Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week ending 22^nd August   Rod Av 2.0   Water Temperature 18c

Cool start to the week with the water temperature at 18c. Fish were high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly in particular a muddler but as is often the case lots of follows, exciting sport doesn’t always lead to fish been hooked. All water member Dave Skudder caught 3 for his mornings visit but reported lots of follows to a muddler. Ian Brealey fished a washing line with a booby on the point & nymphs, buzzer on the dropper catching 10 for his visit. Fish are starting to spread themselves out through the reservoir with fish to be seen opposite the lodge to the stones & from the dam across to the Markfield arm.

Tuesday a cool overcast day with our morning water temperature at 18c. Conditions looked perfect and returned a rod average 4 for the day. B Perry fished a fab and olive buzzer to catch 9 trout, Neil Bates pulled a muddler with a red headed diawl to catch 6 for his afternoon session, Arthur Olding popped a white booby across the wave to catch his 7 trout with Phil Mee catching 6 for his mornings visit. Morning session still producing best with a few fish moving during the evening.

Wednesday, despite fish moving at times they proved difficult to put in the boats with anglers reporting missed takes, lost fish or fish coming short to the fly. J Carrier changed to a DI3 catching 4 and losing a further 3 trout for his mornings visit. S Wilson caught 12 for his days visit with the muddler being the successful fly

Thursday the trout proved difficult to tempt, plenty of fish to be seen moving at times but they proved difficult to tempt with a few fish taken on small #14 #16 diawls & buzzers. David Hussey fishing the afternoon session found the secret a small olive or brown buzzer catching 8 for his visit. Most of the buzzers hatching are still small #14 #16 we would expect to see the larger claret buzzer #10 #12 start to show any time.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday were similar days, fish moving at times but on the whole proved difficult to catch, fish chasing a pulled fly, nipping nymphs and buzzers, swirling, drowning dry flies but didn’t take the fly, frustrating at times. Mornings still fishing best with Chris Sayer catching 3 for his mornings visit, Jan Webber opted for a booby on a fast sinker to take his 3 with B Sibley also taking 3 for his mornings visit. L Ford & K Evans fished buzzers during their morning session to boat their 6 fish

Water clarity is good, were waiting for the large claret buzzer & daddies to show

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 22^nd August Rod Average 4.6      Water Temperature 18‘C

ANGER PARKING NOTICE: All Anglers please note that from Monday 23^rd August Severn Trent has requested that all anglers will now have to return their car to the main car park after unloading, if you require a yellow parking pass please ask for one in the lodge on the morning of your visit.

The wind was stronger than forecast to start the week coming from the West Northwest, these strong winds seemed to bring the fish higher in the water feeding just before the waves. All water members Chris Bobby & Lianne Frost enjoyed a good day landing 15 fish around J & T Buoy fishing washing line set ups on slow intermediates. Andrew Farmer fished around the Top Dam wall drifting out towards the open water to land 7. Fishery Ranger and Guide Lee Henfrey fished for a half-day session with friend Gaz Roberts. The pair landed 23 fish with Lee taking the majority fishing with a Di 5 40 plus sinking line with an olive snake and a sparkler on the top drop. With drifts around J, T and N Buoy their most productive.

The winds remained in the Northwest Tuesday with mostly overcast conditions for the day. Draycote season ticket holder Mike Garner fished from the bank landing a brace on a Sedgehog from the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay & along the Cornfield. Dave Atkins fished from a boat landing 11 fish from around X Buoy with dries working and also snakes fished on a Di 3 sinking line. Jack Vallis fished with a Di 5 sinking line and a sparkler booby to take 7 fish drifting the open water. Mr N Woodroff used a washing line set up to land 17 fish. Tony Baldwin used dries and also pulling to take a dozen fish.

Another overcast day Wednesday, which once again meant the fish came to flies fished high in the water. All water season ticket holder Norman Perkins landed 17 fish using foam daddies with orange being his best pattern. Norman found the fish around the Valve Tower and then around Y Buoy. Traveling Welsh anglers Llyr Evans & Gerwyn Evans landed 18 fish to the boat again on daddies with Daddyhogs being their best patterns landing fish up to 5lb. Draycote season ticket holder John Dickens landed 14 fish on red Bob’s Bits. Francis Campbell used snakes on a Di 5 sinking line to land a baker’s dozen. Fishery ranger and top guide Lee Henfrey fished for a morning session landing 27 fish using a Di 5 forty plus sinking line with a sparkler booby. Lee found the majority of the fish around J & T Buoy and took them on a very fast roly-poly retrieve.

A busy day Thursday with anglers starting to arrive to practice for the Anglers World Final held on Sunday. We had a mix of sun and cloud with wind coming from the South West. Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson landed 14 fish using the Rudder with majority coming around Y Buoy. Although the pair reported a number of fish sitting deep and did land fish on a Di 7 sinking line. Draycote season ticket holder Gordon Bramwell enjoyed a good days sport landing 19 fish using a Midge tip and a size 12 FAB on the point. Lee Patten & Alec Urquhart landed 18 fish to the boat again using a washing line set up. Ben Robertson found foam Daddies in orange and tan to be there best pattern landing over 20 fish.

Near perfect conditions Friday with light winds and overcast skies. All water member Jamie Scott landed 16 fish on a variety of flies with a 6ft midge tip being his best line landing the majority of the fish over the Aerators. Mr Newman fished with his son landing 14 in a half day with dries being their best option. A number of anglers once again took the water practicing for competition on Sunday. These anglers’ best methods were fishing dries, washing lining with some fish getting caught pulling as well.

Over the weekend we hosted the Anglers World Final with 50 boats taking to the water practice on the Saturday. The Saturday seemed to be a very mixed affair with some anglers reporting great numbers up towards 20 fish while others struggled, making for a very interesting match come Sunday.

On the Sunday the wind started in the west with overcast skies, however the wind swung round to a Northwest as the day wore on a complete 180° from the previous practice days. The majority of the boats headed off towards C Buoy and coming down from there on open water drifts. When the fishery staff headed out it was clear that some anglers had got the method cracked with 2 time double winner Gary Morris already landing 8 fish after just a couple of hours. Later in the day on our second fly check we had reports of some great numbers with Dale Burgess having 15 fish, Phil Thompson & 16 year old Alexander Jaffrey also on 15. When the anglers come back it it was Phil Thompson who had taken the win with 20 fish, Alexander 2^nd with 18 and Dale Burgess 3^rd with 15 and Gary Morris just falling short of 3 on the bounce also on 15. All 4 anglers found that fishing high in the water to be the most productive. Phil’s winning set up was a FAB on the top dropper, nymphs and then another FAB on a Airflo 6ft slow tip. While Alex used a RIO Midge Tip with a tequila FAB two muskins and then a tequila booby on the point. With long drifts starting around C,B & X Buoy the winning areas. For pictures of the event please see www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery 

Week ending 22^nd Aug 21                Rod Average: 3.4                 Water Temp: 18c -19c

This week has seen the Eyebrook Reservoir perform particularly well for August. As all avid Fly anglers are aware, August can be a really hard month on the water.

Monday started off a little bit slowly for most of our anglers, but all water ticket holder Paul Walked had an outstanding day getting well in to double figures fishing from a boat. Most of his fish fell to Diawl Bach’s and Damsel Nymphs.

Tuesday seemed a little bit more settled with the occasional shower. The conditions were fantastic for fishing from a drifting boat. Most anglers managed roughly 3 fish to the boat. But the regular anglers that fish Eyebrook almost religiously were rewarded with higher numbers. Yet again, washing line method or straight dry flies were working best.

Wednesday seen a bit of a change in feeding habits of the fish. Plenty showing in the surface, they’d chase through the surface, they’d come up and look at dries, they’d take the occasional nymph. But on this day, Mr R. Champney managed 15 fishing traditional wets and a foam daddy. A. Thomas and R. Thomas had well over 20 to the boat while fishing small buzzers and foam daddies. Slowly we are seeing an increase of anglers getting good results from fish taking daddies again.

With winds being a little stronger on Thursday, presenting a dry fly was a little more challenging for most. However, all water ticket holder Ed Douglas once again put in a masterclass of dry fly fishing to get well in to double figures. The cooling water temperatures are helping as it is keeping the fish in that top 2 feet of water. Ideal for anglers who like to fish dries or the washing line method.

Friday was yet another fantastic day out on the lake. With a couple of anglers getting in to double figures and quite a few more picking up 3 or 4 fish. A majority of fish fell to Bob’s Bits, Shipman’s, Foam Daddies, Midas and CDC Emergers. A lot of the fish were out in open water but quite a few anglers decided to stay around the area of the netted bank along to Robbo’s where a majority of the action has been taking place in the past week or so.

Saturday was a bit of a wet dreary day. The sort of day you wouldn’t really think about digging your floatant out of your box. But the wet weather doesn’t bother the fish. They were still looking up and looking for their next tasty morsel to land on the water. Funnily enough, dries even work when it’s wet. Quite a few anglers have now switched from fishing a booby or FAB on the point, they are now fishing washing line method with a foam daddy. This method can be deadly at this time of year.

Sunday carried on from the Saturday as being a but gloomy with the occasional squall coming out of nowhere. Initially the fishing was a little slow for a few anglers and not many fish were rolling in the surface as they had been the day before. Then at around 11AM the fish appeared. Reports were coming in about fish coming short to the daddies when fished static, but if they were twitched through the waves, the trout would have a go at them. Regular fishing buddies and Eyebrook season ticket holders Dave Chadwick and Steve Lawrence had a cracking morning session out on the boats managing to get 15 fish to the boat between them on very different methods. Dave persevered with foam daddies while Steve was pulling snakes just sub surface. All water member Mark Hunt once again put in a good shift fishing dries throughout the day. Finding it difficult to convert interest to solid lock ups, he constantly revised what he was fishing until they steadily started taking rather than drowning the flies. Mark noted that after a sudden downpour, the fish seemed to go down and stop looking for the dries. But 20 minutes or so later once it had passed, they’d start coming up again.

This week has really seen an uptake in the fish coming for the Daddies as well as hitting small Buzzers and Diawl Bach’s fished on a floater or midge tip. Daddies have been just as effective being fished sub surface as they have been on the surface. Don’t be afraid to try some traditional wets such as Silver Invicta.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

 Week ending 15^th August.  Rod Av 2.9   Water Temperature 18.0c – 19c

Monday our water temperature was 18c+ with the first of our larger claret buzzers on the water, its going the right way for August. Steve Windram and P Cross caught 7 for their visit on buzzers, hoppers and daddies, Peter Wurm fished the last 4 hours boating 2 but reported fish moving prepared to chase but they proved finicky when it came to taking the hook.

Tuesday and a water temperature of 18c greeted the anglers. Trout were high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly with small muddler, booby, diawls & damsels all taking fish. A rod average of 4.4 for the day. Pete Cox caught 9 with the Dawsons olive the successful fly, all water member P Walker caught 15 on buzzer, damsel & booby, Arthur Olding caught 9 fishing an intermediate with a white booby on the point & a small fry pattern on the dropper. Best area: Green Bay, stones & dam across to the Markfield arm with boats on the drift producing best.

Wednesday a still start to the day but once the breeze picked up the trout were once again high in the water & prepared to chase a pulled fly. Andre Russel fishing from his float tube caught 8 on a montana pulled through the surface, Jason Harrison caught 4 using similar patterns, Bob Jones also fishing from a float tube caught 4 on a daddy, booby & cruncher with all anglers reporting follows & pulls to a pulled muddler.

Thursday a warmer brighter day with the air temperature 25c+ by lunchtime. A change to the previous few days with the trout in less of a chasing mood. Tut & Bet Miles fished a #16 diawl static to catch their 6 trout during mornings visit with M Armstrong catching his fish in the afternoon on dries.

