Weekly fishing report 16th October 2023

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.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:  16^th October   Rod Av: 2.7     Water Temperature: 12c+

Monday Thornton fly fishers fished their seniors competition, Martin Vernon won with 4 fish to 6lb3oz with Richard Maycock taking the heaviest fish at 2lb7oz Norman Moore caught 7 on orange lures with Carolyn Brown fishing an orange daddy and taking 2 fish

Tuesday with a good forecast we had a busy day on the water. P Wrigley & R Dunster caught 15, Dawsons Olive caught 3 fish each for P Cox & P Hunt. Greg Weatherdon caught 10 on booby, blobs and damsel with fish been caught from all over the reservoir with reports of a good evening rise along the stones during the last hour

Wednesday Steve Meachem on his day off fished Thornton using a midge tip and buzzers to catch 8. P Hunt & J Thomson caught 7 on diawl bach and a green & black booby with J Hives and Sam Fielder catching 6 for their visit.

Thursday and a rod average of 5.0 for the day with anglers catching on a mixture of patterns from G&H Sedge, diawl bach, shipmans buzzer, booby, cats whisker & minkie. P Broad caught 10 for his visit with P Mee & P Fitch both catching 6 trout

Friday and another change to the weather with the wind starting to increase with the rod average dropping to 2.1. J Reynolds fished the afternoon session catching 8 on cats whiskers on a sink tip line in green bay. The windier weather continued into Saturday with a brisk south westerly. Member J Webber fished a black UV booby to catch his 11 trout. Members of the Fly Boys visited Thornton with most catching 3 trout.

Sunday a calmer autumnal day, with local angling club Thornton Angling Club fishing their single fly competition, when each competitor gets the same three flies, this year a cats whisker minkie booby. S Thorpe, P Birdsall, Ian Leach all caught their 4 fish limit with Richard Maycock 4 fish at 7lb13oz winning the competition. Ian Leach won the prize for heaviest fish at 2lb8oz. Steve Lewanaskow and his father fished the last 4 hours catching 7 trout from in front of the main car park

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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:  16^th October 2022              Rod Av:  4.1   Water Temperature:  13°C

Monday, saw the fishery host the Troutmasters after it being absent from the venue for a number of years due to Covid. There was 38 competitors fishing, with the numbers reduced due to the fisheries being unable to run qualifiers due to the pandemic. The match is split into two 3 hour sessions with all competitors fishing both the boat and the bank. The bank was split into 4 zones. Zone 1 was running from the Swan’s Nest to the Willow Tree in Toft, Zone 1 the other side of Toft (Grey’s Barn) up to Dougie’s gap, Zone 3 from Dougie’s Gap to the Old Pipe & Zone 4 the Old Pipe to the Dam at the Valve Tower. The anglers are then draw into bank zones that they either fish in the  morning or afternoon. With  place boats being awarded for the winner of each bank zone. Then the same on the boats, so if you won your bank zone you would get 1 point and the same with the boats. In the morning the best area was Zone 3 and Lincroft point with David Hoppe landing 11 fish. David, used a small weighted white snakes fished on a 12ft Airflo Slow tip and a figure of eight retrieve. On the boats Trevor Davies won the boat session landing 7 fish, using snakes. There was also a cracking fish on 5lb 3oz caught from Farnborough spit also on snakes. In the afternoon the wind picked up making the fishing more challenging, with the best area being Zone 4 on the bank with Trevor Davies winning the session up there using small snakes. Overall it was Trevor Davies who was crowned the 2022 Troutmasters champion winning both sessions giving him an overall points score of 2. Outside of the match we had a few other boats out on the water. Draycote season ticket holder John Dickens used white boobies on Di 3 & Di 8 sinking lines to land 11 fish. Fellow members Colin Granger & Pete Allen fished down in Toft using a team of cormorants to boat 15 fish between them.

A cool start to Tuesday with the air temperature starting at 3°C with very light winds and clean bright skies. However, these conditions certainly didn’t seem to put the fish off with he rod average for the day finishing at 5.89 fish per angler. Draycote member Tony Broadway from along the Tower Bank enjoying a great 4 hours landing 8 fish. Tony, used a Snowbee buzzer tip with a Grey Minkie to land his fish with the best being a 4lb Rainbow. On the boats Craig Cowan & Ian Dobbie landed 23 fish. The pair used snakes on fast intermediate and Di 3 sinking lines, with their best area being J Buoy to Farborough Dam. Kevin Rees did well landing 6 fish in tricky conditions sticking to his trusty dry flies, with Bob’s Bits being his best fly. All water member Ed Douglas landed 2 fish using a 12ft Midge tip with a weighted snake and a Minkie. Landing his fish off the Hensborough Bank and then around J Buoy. Gwenallt Ifan who arrived for the first of his two day break packaged enjoyed a “great day”. Using popper hoppers to land 7 fish with he biggest being a 4lb overwintered Rainbow. Gwenallt, landed his fish from Biggin Bay, Lincroft and N-Y Buoy going over Musborough shoal.

