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 20^th June.    Rod Av: 2.5  Water Temperature: 19c – 20c

Following the weekends heat a quiet day for us on Monday. Morning started warm with little wind by early afternoon the wind increased & came from the north bringing with it a refreshing cool breeze. T Evans & J Bilinski caught 22 on buzzers with the majority caught during the early afternoon with the cooler breeze with most taking a static buzzer fished 6ft to 12ft.

Tuesday and another warm day with the majority of anglers following our advice and fishing the cooler morning session. Majority of the trout caught are in the 4ft to 12ft depth over the main basin with static buzzer & red diawls or intermediate with damsels, red diawl and buzzers. As you would expect with the heat a fast sinker short leader and boobies are also taking a few fish. Damsel nymph are increasing in numbers every day. Malwina Chlebowsca enjoyed her first solo trip to Thornton catching 4 on buzzers and booby. All water member P Mee caught 10 for his visit fishing midge tip with damsels and diawls, Barry Deely fished a sink 5 with humungus and damsel to catch his 6 trout with Mick Huffer catching 6 on damsels and diawls

Wednesday with the water temperature 20c+ were looking forward to the cooler forecast due on Friday. Dave Coote fished a short morning session catching 3 on small olive buzzer, Bill Holland fished 8am to 12pm catching 3 on diawl bach. Mick Armstrong fished an afternoon session with fast sinking lines with booby to catch his 8 trout

Thursday, Mick Huffer returned for his second visit of the week catching 6 on Damsel & Diawl bach, Phill Mee returning for his second visit of the week caught 6 also on diawls & fab with the majority of the catches coming to intermediates or sink 3 lines fished 4ft down to 12ft on a slow retrieve. Damsels, diawls, damsel booby best patterns.

Friday, cooler weather arrived with a 10 degree drop in the daytime air temperature. Damsel patterns, red diawl continued to be the flies that are working with J Smith taking 3 for his mornings visit. Not many rods about due to the forecast of rain & cooler conditions. Lots of ladybird larvae on the water in the afternoon, washed or blown in by the weather

Saturday & our surface water temperature is down by 1.5c to 20.5c & I expect it to slowly drop further during the next few days. The deeper water around the orange buoys continues to fish best with the majority of the trout taken between 4ft & 12ft. Intermediate, under the bung or DI3 best method with size #12 & #14 red diawl, #14 & #16 olive, black or red buzzer, damsel patterns, olive booby. Ian Leach took out the demo VISION HERO rod to try & managed to catch 5 trout on G/H damsel & diawls, Zoltan Kis party of 4 rods caught 12 trout between them.

Sunday, much cooler morning our surface water temperature is now 19c+ Few rods fishing due to the forecast of heavy rain, which never came! A tough day with the anglers who did fish struggling for a fish

With the cooler weather our water temperature has dropped steadily all week & will continue to drop with the cooler forecast for the next few days. Lots of damsels, small size #14, #16, #18 buzzers, sedges in the evening but very few pin fry.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 20^th June 2021   Rod Av: 2.62  Water Temperature: 18°C

After the warm weekend, it was expected the fish would drop into the deeper water. However with the water temperature 20 degrees in the top 2 feet the fish only dropped slightly to around 3ft. All water season ticket holder Phil Mee fished with Steve Fairgrieve with the pair boating 10 fish. Using black buzzers and a FAB on a RIO Midge Tip, fishing at the Saddle Bank. Tosh Storrar’s party kicked off their 4 day break in fine form with the 9 anglers catching over 60 fish. The best tactic the lads found was Diawl Bachs and buzzers fished on a floating line around A Buoy, with dries working in the afternoon when the cloud rolled in. Draycote season ticket holder Peter Elliot enjoyed a good afternoon using a washing line and dries fishing around A buoy & B buoy, landing over 20 fish. Fishery Ranger Lee Henfrey fished with Draycote Manager Tom Bird in the morning with the pair boating over a dozen fish. Lee took the majority of them, using a RIO Hover with cormorants and  a booby on the point over open water.

Hot, bright and flat conditions greeted the anglers fishing Tuesday, certainly not ideal trout fishing conditions. All water season ticket holder Keith Coley fished with regular boat partner Bob Taft with the pair using Montana nymphs to good effect landing 15 fish including a cracking Rainbow of 5.2lb. Gordon Byers started his first of his three day break in fine form landing 8 fish on a fast sinking line and a black bunny leach. Tosh Storrar’s party of anglers found the fishing trickier than the day before landing 40 fish between the 9 of them. The best tactic in the group was to use a 10ft midge tip with nymphs and a FAB on the point.

A scorching hot day Wednesday, however, the anglers proved more than up to the challenging conditions catching fish to produce a rod average of 7 fish per angler. Geoff Preston fished around the Draycote Dam wall on sunk lines using Damsel nymphs and landed some cracking silver fish up to 4lb. All water season ticket holder Jamie Scott landed 15 fish all on buzzers. Tosh Storrar’s party enjoyed good sport around A buoy again with Tosh himself enjoying a great day landing 17 fish using a Airflo 12ft fast tip with size 14 hot head Diawl Bachs on the droppers and a FAB on the point.

Thursday dawned overcast with a light breeze and therefore ideal conditions. However with the current temperature and some colour in the water the fish have definitely proved that little bit harder to catch. Draycote regular Bob Askew teased out 2 fish using diawl bachs with a FAB on the point, and then went on to catch a further 9 fish on a DI 3 line with a black and olive snake. Season permit holder Dave Adkins used a DI 5 and an olive snake to boat 10 fish drifting from A buoy to the Draycote Dam. Staff member Michael Hanlon caught 8 fish using cormorants on a fast glass around B buoy and then in Biggin Bay.

Friday’s forecast was to be wet and windy and for once, the forecasters got it right. What a day! It poured down from start to finish with an awful lot of very damp anglers at the end of it. Considering the conditions Draycote fished quite well overall, with what looked like the best of the fishing in the shallow water down in Toft.  The bank fishing has been a bit of a hit and miss affair of late, but Fred Brookes caught 2 fish on shipmans buzzers and Colin Day had half a dozen fish from Toft Shallows and the Tower Bank straight lining pheasant tail nymphs on a floating line. Quite a few of the boats were out practising for Saturdays competition and played their cards very close to their chest, but Paul Cramp and his boat partner managed 16 fish between them, whilst Ray Rawlings managed 5 on snakes from the Hensborough Bank and Toft. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith also managed 5 fish on nymphs before rain stopped play and they headed home to dry out a bit.

Plenty of cloud cover with a very light breeze (sometimes), on Sunday greeted our pleasure anglers as well as the participants for the Draycote round of the Super 4’s team competition. Although we saw yet another drop in water temperature, the fish didn’t come easy and overall there were a few anglers who struggled here and there. Bank anglers like Tony Harris and Mike Garner managed a few fish each in difficult conditions, using buzzers and holographic hares ears in such places as the Tower Bank, the Cornfield and Toft Shallows. Out on the boats Mr Brays party, with 3 experienced anglers and 3 beginners, managed to net 6 fish in total, not a bad day considering the conditions. In the competition there was a huge variety in the tactics from dries, to washing lining on various midge tips, with the 2 top anglers fishing Di 7 and 2 boobies to take 11 fish each. During the competition, the 53 anglers caught 162 fish giving a rod average of 3.11. The best area was down in Toft coming out from the nature reserve buoys towards G buoy. There was also a number of fish caught fishing the North Shore from Biggin Bay to D Buoy.

Sunday saw another day of favourable conditions with overcast skies and north winds, these much cooler temperatures saw the water temperature hit a much friendly 18 degrees. Although despite these good conditions the fish did not really want to play ball. Season ticket holder Ian Reeve and Matt Pittaway landed 9 fish using Pitsford Pea & Diawl Bachs. The traveling anglers of Jake Munro and Craig Davies landed 23 between them using a black grunter dry fly. Jim Smith & Ed Douglas fished dries to take 20 fish to the boat with the best areas being Farborough Dam Wall and then D Buoy to the back of the Aerators, with CDC dries being the best dries.

With much cooler temperatures forecast we expect the fish to settle down and rise in the water column and the dry fly fishing will really come to the fore.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 20th June                              Rod Average: 1.1                             Water Temp: 22 – 20C

The Sun is still high in the sky and there seems to very little sight of it fading in the near future. Fantastic weather for topping up your tan, but not so great for fishing dries on a floating line. However, once the sun starts to drop in the sky, the fish come out to play during the evening rise. Eyebrook Ranger Jason spent a bit of time out on the water on Monday and opted to fish a single booby damsel on a Di 5 for most of his time out on the water. He found that a countdown of 15 and a short jerky retrieve seemed to garnish interest from the fishes. Following on from a few big browns coming out this season, Alex Smith hooked and landed a superb 15lbs+ Brown. It followed his damsel up from depth while he fished a floating line. Other than that, the majority that opted to fish floating lines struggled to locate fish and bring them to the boat. The bank anglers are having some decent sport either first thing in the morning or later in the evening when the temperatures start to drop off.