Friday with a fresh breeze the trout were once again high in the water with dries, buzzer & washing line taking fish. Paul Martindale caught 11 on buzzers & diawls, R Morton & A Iliffe caught 9 for their mornings visit.

Saturday Brian Sibley fished the morning session catching 5 with C Green & B Newton catching 7 for their mornings visit with Mark Hunt fishing cdc, bobs bits & buzzers to catch 18 for his visit

Sunday fish were moving when the rods first got out on the water & were prepared to chase a fly pulled but were difficult to get them to commit & take the fly, exciting sport. Richard Callis found later in the day a green & black lure worked with Thornton member Andrew Wilson opting to fish the washing line catching 10 trout on buzzers.

With the shortening of the daylight hours & our water temperature around 18c, with good water clarity we should see the buzzer hatches improve as well as the evening rise

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 15^th August Rod Average 3.6      Water Temperature 19‘C

The wind had dropped from Sunday, however remained gusty at times, with sunny intervals making the fishing a challenge to start to the week. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey fished in the morning landing 9 fish using an Airflo Booby Basher teamed with a Gold & Silver Tube. Lee used a fast Roly-Poly retrieve to keep the fly about 3 feet down. Kevin Rees fished on dries all day around A & B Buoy to land 6 fish with his best flies being small Bob’s Bits. Alex Campbell also fished around A buoy and the Outlet using 2 foam daddies’ fish on a floating line to land 4 fish.

A busy day Tuesday with lots of anglers making the most of the overcast conditions hoping for some good sport. Draycote members Lee Patten & Peter Elliot found the fish willing to taking providing the good sport they hoped for, with he pair boating just short of 40 fish. They both used different tactics with Peter opting for dries while Lee using a washing line set up to tempt his fish. Fellow Draycote member Tony Parker landed a dozen fish using a mixture of dries and washing line techniques. Ed Douglas stuck to dries to land 16 fish with Ed’s best drifts being from X buoy down towards J. With a number of wind lanes opening up Ed reported them to be full of fish. In the evening we saw a great fall of flying Ants as a results the afternoon and evening boats caught well on Fiery Brown dries in various different forms.

Wednesday was another good day for fishing with light breezes and good cloud cover. Mr P Hallam had 5 “quality” fish overall, on dries such as Shipman’s buzzers and midas, from rainbow corner, A and M buoy. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith caught 9 between them, again on the dries. The dries were working really well for Mr I Tearle and Mr N Mead. They had 40 fish to the boat between them, all on “fiery brown”. Kevin Rees and Ed Douglas also used the dries to good effect, getting well into double figures on Bob’s bits and Shipman’s buzzers. Kevin Hart and Lee Henfrey caught 14 fish between them using sinking lines and lure around A and B buoy up near the Draycote Dam.

A bright start to Thursday with the cloud arriving around lunch. Draycote season ticket holders Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell Landed 19 fish using washing lining techniques using a mix of nymphs, FABs and daddies. Gordon Bramwell fished with Phil Thompson with the pair landing over 20 fish to the boat using a midge tip line and washing line techniques. Fishery Manager Tom Bird took David Holding & Geoff Brooks out in a boat on a 4 hour guide with the pair enjoying good sport landing 9 fish between them and losing a number of others. The best methods being a RIO Midge Tip Long with cormorants with a blob on the point and then two daddies fished on a floating line with the orange daddy being the best pattern.

Friday turned out to be a very windy day, with some gusts up into the high 20’s. This made for difficult fishing at times, but the rod average still came out at a very reasonable 3.0. Andrew and Nathan Blackwell had 7 fish to the boat on foam daddies. Mr K Saxton caught his 4 fish on poppers. Adam Larbalester and Ben Bayliss had 17 fish between them on snakes and sparklers, daddies, and claret bob’s bits. Mr A Wilson caught 4 fish on a single biscuit blob and boobies.

Saturday turned out to be a great day for fishing with good cloud cover and a light south westerly breeze blowing out of Rainbow Corner down across the reservoir. During the last few days the water temperature has dropped again and now good numbers of fish are being caught in the top few feet of the water column. There are some good catches being made on various techniques such as dries, a washing line fished on either a floater or a midge tip, and also pulling lures just under the surface. Ed Douglas boated 19 fish on big reds and bob’s bits. Nick Parker caught 9 fish using a sink tip line and boobies. Dan Mcelligott had 7 fish to the boat using olive snakes pulled fast, just under the surface on a DI 5. Dan spent part of his day in a boat with staff member Lee Henfrey, who using the same technique boated 17 fish. Mr Ian Watts managed a dozen fish to the boat, all on dry flies. Tom Bird and his boat partner Craig had nearly 40 fish to the boat which they did using various lures pulled just under the surface of the water.

A breezy day Sunday with the wind still coming from the South West with sunny and cloud intervals. Despite the sunny conditions at times the majority of fish stayed high in the water. Season ticket holders Paul Mitchell & Chris Bobby enjoyed a good days sport landing 29 fish to the boat. The pair both opted for a washing line set up Chris using a floating line while Paul used a Slow Glass. There cast involved a foam daddy on the top dropper, nymphs and then a FAB on the point. The best drift the pair found was around J Buoy to the blue boat and then T Buoy to the spit. Jim Smith & Ed Douglas fished around A, B & C Buoy to land a dozen in a half day with dries working for Ed while Jim used a sunk line and a sparkler. The All Ability Friendly Fly Fishers took to the water with 18 members landing just short of 80 fish. The best catches from the group came to dries with Midas, daddies and hoppers all featuring well.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 15^th Aug 21               Rod Average:4.2                  Water Temp: 19C – 18C

This week continued in fine form with the trout staying close to the surface. Most anglers opted to fish the washing line method with either a small booby or a FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs and Crunchers up the line. All water ticket holder Norman Perkins was top rod on the day fishing a FAB with small Buzzers to snare a cool 10 fish from the boat. A lot of the fish are being taken out in open water between the draw off tower and the Netted bank.

Tuesday seen things slow down a little, but most anglers still managed 2 or more fish to the boat. The few bank anglers that ventured out really did find it challenging. A few of the Boat anglers were having some success on Cats whisker patterns.

Wednesday seen the weather conditions settle a little bit better for fishing from a drifting boat. A nice steady breeze was enabling a lot of anglers to drift from the tower all the way past the netted bank. this enabled quite a few of them to pick up pods of fish cruising just below the surface. Yet again, washing line method worked best on floating line, midge tip, 6-foot slow tip or a slow intermediate line. A few reports coming in about fish chasing boobies in the surface when pulled. John Riley was top rod on the day with well in to double figures with a midge tip fishing the washing line method.

Thursday turned out to be another fantastic day, yet again a nice steady breeze made for pleasant fishing conditions. Lots of anglers were catching on FABS as well as nymphs and small lures. The fishing was going so well, some of our anglers were even breaking out the traditional wet fly patterns. All water ticket holders Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost were in to double figures with FABS and dries. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Lindsay Bates was joined out on the water by R Keeber, the pair managed a cool 20 to the boat between them using Midas Dries and pearly Whickams. With a rod average above 4 for the past few days, it was no surprise there were so many happy anglers coming off the water at the end of the day.

Friday morning started off with perfect conditions in the morning, but as lunch time approached, the wind started to pick up speed. This made fishing a little more challenging but offered the advantage of windblown terrestrials as the local farmer began harvesting in the field adjacent to the fishery. Mark Hunt took advantage of this to take 12 fish as did Steve Houlton and Dave Naylor who had 10 to the boat. With the fish moving up and down as the sun came out or went behind clouds, season ticket holder Mr. Farrell used a slow glass matched with pheasant tails, diawl bachs and cut throat boobies to catch and return over 20 fish.

Saturday saw the whole fleet out, with nearly every boat practicing for Sunday’s 6×4 competition. With this in mind, the majority of anglers kept their findings to themselves, although there were plenty of rods bending throughout the day. Some anglers however did record their catches, and these included several double figure catches. Best fish of the day though was a well-conditioned Brownie of about 12 pounds taken by Peter Costin, a photo of which can be found on the Fly-Fishing Large Reservoirs Facebook page. Sunday saw the whole fleet out with 52 anglers involved in the competition which was fished from 09.00 to 17.00. Overall, 274 fish were caught and returned for a competition average of 5.2. Top rod was Eric Caisley who netted a baker’s dozen. Top team were the Renegades. Season ticket holder, Malcolm Thompson spent the morning fishing from the bank near the Hawthorns and fishing a hares’ ears on a sink tip line caught 5 whilst members Dave Chadwick and Steve Lawrence netted 6 fish using snakes and Blobs

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 8^th August.  Rod Av 2.6   Water Temperature 19c – 20c+

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

As we move into August a noticeable shortening of the daylight hours which in turn will help to reduce the water temperature & is a sign that were not too far away from the autumn & its dry fly sport to daddies & hoppers.

Monday anglers reported fish feeding but they proved difficult to tempt with Thornton member P Hunt fishing a mini muddler to take his 5 trout. The Rev Chip party of 4 anglers caught 13 trout with damsel patterns being the most successful fly. Our evenings fishing remains patchy with the cooler morning session still providing the best of the fishing

Tuesday the Markfield arm fished best with all water member Arthur Olding top rod for his mornings session catching 10 trout on an Intermediate with a booby on the point with small nymph on the dropper. Pete Cox fished a floating line with diawls and Dawsons olive to catch his 6 fish during a mornings session. Mornings without doubt continues to be the most productive session

Wednesday was a warmer, brighter day which certainly slowed the fishing. Paul Martindale fished in green bay with buzzer patterns, reporting plenty of fish moving during the morning but not taking the fly properly with Paul managing to boat 5 trout for his morning’s session. Other rods struggled catching 1 or two fish on a variety of methods from a floating line to fast sinker with buzzer patterns, blob, booby, bloodworm, diawls and snakes all mentioned, a day when it was difficult to find the consistent method.

Thursday & Friday, an unsettled forecast with the threat of heavy rain kept the rods away. Local angling club Thornton Fly Fishers secretary Peter Birdsall fished with Mick Norman taking 3 each for their mornings fishing with two of Micks fish taking a dry. By Friday morning our water temperature was 19c+ going in the right direction. Richard Callis caught 7 for his mornings visit on buzzers with Chris Sayer catching 4 & John Bebbington 3 trout for their part day visit.

Saturday & an excellent start to the weekend, cooler, overcast with the water temperature closer to 19c. Trout were in the top of the water & prepared to chase lures & nymphs but also take the dry with confidence. Fish were well spread across the reservoir from the dam to the mouth of the Markfield arm. Brian Sibley & Alison caught 6 for their mornings visit wit Jason Harrison finding a black & green lure pulled through the top on a floater created lots of follows & takes with Jason landing 7 for his mornings fishing. Mark Hunt went for the dries, big reds, cdc & grunter boating 15 trout for his days fishing.

Sunday another cooler, showery morning with the rods out for the morning session reporting fish moving and prepared to chase a muddler but were reluctant to take, Alasdair Blakemore party caught 8 for their mornings visit catching on muddlers and washing line. Thornton member A Wilson fished a claret bumble pattern on the top dropper and diawls on the dropper pulled through the wave creating plenty of follows and boating 5 trout.

Mornings is still the most productive period although this morning our water temperature is 18.5c and the first of the larger claret buzzer out in an appearance, with an unsettled forecast we should hopefully see some evening rises. Water clarity is good

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending 8^th August     Rod Average 4.7      Water Temperature 19‘C

With the recent drop in water temperature a fair number of fish have been caught on dries, and hopefully this will continue as we move on into August. It was busy for a Monday here at Draycote with 30 rods out on the water, mostly in boats. Season permit holder John Dickens caught 6 fish on a crippled midge. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had a baker’s dozen on orange foam daddies and big reds around D buoy. Kevin Rees caught 18 fish on dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits.