A calm start to the day with the wind coming from the South with overcast skies in the morning before the sun broke through later in the day. On the bank Colin Day landed 5 fish, 2 from the Tower Bank on the minkie before the wind changed. Colin then moved to Rainbow Corner and landed 3 on white humungus. Also landing 5 from the bank was Mick Cronin while his fishing partner Stan Hillman landed 4 fish with the pair landing them from the Tower Bank and the outlet. On the boats Draycote members Ian Reeve & Colin Granger landed 11 fish between them. The pair used black and green snakes on the point with cormorants on the droppers to land their fish. With the best areas being Y Buoy and over the Aerators. All water member Steve Orton landed 8 fish using a white cutthroat minkie booby fished with a very slow figure of eight retrieve. The boat of Keith Allison & Bob Sharp enjoyed good sport landing 15 fish. Keith landed his on popper fry patterns and also small gold fry imitations, while Bob used popper fry and also a silver sedge. Gwenallt Ifan taking to the water for his second day of his package break, again enjoying a good day landing 13 fish. Gwenallt, used black humungus boobies and daddies to land his fish in Biggin Bay and N Buoy. Roy Anderson down from Scotland landed 18 fish all on Minkies around the Tower Bank, D Buoy and Dunn’s Bay.

Challenging conditions greeted the anglers on Thursday with very light to no wind all day and bright skies after the morning Fog had cleared. Draycote member Bob Barfoot landed 3 fish from the Tower bank first thing in the Morning but struggled once the sun broke through with no wind present. On the boats Ian Lang used fry patterns and snakes to land 9 fish with the largest being a cracking rainbow of 3lb 8oz. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Smith fished in a boat with the pair landing 13 fish between them. They used a weighted snake on the point and cormorants on the droppers to land their fish with the best being a 5lb Rainbow. Mr Butler out in a boat landed 16 fish on a Zonker Booby. Ken Warner fishing with boat partner Calum used popper fry and perch snakes to land 16 fish to the boat. All water member Ed Douglas fished around Lincroft point and J Buoy landing 20 fish. Ed, used a 12ft fast tip with a weighted snake and a black and gold humungus on the dropper.

A fairly calm start to the day here at Draycote on Friday saw a total of 25 rods take to the water from both the boat and the bank. Once again the bank is fishing reasonably well with Peter Elliott catching 5 on various patterns, netting fish up to 4lbs in weight. Season permit holder Paul Walley also took to the bank to net a brace on minkies. Out on the boats Young Dave Adkins netted a total of ten fish using olive snakes fished on a DI3 line. Dave concentrated his efforts around J buoy and the Farborough Dam. Mr Graham England also boated 10 fish using popper fry patterns and olive snakes. Fishery staff member and in house guide Lee Henfrey ventured out in a boat to net a grand total of 19 fish. Lee used a fast glass line and either olive or white snakes and fished the Farborough Dam, P buoy and Lincroft Point.

A blustery day here at Draycote on Saturday, with the wind blowing out of Rainbow Corner and down across the reservoir. Overall the rod average was pretty good coming in at 3.4, with a good spread of fish being caught across different areas. Mr D Priestly and Mr P Mabbott had over 20 fish to the boat between them using popper fry and snakes at various depths. Mr Blythe caught 10 fish on a DI7 line and cats whiskers drifting from B down to X buoy. Season permit holders Rob and Sam Edmunds used olive snakes on sinking lines to net 20 fish from the Farborough Dam, P buoy and the Valve Tower.

Sunday dawned bright and calm with the promise of the wind blowing in a south westerly direction from mid morning.On the bank the Draycote Fly Fishers Association fished its Autumn Bank pairs. The event is the final club match and was well attended by the members. Will Hunt used black and gold Humungus to land 6 fish. While Mark JJ fished at the Tower Bank using minkies and Diawl Bachs to land 3. On the boats Jon Crowley landed 11 fish drifting from B Buoy out towards X Buoy using black and olive snakes on a fast intermediate. All water member Rob Edmounds fished with Colin Fincham with the pair landing 22 fish, using sinking lines with tubes and also snakes. The pair also landed some cracking fish of 5lb & 7lb. Ed Douglas enjoyed a good days sport landing 17 fish. Ed used a 6ft fast intermediate midge tip with a black and gold humungus on the dropper and a booby snake on the point. Finding the majority of his fish in the open water to the right hand side of Croft Shoal.

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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 16 October 2022       Rod Av:  3.5      Water Temperature: 14°

The week started with a cool, northerly breeze that brought clear skies for most of the day. Despite the bright conditions, the reservoir fished very well with fish getting caught on the Washing line with Red Holographic Diawl Bachs on the droppers & also on the Dries; Foam Daddies, CDC’s in the open water & Popper Minkies around the weedbeds. Mr Nesbitt had a very productive day, landing 14 fish on the washing line, whereas All Water Member landed 12, all of which came to the dries. As the water cools, the thermocline will reposition itself & we could start to see the fish drop down the water column. Over the recent days it has really been noticeable that the cooler weather has begun the fry feeding in earnest with fish seen charging into the abundant amounts of fry that gathers around the weedbeds.