Tuesday seen 21 brave souls venturing out onto the lake in hot still conditions. For the majority, they found it incredibly challenging. Russ Logan managed to bring 8 fish to the boat using Minkies and an olive booby. Despite the challenging conditions, most anglers were simply happy to be out in such beautiful surroundings and enjoying the peace and quiet.

A cold weather front has hit and with it some welcome rain. Even with the colder weather, our water temperature is still sitting above 20C and proving a bit challenging for most of our anglers. This was the case for a few days until the rain subsided on Saturday.

Still with cooler conditions and occasional light showers the conditions should have been near perfect for a day out on the water. However, our fishy little residents were still proving to be elusive to most of our anglers. All water ticket holder A Lilley managed to winkle out 6 fish on an orange blob. Neil Shilton was joined by his brother for a day out on their float tubes. Neil managed 6 but his brother had well into double figures fishing very deep on sinking lines.

As the week came to an end it was clear to see that the fishing had become more challenging due to the really hot spell we have experienced over the past couple of weeks. The sudden rise in temperature has put the fish down into deeper water. Anglers are still reporting fish moving in the surface but really struggling to tempt fish to take dries or nymphs fished washing line style. Most of the better catch returns have been from anglers fishing Di5 or Di7 Lines and using lures. J. Smith went out with his son for a few hours in the morning and found fish in the surface near the Willow tree but didn’t have any luck with those. He moved down the shore line and started moving down the lines until he settled on a Di5 and managed to whittle out 5 fish on snakes and blobs.

Looking forward in to next weeks weather, the temperatures are going to start rising to 20C by Thursday afternoon, with Saturday looking to be the hottest day reaching 22C. as our water temperature is still topping 20C, the pike fishing is still suspended until further notice. We are hoping that the cooler conditions will drop the water temperatures soon and we will keep you notified on our social media accounts. Links to these accounts can be found at the top of the page.

VISION HERO & STILLMANIAC DEMO rods for you to take out & try, call the Eyebrook lodge for details

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 13 June 2021   Rod Av: 4.1   Water Temperature: 20c+

With the surface water temperature 20c+ in the morning going upwards during the day were seeing very little surface activity with the trout still feeding at the cooler water temperatures 5ft to 12ft down. There is a hint of an algae bloom

Monday the water had a hint of algae & we were recommending the cooler morning session to fish. Richard Price proved us wrong & fished a short afternoon session 3pm – 6pm taking 5 trout. Every angler caught on Monday with the majority catching 1 to 3 trout for their morning session, T & J Evans shared a boat fished static buzzers in the 8ft – 15ft mark & caught 35 between them.

Tuesday majority of the anglers fished the morning session with midge tips, slow sinkers or under a bung with buzzers and damsels. N Moore and W Kenny caught 6 for their mornings visit, M Huffer caught 7 on buzzers, Barry Deeley fished an intermediate and sink5 with damsel and humungus patterns to catch his 6 trout with Ian Leach catching 6 for his visit

Wednesday Terry & John Evans returned for another visit this time catching 32 on static buzzers 10 – 12ft down. Bill Holland caught 5 to 3lb on booby and damsel patterns with David Rectorik fishing the afternoon session with a midge tip and intermediate with buzzer and diawl bach to catch his 3 trout.

Thursday and a rod average 3.6 with majority of anglers concentrating their fishing to the morning 8.30am – 3.00pm session with the majority of fish taken in the 4ft to 12ft depth. Floater / midge tip static buzzer & red diawls, intermediate or sink 3 lines with booby & damsel patterns. Tony Lorrimer fished his bunny patterns catching 14 trout, Pete Hunt caught 8 for his visit with Mick Huffer returning for his second visit of the week & catching 7 trout on buzzers. Bet Miles should her husband how to catch taking 3 fish on diawl bachs to Tut Miles 0, well done Bet. Ross Turner had his first visit of the year fishing from his float tube catching 3 but lost a number of other trout fishing a buzzer & orange fab

Friday and despite the weather forecast we enjoyed another good day with a 4.8 rod average. Majority of the trout seem to be in the 4ft to 12ft depth with anglers targeting them on static buzzer, red diawl or intermediate and a sink 3 with damsels, red diawl, buzzer, booby. Most anglers fished the morning session 8.00am to 3pm with Greg Weatherdon fished damsels on an intermediate catching 4 for his mornings visit, Chris Sayer fished buzzer and booby to catch his 6 trout. Richard Price opted to use a fast sinker short 3ft leader and a damsel booby to catch his 8 trout. Scotty Wilson & Ricky Cotterill fished buzzers and diawls catching 20 between them.

Saturday despite the bright weather an intermediate or midge tip worked best with anglers fishing the top 12ft of water. David and Mal fished intermediate with buzzer or buzzer and fab combination to catch 10 trout for their visit, Jan Webber fished a DI5 and booby to catch 7 with Mark hunt using a 6ft midge tip with buzzers to catch 14 for his visit.

Sunday & the hottest day of the year. We hosted Thornton Fly Fishers boat singles competition with 10 anglers taking part, fishing to a 4 fish limit & 8.30am to 3.00pm the winner was Simon Thorp with 4 fish for 7lb6oz, Martin Vernon won the prize for the largest fish a 3lb rainbow. Most caught on sinking lines with boobies & damsels.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 13^th June 2021   Rod Av: 6.1  Water Temperature: 19°C

Another day the weatherman didn’t quite get the forecast right, the cloud cover that was supposed to be present all day long didn’t arrive until much later in the afternoon. However, the fishing was good for the entire day with the rod average finishing at 6.2. Season ticket holder Peter Elliot fished a washing line in the morning drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy before switching to dries in the afternoon to land over 20 fish. John Dickens stuck to dries landing over 20 with Bob’s Bits and Shipman’s being his best flies. All water season ticket holder Ian Jobe landed 23 from these areas as well. Chris Discombe & Jim Brennan enjoyed a “Great Day” using black buzzers at the Hensborough Bank to land 29 fish. Taking advantage of our evening ticket Richard Pelly fished with Gary Turner with the pair boating 12 fish all on dries.

Another warm day with the water temperature holding at 19 degrees, however despite the heat a number of fish were caught. On the boats Paddy Hallam & Nigel Nixon landed 40 fish to the boat, drifting from Rainbow Corner towards A Buoy along to the Outlet then around the school slips. The pair found either floating line and Midge Tips to be the best with a mix of various nymphs on the cast with Hares Ears, Diawl Bach’s & Muskins all taking fish. All water season ticket holder Keith Coley fished with Bob Taft with the pair boating 22 fish between them using lures on Di 3 & Di 5 line catching in Mid Water around Lincroft Point and Biggin Bay. J Williams & R Tucker took advantage of one of the 2 day package breaks fishing there first day landing 22 fish. The pair used Di 5 sinking lines and snakes to land 22 fish between them.

Another bright day Wednesday with the temperatures hitting over 20 degrees. On the boats Williams & Tucker fished the last day of their 2 day break. Landing 30 fish and coming off the water just after 1pm the pair fishing in the open water around Rainbow Corner using midge tips or floating line. With either just a team of nymphs of a FAB on the top dropper and then nymphs below it. Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson utilised the rudder to good effect landing 24 fish in a half day session using Di 7 sinking lines and tubes. Mr Mayhew & Mr Eastell finished the day with 24 fish to the boat. All water season ticket holder Paul Walker landed 31 fish on Buzzers and Diawl Bachs also fishing around Rainbow Corner. Jeff Ide fished in the afternoon landing 23 fish and commented when the cloud came over later in the day “Rainbow Corner was alive with fish and it was a brilliant afternoon”.

Thursday was overcast with a light breeze, ideal fishing conditions in sharp contrast to the previous few days. The rod average shot up to 9.5, with fish being caught on a wide variety of methods from dries, to diawl bachs and buzzers, to pulling snakes on a DI5. Ian Richardson and Bob Smith ventured out in a boat to net well into double figures using buzzers and boobies, remarking on “a brilliant day”. Geoff Brooks fished a morning session to net 12 fish on buzzers fished deep. Mr D Walker used Tom’s crippled midge to catch 7 fish during an evening session. Ian Morris and Colin Campbell fished through the sailing club and around the Tower, netting over 30 fish between them on diawl bachs and buzzers. Season permit holder Kevin Rees caught 18 fish using dries such as bob’s bits and crippled midge. Dave Kennel and Eddie Mitchell had 28 fish to the boat between them on buzzers, boobies and FAB’s.