Tuesday was very humid through the middle of the day but with some good cloud cover here and there. The rod average is hovering around the 3 mark at the moment with Andy Axon and Sean Porter putting 8 fish in the boat between them. Season permit holder Tony Parker and his boat partner Nick, had 21 fish which all came to the dries when they had some cloud cover. Keith Coley and Bob Taft fished sinking lines with lures to boat 9 fish in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.

Wednesday was mostly warm and calm with bright conditions through most of the day, which made for tough fishing at times. Season permit holder Dave Adkins had 6 fish in the aerators on diawl bachs and cormorants. Mr M Francis had a total of 12 fish to the boat on a red stimulator and a green dabbler. Mr S Brown had half a dozen fish to the boat around A buoy. Mr C Jacques also had 6 fish which he caught on big reds and a gold lure.

On Thursday we had some heavy rain during the late afternoon, but Draycote seemed to fish well right throughout the day. Peter Elliott and Lee Patten had over 30 fish to the boat on dries such as bob’s bits and also a washing line and nymphs. Paul Havard caught 7 fish using a 6 foot midge tip line with crunchers, diawl bachs and a tequila booby. Sue Potts and Andy T had 18 fish to the boat using blobs and crunchers around A and B buoy. Chris Bobby and Lianne Frost used dries and a washing line to catch 25 fish between them. Kevin Rees caught over 20 fish, all on dries such as crippled midge and bob’s bits. Staff member and

Draycote guide Lee Henfrey had nearly 30 fish to the boat during a morning session fishing sinking lines through T and S buoy and off Farborough spit. Lee is well versed in this method of fishing and in his time here at Draycote has taught many anglers how to turn those dog days of summer into good fishing days. Why not book a session with Lee and learn how to catch when the fish just don’t seem to be biting.

The wind on Friday was blowing a lot harder than originally forecast and made for uncomfortable conditions at times. Draycote fished hard all day but John Dickens put the dries to good use netting 11 on claret bob’s bits around B buoy. Dave Naylor and Steve Houlton had 20 fish to the boat between them on hoppers around X buoy. Season permit holder Richard Parris caught off the bank during an afternoon session using CDC’s.

Saturday was overcast and a bit windy, with showers promised for the late afternoon. Draycote fished really well posting a rod average of 6, with a lot of fish being caught in the top few feet of the water. Lee Henfrey and Kevin Hart took to the water for a morning session and put about 50 fish in the boat by early afternoon. The method they used was heavy sinking lines with tubes and humungus, but pulled just under the surface, down the front of the Farborough Dam. Season permit holder Chris Pallott caught 4 good fish from the centre of the reservoir on a DI5 and snakes. Lianne Frost and Chris Bobby had 23 fish to the boat from various areas of the reservoir, all on FAB’s. The Invicta Fly Fishers took to the water with a total of 29 anglers, producing a club rod average of 6.58.

Sunday was again overcast and blustery with light rain forecast throughout the day, however the rain didn’t really continue much after lunch. With the overcast conditions the majority of the fish caught came from the top few feet. Jon Crowley fished from the bank landing 6 fish from Rainbow Corner on a black and green booby fished on the end of a washing line. Tim Burn & Paul Mitchell fished together in a boat landing 21 fish using FABs and Boobies on a washing line fished on an Airflo 12ft Slow tip. Michael Hanlon fished for a half day landing a dozen fish using a Di 3 sinking line and humungus. Mr A Hoffrock landed 18 fish all on dries drifting from the Draycote Dam wall going out.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 8^th Aug 21                 Rod Average:4.6                  Water Temp: 21C – 19C

After a few cooler days with a bit of wind, fish have been moving in the surface all over the lake, but the main concentration of fish has been in the main basin area close to the dam and the draw off tower. With Monday being quite a muggy day with not a lot of wind, most anglers were experiencing a multitude of different things from the fish. Occasionally the fish would come up and take a single CDC, where others were taking nymphs like Diawl Bach’s fished on a washing line method. Some Anglers were commenting that the takes were very subtle and then others were getting hard takes that were snapping their leader. Top rod on the day was Alan McGuire with 8 fish to the boat. Alan was fishing washing line method with a sunburst blob which accounted for most of his fish. Not a bad start to his 2-day package. As in previous weeks, a majority of the action came to those out on drifting boats, whereas the bank anglers struggled to get fish to the net.

Wednesday seen Eyebrook hosting the English Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Competing for the Presidents Cup on a bright sunny day with not much wind. Eyebrook provided some fantastic sport for the 15 Competitors with 81 fish between them giving a Rod average of 5.4. Biggest fish on the day was From Stewart Hume with a Rainbow of 3lbs 12oz. Top rod on the day was Paul Davidson with an outstanding display of angling by landing 20 fish. All competitors were welcomed back in off the water to a fantastic buffet set up by Pauline and her trusty crew. The fishing remained on top form for a majority of our anglers out in the boats. Jamie Thomas enjoyed his first outing on Eyebrook in years accompanied by Darren Wharton, the pair managed well in to double figures each fishing a multitude of different flies and methods, but Jamie stayed on for a little while and was impressed with the evening rise and continued to take fish on big red’s and small CDC’s. Eyebrook produced a whopping Rod average of 6.2 on this day despite the conditions being bright and still.

Thursday had The EFFA team meet up of a friendly competition out on the water. A few of the anglers had been out the day before and had some amazing sport. So obviously news was getting around the groups on areas, flies, and lines. Most of the flotilla spent most of the morning searching the open water around the dam area to Robbo’s cabin with a few fish coming to small boobies fished on a midge tip or dries on a floater. By the afternoon the group found where the main concentration of fish were and set up drift after drift along the Leicestershire bank from Dogwood bay to the Hawthorne’s. most anglers were on midge tips and slow intermediate lines and taking fish on boobies and Nymphs by casting out and retrieving with long steady pulls. Top Rods on the day were Andrew Wightwick and Steve Otteridge. John Goldie was the winner of the free boat draw at the prize giving. Overall, 25 Anglers caught 179 fish for a rod average of 7.46. Special mention needs to go to Eyebrook Season ticket holder Malcom Thompson who had an outstanding haul of 16 fish to the net while fishing from the bank. An outstanding feat considering the bank fishing has been extremely challenging lately.

Friday kicked off with being damp and overcast. The forecast heavy rain has seen most anglers opt to find other pursuits that are a lot drier. Meanwhile, the staff are keeping on top of boat maintenance and general admin around the lodge. From those few brave souls that ventured out on a blustery wet day Eyebrook Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell had an outstanding day getting in to double figures fishing washing line method on a midge tip with a cutthroat cats whisker booby and a couple of diawl bach’s. All water ticket holder Mark Hunt persevered with big reds and Bibio crippled midge to get in to double figures despite the conditions being far from perfect for fishing dries.

Saturday seen a good number of anglers covering a lot of the lake and taking fish from mostly along the Rutland bank on a multitude of methods, but the most productive methods were the washing line or dries. A few anglers had great success and managed to get in to double figures. Saturday ended up with a rod average of 4.8 obviously a sign that the drop in water temperature is bringing the fish back on to the feed.

Sunday was a bit of a quieter day giving our anglers plenty of water to explore. A majority of the anglers out today managed some good numbers of fish to the boat on cats’ whiskers and even baby doll patterns. This just goes to show that the old patterns still work, and they are worth a go every now and then.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

**New Email Address**: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

 Week Ending 1^st August     Rod Average 1.6   Water Temperature 20c – 22c

Monday the morning session was still likely to be the most productive with All Water members Steve Windram & P Cross fishing the top 3ft of water in front of the main car park with holographic buzzers catching 10 trout between them for the morning session. Despite a good evening rise on Sunday filmed and posted at www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore the evening rise Monday was poor, having said that J Brody fished 4pm till 8pm & caught 3 again on holographic buzzer

Tuesday was a mixed day, Arthur Olding caught 3 on an intermediate with small booby and nymphs with other rods catching 1 or 2 fish to damsels and olive booby

Similar mixed fishing continued on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, All water member Ian Leach and I Brearley catching 8 on damsel patterns

Saturday & Sunday with overcast cooler temperatures anglers reported fish feeding on the surface especially during the early morning. Adan Gunby and S Jordan fished a washing line to catch their 12 trout with Andrew Wilson also fishing a washing line with a claret bumble been an effective fly

Water Clarity is good

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

**New Email Address**: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 1^st August 2021     Rod Av: 5.3  Water Temperature: 18c+ / 19c+

A bit of a change in the weather from the weekend with a bright flat calm day on Monday. DFFA member Michael Wright ventured out onto the bank to net 5 fish from Lincroft Point. Michael also lost another 4 fish and said that he only caught when the cloud cover came in. Season permit holders John Dickens and Lorenzo Seranno had 6 fish in total. Lorenzo caught 3 fish pulling in the aerators, whilst John caught 1 fish pulling and another 2 on a crippled midge.

A difficult day Tuesday with none of the anglers really finding a consistent way to tempt the fish. The best catch came to all water season ticket holders Ged O’Donoghue and Steve Orton the pair landed 4 fish between them on shrimps, buzzers and minkies fished on intermediates. With other anglers landing 1s commenting it was hard work, but still better than work.

Wednesday was rain on the forecast for most of the day, which never really happened. Although, the fishery did get some heavy thundery downpours later in the day. T Evans & J Bilinski landed 7 fish from Rainbow Corner. Draycote season ticket holder Stephen Dewhurst landed 6 fish drifting from Rainbow Corner and then down towards the Sailing Club. Fishing from the bank for the last 4 hours Slav & Jony landed 4 fish between them, a good sign the fish are starting to move back towards the banks with the cooler weather.

Thursday with the unsettled cooler weather helping to reduce the water temperature Draycote switched on finishing with a 7.4 rod average for the day. A variety of methods worked with sinking lines snakes, fabs & blobs working around A,B,C & J,T buoy with anglers on the drift over open water catching on midge tips with nymphs, buzzer & fab or floating lines with bobs bits, big reds & hoppers #14 #12. Water clarity is good.

Friday was overcast with showers and light winds. The bank anglers struggled to catch as the temperature of the water is still keeping the fish out in the deeper parts of the reservoir. Mr Naylor and Mr Houlton took the only boat out on the water on Friday and netted a total of 29 fish on dries such as hoppers and daddies.

Saturday was again overcast with light winds but definitely fished well with a rod average of 7.1.  Both James Kelly and Paul Lloyd had a brace each from the bank whilst Mick Cronin netted half a dozen. The boats fared better with a lot of anglers getting well into double figures. Quite a few methods were putting fish in the net such as dries, a washing line with nymphs fished on an intermediate line, and even nymphs fished on a DI3. Andy Lilley used CDC’s to catch some of the bigger fish from the middle of the reservoir, netting 10 overall. Kevin Rees, along with David Hoppe and Peter Elliott also resorted to dries to net well over 30 fish each for the day. Mark Braun caught a bakers dozen up in Rainbow Corner using a DI3 and red diawl bachs. Richard and Jim Hall had 14 fish to the boat on dries and FAB’s. Mr T Moore and Mr J Boxham had a total of 10 fish to the boat on crunchers and FAB’s.