Tuesday brought with it clear, bright skies & a gentle westerly breeze which on occasions subsided to a flat calm. This made the fishing somewhat challenging given that the fish in the Main Basin are still heavily podded & drifting boats were not covering a lot of water. The fish remained in the upper layers but were reluctant to feed on the surface due to the bright skies. Those fishing subsurface were more successful than those fishing on it with the washing line being particularly effective. The Foam Daddie has proven to be a great fly to be fished on the washing line, whether that is a top dropper with a small FAB on the point or as a point fly with small holographic ribbed Diawl Bachs on the droppers. Cormorants on slow intermediate has also been a good method & will continue to take fish in the coming weeks. It is worth noting that the Cormorant is also very effective in a Size 12 & scaling down fly size can often ensure that fish continue to get caught throughout the day. All water member Kevin Counihan landed 8 fish, most of which were on the Cormorants. Whereas Tony Fox also had 8 fish on what was a challenging day, proving that there are plenty of fish to be had.

The wind for Wednesday started off as a gentle southerly but developed to a moderated south westerly by mid-afternoon. There was good cloud cover all day which suggested that the fish that were still sat in the top few feet of water, would be more inclined to feed off the surface. For All Water Member Mark Hunt the fish truly obliged. Mark fished Popper Minkies across the open water of the Main Basin & landed 20 fry feeding fish which is an excellent return. The fish clearly recognised the Popper Minkies as a likely food item & were happy to take them, even in areas where you would not expect to find fry feeding fish. Other All Water Members Ian Jobe & Clive Moore also had a productive day in the Main Basin, landing 14 fish between them. We hosted the annual England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Fur & Feather today which was a reduced hours match, with the first 2 fish weighed. It saw 12 anglers take to the water & between them they caught 34 fish. Congratulations goes to Sean Higgins who was top rod on the day with a weight of 3lb 9oz. Mark Goodge & Sean Higgins opted to return to the water after the match & added another 8 fish in a very short session.

Thursday greeted the anglers with a millpond, flat calm that remained for the entirety of the day. This made locating fish very challenging as those who wanted to fish on the drift did not cover much water at all. Those that did locate them caught well on a variety of methods & flies. The key was to keep your flies high up in the water column & ring the changes with flies. Paul Ledbrook & his boat partner did exactly that & recorded a return of 11 fish which is an excellent given the conditions. They caught on Foam Daddies, Fry patterns & FABs, with their most consistent area in front of Robbo’s cabin.

Friday was a reasonable day’s fishing with some anglers still picking up fish on dries whilst the majority were finding better sport on fry patterns. Dave Porter & T Ward caught 11 for their visit as did L Johnson & all water member Paul Walker who fished a fab & diawl bach to catch his. N & P Ledbrook fished daddies, minkie & cats’ whisker to catch their 15 trout. Out in front of the pontoon towards Dogwood & the Bell you can watch the trout feeding on the fry, valve tower to Harrisons & along the netted bank continues to produce. Anglers drifting across the main basin are picking up fish on daddies & fry patterns.

The reservoir continued to fish well on Saturday with most fish getting caught on Fry patterns. Slow intermediates seemed to be the most effective line, coupled with a Cat’s Whisker or a weighted Humungus. Mr H smith had a very productive day landing 11 fish on Cat’s Whisker, whereas Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell landed 8, fishing a White Humungus just under the surface on a Slow Glass Intermediate. The Main Basin is still the most productive area with long drifts across proving very successful. There remains a good number of fish in front of Robbo’s Cabin & there are plenty fry feeding fish across the open water.

It was a bright clear start to Sunday with a gentle southerly breeze. The skies remained clear for most of the day & despite the bright conditions, the reservoir fishing very well. The fish remained high up in the water column & were caught on a variety of methods. The common factor amongst those that caught well was the Foam Daddy. Whether it was a point fly on the washing line or fished as a Dry, the Foam Daddies featured heavily on the catch returns.  All Water Member Mark Hunt landed 16 fish in a very productive day, using Foam Daddies during the really bright spells & CDC’s on the occasions when there was some cloud cover. It just goes to show how important it can be to make subtle changes when there is a slight change in the conditions. Elsewhere, Eli Snyman used the Washing Line to great effect, landing 11 fish on a morning session. Eli’s cast was a Foam Daddy on the point & he fished a Diawl Bach & Cormorant above it. Resident Guide Andy Miller hosted a tuition course for 4. They all had a great time going on to catch 6 fish between the 4 of them which is a great return. Well done to all. The Main Basin remains a very productive area, all the way through it, up to Robbo’s Cabin.

Fur & Feather Sunday 23^rd Oct :

1,         The 2022 Eyebrook Fur & Feather will be held on Sunday 23rd Oct.

2,         Contact will be made this coming week for payment. The price is £83.50 per pair which includes 2 x 6 fish Tickets & Boat costs. Members can use their season tickets & will just pay for a member’s boat.

3,         Timings. Bacon Cobs will be served from 0745hrs & Competition times will be 0830 – 1630hrs. Hot soup will be served after.

4,         There is still a few boats available, for bookings please call the lodge on 01536 770264.