Another cloudy day Friday with a stronger wind then we have experienced over the previous week. The bank fishing was a challenge with the fish now moving over the opened water in search of food and cooler temperatures. All water season ticket holder Michael Ravenscroft landed 4 on the bank in the morning from Rainbow Corner. Russell Swimbourne landed 22 fish in Rainbow Corner on buzzers and nymphs. Mr Hankins landed 16 fish on olive and black buzzers again in Rainbow Corner. Bob Askew fished straight line buzzers to land 25 fish. Steve Smalley fished with Bob Cooper drifting around various marks across the lake using a washing line from a RIO Midge Tip to land 26 fish. The Draycote Fly Fishers third evening bank match took place on Friday in warm conditions with cloudy skies. The fish seemed to hold at a distance from the bank right up until the final 30 minutes of the evening when some fish could be seen closer in to the margins. A total of 11 anglers turned up to wet a line. Anthony Hart came third with one fish in the net, Paul Farrell was in second place with two fish, whilst out in first place was Paul Walley with a total of 3 fish. The next DFFA evening match will take place on Friday 25^th June, meeting at 5pm in Toft. Thank you to Mark Johnson Jones for the report.  Fishery Manager Tom Bird guided Ray Rawlings for a full day with Ray wanting to learn more about nymph fishing. Using a RIO Midge Tip Long Ray landed a dozen fish and lost many more as well. For any Guiding or Tuition enquiry give Tom a call on 01788 812018 or send an email to guiding.tuition@flyfishstore.co.uk

The brighter conditions on Saturday made the fishing a bit difficult from the bank as the fish tend to move out from the margins into deeper water, however the boats faired pretty well, mostly fishing on buzzers, crunchers and either FAB’s or boobies. Mr R and Mr S Harwood had over 30 fish to the boat, all on black buzzers. Mr Chris Tuck netted 15 fish on UV crunchers and pink and yellow boobies.Season permit holder Peter Elliott caught 17 fish on buzzers, crunchers and diawl bachs, finishing off his day on dries. The boat pairing of Jim Brennan and Chris Discombe caught 20 fish between them, again all on buzzers. Jim and Dan Mcelligott had a bakers dozen between them from the Hensborough Bank on buzzers and FAB’s.

Sunny conditions remained throughout the day on Sunday with hardly a breath of wind. Despite this the anglers returned a good rod average using a mixture of lures, buzzers and nymphs fished over the deeper parts rainbow corner, B buoy and the aerators. Staff member Steve Meacham and his boat partner Dave Walker produced a good return of a dozen fish to the boat using snakes, cats whiskers and damsels. Steve and Dave fished mostly in Rainbow Corner and B buoy. Season permit holder Richard Walker used black and green mini snakes to net 9 fish from the Aerators and the deeper water near A buoy. Karl and Les Lerigo had 11 fish to the boat between them, all on olive snakes.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 13th June   Rod Average:2.6   Water Temp: 20c

As the sun worshippers are enjoying the welcome break from the prolonged cold spring that we have been experiencing, lots of anglers know that the fantastic sport that they have been experiencing isabout to become a little bit more challenging.

As we have come through the week, it has been easy to see that the behaviour of the fish has slightly altered, and they have been starting to move away from the banks as the days have been getting warmer. Our bank anglers have enjoyed some success early in the morning and later in the evening as the fish move back onto the weedbeds. The boat anglers are seeing a bit more success due to them having the ability to drift through the open water and try a few different sinking lines. A further stocking took place on

Wednesday with another 1600 fish which included a few hundred browns from Westacre Trout Farm. This should help to maintain our fishing over the next few weeks. These could be an ideal time for a fishing staycation at one or more of our waters, all of which are set in some of the midland finest countryside.

Details of local accommodation can be found via the following link: Where to stay with details of our fishing breaks located via this link: short-break-packages

By Wednesday, a few anglers had found that there were fish along the front of the dam in open water. Ken Waters had a great day out landing his bag limit of 6 and releasing a further 6. He was really happy with an over wintered fish over 4lbs. Ken was fishing an Intermediate line with some wiggly stuff, as he put it.

Wednesday also saw the start of the Evening boat league. Only 3 anglers ventured out for the first evening. Some tactical errors were made by a couple of the anglers as they had a tough time getting fish in to the net. However, Matt Allen managed 3 fish in quick succession to land him this week’s free boat voucher. For those that spent time drifting and fishing sinking lines in the bright sunshine, they were more successful than those preserving with dries during the hotter parts of the day.

This pattern was repeated on both Thursday and Friday with or bank anglers doing better in the mornings and late evenings, fishing in and around the weedbeds from the Hawthorns to Mucky Bay including those in Sam’s Dyke and around the island. The catch returns from the bank anglers suggest that small single dries, or a single damsel on a long leader seem to be the most successful tactics. Boat wise, the best options are fast sinking lines (DI5 or DI7), coupled with either lures such as snakes or bobbies, or naturals such as black buzzers.

The Invicta fly fishers visited Eyebrook on Saturday, booking 21 boats of our 26 boats and despite the hot weather, they recorded an overall rod average of 5.5. With lots of fish moving and willing to feed to well-presented flies, there were several notable catches including 30 to the boat for the Duffy’s who employed tactics based upon their earlier trip on Thursday when they boated 17 between them. Rob and Sam Edmunds also did well, surpassing the Duffy’s catch return whilst young Albert Coles also recorded a catch well into double figures. All water member Neil Shilton was afloat in his float tube and caught 15.

The successful methods were similar to earlier on in the week with deep buzzers or lures on fast sinking lines or dries and damsels either through the main basin or preferably in and around the weedbeds.

Eyebrook hosted 3 group outings on Sunday, with visits from the Foremark Fly fishers, The Alex Booth Fly Fishers and the Fly Fishing Large Reservoirs group, in all a total of 55 rods. They arrived to find a flat calm, and as the sun rose in the sky, it turned out to be the hottest day of the year with temperatures approaching 25 degrees. With very little wind, nearly all the boats opted to fish the main basin and despite such adverse conditions, the reservoir fished reasonably well with an overall rod average on 2. Top rod of the day was Jake Wenman with 12 fish, followed by Bill McIlroy with 9, whilst Foremark Fly fishers secretary Jodie caught 8. Meanwhile Eyebrook member Malcom Thomson fished the weedbeds around the Hawthorns and landed 4 using a single dry damsel.

With the weather predicted to break with cooler days and nights and with some rain about towards the end of the week, conditions suggest this will be a better fishing week at the Eyebrook. We are seeing increasing numbers of damsels around the reservoir as well as the first of this year’s pin fry, so with good boat availability and plenty of plenty of available bank, this may well be a rewarding albeit challenging weeks fishing.

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 6^th June   Rod Av: 1.8    Water Temp: 19c+

The sudden change from the cooler daytime temperatures during May to the warm temperatures were suddenly enjoying has had an impact on our sport. Our water temperature has started to creep upwards.

Tough day on Monday & Tuesday Bob Menhams was top rod on Monday with 3 trout caught on a red headed diawl with P Cox & David Button top rods on Tuesday with 4 fish each, Pete caught his on a dawson olive with David catching his on an olive booby

Better days fishing on Wednesday with anglers fishing static buzzers or booby patterns Robert Moreton & D Slesser caught 4 each for their mornings session, P Hunt & J Thomson fished buzzers to boat their 6 fish during their mornings visit with All Water member P Walker catching 11 for his days visit on diawls & buzzers

Thursday our water temperature was creeping upwards and with it the cooler morning session fished best. The deeper water across the stones, dam and main basin is were most anglers fished with intermediate down to fast sinking lines used. Keith Cowen enjoyed a successful morning catching 6 trout including a 6lb6oz overwintered rainbow photo on our facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  Keith caught his fish drifting the main basin with a fast sinking line with booby & damsel patterns. Tut & Bet Miles fished buzzers deep off the stones to catch their 5 trout, Christine & Andy Warren caught 8 for their mornings visit with Mr Brocklhurst fishing a diawl bach deep to catch his 6 trout

Friday and another warm day, hint of algae greeted the anglers with the surface water temperature at 7.30am 19c. Very few fish moving on the surface with successful anglers fishing sinkers, Chris Sayer & Ian Leach both recorded 6 trout for their visit with D Slesser recording 4

Saturday another warm day with anglers again concentrating their efforts over the deeper water.  Jan Webber fished a booby basher with booby and minkie booby patterns to take his 6 trout. Brian & Alison fished sinking lines to catch their 10 trout for their mornings visit with M Clay opting to fish a fab and buzzers to catch his 5 trout

Sunday and another warm day anglers followed our advice and fished the cooler morning session with Mark & Anthony Stone catching 7 for their mornings visit fishing fast sinkers olive boobies and cats whiskers. Other methods that worked during the morning were floating lines and long leaders with weighted damsel and epoxy buzzers fished static or slow.