Sunday & the dries reigned supreme with a number of anglers catching double figure numbers on crippled midge, bobs bits, big reds & small hoppers generally size #12 #14 with anglers reporting lovely silvered trout up to 4lb taken on long drifts across open water. Washing line was another successful method with small red diawls & hares ears. Water clarity is good with our water temperature closer to 18+c

With the cooler forecast for the week & our water temperature at 18c its looks as if early August could provide excellent top of the water sport

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

**New Email Address**: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 1^st Aug 21                 Rod Average:2.9                  Water Temp: 21C – 19C

With cooler more overcast days forecast , we should be expecting to see the fish starting to come up in the water column and hopefully start to see a few fish starting to move in the surface. Monday proved to be a little bit challenging for most out on the water. However, all water Season Ticket holder Ian Jobe was once again showing how well he knows Eyebrook. Ian managed to get in to double figures from his float tube and fishing a Di7 line. Fishing deep wasn’t quite getting the results he was looking for. But after adjusting his count down to around 10 seconds, it gave him the indication that the fish were indeed starting to come back up to the surface levels after a week or so hiding in the depths. A week ago, a countdown of 30 – 40 seconds was putting the Di7 down at 20 feet deep. With a count of 10, the line is getting you in to around 6 – 7 feet deep. Just a clear indication of understanding fishing a sinking line can produce some fantastic sport. If fishing a sinking line is something you are missing out on, then why not try a guided day with one of our fantastic guides who can enlighten you on the finer details of fishing sinking lines.

Tuition Days

With Tuesday starting off a bit cooler we were definitely witnessing a bit of a change in the weather front. The afternoon was still hot and humid which didn’t help the anglers out. The fishing being presented was still really quite challenging and only a few managed a fish to the boat. With the changes in water and temperature, it was making the fish behaviour quite unpredictable.

Wednesday proved to be yet another challenging day with most of our anglers getting takes that were tentative and hard to convert to a solid lock up. Those that managed to hook fish were often beaten at the net as the fish slipped the hook and escaped. Regular boat partners Clive Moore and Ian Jobe had a day where Clive managed more than Ian. Obviously a more trying day for Ian after having such a good day a few days before from the float tube. Sinking lines were not performing as well as they had done just a few days before. The cooler overcast weather is starting to bring the fish out of the depths and making it a little more challenging to figure out what depth the fish are holding at.

Thursday seen a few of the anglers starting to catch fish closer to the surface. Ron Brown had great day out searching the reservoir and managed to take a few fish by the Island out in open water and then again just outside dogwood bay. He was fishing the washing line method with Diawl Bach’s and a floating fry pattern from a drifting boat.

Friday presented us with some gentle winds in the morning with the occasional bluster of wind. Quite a few fish have been seen moving just off the tower and drifting boats were having some success. A Smith and T Fox had an outstanding day fishing small dries and catching a boatload with both of them getting well in to double figures. A clear sign that the fish have come well up in the water.

Saturday seen quite an increase in the rod average as our anglers were starting to find fish in the upper layers. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Malcom Thompson managed a cool dozen from the bank just by the Bell. He was fishing small CDC patterns. All water ticket holder Mark Hunt was top rod on the day getting well in to double figures while fishing a Bibio Grunter. Mark said that the fish were coming blind to the fly.

Sunday was a strange day with the weather. The morning started out perfect for fishing dries, but then the rain started and kept going for most of the morning. By lunch time the temperatures started to rise, and it became very humid. Fish were still topping and tailing out in the open water and kept the anglers focused on them. Eyebrook Season ticket holders Steve Lawrence and Dave Chadwick had a cracking morning session by getting in to double figures each while fishing intermediate lines and lures. On a whole, the lake produced some fantastic sport on a variety of different methods. A lot of the anglers managed good numbers of fish to the boat and the day ended with a fantastic rod average of 4.3

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week Ending 25^th July.  Rod Av: 2.6   Water Temperature: 23c+

Monday with the forecast giving high temperatures for most of the week. Anglers took our advice and fished the morning session, hoping to catch cooler temperatures before they went up during the day. Surprisingly fish are still been caught in the top 5ft with Phil Cross fishing a midge tip with olive buzzers to catch 5 trout for his morning’s visit. Richard Price fished and okey dokey to take his 3 trout.

Tuesday and another hot day, Pete Cox fished a gold headed Damsel to catch his 4 trout, John Lund fished an olive barred snake to catch his 2 trout with my grand daughter catching her first trout photo on our social media page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Wednesday & the hot weather continues with few rods out on the water, John Thomson fished buzzers and was rewarded with 3 trout, excellent fishing in the conditions

Friday & our best day of the week with a rod average 5.1 Chris Sayer & Mick Cross fished a booby to boat 15 trout for their morning’s visit, Greg Weatherdon caught 4 on a damsel, with P Hunt & J Bebington both catching 6 trout for their visit.

With the cooler forecast for the weekend & excellent fishing on the Friday expectations were high but in reality the fishing proved challenging with Mark Hunt catching 5 for his visit with all other rods registering 1 or 2 fish

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 25th  July 2021     Rod Av: 5.2   Water Temperature: 23.5 °C

The week started the way the weekend ended, with temperatures hitting high 20’s to low 30’s as a result the water temperature started the day at 22.5°C. Phil Murphy & Craig Dootson landed 10 fish using fast sinkers and lures. Ian & Shaun Gaskell used Booby Bashers fished with sparklers around A,B & D Buoy to land 15 fish to the boat including a couple of nice perch. John Hurst & Richard Ellis also enjoyed a good day landing a dozen fish.

Once again the sun made a big appearance Tuesday, however all the anglers came equipped with fast sinking lines and the rod average finished at 6 fish per angler. All water season ticket holder Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft with the pair boating 21 fish. They fished with Di 7 sinking lines and bright lures back drifting through the Aerators down to B Buoy to land their fish. Another all water season ticket holder Chris Bobby fished with Mark Macleod landed 27 fish using Booby Basher sinking lines and a mix or cormorants and boobies. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey fished with Martin Rowson landing 23 fish to the boat again using Booby Bashers with various sparklers with the majority of the fish coming from between B & A Buoy.

After the 2 previous hot days the water temperature Wednesday started at 24°C, however despite this the fish still could be found willing to take a fly deep in the water column. Ged O’Donoghue fished with fellow all water season ticket holder Steve Orton with the pair landing 20 fish to the boat. Ged took the lion share of the fish as Steve left earlier in the day. Ged, caught the majority of his fish in the Aerators using Diawl Bach’s and a small fry pattern on the point on sinking lines. Mark Braun fished around A & B buoy using a black booby on a Di 5 sinking line to land over 15 fish to the boat. Fishery Guide Andy Miller took reservoir beginner Phil Waters out for a beginner boat session, landing 8 fish and some cracking Perch. Phil loved the session and had action for the entire time as well as learning all the key skills to handle a boat safely on his own. For bookings for any tuition please give Tom a call on 01788 812018.

Another hot day with the water temperature still sitting at 24°C at 7am in the morning. Although once again the fish responded to flies’ fish deep. Mr B Clark & J Lee landed 12 fish using Di 5 and Di 7 sinking lines with minkies and cutthroat cat whiskers. There best area was around the Aerators. Season ticket holders Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell landed 15 fish to the boat using Booby Bashers and Di 7 sinking lines fishing around A & B Buoy.

Friday saw a number of boats practicing for the Angling Trust Loch Style Championship being held over the weekend. The water temperature had dropped by half a degree over night with it sitting at 23.5°C. However it was still the fast sinking lines that caught the majority of the angler’s fish with the main concentration of the fish coming from the deep water around A & B Buoy, with other teams practicing around D Buoy catching fish as well with sparklers and cormorants featuring well. Outside of the match Ged O’Donoghue landed 16 fish fishing over the Aerators with Diawl Bach’s on the droppers and a fry pattern on the point. Rod Wilson used the rudder to great effect using a Di 7 sinking line and gold and silver tube drifting from Y-B Buoy landing 25 fish to the boat. Kev Hart fished with John Hoskins landing 30 fish back drifting on Booby Bashers from P Buoy across to Y Buoy.

The weekend saw the fishery host the Angling Trust Loch Style Championships with 5 teams competing for a £1,800 prize pot. With £1,100 going to first and £700 to 2^nd place, the practice day showed the fish sitting deep and booby bashers and Di 7 sinking lines were the best method to catch them. The change in wind had knocked the fish off the feed and it was a difficult first session with the wind making it hard to get the flies down to the fish.  However, as the anglers honed in on the methods during the day the catch rate went up, with the third session yielding the most fish. At the end of the first day The Renedages were leading with 31 fish, Fly Boys in second with 21 fish and Greenwell Persuaders in third with 18 fish. The fish came to flies fished deep on Booby Bashers and Di 8 sinking lines in the deep water around B Buoy. A slightly better day weather wise on Sunday saw A lot more fish being caught and the chance of positions changing in the competition. It was touch and go at times but in the end the Fly Boys landed 69 fish for 3021cms to take first place. The Renegades were runners up with 59 fish for 2589cms. Well done to all those who took part. Further details of the competition can be found on the Angling Trusts website.

Outside the match over the weekend Jim Dempsey & Ifor Jones landed 24 fish using the rudder with Gold & Silver Tubes fished on a Di 7. Richard Wood & J Humes landed 16 fish on minkie boobies fished out the back of the boat around the Aerators. Kevin Hart and his boat partner Dave Pacey netted a bakers dozen on Sunday.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

 Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 26^th July 21               Rod Average:2.04                Water Temp: 21C+

Weather reports looked fantastic for the start of the week, if you were looking to top up your suntan. But for us fly anglers, it made for grim reading, bright skies and very little wind. Undeterred, John Duncan headed out onto the water and spent a good part of the day fishing over the deep water and was rewarded with 8 fish to the boat. Fantastic angling in such harsh hot and still conditions.

Tuesday saw All water ticket holders Ian Jobe and Ged O’donoghue venture out on their float tubes. Ian quickly figured out that the fish were really deep, and he was getting plenty of action on a Di7 line with lures to get into double figures of fish to the tube. Ged wasn’t getting the same sort of results but was really happy that he got to try out his new flippers. After a bit of a chin wag with Ian, Ged started to think about upgrading his float tube so that he would have a bit more elbow space for his retrieve. This could have been the contributing factor in the difference in results.

Wednesday saw Ian Jobe back for another day out on the water with his regular boat partner and Eyebrook Season ticket holder Clive Moore even though it was a couple of degrees lower than the previous 2 days, it certainly didn’t feel that way. The pair persisted out in the open water around the dam area and managed to bring 9 fish to the boat between them. Obviously, the fish were a bit more elusive than the day before but still willing to put in the occasional appearance. This just shows that not only does Eyebrook produce fantastic sport for the dry fly angler when the conditions are good for it, but it will still produce fantastic sport if you are willing to put on those heavy sinking lines and get down deep when the surface temperatures start to rocket, and clouds are a rare thing to see in the sky.

Thursday started off a bit cooler with a cool mist on the water. The temperatures were starting to drop slightly and we’re presenting some really good conditions for fishing. However, on this day the fish just didn’t seem to want to come out and play. As the day progressed, the temperatures started to rise, and the clouds disappeared once again. The boats that had ventured out were all in the right sort of areas, but everybody struggled to get a pull back on the line.

Friday saw a slight upturn in visiting anglers. This was probably due to the cooler conditions that we have previously been experiencing. All water ticket holders Adam Gunby and Steve Jordan kicked the day off by calling the lodge to report that they had brought a large Brownie to the boat. Andy Miller was morning boatman and rushed out to weigh the fish and get some pictures before safely returning the stunning 12lbs Brown back to the water. An outstanding result for Adam Gunby. Read all about it on our Facebook Page. www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore. The day still proved challenging for a lot of the anglers, but most managed a fish or 2 to the boat. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Bob Margery had a fantastic session by successfully landing 11 fish. Bob was fishing a Di7 with a Humungous. It may not be everybody’s idea of pleasure fishing but getting the flies down to the right depth on hot spells like this is the key to catching a few fish.

