Weekly Fishing Update 28th August 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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Week Ending:  28^th August  Rod Av: 2.0   Water Temperature: 19c+

Monday start of the fishing week with our water temperature 20c. Water clarity is good. Conditions for Monday morning looked good to us, although obviously not for the trout with the best of the fishing late afternoon onwards. J Scott caught 6 on diawl bach with the majority caught after 3pm, Bill Stone fished the afternoon session catching his 10 trout between 3.30pm & 7.30pm

It’s a bit like last week no rime or reason, one day the morning is best the next it’s the afternoon with the daily rod average all over the place. Monday afternoon was best rod average 4. Tuesday morning was best with a rod average 1.8 P Cox caught 5 on his small fulling mill sunburst fab and diawl bach, A Olding caught 4 on diawls for his mornings visit.

Wednesday all anglers caught with catches of 1 to 5 fish recorded, not easy, but some anglers reported pods of feeding fish which were not easy to tempt. We are seeing a few of the larger claret buzzer which is why the nemo nymph pattern, claret hopper and big red dries are working. Hopefully a change of wind to a cooler northerly will help.

Thursday a northerly wind but the fishing remained mixed, J Scott stuck to his 12ft slow tip & diawl bach to catch his 6 trout with most other rods catching between 1 & 3 trout on diawls, apps bloodworm & orange daddies

Friday & a better days fishing, P Walker caught 7 on crunchers, Carl Bond fished Fab, claret buzzer & humungus to catch his 5 trout, H Davies also caught 5 for his mornings visit with Lorenso fishing the afternoon session but opted for a DI7 & small white snake to catch his 7 trout

Saturday & the first time for some weeks our opening water temperature had dropped below 20c, were now sat at 19c. Fishing however was tough with M Hunt fishing hard for his 6 trout caught on a 6ft midge tip 20ft leader & heavy buzzer with claret or olive buzzer.

Sunday proved to be the most challenging day of the week, despite our opening water for the third morning in a row at 19c+  Pete Hunt did the best fishing a washing line static catching 3 trout for his mornings visit.

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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 28th August 2022              Rod Av: 2.2      Water Temperature: 19.5 °C

Monday saw much more overcast skies than the previous few days, with a light southerly breeze. Those who ventured out were very much interested in the weekends competition results as well as methods used. Armed with advice on areas and tactics, most anglers made their way towards the Draycote Dam  and the Hensborough bank. I know some anglers did try dries as there were fish moving on top early on, and this method met with some success. Most of the fish caught fell to nymph patterns such as diawl bachs and crunchers, fished on either a floater or a midge tip line. Season permit holder John Dickens caught a total of 5 fish, on foam daddies and diawl bachs. Draycote stalwart Graham Homer caught 3 fish, once again on diawl bachs fished on a floater, whilst drifting in Rainbow Corner. Mr D Macdonald, visiting us on one of our package deals, caught his fish in the aerators using silver dabblers. Mr N Tomkins and Mr D Minall had 14 fish to the boat between them. They tried the dries first, and then moved on to a washing line and nymphs, with a FAB on the point.

An overcast start to the day, however the sun mad an appearance for the first part of the day before the cloud arrived around lunch time. Mr Hild & Mr Wood enjoyed a good day landing a dozen fish on wets, the pair drifted from the top dam wall towards B Buoy. Then later drifting down towards P Buoy from Y Buoy. Colin Granger fished with Ian Reeve for a morning boat landing 11 fish drifting from the back of the Aerators towards the tower bank. Mr M Francis also fished in that area landing 9 fish, and commented that the fish wanted anything small and red. Mr N Tomkins & D Minall landed a dozen fish to the boat with D Minall pulling on a intermediate while Mr Tomkins fished nymphs. The pair found the fish drifting from Y Buoy down to P Buoy. Fishery Guide Andy Miller took Dave Wright out on a beginner tuition session with Dave landing 6 fish, including his first ever trout. To see pictures of the session please visit www.facebook.com/flyfishstore and for any guiding or tuition bookings give Tom a call on 01788 812018.