How quick the weather has changed from cool easterly winds perfect cool water temperatures to clear sky lots of sun driving the water temperature upwards. We measure the water temperature in the top 18inch off the pontoon. This week at 7.30am we were recording water temperature of 19c climbing to 20c+ by 3pm.

Those temperatures will see Thornton fish best during the morning session with little chance of an evening rise. It’s time to unpack those sinking lines for the next few weeks unless we get a significant change to the weather

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 6^th June 2021   Rod Av: 3.7  Water Temperature: 18°C

A warm start to the week, with the temperatures hitting over 20 degrees on the bank holiday Monday. These bright conditions made the fishing a little more challenging that it has been in previous days.

However, the rods still caught to produce a rod average of 3.4. Luke Orton fished the bank in the sunny conditions to land 9 fish all on nymphs. Phil Mee and Horace Wood fished buzzers and nymphs landing 10 fish between them at the Hensborough Bank. The Scottish party of John Watts group caught well drifting from the Farborough Dam well through past the sailing club catching on Diawl Bachs fished on a floating line with their best boat landing 17 fish to the boat. We also held the first of our evening boat league matches with only a couple in attendance due to the bank holiday Monday. It was Mark JJ that took top honours and won himself a free boat voucher. If you would like to fish the next round of the League give the lodge a call its on Monday 14^th June.

Another bright warm day Tuesday, however the water temperature remains a very friendly 14 degrees meaning the fish could still be caught using buzzers and nymphs. Season ticket holder Tony Broadway fished on the bank landing 11 fish on washing lined Diawl Bachs in size 14 and landed a cracking Rainbow of 4lb 9oz. On the boats Peter Elliot & Lee Patten caught 40 to the boat fishing the Hensborough Bank and Rainbow Corner with Peter opting for nymphs while Lee caught 10 of his pulling on a Di 3 sinking line. Lee Nolan & Glen Thompson landed 25 fish to the boat using lures on sunk lines. Johnathan Wood & Dave Reynolds fished nymphs with a Sunburst FAB on the point to land 21 fish to the boat on a RIO Midge Tip long fished at the School Slips. Draycote Manager Tom Bird was once again out guiding for 4 hours with client John Lewis. In the short 4 hour season John landed 8 fish all on buzzers, and lots countless out with John commenting “its one of his best days ever” for any kind of guiding & tuition enquiry please give Tom a call on 01788 812018.

The sun remained Wednesday, but thankfully the breeze kept the anglers cooler on the water. Fresh from his guided day with Lee Henfrey last week Matt Crisp took to the boat with regular boat partner Paul Newman putting his nearly learned skills to great effect landing 26 fish to the boat using a washing line with buzzers, crunchers and Diawl Bachs fished on a Midge Tip line. Season ticket holder Paul Havard landed 9 fish from near the Outlet using a washing line with Crunchers. Paul Cramp enjoyed a good day using a washing line on a Midge Tip fishing along the Tower Bank drifting towards the Dam Wall. Paul used nymphs with a FAB on the point and found that most of his fish fell to the FAB on the point on the hang landing 19 for the day. Both Tom Bird & Lee Henfrey took to the water guiding with both clients catching well using buzzers and Nymphs Tom using straight lining tactics from a floating line while Lee had his client on a Washing Line. For bookings for tuition and guiding give Tom a call on 01788 812018.

Some much welcome cloud for the main part of the day Thursday which broke and about 2pm leaving a sunny afternoon. Out on the bank season ticket holder Brian Allwood landed 4 fishing including 2 fish over 4lb. Fellow season ticket holder Mike Garner landed 3 fish on Nemo Crunchers down the Cornfield. On the boats we hosted Fly Fishing Large Reservoir club outing with 20 anglers taking to the water, landing 72 fish for a rod average of 3.6 fish per angler. Winning the day was Bob Shaw with 10 fish, second was Steve Jones with 9 and Third Scott Graham who took all his fish on dries. We can also announce that its now the start of the pin fry season with the club commenting on the numbers of fish taking the new hatched fry. Outside of the club match all water member Alec Urquhart fished with Johnathan Wood with the pair boating 22 fish to the boat. Using a washing line on a RIO 3ft Midge Tip with a mix of FABS on cruncher boobies on the point and Jungle Cock Diawl Bachs on the droppers. The pair commenting that a key aspect to the fishing was the hang with the fish taking a lot on the hang.

Bright and sunny conditions and at times a flat calm made for some difficult fishing here at Draycote water on Friday, with some anglers fairing better than others. The bank seemed to fish reasonably well for those who started early, as did the boats, with things slowing down a bit as we moved through the middle of the day. Season permit holder Bob Barfoot caught 4 fish using the crippled midge and then buzzers on a washing line. Russell Swinbourne had his 8 fish to the boat on daddies and buzzers in Rainbow Corner. Mr M Webster and Mr R Wheeler had a dozen between them on buzzers and diawl bachs on a floating line. Season permit holder Paul Walley had a brace from the bank in Rainbow Corner and reported a mayfly hatch coming off, something not seen here at Draycote for a while.

Draycote water was becalmed and bathed in bright sunshine for most of Saturday, with only the slightest of breezes blowing through in the afternoon. With the advent of pin fry, the trout are concentrating hard on these and therefore can prove very frustrating. The best of the rods yesterday ignored the surface feeders and used midge tips lines with long leaders and teams of buzzers and diawl bachs to catch fish sitting deeper in the water. Mr Dave Philpott took advantage of the last four hour permit to catch 4 fish on buzzers from the bank. Mr Steve Ottridge caught 16 fish through the middle of the day from a boat and lost a huge fish after a brief fight which he never even saw. Messr’s Adams, Maxwell and Cockburn all caught well into double figures from a boat using buzzers fished deep.

Another day of very light to no winds at Draycote, however, we did at times get some very welcome cloud. On the boats James Maplethorpe & Trevor Moore landed 25 fish to the boat using crunchers and Diawl Bach’s fishing in from of the Saddle bank. Paul Mitchell fished with Tim Burn using the Bung with buzzers to land 26 fish to the boat. If you are unsure on how to set up the bung with Buzzers, Fishery Manager Tom Bird has done a video on our YouTube channel explaining this deadly method https://youtu.be/-V2aT7ZAVOI Draycote season ticket holder Dave Hancox landed 13 fish from the Aerators using olive snakes on a Di 5 sinking line. Michael Hanlon landed 12 fish using a mix of methods of a midge tip line and buzzers at the Inlet to Snakes on the Aerators.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 6^th Jun                       Weekly Rod Average: 4.7               Water Temp: 20C

After a cold and changeable week last week, the weather has decided that it want’s to get warm very quickly. 18C on Monday and bright sunshine should have seen the fish moving in to deeper water. however, our anglers were still finding fish in relatively shallow water and still taking small dries such as hares ear shuttlecocks and yellow owls down to size 16. Tom Cooper and his brother decided to take their dad out for a float tubing experience for his birthday on the Monday. Taking out 2 float tubes and having a single man in a boat gave them the opportunity to congregate out on the water to take on food and drink without having to carry too much in the float tubes. The weather was really kind to them, and a gentle breeze made life a bit easier for a first-time paddle in the tubes. Obviously, the guys had a great day out bringing nearly 50 fish to the net between them. The evening rises are becoming a bit more popular with the last 4 hours from 6 o’clock to 10 o’clock providing some fantastic top of the water sport.

Wednesday saw Eyebrook host 2 groups for the day, the fishing for fun group who have joined us for 3 days on the water and the EDFF (English Disabled Fly fishers) with a group of 9 boats and 2 wheelie boats. This was the EDFF’s first organised event since 2019. Despite the conditions being far from favourable, very gentle winds, really hot and sunny, all of the club members managed to get fish to the boat with a total of 154 fish caught between 21 anglers giving a Rod Average of 7.3 for the club. Ian Bradfield was awarded the Frank Roberts Trophy for the largest fish.  All anglers came off the water happy and were welcomed in to a buffet that was lovingly prepared by Pauline and the girls. The event was capped off when Stuart Hume won a free boat voucher from Fishery Management in a raffle. While all this had been going on, Fishery Management Guide Andy Miller was out on the water Guiding Michael Daymond on an 8 hour session. Andy successfully guided Michael throughout the day to bring more than double figures of fish to the boat using blobs and buzzers or the bung with buzzers. Adam Compton took his son Archie out for his first fishing trip on a boat and had a fantastic day out on the water Archie had his first fish on the fly and was all smiles for the rest of the day. Well done, Archie. The youngsters are the future of this sport.

We have started to see the start of the pin fry around the main pontoon as well as clouds of daphnia. So,there is even more food sources to try and replicate and snare some trout.