The weekend saw a change in the weather with Jim getting his jacket out of the car due to it being a little bit cooler than previous mornings. A bit more of a gentle breeze from the East should have seen the fish coming up in the water. However, the change in conditions didn’t seem to be to the liking of the fish, with the majority of the rods struggling to find fish willing to take their offerings. The exception though was Aurelijus Petraitis and his boat partner, Vythutas Vhitkey who fished lures on DI7’s to boat 17 fish between them. Sunday saw a similar day weather wise, with a moderate north-easterly wind and overcast conditions and again only one boat found the fish, Steve Lawrence and Dave Chadwick using fast sinking line and Humungus to boat 12 fish, drifting from Robbos cabin toward the Valve tower.  The other boats and the bank anglers found the conditions difficult and fish hard to come by.

With more moderate temperatures forecast for the coming week, together with some rain, it seems probable that these stabilised weather conditions and resultant cooler water temperatures will encourage the fish to feed and provide our anglers with some good top of the water sport with dries and nymphs.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Week Ending 18^th July.  Rod Av: 3.1   Water Temperature: 21+c – 23c+

A good start to the week with a rod average 4 with anglers following our advice & fishing the morning session. Main car park, dam wall & green bay were best areas again with intermediate & midge tip lines with damsel, #14 red diawl, #14 #16 bright olive or black buzzer & pin fry patterns. A Illiffe & R Moreton shared a boat catching 5 trout, A. Adams fished small black buzzer to catch 11 for his morning visit with all water member Ian Leach also fishing buzzer to catch 5. Bob Menhams fished a combination of hoppers & black buzzers catching 4 for his 4 hour visit. Water clarity is good.

Anglers heeded our advice and came early, we managed to get the boats out before 8am as we tried to beat the heat. Main car park, dam & green bay the deeper water areas are where most of the anglers headed concentrating their fishing to intermediate & midge tips. All water member Ken Key fished a team of hares ear & caught 6 trout, P Cox also fished hare`s ears to take his 7 trout with Richard Price fishing bunny leach & sparkler to catch his 7 fish with Mick Litchfield fishing dazzlers to catch his 7 trout as they targeted pin fry feeders. P Hunt caught 8 with Arthur Olding fishing the deep channel down the Markfield arm where he had plenty of nips and pulls boating 3 trout. Another excellent mornings fishing for July with a daily rod average 4.9

Wednesday the water temperature at 7.30am was 21c we managed to get the boats out before 8.00am. Phill Mee fished diawls & fab to catch 6 trout with D Slessor catching 6 also. M Armstrong fished the afternoon session catching 3 on a sinking line & blob with David Hussey fishing the 2.30om to 9.30pm session boating 14 trout on diawls & buzzers fished static on a floating line.

Thursday a warmer morning with the water temperature 21c+ fortunately clouds did arrive & a fresher breeze did arrive around 9am Angler were spread out across the reservoir from the deep channel down the middle of the Markfield arm across to the dam wall

Cool of the morning fished best with Terry Miles fishing with cloud building Terry too himself to the Markield arm 2hr 15 min later he was back at the pontoon having caught 8 on damsel. His brother A Miles & Bet fished black buzzers catching 6 for their morning’s visit. P Hunt fished to 4.30pm catching 13 with Carolyn Brown catching her 3 on minkie booby. Andy and Christine Warren fished the mouth of the Markfield arm with fast sinkers an intermediate to tale their 6 fish for the morning’s visit

Friday and the forecasted heat started to build; water temperature was 21.5c at 7.30am climbing to 24c by 4pm. Few rods out on the water Richard Bowers fared the best fishing a short morning session from his float tube catching 3 trout

Saturday & Sunday the high temperatures arrived, understandably few anglers out with some taking our advice and visiting Draycote where the cooler aerator line & generally deeper water will still offer some sport

Thornton Water temperature at 7.30am was 22.5c and would climb during the day. Few rods out over the weekend not surprising with the forecast. Mark Hunt had an exceptional Saturday considering the conditions. He started with a sinking line but quickly switched to a 6ft tip line with a small damsel and grey boy buzzer catching 10 trout for his mornings visit

Sunday another quiet day with the temperature forecast to be 29c. S Zeleny & S Swinfield fished sinking lines to catch their 3 fish with John Thomson & P Hunt fishing a floater with buzzers to boat their 5 trout

With another week of high summer temperatures forecast we recommend you fish the morning session we will if at all possible try and get you out on the water a bit earlier than 8.30am

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 18th  July 2021     Rod Av: 2.85            Water Temperature: 22.5 ‘C

Light winds to start the week, which did pick up later in the day and come from the North, with a mix of sun and cloud for the day. All water member Norman Perkins fished buzzer and a FAB on a floating line around A, B & C Buoy to land 8 fish. Draycote household members Debbie & Sean Gilbert landed 8 fish to the boat using a barred olive snake booby and FABS. Draycote member Ian Reeve once again took to the water fishing with friend Paul the pair landed 17 fish. Landing them on a variety of methods from dries, blobs with nymphs and then booby snakes fished on sinking lines. Richard Parris fished from the bank for the last four hours taking 3 fish all on dries with Big Red being his best pattern.

An overcast start to the day with winds coming from the North, however, later in the day the sun did make an appearance. The morning water temperature is now at 20°C, this had caused the fish to drop deeper in the water column. However first thing anglers did tempt a few on dries, John Dickens landed 3 quick fish on crippled Midge around B Buoy, as to did Chris Pyke however as soon as the air temperature warmed up the fish could not be tempted on dries. Draycote season ticket holders Tony Broadway & John Clifford landed 29 fish to the boat using fast sinking lines and various different snakes and lures. Steve Barby used the rudder to good effect landing 16 fish fishing around A, B & C Buoy. All water member Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft landing 19 fish back drifting through the boils on sunk lines.

A bright day Wednesday, with the winds coming from the North West. Despite these conditions season ticket holder James Kelly enjoyed good sport on the land landing 5 fish on Diawl Bachs and Damsels. On the boats Bob Smith & Ian Richardson landed 8 fish to the boat on shrimp, snakes and FABS and commented on “the lovely fish”. Chris Pyke once again took to the water landing 9 fish using a Di 7 sinking line and sparkler boobies. Trevor Moore & James Maplethorpe enjoyed a good day landing 15 fish on Diawl Bachs and crunchers fished on a floating line on a 24ft leader 150 yards from Rainbow Corner.

Well, the sun that was forecast did arrive until much later in the afternoon, as a result a number of fish were moving first thing in the morning, however, the majority of the fish still fell to sunk line tactics. Draycote season ticket holder Dennis Tidmarsh landed 4 fish on a Forty Plus Di 7 and had a number of good pulls fished a snake on a DI 7 forty plus. All water season ticket holder Paul Havard landed 7 fish using a Midge tip and nymphs in the morning, before switching to a DI 5 and a black snake to land his other 5 fish. Lianne Frost & Chris Bobby enjoyed a good days sport landing 15 fish to the boat using sunk lines and various lures. Former manager Kevin Hart fished with John Hoskins with the pair landing 25 fish to the boat using a Booby Basher and sinking lines with a mix of snakes and tubes, with their best area being the Aerators.

Once again it was a bright start on Friday with the same conditions due to stay with us all day. Sinking lines are just about the safest bet at the moment, with the odd fish falling to a midge tip and nymphs, but generally earlier on in the day. Debbie and Sean Gilbert used olive barred snakes to tempt 7 fish to the boat, concentrating their efforts over the deeper water around the aerators. Season permit holders Chris Discombe and Jim Brennan had 16 fish to the boat using sinking lines and lures fished over A and B buoy. Chris Pallot used sinking lines and snakes to catch 3 fish in deep water drifting around in the middle of the reservoir.

Hot and bright conditions on Saturday meant that the majority of the fish would be taken in deep water on sinking lines. With it being flat calm, fish could be clearly seen in the surface of the water but these proved very difficult to catch. Most anglers spent the majority of time over A and B buoy, the aerators and generally the deeper parts of the reservoir. The general method of the day was DI 7’s and DI 5’s, with lures such as snakes and minkie boobies. Most rods were practising for the Scierra Pairs match on Sunday so were playing their cards very close to their chest, hence the limited information.

Sunday dawned and once again we were in the Costa Del Draycote, with just the slightest of breezes. Amongst the pleasure anglers was Richard Walker who boated 5 fish on damsels during a morning session. The Draycote round of the Scierra pairs competition was in full swing with a total of 34 anglers taking part in what looked like extreme conditions. Despite this there were quite a few full bags of fish with 8 of the pairs getting time bonuses for finishing early. First back to the pontoon were Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird having boated 12 fish in a little over an hour and a half. They were closely followed by Sam Edmunds and Sam Smith, who hit the pontoon bang on 12 o’clock. The afternoon was then interspersed with a number of pairs rolling in with even heavier bags which obviously made the earlier finishers a bit nervous. Final results were; Tom Bird and Lee Henfrey in third place with a bag weight of 36 lbs 6 oz, Dean and Glenn Appleby in second place with 39 lbs 4 oz, and the competition was won by Sam Edmunds and Sam Smith with a bag weight of 39 lbs 5 oz.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 18^th July 21               Rod Average:1.5                  Water Temp: 21C+

Monday started off as overcast with light winds from the Northwest. The day was relatively quiet. Despite the conditions being near perfect, only a handful of anglers ventured out. This was probably due to a historical sporting moment in England’s history. The few anglers that ventured out in the morning had a few fish, but in the afternoon after a bit of a deluge things became more difficult for the anglers venturing out on the lake.

The wind had maintained its direction and slightly increased from the previous day. With fish showing in the surface all along the dam frontage and all the way up to Robbo’s cabin at about 100 yards from the bank, we were expecting a lot of good action for our anglers. However, the fish seem to be preoccupied with something that the anglers are struggling to replicate. Mr Adams had 5 fish that fell to buzzers or cormorants. Yet again Mark Hunt managed 5 on dries on a day where the fish were being very finicky about what they were taking.

Midweek saw the weather start to settle. With a NNW wind at an average 13mph at its strongest, the fishing should have seen a few fish being taken on dries or just sub surface with damsel nymphs and olive crunchers. But, despite the great conditions, our anglers were still struggling to put a finger on what exactly the fish were taking. Top rod on the day was Ewan McGregor who managed 8 to the boat while using a selection of dries that he was given by Mark Hunt. A lovely gesture by one of our All-water Season ticket holders. Just another example of how friendly and welcoming our season ticket holders are and it isn’t just restricted to our staff. Richard Sutcliffe had a cracking guided session out on the water with Andy Miller and managed one of our new resident Brownies which made his day. However, not to be outdone, Andy Miller then managed to land a stunning 8lbs 8oz Brown. Andy had them both fishing sinking lines and booby snakes. Sometimes when the fishing is challenging, you need to get down and use those big nasty lures. Photo of Andy with his brown on our social media page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

Thursday saw Eyebrook being hit with a Northerly wind. The weather reports were saying a top average wind speed of 13mph was to be expected. However, our anglers were experiencing slightly stronger than they thought. The conditions were fantastic for getting out and doing a bit of drifting. But once again, the fish were proving to be elusive even though they can be seen moving through the water all over the lake.

Friday and Saturday saw the Mercury rise on the thermometer making the chances of taking fish in the upper layers extremely challenging. There was still the occasional fish breaking the surface. There are a number of theories as to why the fish were crashing around in the surface. But those that persevered with dries struggled to get a pull on their line. Some were fortunate enough to pick fish up on nymphs on sink tip lines. However, those that were a bit more daring and employed the use of Di5 and Di7 lines with fry patterns were picking fish up over the deep water.

Sunday saw Eyebrook play host to the Midland Counties cup where 12 boats with 24 anglers ventured out on to the water. Most of the fleet were around the main basin area and fishing all manner of lines and flies. Mark Redfern was top rod. He weighed in his 6 fish limit for 12lbs 10oz. His boat partner Rich Miller also caught his 6 fish limit making them the only boated pair to catch their limit. Outstanding angling in such challenging conditions. Ultimately the Foremark team were victorious with the team weighing in 24 fish between the 8-person team. The rod average for the 24 anglers was 2.3 which was a fantastic result considering Eyebrook has tested even the most seasoned of anglers in the past week.