A very humid “muggy” day on Wednesday with he wind coming from the Southwest. Draycote members David Holding & Geoff Brooks enjoyed a good days sport landing 14 fish to the boat. The pair fished over the Aerators using a green pea on a midge tip line to land their fish. Another angler using a midge tip to good effect was John Honour, who landed 5 fish with his best pattern being a daddy. David Harrison fished over the Aerators using a black snake fished on a Di 3 sinking line to land 5 fish. Father & Son due Jim and Richard Hall enjoyed a good days sport landing 18 fish to the boat using Di 3 & Di 5 sinking lines and snakes with he pair landing fish from the Aerators and B Buoy. Once again fishery guide Andy Miller took to the water this time with Adam & Graham. The pair with Andy’s guidance enjoyed a great session landing 8 fish on snakes and also orange daddies.

A cloudy start to the day with a cool North wind while it looked like rain for most of the morning it wasn’t until midday we experienced a heavy rain shower with drizzle then continuing for a couple of hours. With the sun then making an appearance for the afternoon. Draycote member Mark Braun enjoyed a great day on the water landing 19 fish using snakes fished on a Di 5 sweep drifting through the Aerators. Fellow member Dan McElligott also enjoyed a great day’s sport landing 23 fish. Dan, also fished through the Aerators using an intermediate line with a barred olive snake booby utilising a roly-poly retrieve to tempt the fish. The Aerators were certainly the hotspot as Martin Ashby landed 14 fish from them. Using a snake on a Di 5 sinking line and then floating line and intermediates with cormorants to land his fish. Away from the Aerators Kevin Rees landed 12 fish all on dries with crippled midge being his standout pattern.

A challenging day Friday with very little to no wind all day and bright skies. As a result the Aerators proved to be the hotspot but with all the boat pressure the fish switched off. Fishery guide Andy Miller took two keen young coarse anglers out Tom & Thomas and with his assistance, helped them land their first trout on a fly rod. Draycote Member Peter Elliot fished with Stuart Lee from Canada with the pair boating 7 fish on nymphs fished around A & B Buoy. Fellow Draycote member Graham Homer also used nymphs to good effect landing 4 fish. Graham used Diawl Bachs on a washing line around Rainbow corner. We also had a number of anglers practicing for the Fly Dressers Guild John Watts competition, who kept there cards close to their chest on exact details on how they had caught but they did report it hadn’t been the easiest day with the conditions.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny with a light easterly breeze. Despite the colour in the reservoir and the warm water temperatures at the moment, Draycote continues to fish reasonably well. Debbie and Sean Gilbert only boated one fish but hooked and dropped quite a few off Lincroft Point and in Toft Shallows. Debbie and Sean used snakes on sinking lines throughout the day. Young Ian Reeve and his boat partner Rich Williams used snakes on sinking lines to boat 9 fish from the area in front of The Valve Tower and through the Aerators. Chris Discombe and Jim Brennan had half a dozen fish to the boat between them. Chris and Jim targeted the area of the deeper water near the Draycote Dam as well as the Aerators with sinking lines and lure patterns.

Saturday also saw The Fly Dressers Guild hold the John Watts Fishing Competition here at Draycote water, with 44 anglers taking part. The participants netted a total of 115 fish for a competition rod average of 2.6. In third place was the North Kent Oldies, second place was taken by Ayrshire, and the winners were Trout ‘n’ Gout. Well done to all anglers who took part.

On Sunday morning there was a light easterly blowing across the reservoir with bright conditions for most of the day. Early on there were fish showing at Lincroft Point with anglers having some success there on lures until about 11 o’clock. Once these fish switched off, anglers could be seen moving off towards the western end of the reservoir. John Crowley caught 5 fish on snakes and black boobies whilst drifting along the north shore and off Lincroft Point. Martin Ashby had a brace during a morning session using a floating line and cormorants whilst drifting in the Aerators. Roger Kerrison used hares ears to good effect, with him and his boat partner netting half a dozen fish between them.