Thursday and Friday have seen a gradual slowing down of the numbers on the returns due to the rapid increase in temperature and bright windless days. A lot of the fish seem to be coming early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the temperatures are cooler. Anglers are reporting that they are seeing a lot of fish moving throughout the lake but finding it tricky to tempt them at times. Some of the fish seem to have defied conventional thinking and stayed in the upper layers and relatively close to the bank even in these conditions. Those that are adjusting their set up and changing flies and presentation can be rewarded with some great sport. Some anglers that have taken fish for the pan have spooned their catch and found some that are stuffed with Damsel nymphs, others stuffed with buzzers and then others that have a bit of everything and anything. At times like this, keeping a close eye on what is coming off the water can give you a great indicator of what flies to try. Size, profile and colour of the fly can sometimes be the difference between a take or nothing happening. For sub surface feeding fish, try fishing a couple of Muskins and a Stealth Bejeezus on the point, either on a midge tip or floating line.

The bright sunny conditions continued throughout the weekend. Even with the bright conditions, anglers were still tempting the occasional fish on dry flies in the surface. But these conditions seen a few anglers dip in to the sinking lines and pulling teams of lures with nymphs through the depths with varying success in certain parts of the reservoir. Anglers have reported a good number of fish along the dam towards Harrison’s corner. The usual haunts are still producing fish, but they are proving a little bit tougher to hook than they were in past weeks. The evening rises are tempting the fish to show all the way along the Leicestershire bank with the trout seeming to be preoccupied with the damsel flies and small sedges, often seen crashing out of the water after the Damsels. Small CDC Shuttlecocks have worked well as the fish are probably looking at them as emerging Sedge. Sunday saw All water season ticket holder Neil Shilton land an impressive 10lbs 4oz brown trout on his float tube. Just rewards for the hours and the miles that Neil put in on Eyebrook. G Owen and M McLintic broke away from what everyone else was doing and fished buzzers out over the deeper water in the main basin to bring around 30 fish to the boat and were by far the most successful boat on the water that day.

Over the past week a few anglers have reported some damage to fish that has been more than likely caused during Catch & Release. If practicing Catch & Release, we would like to urge people to either fish barbless or pinch down the barb on the hook to prevent damage to the fish and make life easier for the Angler to unhook the fish.

Looking forward at the weather reports, it looks like the weather conditions will pretty much be staying the same with warm temperatures. Please ensure you bring plenty of cool drinks, a good hat, sun glasses and some sun block. Be prepared and keep safe out on the water.

FM Fishing breaks: short-break-packages

Accommodation: Where to stay

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

Our latest Youtube video, Tom Bird explains the benefit of using the RIO Midge Tip www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFXhrko5eoE

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

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

Week Ending 30^th May   Rod Av: 3.7    Water Temp: 16c+

Quiet start to the week with rain forecast, which did indeed come & was heavy at times. Fishing remained good despite the weather with a rod average 5 for the day with the majority of trout been taken on buzzers. Ian Leach caught 16 for his visit with All Water member D Skudder fishing the morning session & catching 7 trout. H Davies fished the afternoon session & caught 6. All anglers reported good numbers of fish moving at times across most areas of the reservoir.

Tuesday morning the water level was up 4inch with some coloured water up the top of the arms & running along the shallows opposite the lodge, although the vast majority of the reservoir remained gin clear. A good days fishing with the rod average 5.6 What was noticeable was the increasing number of trout taking damsel patterns. P Cox for his day visit caught 16 trout on a white & silver booby fished on an intermediate. Barry Deeley caught 10on a blue flash damsel with damsel & buzzer patterns taking 10 fish for Paul Martindale. Another good evening rise with J Scott catching 6 on dries & James Smith fishing the last 4 hour session catching 4 on a size #12 grey buzzer & fab

Wednesday, no water clarity issues, a tinge of colour at the top of the arms but in general reservoir was clear, gin clear. Allan Wither & Stuart boated 27 trout for their visit taking fish from various areas on orange Fab, diawl bach and buzzer patterns

Thursday and a busy day with anglers again reporting fish moving at times all over the reservoir with the largest concentration of fish to be found down the Markfield arm and green bay. Buzzer patterns size 14 and 16, damsel patterns and diawl bach fished on a floater, midge tip or intermediate proved best.  T & J Evans caught 24 for their visit on buzzers, All Water members H Wood and P Mee fished a morning session catching 11 on buzzers, Keith Cowen fished a damsel pattern to catch his 6 trout. Thornton member S Martin fished buzzers catching 9 for his visit. Tony Lorrimer fished his rabbit patterns to catch his 19 trout. Water clarity is good.

Friday was a mixed day, anglers reporting trout moving well during the day but proving difficult to tempt with no pattern to what the fish were taking. Russ Jackson fished the morning session taking 10 trout on an Idiot Proof Nymph, Chris Sayer and Mick Cross caught 15 with a booby pattern taking some of theirs, Richard Price persevered with small olive buzzers catching 4 trout.

Saturday, warmer forecast with little wind, again a variety of methods worked with a rod average 4.1 for the day. R Hopkins & J Jessop on a two day package fished Draycote on Friday and visited Thornton for the first time on Saturday, they fished the washing line catching 9 trout with the majority taking the Fab on the point. Jan Webber fished damsel, buzzer and booby patterns to catch his 5 trout with M Clay fishing buzzers to catch his 7 trout for a mornings visit, M Hunt fished small hopper patterns to catch his 7 trout.

Sunday with a cool east wind and fog greeting anglers at 7am it was a contrast to the day before, fishing was more challenging with a rod average 1.6 for the day. A Woolloff fished a weighted black pheasant tail and caught 4, P Hunt caught his 4 fish on buzzers with Nathan Brain fishing the last 4 hour across by the stones, eventually the rise did happen and he caught his 4 on a washing line, fab on the point with buzzer on the dropper.

Looking ahead to the coming week another stocking due this week will take our fish levels in the reservoir to over 4500 trout. We are 3 weeks away from the longest day, the sun is at its highest and most powerful we will start to see the water temperature creep upwards. As we move into June the buzzers tend to get smaller #14 #16 #18, damsels will become more active, expect sedges in the evening with pin fry expected to be about in the next couple weeks, look out for caenis on the warmer evenings. Water clarity is currently good. Time to fish leaders as long as you can manage with low diameter leader material.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 30^th May 2021        Rod Av:5.6   Water Temperature: 14c

The weather for Monday looked perfect, however about 10am the heavens opened, and at various times throughout the day the Reservoir experienced heavy downpours. These heavy showers did not put the fish off with he rod average of the day 7.1 fish per angler. Alan Martin & Bill McGranaghan fished the day with 32 fish to the boat all n crunchers fished on midge tip sinking lines. On the bank Steve Lees landed 6 fish all on buzzers. All Water season ticket holder Ed Douglas used dries and buzzers to land 18 fish fishing near the Hensborough Bank and Rainbow Corner.

The wind was strong than forecast coming from the West, with good cloud cover with it. Once again the fishing remained good with a rod average of near 6 fish per angler. On the bank season ticket Brian Allwood commented “on the good sport” landing 12 fish on nymphs from the Cornfield. Fellow season ticket holder John Clifford also fished on the Cornfield to land 12 fish on washing line buzzers. Mr McGill & Muir landed 35 fish to the boat on buzzers fishing around Hensborough Bank. All water season ticket holders Keith Coley & Bob Toft landed 28 fish between them fishing a washing line on a long midge tip.

A busy day with 69 anglers all taking to the water to enjoy the fantastic fishing Draycote is currently enjoying, and they were not disappointed with a rod average for the day of 10.78 fish per angler. On the bank season ticket holder Peter Allen landed 8 fish using buzzers fishing down the Cornfield. Fellow season ticket holder Colin Granger also enjoyed good sport from the bank taking 8 fish. On the boats Russell Swimbourne landed 22 fish using a team of buzzers at the Inlet including some cracking fish up to 4lb. John Dickens & Lorenzo Serrano landed 28 fish between them using a washing line with buzzers catching their fish in Toft and around the Hensborough Bank. Season ticket holder Jim Smith stuck to dries all day landing over 30 fish with the fish really starting to move in the afternoon, with CDC Culs and Shipman Buzzers being his best patterns.