Looking forward into next week; the conditions are looking to be hot and bright with very little wind, ideal conditions for anglers that don’t normally fish Sinking lines to get out there and give them a go. With the sunny conditions expected, it is advisable to wear some sunblock and adequate protection from the elements.

Jim Wright & Tom Bird have spent Monday & Tuesday fishing sinking lines for our next YouTube video, using a variety of sinking lines we caught well on both days. The video will be out soon subscribe at YouTube Flyfishstore

Covid Update 13^th July 2021

Governments lifting of Covid legal restrictions in England on the 19^th July 2021

The UK Government on the 19^th July due to the success of the vaccine rollout is moving the country towards a more normal lifestyle, as we learn to live and work with Covid, always present in one form or another within the community.

Currently a high daily infection rate of 30,000+ people and expected to increase.

Government advises us to continue to wash & hand sanitise our hands regularly, manage our own social distancing & to wear face masks / coverings within enclosed crowded public spaces.

Basically, their asking us to take our own sensible precautions.

What will it mean for you the angler visiting Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton Fisheries.

Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton fisheries will continue to:

• Disinfecting, we will continue to disinfect boats & lifejackets after every session

• Hand sanitiser will be provided at the lodge entrance & booking in & out area, we recommend you carry your own hand sanitiser & use it as required.

• Staff Face Masks, staff will be provided with face masks / coverings to wear within the lodge, it will become a personnel choice for them.

• Customer Face Coverings, will be at their own discretion, but government advice is they should be worn if you’re in a crowded public space

• Pre-payment requested for boats & day permits, as it prevents queuing within the lodge.

• Pre-payment moves you through the booking in & out area & away out fishing quicker.

• Pre-payment allows the lodge staff more time to interact with the customers, offering fishing & tackle advice.

• Pontoon, fishery staff will still manage angler numbers on the pontoon and continue to issue you with your boat number.

• 3 People will be allowed per boat

• Competitions, it will become easier for organisers & the fishery staff to manage large groups, angling club, associations, competitions especially at the weigh in & presentation. However, be prepared at any competition / event to follow the fishery, competition, club organiser Covid guidelines for any event.

Thank you for your cooperation during the last 16 months, and as we move forward.

Ifor Jones

Fishery Management

Flyfishstore

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 11^th July    Rod Av: 5.5   Water Temperature: 20c+ – 21c

Heavy thunderstorms on Sunday evening but our water temperature was still 20c at 7.30am with our water clarity good.

Some fish to be seen moving during the morning with the main car park area fishing best with damsels and diawl bachs. Jamie Scott caught 7 on buzzers and blobs up from the main car park and along the dam with most of the trout in the top 2ft.

Tuesday our water temperature was 20c at 7.30am a quiet day as rain was forecast. The deeper water in front of the main car park & dam fished best with Arthur Olding & Bob Menhams both taking 3 fish for their mornings visit

Cooler air temperature day on Wednesday kept our water temperature at 20c with the majority of anglers fishing in front of the main car park & dam with the majority of the trout in the top 4ft. Damsels, #14 red diawl, #16 olive buzzer caught the majority of the trout. Greg Weatherdon caught 9 on damsels, P Mee caught 8 for his visit with John Thomson & Pete Hunt boating 9 for their mornings visit with Paul Martindale fishing damsel & diawl bach to take his 4 trout

19c was the water temperature Thursday morning although the heat of the day did push it upwards during the day. Andre Russel, S Frakes, Rick Dunnett & T Ward took to their float tubes with each angler catching well on Damsel, Diawls, Cormorant, Montana & Fabs finding fish high in the water all over the main basin, in front of the wood & outside the lodge. Mick Litchfied met up with an old school friend Mick Huffer who gave Mick the fly of the moment which helped Mick catch 14 trout, Mick Huffer caught 8 for his mornings visit. Thornton member Don Howatt fished a morning session catching 7 in blobs, diawl & damsel.

By Friday morning the warm temperatures the afternoon previous had pushed our water temperature to 20.5c at 7.30am Fishing during the cooler morning session remained good with Chris Sayer & Mick Cross catching 13 by 2pm. J Scott fished a damsel & diawls to take his 10 trout with Mark Hunt fishing a midge tip with small olive buzzer & grey buzzer to catch his 12 trout

Saturday morning and our water temperature was 21c but with the low cloud the trout were in the top few feet with intermediate & midge tip lines best. Damsel, small green buzzer, red diawl & pin fry with the main car park, dam wall and green bay best. Excellent mornings fishing with a rod average 5.1 evenings a bit more difficult as the heat of the day pushes the temperature upwards. B Perry caught 10 on damsels, all water member J Scott caught 14 on green buzzer & pin fry patterns, Brian Sibley & Alison Toon caught 6 for their mornings visit with M Ward fishing a midge tip with a foam daddy & red diawl to catch 5 for his 3hr mornings visit with Thornton member Carl Bond fishing a fab & damsel combination to catch his 6 trout

Sunday with the combination of higher water temperature & the football the anglers all opted sensibly to fish the morning session that currently takes you to 3pm. With the water temperature at 21c at 7.30 it was always going to be the intermediate or midge tip line possibly a sink 3 that was going to work with damsel, red diawl & buzzer. Andrew Wilson fished red diawl & buzzer to catch his 6 rainbows & 1 brown with Andrew telling us as the morning went on the fish went deeper.

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures we alter the average size of trout we stock our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Thornton – Leicestershire Fly Fishery

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 11th July 2021     Rod Av:  3.3   Water Temperature:   18-20°C

We were greeted on Monday morning with overcast conditions, a light south westerly and the chance of things brightening up through the afternoon. Draycote once again fished quite well overall, with a lot of anglers getting in to double figures on dries. The fish remain very high in the water column despite the current water temperatures and indeed can be seen in the surface at a number of points across the reservoir. The boat pairing of Lee Patten and Peter Elliott had 21 fish between them on dries such as the midas, catching a lot of their fish drifting off the front of the pontoon. Kevin Rees netted 10 fish using a crippled midge. Mr E Hallam and his boat partner had 13 fish to the boat on brown and red shipmans buzzers.

Moody skies all day Tuesday with winds that picked up in the afternoon, but thankfully the rain did hold off for most of the day. On the bank season ticket holder Steve Lees enjoyed a great day landing 7 fish all on dries. Out on the boat fellow season ticket holder John Dickens landed 12 fish again on dries with either Midas or size 14 crippled midge being his best pattern. Using the ridder to great effect Steve Barby landed 15 fish. The good fishing continued into the evening with the 2 boats out on the last 4 hours enjoyed great sport. T & G Wilson using snakes stripped fast around A buoy to land 19 fish in 4 hours. While Tim Grove fished with Hare Ear CDC shuttlecock to land 9.

Wednesday was a blustery day with south westerly winds and some quite heavy showers at times. Consequently the fishing was a bit all over the place, but the rod average came out at three and a half with most anglers doing quite well. Tim Grove netted 15 fish on small damsels from various points around the reservoir. Richard Walker had 11 fish on black and green snakes fished on sinking lines. Richard and Jim Hall had 10 fish between them on dries such as emergers. Draycote manager Tom Bird and his boat partner had 7 between them in an afternoon session. The fish all came from the Flat Stones area on crippled midge, midas and hares Ear Culs.

A change in the weather yet again for Thursday with a light breeze and overcast conditions to start with. Tony Broadway did quite well off the bank netting 9 fish on nymphs from various areas around the north shore. Tim Grove netted 8 fish on dries and damsels. Tim has fished Draycote on one of our popular package deals and over the 3 days netted a total of 31 fish, with a damsel being his most popular pattern. Rod Wilson and Jim Dempsey fished on DI 7’s and lures up in rainbow corner to net nearly 13 fish between them. Richard Pelly and Gary Turner commented on “A fabulous time”, after netting 17 fish on dries around the aerators. Trevor and Robert Moore used buzzers during an afternoon session to net  6 fish, whilst Dominic Boulton James Maplethorpe netted 12 on diawl bachs and buzzers.

A flat calm, muggy day on Friday with the chance of some heavy showers from lunchtime. Generally speaking the fishing was not very good with a rise in air pressure through the afternoon.

The fish could be seen moving around in the surface but were proving very hard to catch. It seemed to fish ok in the morning with staff member Lee Henfrey netting 8 near A buoy on a sunburst blob. Dan Mcelligott  netted a total of 5 fish, using a washing line through open water in the morning, and then a DI 5 with blobs and boobies around the aerators in the afternoon. Mr P and Mr D Newman used DI 7’s and boobies through the deeper water to boat a dozen fish. Jim Brennan and Chris Discombe caught 5 fish using humungus and snakes.

Saturday was a much better day for fishing overall with some light breezes and cloud cover. Once again there are a lot of fish moving around in the surface of the water at various points around the reservoir, and just by drifting along and constantly covering them, anglers have been putting in some reasonable returns. Season permit holder John Dickens caught 7 fish on dries such as crippled midge and the ever popular midas. Mark Braun managed 12 to the boat on nemo crunchers. Paul Davidson and Steve Peart boated 11 fish between them again all on the midas. Ian Reeve and Paul Mariette caught a bakers dozen using diawl bachs. Blobs and snakes. Dan and John Mcelligott had 9 to the boat using a roly poly retrieve with snakes fished on a DI5 in the aerators. Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey used lures fished on sinking lines to net over 20 fish between them, the best of which was about 4lbs.

Sunday, saw a bright start to the day, with cloud arriving later in the day. We hosted Thornton Fly Fishers, winning their match was Martin Vernon & Pam Shuttleworth with 7 fish for 18lb 12oz, Pam who is 80 and only started fly fishing for her 70^th Birthday was individual top rod along with winning the biggest fish and was over the moon. She used a di 5 sinking line with a barred olive snake booby fished out the back. We also hosted the Alex Booth Fly Fishers for the Steve Parton memorial match. Winning the day was Graham England who landed his fish down the Farnborough Dam wall on hares’ ear and also hoppers, taking 8 fish and losing a number of others. Outside of the two club competitions Ian Reeve landed 11 fish using booby snakes and tubes on various sinking lines with long drifts off the Hensborough Bank being his best drift. Paul Calvert fishing with brother Phil used the bung to land 16 fish to the boat drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy As we enter the period of the year with expected higher water temperatures at the Eyebrook we alter the average size of trout we stock. Our stocking policy for the Eyebrook is explained on our website Stocking Policy | Fly Fish Eyebrook – Leicestershire Trout Fishery

Week ending 11^th July 21               Rod Average:3.1                  Water Temp: 20.5C

Monday saw a quiet start to the week with only a few boats venturing out to tackle our hard fighting and hard to temp trout. The cooler weather from the past couple of days have seen the fish start to come up into the surface again and move out in to open water. Fishery Management Guide Andy Miller was out guiding David Powdrill. Between them, they put a good number of fish in the boat and reported lots of follows from some big Browns coming up from deep. They were mainly fishing sinking lines and olive or black snakes. David enjoyed his day out with Andy and learned a lot out on the water. Eyebrook manager Jim managed to venture out for a few hours in the evening and managed to tempt 13 to the boat on various methods and flies. Starting on a 6-foot slow sink tip line and hen switching to a full floating line, he caught on dries, damsels and FABs, catching in the main basin, mucky bay and Sam’s Dyke

Good sport continued on Tuesday with a rod average approaching 9. Ian Jobe and Clive Moore took over 20 to the boat, and a comprehensive report by Clive can be found on the Eyebrook fly fishers face book page. Lyndsey Bates was also on the water and has 9, whilst Tim Coles had 6. Wednesday was very quiet, due to a combination of adverse weather conditions and the football, whilst Thursday was a lot better with some good catches being recorded. Top rod was season ticket holder, Mr Havard who fished the washing line, with the Tequila Blob on the point accounting for all of his 11 fish. Damsels also accounted for fish as did crunchers and pin fry patterns.