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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 28^th August 22       Rod Av: 2       Water Temperature: 18 – 19°

It was a bright & clear start to the week. As the day progressed the very light south westerly wind developed into a moderate breeze which brought with it some cloud cover & intervals of light showers later. Fish were caught along the Leicester Bank from the lodge to the Hawthorns, predominately on small dries with CDC Yellow taking most fish. Those that drifted from tight into the bank across into the Basin fared better than those who chose to anchor. All water member Mark Hunt had a very productive afternoon session landing 12 fish, all on Yellow Owls, drifting out from the Leicester Bank. This time of year, it is very important to adopt a mobile approach. The likelihood of catching is dramatically improved by fishing from a drifting boat as you are covering more water in search of feeding fish.

Tuesday brought with it a gentle south westerly & plenty of cloud cover. Throughout the day, the wind remained a south westerly but increased slightly & the consistent cloud cover gave way to sunny intervals. This reflected in the fishing as were fish caught consistently during the morning & it became more challenging during the afternoon. Fish were caught on Dries in the morning, CDC’s & Foam Daddies & during the brighter afternoon, washing lined floater or midge tip were the percentage methods. This was as to be expected as the brighter conditions forced the fish to sit that little bit deeper in the afternoon. All water member Paul Walker had a very productive day landing 17 fish. Paul continued to catch during the day by changing his approach to match the change in the conditions. He caught on CDC’s in the morning, Diawl Bachs in the afternoon & Fry patterns in the evening. Remaining flexible in your approach & adapting to the conditions is paramount if we want to be consistent in our fishing.

Wednesday started the same as Tuesday with a gentle south westerly & good cloud cover. As the day progressed though the wind increased & began to swing round, initially to a westerly & then a north westerly later in the day. By early evening the wind had abated leaving a very gentle ripple making moving fish easy to spot. The reservoir produced fish throughout the day with the Leicester Bank down to the Hawthorns & across the Main Basin being the most consistent area. Fish were caught again on Dries & washing lined Nymphs on a floater with Foam Daddies accounting for a lot of the fish caught. Later in the day the fish began to feed more aggressively & it became apparent that to illicit a response, a long steady draw of the Foam Daddies was required. Numerous fish came to this method throughout the late afternoon & early evening, as demonstrated by Nigel & Max Woolnough who landed 14 fish pulling Foam Daddies on or just under the surface.

The wind had swung round to a northerly by Thursday & it brought the warmer water from the shallower, northern area down to the cooler water in the Main Basin. This resulted in an algal bloom which was very dense in some areas & building. Consequently, this made the fishing challenging as the fish were adapting to the changes in water quality. There were a few fish caught however with the bank anglers faring better than the boat anglers as they fished the sheltered area of the Hawthorns, which was still relatively clear, with it being in the lee of the Island from the Northerly wind. The successful method for them was to fish a washing lined floater with nymphs & let them swing around on the breeze.

By Friday the Algae had become more widespread & denser which made for extremely challenging conditions. The lack of wind & high air temperature meant the Algae would intensify throughout the day. The conditions made it very difficult for the anglers to find clear water & consequently, it appeared to be a challenging day for all.

With slightly more of a breeze on Saturday there was renewed optimism amongst the anglers. Those that chose fish deep & under the Algae caught well through the day. Season Ticket holders Neil Shilton & Bob Margery both having productive days. Neil took to his float tube & caught 8 fish on lure patterns fished deep & slow on a Di 7 around the deeper areas of the reservoir, which was a great return. Bob Margery caught well using a Green Pea & landing 6 fish in a short morning session. The Green Pea, with its black profile would show up well in the coloured water & was a great choice of fly by Bob. Elsewhere, All water Member Lee Edwards took 5 fish on a White Humungus fished slow in the deeper water. When fishing coloured water, be that algae or sediment, fishing larger profiled flies on a slow retrieve will increase the likelihood of the fish seeing the fly.

Sunday saw a moderate East North Easterly wind that brought some good cloud cover with some sunny intervals. The consistent wind direction continued to push the Algae into the corner of the Pontoons, which resulted in some patches of clear water up wind. Anglers fishing in the clearer areas caught high up in the water column with washing lined floaters & on dries. Successful patterns being Foam Daddies in a variety of body colours & CDC’s in the softer water.

With the forecast for the following week looking consistent, the Algae should start to be getting broken up & dispersed which makes the prospects for coming week very promising.