on Eyebrook’s resident Browns; estimated at 10 – 11lb. The fish was not weighed, remained in the water during the unhooking process & swam away strongly. Well done, Ian, that is an absolute cracking fish, fully deserved. Elsewhere, fish were also caught by boats anglers concentrating their efforts on the deeper water of the Main Basin.

With no change in the recent weather & another day of easterly winds the water clarity on Saturday began to show signs of improvement. As you would expect, the reservoir fished better than it had of late. It was a busy day with many anglers out practicing for Sunday’s latest round of the 6 x 4 Competition. Most of those concentrated on fishing deep using a variety of methods & there was some very strong returns were recorded. Either buzzers fished deep, straight lined on a Floater or Midge Tip or Boobies & Cormorants on Di 7s or Booby Bashers seemed to be the order of the day. In addition, Season ticket member Neil Shilton was out for his weekly session in his Float Tube. Neil fished deep in the Main Basin & caught 6 fish, which is a great return. It will be very interesting to see how the reservoir fishes for tomorrow’s competition as there were a lot of reports of a lot of interest from fish; pulls & lost fish. This indicates that the reservoir is on the verge of fishing well.

Saturday saw Eyebrook host the latest round of the 6 x 4 Competition organised by Mark Rose & the Renegades team. It is an excellently run competition which has its ethos firmly embedded around angler development & introducing more anglers into competition fishing. 52 anglers took to the water & produced an excellent rod average of 3.8 fishing a variety of methods relatively deep. Anglers caught on tip lines with heavyweight buzzers & also with boobies on fast sinking lines with long drifts across the Basin from Robbo’s Cabin & the Netted Bank areas. Congratulations goes to Warren Langridge who landed 10 fish which is an excellent return given the conditions & congratulations to the Renegades who were the top team on the day. With cooler weather forecast for this coming week the outlook for Eyebrook looks excellent. The water temperature will cool & the fish will begin to move up in the water column.