Friday proved too be a difficult day with little wind and hot humid conditions. With fish moving all over the main basin, especially in Harrison’s corner, it looked to be a red-letter day, but the trout thought differently. They were feasting on the prolific damsel hatch as well as the shoals of pin fry and fish were hard to come by, the daily rod average being one. Brian White did well though, taking 10 using a uv cruncher just sub surface, whilst Paul Haymer, fishing the first day of his 3-day break took 4 on a white Humungus.

Saturday continued with similar conditions to the Friday. Lots of fish activity in and around the surface, but anglers having that difficulty of making the fish stick or even take. A few anglers were saying that they were getting lots of follows but the fish were turning away as soon as they got near the boat. C Farrell had a great day out in the float tube and managed to land 9 fish. Eyebrook Season ticket holder M Farrell landed 7, as did M E Parsley. Fantastic angling considering the fish are being exceptionally pernickety at the moment.

Sunday started off bright and quite humid. As the morning moved on, the clouds started to give our anglers some welcome shade from the bright sunshine. Andy Miller was once again out on the water guiding Mr Will McKeague. A very keen Sea Angler who wanted to try something a little bit different. He managed a lovely brace of trout in challenging conditions. We were also joined by the Colwick Fly fishers, they enjoyed varying levels of success, but the biggest surprise was for Kez Saxton who landed a large Brown estimated to be around the 10lbs mark. Ewan McGregor Joined us for the second day of his 2 day package and managed 7 fish to the boat. But once again, Mark Hunt had a spectacular day out fishing a single grunter to catch well into double figures. Once again showing how good a dry fly angler he is. Well done Mark.

This past week has seen the fishery staff working hard to clear out a lot of areas on the Rutland bank to enable our anglers to get easier access to the water. If you are venturing up that bank next week, no doubt you will come across members of the fishery staff out strimming back more of the undergrowth to help get you access out into the areas that have not seen as much angler attention this season.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

“New Email address”  thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 4^th July 2021    Rod Av: 3.3   Water Temperature: 18c+ to 20c

With a cooler forecast for the next few days were hoping the fish stay in the top 4ft to 6ft.

Paul Martindale caught 3 for his mornings visit fishing a washing line, but had plenty of nips and follows when he pulled them through the surface. Mick Litchfield had a quiet morning before moving to fish in front of the main dam, catching 3 and losing just as many. All water member Jamie Scott caught 6 for his visit catching on a humungus in the morning but using a small black bits in the afternoon evening

Cooler weather is certainly improving the sport with the majority of trout yesterday caught in the top 3ft with some rods on dries. Alan Wither caught 20 from the Markfield arm to the dam with a sunburst FAB, crunchers & diawls. Mick Glover fished a short 2 hour session catching 4 on a size #14 crippled midge, Ian Leach also fished Fab & crunchers to catch his 4 trout. Carl Burdett caught 5 for his mornings visit with Arthur Olding fishing a crippled midge pattern tied by Mick Glover & a yellow owl pattern tied by Mark Hunt to catch 8 trout for his mornings fishing. The cooler weather has helped drop the algae with clarity now good.

Wednesday, the last day of June with the water temperature at 18c at 7.30am, doesn’t get much better than that at this time of year. Hatches of small buzzer #16 #18 with aphids also been blown on the water along with damsel nymphs and a small amount of pin fry has kept the trout feeding in the top layers of the water, with floating, midge tip or intermediate all that’s required. Richard Price fished a small sparkler booby in front of the dam catching 5 trout, Russ Martin fished dries catching 6 but losing a further 3 for his mornings visit, Mrs Leslie Wooley on her first visit to Thornton caught 3 on an orange blob pulled through the surface with S Weedon fishing the evenings rise catching 4 in front of the dam. Fish were moving off and on during the day from the middle of the Markfield arm all the way to the dam wall.

Thursday following another cool night our water temperature at 7.30am was 18c and as I arrived at the main gate at 7.00am you could see trout rising across the reservoir. A busy morning with most of the boat out an on the whole they weren’t disappointed, fish moved well during the morning through to the evening, prepared to feed our rod average 4.1

Morning was definitely best, Andy Lilly & Graham England caught 24 down the Markfield arm on dries, emergers & suspenders. Howard Davies targeted the pin fry feeders in front of the dam using a small sparkler catching 10 trout, small black dries caught 5 for M Huffer with a red diawl ensuring D Pritchard caught his 4 fish. With the trout in a chasing move R Knapp fished a tequila blob to catch his 9 trout.

Fish did move in the evening, not as many & they were preoccupied on tiny #20 #22 black or vivid green midge.

Friday the water temperature was 18.5c at 7.30am the cooler morning fished best with trout again in the top 3ft Brian Perry caught 12 for the morning session on buzzer & damsels, James Smith fished hoppers, damsel, diawls to catch his 9 trout with P Hunt catching 5 on dries & cdc. All Water Member P Walker caught 18 on a damsel & that excellent but little used traditional palmered wet fly the Kate Mclaren. Again, the cooler morning fished best before the warmer afternoon temperature. An excellent day for July with a rod average 5

Saturday and Sunday following two humid nights our water temperature had risen to nearly 20c A few fish were moving with pin fry feeders off the wood and in front of the main dam. Martin Clay caught 4 with Brian Sibley catching 3 on floating lines with cdc & dries. Little or no evening rise.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 4^th July 2021   Rod Av: 2.8  Water Temperature: 19 °C

A wet start to Monday with heavy rain in the morning which cleared by mid-morning, although showers persisted throughout the rest of the day. John Clifford landed 18 fish fishing big lures deep around the middle with Drifts from P to Y Buoy being his best drifts. Norman Perkins took 7 fish from Toft using a washing line. Mr Hamilton enjoyed a great afternoon session on dries landing 7 fish from Toft. The rod average for the day fished at 3.8 fish per angler. With more overcast conditions forecast later in the week we are expecting some good fishing this week.

Favourable conditions greeted the anglers on Tuesday with light northerly winds and overcast conditions. As a result, there was lots of fish on the surface but proved challenging to catch. It sounds like from the anglers reports the fish may have been on the Pinfry or small green midge. All water season ticket holder Ed Douglas landed 9 fish on dries. Draycote member Tony Broadway used sunk lines and lures back drifting through the middle to land 11 fish. Andrew Smith & Tony Fox also used dries small CDC shuttlecock and F Flies to boat an impressive 22 fish.

Yet more good conditions with winds coming from the Northeast and overcast skies all day. On the bank Mr B Joseph landed a brace early morning from Toft with the fish close in. On the boats Kevin Rees used crippled midge dry flies to land a dozen fish. Peter Elliot & Lee Patten fished the afternoon on dries to boat 18 fish with bob’s bits and midas being their best patterns. Pete Flay also enjoyed a good afternoon landing a dozen fish. Alex Campbell fished used a washing line before changing to dries landing 7 fish with his best drifts being E – P Buoy and D Buoy to the Aerators. Draycote season ticket holder John Clifford landed 18 fish around P Buoy and middle shoal fishing deep with various different lures.

Very light winds in the morning Thursday which did drop out completely in the afternoon, with the sun also making an appearance. Steve Barby fished with boat partner Nigel to land 15 fish between them concentrating their efforts on the shoals in the middle of the lake. Ali Tate & Jim Burtle down on a 3 day break enjoyed some great sport boating 24 fish. The pair used Hare Ears CDC in the morning and then the Bung and Buzzers in the afternoon with the fish taking the buzzers deep at 12ft. The best area was around K buoy. Gary Russell fished the last four hours landing 7 fish commenting on a “great evening” and lost several others.

Craig Smith fished in the morning on Friday landing 7 fish, he caught 5 of them on Hares Ear CDC before swapping to a Di 5 and blobs at Dunn’s to land his other 2. James Maplethorpe & Trevor Moore landed 16 fish all on straight lines buzzers and Diawl Bachs around the Saddle Bank and the outlet. Season ticket holder Dan McElligott fished with girlfriend Ellie landed 9 fish between them in an afternoon season fishing over the Aerators with pink snakes on intermediate sinking lines and Di 5 sinking lines. Darren Woodmass & Davie Parker using buzzers through the middle to boat 13 between them. However top boat on the day was once again Ali Tait & Jim Burtle who landed 21 fish, they fished dries in the morning before switching to buzzers their best drift was the open water drifting towards P Buoy.

Light breezes with some rain forecast for Saturday and it didn’t disappoint. Mike Garner caught 4 fish from the bank using holographic hare’s ears by the Overflow and in Rainbow Corner. Mr Keith and Mr Greg Williams had 7 fish to the boat on buzzers and big reds. Mr D Parker and Mr D Woodmass caught a total of 18 fish, using a single sunburst blob on a fast glass line, and deep buzzers. Jim Burtle and Ali Tait had yet another good day out on the water, catching a bakers dozen on a mixture of mini snakes and daddies.

A rather muggy start to Sunday morning led through to another day of light breezes and scattered showers. The reservoir fished quite well considering the conditions with a wide variety of methods bringing fish to the net. Season permit holder Stephen Dewhurst had a brace from the bank on nymphs. Young Richard Walker used black snakes on a DI 6 line through the aerators to net 10 good fish. Jim Smith and Ed Douglas had 20 fish to the boat between them on a mixture of dries such as a ginger midas. Mr Malcolm Bryan caught a total of 10 fish on a sunburst booby and had many more follows. Mr Alan Sharp and his boat partner James Alexander used the unsinkable dry to net 3 fish from Rainbow Corner during a short morning session.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 4^th July 21                 Rod Average: 3.2                 Water Temp: 19C

Cool and damp conditions welcomed our anglers at Eyebrook at the start of this week. Following on from a challenging week, Season ticket holders R Swinfield and L Bates were the first pair off the pontoon. The fishing was still proving a little bit challenging, but the duo worked well together to figure out what the fish were doing and each of them finally brought 5 fish to the boat. Emad and Mahmoud fancied a change from fishing Draycote and ventured out on the lake, they managed 8 to the boat and were happy with the result knowing how challenging it has been lately. All water ticket holder Ian Jobe ventured out on his float tube and put in a hard shift on the water fighting against quite a stiff breeze. He managed 5 to the tube. Reporting back, he said that fishing a floater was too high for them and a Di7 was taking his flies down too quick. Lesson learned was to bring a couple of lines to fish those in between depths.

The drop in water temperature has started to show a little bit of improvement on the fish coming up in the water. N Benjamin and I Simmons were on their second day of a 3-day package where Mr Benjamin & Mr Simmons managed to bring 7 fish to the boat. single fish.  Most other boats were starting to catch steady numbers. But all water ticket holder Mark Hunt took to the water late in the afternoon with his brother Simon to fish the dry fly. Mark managed a whopping baker’s dozen to the boat on CDC’s Big Red and Grunter patterns when he noticed that there were a lot of little sedge’s coming off the water. Mark reported back that the fish were mostly coming blind to the dries. This shows that the fish are cruising around close to the surface and opportunistically feeding on surface patterns. Good news for most of our visitors who enjoy fishing those upper layers and fishing dries. Hopefully as the week moves forward, we will be getting back to what Eyebrook has a reputation for, fantastic top of the water sport.

For the next few days, the fishing followed the same sort of form. Some anglers were faring better than others, but those that found fish early in their session on the water, took advantage and hung around those areas to tempt a few fish out. D Hussey was doing well fishing PTN and managed 8 to the boat. All water ticket holder N Shilton had another great day out on the Float tube by landing 11 fish. With Thursday being quite a hot bright day, Eyebrook fished really well in those conditions.