A lovely late spring day Thursday with warm sunny conditions and light winds. While, it was a very pleasant day to be out on the water it wasn’t the easiest of conditions for the anglers out there. Colin Day fished on the bank landing 6 fish 2 from the Hensborough Bank and the other 4 from the Cornfield using a Damsel Nymph on a fast intermediate. On the boat Gordon Byers, Tim Grove, Alister Baker & Don Coe down taking advantage of our holiday package enjoyed a good days sport landing 27 between them using Buzzers fished at the Willow Trees at the bottom of the Cornfield. All Water season ticket holder Ed Douglas used nymphs fished on a washing lime and dries to take 27 fish. Jim Dempsey & Rod Wilson fished with lures on sinking lines targeting the deeper water to land 15 fish including an estimated 9lb brown. It was also a busy day for the Tuition Team with both Lee Henfrey & Tom Bird taking clients out, both clients landed just short of double figures on a 4 hour guide. With both also landing fish over 6lb to see pictures of these fish and the 9lb Brown visit www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Another warmer day on Friday, however, the anglers were treated to cloud cover all day, the only thing letting down the fishing conditions was a lack of wind, which came and went as the day progressed making the presentation a challenge at times. Season ticket holders Jim Smith & Ed Douglas fished washing line in the morning around the school slips catching well before changing to dries in the afternoon. Former manager Kevin Hart fished with John Hoskins landing 27 fish around J Buoy and the Farborough Dam wall again on a washing line with nemo crunchers being the pairs best flies. Peter Elliot & Lee Patten used a variety of methods to land their fish dries, the bung & straight line buzzers. Catching at the school slips, Hensborough Dam and Rainbow Corner. The traveling Scottish Anglers from the Edinburgh Post Office enjoyed a good final day catching well on buzzers once again around the School Slips. The Draycote Fly Fishers held an evening bank match on Friday with a total of 8 rods taking part. Paul Walley was third  with a total of 5 fish to the net, with his first fish at 19.18 hrs.  Anthony Hart came in second place,  also with 5 fish, but his first fish was caught at 17.50 hrs. But clearly out in first place was Dave Adkins, who had a grand total of 7 fish to the net. A total of 22 fish were caught during a four hour session with calm and dry conditions throughout. The next match for the Draycote Fly Fishers will be on Friday 11^th June. All those wishing to take part should meet in Toft car park at 5pm. Thank you to Mark Johnson-Jones for the competition report.

Saturday dawned flat calm, with a very light easterly breeze coming on through the middle of the day. We had some cloud cover in the morning but things brightened up as the day progressed. Anglers reported that the fishing was a lot better in the morning than it was in the afternoon, with a few boats sitting on the Hensborough bank, anchored up fishing buzzers on the bung. A number of good fish were caught in Toft Shallows while other boats faired pretty well in Rainbow Corner and Biggin Bay. Even in the bright conditions bank anglers faired pretty well with Lee Cheshire, Mr N Harris and Mr P Mann managing 17 fish between them on buzzers. Out on the boats Mr S Thompson netted a dozen fish on black diawl bachs and black buzzers. Season permit holders Jim and Richard Hall had well over 30 fish to the boat on black diawl bachs fished on a midge tip line. Visiting anglers Mr Mcvay and Mr Davis also netted over 30 fish between them using buzzers, diawl bachs and GRHE’s.

We were greeted by thick fog here at Draycote on Sunday morning, which we were hoping would hang around for a bit. But this had cleared into bright sunshine by about 11 o’clock or so with a light breeze. Once again the fish seemed determined to cling to the top few feet of the water throughout the day, allowing for some great buzzer fishing on the washing line. Keith Harding and Mike Clarke had 20 fish to the boat between them using a washing line with FAB;s and nymphs. Robert Ball and Tony Bott managed 19 to the boat on much the same method plus 2 nice perch. Trevor Moore and James Maplethorpe netted 23 fish to their boat on buzzers and diawl bachs and also had a perch of 2 lbs 8oz.

 Fishery manager and guide Tom Bird also took to the water for a couple of hours on Sunday and netted 25 fish on a Rio Midge Tip Long, with a mixture of crunchers and muskins. Tom fished quite a few drifts but said that the best place for him was the outer margins of Biggin Bay. To book a guided session with Tom, or indeed any of our guides on any of our waters, contact the fishing on 01788 812018.      

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 30th May                   Weekly Rod Average: 6.8               Water Temp: 14-16c

Monday signalled the start of yet another fantastic week on the Eyebrook. With perfect weather conditions forecast, predominantly overcast with gentle breezes, sport was likely to be excellent and so it proved. As in previous weeks, a lot of the anglers have been eager to get up around the Island and Mucky Bay, the anglers being as preoccupied with this area as much as the fish are with buzzers. However other areas of the reservoir are well populated with fish and successful, areas have included Stoke Dry and the Willows, as well as Chestnut, the hawthorns, the Bell and Sam’s Dyke. In fact, during the evenings when the reservoir is quieter, the rangers have noticed fish feeding all over the reservoir, often only a few yards from the bank. With the fantastic form continuing at the Eyebrook increasing numbers of anglers are taking advantage of the fishing break packages, with some opting to split their visits between Thornton, Eyebrook and Draycote to experience the sport that our different venues offer. Further details on where to stay and our package options can be found by following the links below;-

FM Fishing breaks: short-break-packages

Accommodation: Where to stay

During the week nearly 300 anglers visited the Eyebrook, which being over 400 acres and with over 4 miles of easily accessible bank, and fish spread all across the reservoir, ensured space and solitude were always available if desired. Reviewing the catch returns over the week, natural patterns were to the fore, with crunchers, diawl bachs and small olive or black buzzers being the most successful patterns. With June approaching we are starting to see damsels about the reservoir, and anglers choosing to use blue flash damsels have been successful. As we move into June, we will see a lot more damsels on the water, and in anticipation of this, we have ensured a plentiful supply of damsel patters are available at our shop. We have also started to see daddies around the lodge, so it isn’t surprising that hoppers are catching a few fish Other dry fly patterns that have proved to be successful have been yellow owls, emergers, hawthorns and suspender buzzers. Another noticeable thing has been that smaller flies (14 and 16s) are often more successful than the larger patterns, especially when fish are moving to nut only swirling at the larger patterns.

Successful methods across the week have been washing lines with either booby, FABs or Blobs on the point or straight lining a team of naturals. The bung has also brough success to those anglers who have used this method. With the dries, we have found that either a team on a long leader or simply a single dry or a single dropper spaced 6 feet apart have been most successful.

With regard to catches, there have been numerous double figure catches recorded which is not surprising given that the overall rod average for the week has been around 8. Several nice fish have been caught with numerous 3-pound fish and a fair sprinkling of 4 pounders. Following on from the magnificent near twenty-pound brown caught last week, another double figure fish was successfully returned on Friday. This weighed in at 12 ½ pounds and was taken by Mr Haugh who was visiting us from the north- east on a two-day trip split between the Eyebrook and Draycote. Having caught this when fishing from Boat number 13, we were told that he had requested that boat at Draycote on the Saturday hoping for more good fortune.  Although the majority of the anglers have chosen to fish from the boats, with the majority of the fleet out most days, our bank anglers have enjoyed some good sport with a lot of fish still patrolling the margins. Probably the hardest day was Thursday, as we were treated to a calm sunny morning for the first time in ages, which moved the fish off the margins, into deeper water. Anglers fishing the float tube were also successful with some good catches being recorded. We do have float tubes for hire should anglers wish to try out this method for themselves, simply contact the lodge to arrange this.

Now that we are moving into summer and the longer warmer days, our last four-hour ticket is becoming increasingly popular and is available either from the bank or the boat. Although only a short session, this time of year often sees good evening hatches as the air temperature and light levels fall, and double figure catches are often recorded as the fish respond to the emerging insects. To book a last 4-hour ticket, please call the lodge on the day. It is easier for us to determine if there will be a boat available for you if that is what you require. Due to the warmer temperatures the damsels are starting to emerge, and we are starting to see the start of a Mayfly hatch which will only make the fishing that little bit more exciting for anglers who love a bit of dry fly action.

As the week came to an end, the reports coming back have been quite eye opening when we were looking at the variety of flies that were taking fish. Everything from small dry flies, to fishing lures quickly near the surface, to fishing static buzzers at depth. Mr N Organ was fishing buzzers at depth from his float tube when he was fortunate enough to snare one of the other Eyebrook residents. A splendid 4lbs Tench. Customers were phoning in to book their up-and-coming trips and were commenting on how hard the fish have been fighting and been surprised when only one fish has come to the net when they have been convinced that the fish they were fighting was either a double hook up or a fish over 5lbs. There have also been 2 instances of angler’s rods being dragged off of the boat or pulled right out of their hands in the past week. Both rods were caught and handed in the following day by other anglers. Hold on to that rod folks, and don’t make the mistake of just leaving your flies in the water while you take care of other things in the boat. With the water temperature starting to increase, no doubt we will be seeing more hatches coming off and the fish feeding voraciously on those tasty morsels that will be trapped in the surface film of the lake.

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

Visit Our YouTube Channel Flyfishstore, latest video Tom Bird shows you the 3 turn water knot 

https://youtu.be/PMgW_GzThzw

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

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

Week Ending 23^rd May.   Rod Av: 5.3    Water Temperature: 14c+

A great start to the week with the daily rod average 11.5 with the majority of the trout caught on buzzer, cdc, hoppers & small damsel, with the washing line with a Fab on the point & buzzers on the dropper working well. Buzzers patterns continue to be grey / black size 10 / 12 with a bright olive buzzer size 14 / 16. Fish moving most of the day to buzzer hatches with some hawthorn flies about in the early afternoon. Most anglers concentrated their fishing to the wood, lonesome pine & down the Markfield Arm. Water clarity is best described as gin clear, time to fish a long leader and thin diameter.

Tuesday, following on from Monday excellent rod average of 11.5 hopes were high for another good day. It proved the opposite, challenging day with angler struggling to find a method that consistently worked. Arthur Olding fared the best catching 8 for his mornings visit on a white silver booby fished on an intermediate.

Wednesday and a better day’s fishing with rod average 6, buzzers were the best patterns with olive, black and red buzzer patterns taking fish. S Windram caught 14 on the washing line with a booby and buzzer patterns, P Hunt also caught 14 on buzzer and damsel patterns. Dave Coote fished a short morning session fishing black & olive buzzer to catch 8

Thursday & generally a more challenging day with the start of the wet & windy weather forecast for Friday starting to move in. Tony Lorrimer went up into green bay, found the shelter of the dam & rising was the place to be catching 18 for his visit

Friday with average wind speeds exceeding 25mph we cancelled the boats

Saturday, what a difference a day makes, calmer day with trout moving all over the reservoir. Mark Clayton & Andy Willet fished from their float tubes concentrating their fishing from in front of the lodge across the main basin & dam with Andy catching 7 on olive or black buzzers with Mark catching 14 on a olive buzzer #14. Jan Webber caught 10 fishing the washing line with booby, damsel & buzzer. Mark Hunt fished cdc & yellow owls to catch his 19 trout.

Sunday bit more of a breeze with a cooler wind but the majority of the anglers fished the morning session which offered the better forecast. Buzzers caught the majority of the trout with black or red buzzer size 12 – 14 or bright olive buzzers size 14 – 16

Water clarity is gin clear, time to fish leaders as long as you can handle with the modern lower diameter fluorocarbon or copolymer giving anglers the edge. Noticeable this week smaller buzzer patterns 14 – 16 outfished the larger size 10 – 12 buzzer. More fish taking damsel patterns.

Hawthorn still about will hopefully be in good numbers this week

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 23rd May 2021        Rod Av: 7.9    Water Temperature: 12 °C

A great start to the week with the rod average for Monday working out at 8.4. The weather was the only downside with heavy rain showers throughout the day, although it clearly did not bother the fish. Phil Mee fished at the Hensborough Bank landing 18 fish all on buzzers. Ian Richardson & Bob Smith fished along the Farborough Dam wall enjoying “a red letter day with lots of silver torpedoes” the pair landed 39 fish all on buzzers. Bob Eaton & Nathan Brain landed 27 fish between then using a washing line with buzzers and FABS. Fishery Manager Tom Bird took to the water catching all over the lake using a RIO Midge Tip Long with a FAB on the point and buzzers up the line. While boat partner Rob Sosbe fished the same flies but, on an Airflo, 12ft slow tip.

Another great day at the fishery Tuesday with the rod average hitting 12.8, with fish caught all over the lake. On the bank Lorenzo Serrano landed 14 fish using buzzers fished along the Cornfield with a small FAB on the point. With John Dickens landing 8 on the same tactics in half a day. Season ticket holders Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed over 50 fish to the boat using buzzers and crunchers in Toft and by the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay. William Cram and the West Lothian Fly Dressers enjoyed a great day landing 108 fish between the 3 boats all on various nymphs and buzzers fished in Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay and along the Draycote Dam Wall.

A lovely light North West wind Wednesday, however, in the middle of the day we had some torrential rain and a very impressive electrical storm that stopped the fishing for a short period. On the bank fishing along the Cornfield, Tony Broadway landed 23 fish using a washing line with small size 12 and 14 black buzzers. Fellow season ticket holder Peter Allen landed 13 fish using buzzers and also a mixture of lures. On the boats John Dickens enjoyed a good days sport taking 27 fish a mixture of buzzers, FABS and black and green lures. Jeff Ide used green damsels to land just short of 50 fish from the bottom end of the Cornfield & Toft. All water season ticket holder Dave Smith used a floating line with Diawl Bach’s, Buzzers and a foam Daddy to land 15 fish catching in Dunn’s Bay in the morning and Toft in the afternoon. Draycote Dry Fly lover Jim Smith landed over 30 fish all on dries with small shipman’s and crippled midge being his top patterns.

A much windier day Thursday with the fishing for the boat anglers having to be restricted to the South Shore. However, the blustery conditions did not see, to affect the fishing some good numbers getting caught. Matt Irons fished with a floating line with an Orange Blob and buzzers to land 15 fish from Rainbow Corner. Ian Wilson used Buzzers all day to land 19 fish. Matt Cocks fished from the Swan’s Nest in Toft to land 7 fish on a washing line with Buzzers. Arriving late in the afternoon William Brown, Ross Wilson, Bob Hanine & John Powell took advantage of our last 4 hour boats ahead of their 3 day break with the lads landing 25 fish between them in the evening. They opted for a washing line with a Biscuit Booby on the point and then Buzzers and Nemo crunchers on the droppers.

The forecast for Friday was awful, however, thankfully it dropped enough to allow the boats out again with restrictions. We hosted the Barclays Bank Competition with various regions fishing to be the winning region. In the difficult conditions the anglers did well catching on buzzers and nymphs fished on various intermediates, midge tip and floating lines. Winning the match was the Clearing Region with a combined weight of 33lb 11oz for there bag weights across the 4 competitors. Outside of the competition Ross Wilson & William Brown landed 11 fish between them on FABS and Cormorants and commented the wind made the controlling of the line difficult. Bob Haning & John Powell used Cortland Blue intermediate lines with Daddyhogs and buzzers to land 12 fish to the boat.

A much better day on Saturday with lighter winds and overcast conditions, allowing the boats to fish all areas of the reservoir. The daily rod average shot up to 10.9 on Saturday with good bags of fish coming out for both boat and bank anglers alike. Jim Smith and Ed Douglas netted over forty fish from a drifting boat, and persisted with dries all day. Young Mike Garner caught 11 fish from the bank using diawl bachs and a black pennel. All of Mikes fish came out of the Cornfield. Mr Russell Swinbourne caught well over 20 fish from a boat using a wide variety of buzzers and commented on “another great day”. Anthony Hart caught his 6 fish from the bank down in Toft using a washing line and buzzers. Mr William Brown and Mr Ross Wilson had 15 fish apiece to the boat from Toft using buzzers, crunchers and FAB’s on a washing line.

Sunday saw the wind swing round into the south, bringing some showers and blustery conditions through the afternoon. This made for some difficult fishing at times and eventually lead to a lot of the boats taking shelter against the leeward shore. Mr William Brown and Mr Ross Wilson fished Toft Shallows again on crunchers FAB’s and diawl bachs to net 16 fish between them. Mr David Rechtorik had 6 fish from the bank in the Cornfield and Toft Shallows using diawl bachs fished on a floating line. Season permit holder Stephen Dewhurst also fished the bank to net 5 fish, all on olive buzzers. Dave Hancox ventured out for a part day session on a boat to net 8 fish on a DI5 sweep and olive snakes in Rainbow Corner.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 23rd May                   Weekly Rod Average 7.6                Water Temp: 12c

Monday signalled the start of another fantastic week ahead on Eyebrook. The weather conditions were perfect. Overcast with gentle breezes. As from previous weeks, the bulk of the anglers have been eager to get up around the Island and Mucky bay. It seems that the anglers are as preoccupied with this area as much as the fish are with buzzers. Resident season ticket holder Roy Swinfield continues his fantastic form from the bank getting well in to double figures fishing a short leader with a couple of buzzers and a booby on the point. Regular visitor Peter Harris kicked off his 3-day fishing break with well in to double figures while having a play about with a number of different methods and flies. T Barclay and M Napier were also with us for a 3-day Fishing break and got in to double figures of fish to the boat. With the fantastic form that Eyebrook has been seeing, more and more people are taking advantage of the fishing break packages, some are even opting to split their visits between Eyebrook and Draycote to experience the sport at both venues.

FM Fishing breaks: short-break-packages

Accommodation: Where to stay

Tuesday continued on with similar weather to Monday. Lots of happy anglers were eager to get out on the water and enjoy the sport after telling the staff all about how much they had enjoyed the day before. Fishery manager Jim was kept busy helping out a few guests set up leaders and help with fly selections before sending them off to the known hot spots. Visitors continue to compliment the staff on their time and help getting on and off the water and how fishing at Eyebrook is such a pleasant experience. I was a busy day at the Eyebrook with most of the fleet out on the water and a large number of anglers out on the bank. Some Anglers were faring better than others. Those that were catching in good numbers were either on buzzers, damsels, or they were fishing small shuttlecock patters. As it has been for the past few weeks, The Island and Mucky bay are drawing a lot of attention from the anglers.