Friday started off as a cool and misty morning with a gentle ripple on the lake. Our anglers were looking forward to a nice, settled morning on the water. The sport continued to prove challenging and a lot of anglers just couldn’t make the connection. Those that did were fishing small crunchers or buzzers just under the surface, occasionally, fish were coming to the dries All water ticket holder Ed Douglas and Eyebrook season ticket holder Mick Farrell were the only anglers to get in to double figures that day.

Saturday seemed to be a really good day. A lot of the anglers were getting in to a few fish out along by the tower and along the dam to Harrison’s corner. A lot of fish were falling to size 14 CDC’s or Big Red’s. Those that preferred a more direct approach were picking up fish by pulling Olive snakes. All water ticket holders John kirk and Mark Hunt had more than double figures of fish to the boat. John worked his way through different patterns to find the right selection to land the fish. Mark turned to his intricate and detailed knowledge of Eyebrook to expertly tempt the fish on dries once again. Obviously, his great catch return is a reflection on the time he has spent perfecting fishing this method.

As the week drew to a close, it was evident to see that the Rod average was starting to climb again after the hot spell had knocked everything off kilter. With only 6 anglers out on the Sunday, the returns were impressive, giving us a Rod average of 6. Majority of fish were taken on Dries or on small crunchers and damsel nymphs along the dam wall area.

Weekly Fishing Report: Thornton, Eyebrook, Draycote

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

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Week ending 27^th June   Rod Av: 2.0  Water Temperature: 18 -19c

A slow start to the week with anglers struggling to find the fish. The trout that were caught were taken on damsels, buzzer, diawls and booby

Tuesday and the cooler weather continue to take the heat out of the water with our water temperature at 7.30am 18c+ The cooler morning session continues to fish best with a few trout moving in the evening to caenis, sedge and small buzzer. Our water temperature at 6.30pm was just under 19c

During the morning anglers reported the trout were feeding on snails & damsel nymphs. Colin Chambers caught 4 for his mornings visit down the Markfield arm on damsels, Peter Wrigley & Rodger Dunster found the fish across the main basin feeding on snails, they boated 6 but reported that they missed or lost considerably more.

Wednesday and our water temperature at 7.30am was back down to 18c+ but with blue skies and the sun already out it was likely to climb during the day. Most rods fished the morning session, reporting fish were moving for short spells but proved difficult to tempt. Bob Jones came float tubing and caught trout on buzzers and crunchers, other rods caught fish on damsels, snakes and booby. With our water temperature during the day climbing to 20c its not surprising our late evening sport is limited.

Thursday and our water temperature at 7.00am is back down to 18.5c+ Anglers reported fish were moving in some areas but it was difficult to establish what they were feeding on, our buzzer hatches currently are small black or vivid olive coloured but small #20, #22. During the early afternoon we had black aphids on the water with increasing numbers of damsels. No sign of any pin fry

Dave Pritchard caught 3 but lost or missed a number of other trout fishing a diawl bach, Mick Glover managed to get M Riley a trout on his first attempt fly fishing, Mick went on to catch 3 on a washing line with black buzzer. Tony Lorrimer caught 5 fishing his bunny patterns with the majority of Tony catch coming from the area in front of the valve tower to the orange buoy.

Friday and the water temperature was back down to 18.5c but proved to be a difficult days fishing, fish could be seen moving at times but proved difficult to tempt with member George Jackson top rod with his catch of 4 trout

Saturday our water temperature was again back down to 18c+ but unlike Friday the fish were in a taking mood with the majority of the trout in the top 3ft and they were prepared to chase a fly. Jan Webber caught 9 on crunchers, Tim Price caught 6 on diwals & biscuit blob with a damsel pattern taking fish for Bill Holland. Mark Hunt fished sparsely tied cdc, big reds, red Sedgehogs catching 21 for his visit. The majority fish caught were from the lower red buoy to the mouth of the Markfield arm & down the arm. Some reports of pin fry along the weedbeds of the wood & along the main dam but compared to normal years low number, lots of damsel nymphs with the fish moving best between 11am & 5pm.

Quiet day at the fishery on Sunday but not for Andrew Wilson who fished the morning session catching 6 trout on an intermediate & diawl bach

A mixed weeks fishing with no two days fishing the same. The cooler forecast has helped reduce the water temperature at 7.30am to around 18.5c Best of the fishing is the morning session.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

“New Email address”  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week Ending Sunday 27^th June 2021   Rod Av: Water Temperature: 17°C

A nice overcast day to start the week Monday, as a result there was good catches fishing higher in the water column. Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed 13 fish drifting in Toft on a mixture of dries and washing line techniques. John Dickens fished dries to land 9 fish using Cripple Midge and Black Owls CDC. Kevin Rees had an exceptional day in Toft on dries boating 27 fish all on dries with size 14 crippled midge and Bob Bits his patterns. Fishing the bank in the evening Paul Walley landed a couple of fish from the Cornfield on the team of nymphs before heading over to the Tower Bank and catching a cracking 4lb fish on dries along with seeing a number of others moving.

A bright start to the day Tuesday with cloud rolling in around lunch time which did break again later in the day giving a lovely sunny evening. The wind was stronger than we had seen in the previous few days coming from the North East. On the bank Stan Hillman landed 4 fish on a pheasant tail nymph from the Tower Bank. On the boats using the wind to his advantage Steve Barby landed 12 fish on the rudder, commenting he caught fish all over the lake. Season ticket holder Tony Plummer & Colin England landed 8 fish in Rainbow Corner and commented on the number of fish moving up there. Adam Turner & David Adams landed 15 fish between them on dries with Bob’s Bits and Yellow Owl CDC being their best patterns. The best catch of the day came from Richard Pelly fishing the last four hours on dries landing 20 fish on big reds, just shows how productive these evening sessions can be.

A brighter day that the previous day with light to no wind on Wednesday. These bright conditions brought the newly hatched pin fry up to the surface and the trout followed. The reservoir was boiling with fish all over the lake gorging themselves on the protein packed fry. However, while the pin fry feeders could be seen it was a challenge to get them to take. On the rudder Jim Dempsey fished with Rod Wilson with the pair boating 14 fish with their most productive area being J buoy and the Aerators. Mr Sowerby landed a dozen fish on nymphs from Rainbow Corner and Toft. Phil & Dave Over enjoyed a good day landing 13 fish. Draycote season ticket holder Ian Richardson fished with fellow season ticket holder Bob Smith with the pair landing 9 fish on Diawl Bach’s and blobs.

Overcast with fine rain greeted the anglers for the Alex Booth Charity Fly Fishing Match, this well attended competition saw 29 boats heading out onto the water. There was a good head of fish everywhere and boats could be seen spread from up in Rainbow corner, across the Farborough Dam and down into Toft Shallows. There were also a lot of fish cruising up through the wind just beyond P buoy into Biggin Bay feeding on small green midge. A total of 58 rods fished the competition, catching 202 fish. This gave a rod average of 3.4 for the day. In third place was Sam Smith with 11 fish for 21lbs 4oz, In second place was Dave Kennell with 12 fish for 23lbs 6oz, and the winner, with 12 fish for 25lbs 5oz was Gordon Bramwell.

Quite a stiff north westerly was blowing on Friday morning when we got to work, but this died down by mid morning to produce almost ideal conditions for the rest of the day. Again, good numbers of fish could be seen feeding on either pin fry or small green midge right in the surface of the water. These fish were proving hard to catch for some anglers whilst others did a lot better. Some anglers pulled blobs and boobies high in the water on intermediate lines whilst others targeted these fish mostly with size 18 midge or hares ear and mirage butt culs. Season permit holder Paul Havard boated 15 fish using a washing line and diawl bachs with a tequila booby on the point. Tony Parker caught a baker’s dozen on big reds, twitching it back. Gareth Jones and his boat partner caught a hat full of fish, concentrating their efforts on midge feeders on the edge of Middle Shoal beyond P buoy, and using green midge patterns from size 14 down to size 18.

Saturday was again a good day for fishing weatherwise and brightened a little through the afternoon. Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey had 15 between them to the boat using lures, the best of which was about 4lbs. Dave Smith used olive snakes on an intermediate line to boat 6 fish from the deeper water around A buoy. It was dries that did the trick for Mr Andy Taylor around P buoy early on, with the same method working for Mr A Smith and Mr T Fox.  All three anglers caught in good numbers but moved over to the aerators as the day brightened up. It was good to see the bank fished well for Luke and David Orton, who netted a baker’s dozen from various points around the reservoir.

A windy day Sunday with rain forecast put thankfully it never arrived, the wind made the presentation a challenge and as a result the fishing was challenging. Season ticket holder Richard Walker landed 7 fish on a variety of lures fished on sinking lines, taking the fish from down in Toft. Michael Hanlon landed 5 fish fishing snakes on a Di 5 sinking line taking fish on various drifts across the lake. Fishing for the last 4 hours Mr T & Mr G Wilson landed 4 fish with large snakes being their best pattens with Mr G Wilson landing a cracking fish about 4lb.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

“New Email address”  eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Week ending 27th June                  Rod Average: 1.4                 Water Temp: 18 – 19C

This week has seen Eyebrook experiencing some welcomed cooler and wetter weather which will hopefully reduce the ambient water temperatures. Monday only saw a handful of anglers venture out on the water for some limited action on the day. Eyebrook Season ticket holder Roy Swinfield managed to whittle out 4 from the bank in Sam’s Dyke area whilst fishing over the weedbeds. He said he had a few more on, but they smashed him up in the weeds.

The following day was a much more suitable day for being out in the water. But despite the better conditions for fishing, the fishes were still reluctant to come and say hello to our anglers. Eyebrook local legend Bill Law turned to the dark side to fish a sinking line with Blobs and managed to snare 3 on a Di5 from the boat in around the Sam’s dyke area. Tim Strachan was top angler on the day managing to lure out 9 on a hot head damsel pattern. R Taylor managed a half dozen on a CDC Damsel.

Wednesday was a bright day with changeable wind throughout. Ken Waters and All water ticket holder Roger Kerrison were the top anglers on the day with 3 fish each most other anglers found the conditions challenging but most of them had at least 1 fish to the boat. Most of the anglers catching fish were catching them earlier in the day on sinking lines.

Thursday has seen quite an upturn in bookings due to the improving fishing conditions. Hopefully with the cooler forecasts we will see the fish getting more into the levels where they are more likely to provide some surface action for our anglers. The Eastern Region Police had an informal meet at Eyebrook sending 10 boats out on to the water for a day out. Most of the anglers managed to bring fish to the boat and having a rod average of 1.7 between the 20 Anglers. S Hume and N Hodgeson joined us for a day out so that Mr Hume could make use of his Free boat voucher that he had won at the EDFF Floating line match. They managed to buck the trend by fishing sinking lines and intermediate lines and were rewarded with 10 fish to the boat each. The secret to their success was changing flies and fishing them between 4 and 10 feet down. Blobs, Damsel Nymphs, and mini snakes seemed to account for a majority of their fish.

With the weekend rapidly approaching, Eyebrook was blessed with some cooling rain and overcast conditions on the Friday morning. Throughout the day Anglers were exploring the lake in search of fish with a few of them having varied results. Some were taking the occasional fish on dries, where others were having some good sport on Blobs. But the best result of the day was from Vince Sparrow who managed 11 to the boat while fishing a Di7 with humungous lures.

The weekend carried on with challenging fishing conditions for quite a few of the anglers, with the few that managed to figure out a method and flies managing to land around about 4 fish to the boat. Eyebrook season ticket holder Dave Etty managed to whittle out a brace on a short mid-day session bank fishing from the dam wall. He was fishing a couple of hare’s ear CDC’s over the top of the weedbeds.

With the cooling temperatures, we should see a marked improvement in the next week or so as the fish start to find the more comfortable upper layers of the water to patrol around. Don’t exclude exploring the open waters as the fish start to roam out into the other areas of the lake.