Wednesday seen a few familiar faces out on the water and bank getting in to good numbers of fish using buzzers on a washing line of fishing crippled midge and CDC patterns. Yet again, the individuals that know this water were outfishing the masses that were visiting. But in part, the beginning of a horrible weather front is beginning to show that the fish are not coming as readily as they have done in previous weeks.

Thursday seen the return of the Bull fly fishers to Eyebrook. The weather was good to begin with early in the morning. But as the day progressed, the weather became increasingly horrible which in turn made the conditions difficult for the guys out in the boats and they came back in before 3 o’clock and called it a day. Meanwhile, out on the banks, some of the anglers had found good spots out of the worst of the wind and were managing to pick up good numbers of fish.

Friday was a complete write off. No boats were out due to the wind speed. However, only 2 brave souls ventured on to the banks later in the day to battle the elements and between them they managed to bring 11 fish to the net. N Heath and D Watson. Outstanding angling in adverse conditions.

Saturday brought better conditions for our anglers with the more mild conditions and settled wind, our anglers were now enjoying a lot of top of the water sport. Small foam daddies and CDC shuttlecock patters accounted for a majority of the fish. But the surprise of the day came from one of our pike anglers in the form of a large Brown trout that tipped the scales at 19lbs 8oz some of the staff have seen a picture of it and we are eager to release a photo as soon as we can. It just goes to show that really large fish can thrive in Eyebrook.

Sunday saw us playing host to the Thornton Fly fishers and the All Abilities Fly fishers (AAFF) conditions were quite pleasant early in the morning, but as the day moved on, strong winds started to make fishing uncomfortable for a few and the fishing became a little more challenging. Due to the worsening wind conditions, Thornton decided to call it a day by 3 o’clock with most of the field of anglers landing 3 to 4 fish each. The All Abilities crowd faired a little better with quite a few of their anglers getting in to double figures. Outstanding angling!! Especially when it was a day when a few new members were joining them. The fantastic administration of the team By Mark Goodge, Ian Bradfield, Shaun Higgins and Dave Davies helped to make a smooth transition from the cars to boat as simple for their anglers as possible. Morning boatman Andy Miller had a great time helping out and ensuring everyone was safe and having a good time.

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 16^th May.  Water Temperature: 13c+   Weekly Rod Av: 5.5

Monday a mix of weather, nice in the morning with the breeze picking up during the day with heavy rain showers at times. Floating lines, midge tips and intermediates worked best with buzzer – olive or black, pheasant tail working best with Jem Langley fishing buzzer and pheasant tail to catch his 6 fish during a morning’s visit

Tuesday a warmer day but again some heavy rain showers. Trout are spread throughout the reservoir with the majority of the trout feeding on the buzzer Mark Burrows fishing up the Thornton arm on spooning his catch found them to be on last year’s perch fry. Barry Deeley fished olive buzzer and blue flash damsel to catch his 12 fish, Paul Martindale kept on his buzzers boating 7 trout with Don Howatt fishing olive buzzers to catch his 6 trout.

Wednesday and a further stocking of 1200+ rainbows averaging 800g /1lb12oz went in today, should keep the good sport we have had during our opening 5 weeks going. Fish moved during the day to hatches of buzzer and increasing numbers of hawthorn during the afternoon with the area along the lonesome pine, stones favourite areas to find the hawthorn been blown onto the water. Excellent evening rise with lots of fish moving close in along the dam wall especially during the last couple of hours.

Thursday the wind was back in the east but that didn’t stop the fish from rising off and on during the day. The shelter from the chilly east wind given buy the Thornton arm, wood and green bay fished best with buzzers and a few hawthorn been on the trout’s menu. R Thorp returned for a days fishing at Thornton after a lengthy absence, he and his boat partner P Wesson caught 14 trout, member P Hunt enjoyed another good visit catching 12, All Water members L Serrano caught 11 for his mornings visit on damsel & buzzers with All Water member M. Ravenscroft catching 8 for his afternoon visit all taken on buzzers.

Friday and another day when the trout were to be seen feeding on & off all day, but they proved weren’t easy. Chris Sayer found a silver & white booby worked best for him as did G Jackson, All Water member P Walker caught his fish on nymphs and buzzers with Carl Bond fishing the evening session finding a buzzer or fab worked best for him.

Saturday proved to be an easier day, the fish still not easy but prepared to take a well presented dry, buzzer or nymph with Saturday returning a rod average 10

Joe & Tim Holder fresh from their days tuition with Andy Miller at Eyebrook a few weeks before visited Thornton and enjoyed a red letter day catching 25 between them on pheasant tail, buzzer & blob, B Perry who often fishes the bank opted on this occasion for a boat catching 17 on buzzers with Mark Hunt going way up the Markfield arm were he fond the fish prepared to take his klinkhammers & dries from a drifting boat

Sunday the expected rain that was forecast never came with the rods out on the water enjoying excellent sport. John Thompson and P Hunt fished buzzers to catch their 18 fish to the boat as did Andrew Wilson catching his 6 fish by the lonesome pine, Rob Knapp also fished the Markfield arm with buzzer patterns to catch his 7 trout for a morning’s visit. David Woodall fished yellow owls to take his 6 fish. We welcomed local angling club Thornton Fly Fishers click on the link for their website Thornton Fly Fishers Club (simpl.com) They fished their boat pairs competition with nearly all the pairs taking part catching their limits it came down to weight with Russ Martin & Ray Jordan being victorious with Peter Birdsall taking the prize for the largest fish. Next week they visit Eyebrook.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

Week Ending Sunday 16^th May 2021        Rod Av: 8.4     Water Temperature:12 °C

Yet another windy day Monday from the South with the winds in the afternoon hitting 20mph and making the North Shore very rough. All water season ticket holder Phil Mee fished at the Hensborough bank using green buzzers to land 11 fish in a half day session. On the bank fishing at the Hensborough Bank and also the Swan’s Nest Bob Barfoot landed 4 fish including one on a dry Hawthorn as they are now around the reservoir. Taking advantage of our last 4 hour permit Ali Tait landed 7 fish from the bank.

A drop in the wind saw the fishing improve Tuesday with the rod average just under 8 fish per angler. On the bank Peter Elliot landed 7 fish on washing lined buzzers, catching from various marks in Peter’s words “all over the place”. All water member Norman Perkins landed 8 fish also on Buzzers and FABS on the bank. Starting their 4 day break Gary McGinlay & G Pelini landed 25 fish to the boat using a washing line landing their fish at the Hensborough Bank and the School Slips. Ed Douglas enjoyed a good day with 26 fish with 10 of those falling to dries in the morning, with he rest coming on to Buzzers. Ed found the fish around the Outlet and then later in the day at the Spit.

Fantastic sport Wednesday with great conditions apart from a couple of heavy showers, the rod average for the day was 10.8. It was really a day for the boats, however, John Woodcock enjoyed good sport on a last 4 hour ticket landing 8 fish from the Swans Nest on a green pea. With Rob Bettinson landing 4 fish on buzzers and also black & green lures. On the boats buzzers was the order of the day Jimmy Burtle & John Cowell landed 45 fish to the baot straight lining buzzers catching “in all areas”. Sandy Robertson & Ali Tait landed 43 using the Bung with buzzers and also a midge tip line. Russell Swinbourne landed 18 fish with 4 fish over 4lb and 1 5.2lb and commented on “the perfect tails and great fish”. Draycote Manager Tom Bird took Brian Bywater out for a 4 hour guide after a 15 year break from fishing. Brian enjoyed a great morning landing 12 fish all on buzzers either fished on a washing line or straight lined. For bookings and enquiries for tuition call Tom on 01788 812018 or send him an email on guiding.tuition@flyfishstore.co.uk.

Yet more good conditions Thursday with winds from the North East and overcast skies the rain that was forecast held off for most of the day, however it was a very wet evening. Colin Day fished on the bank using buzzers to land 11 fish taking fish from the Cornfeild, Biggin Bay & Tower Bank and commented the fish “where excellent and in fighting fit condition”. On the boats buzzers were once again the key to good numbers. Season ticket holder Paul Mitchell landed 27 fish using a RIO Midge Tip with buzzers a FAB. Fellow season ticket holders Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell landed 40 fish to the boat using an Airflo 6ft Slow Tip with 2 FABS and 2 buzzers in the middle catching their fish from the Swan’s Net, Cornfield & Biggin Bay. Gary Murray also used Buzzers and a FAB landing 34 fish landing fish all over the lake. Draycote members Chris Discombe & Jim Brennan enjoyed a good days sport landing 19 fish all on buzzers. However the highlight of the day was Chris landing a 7lb rainbow witnessed by fellow angler Paul Mitchell.

Friday was an excellent day out on the water, with light breezes, overcast and the chance of a light shower. Tony Broadway netted 8 fish from the bank on Buzzers from Toft shallows and the corn field. Season permit holder Steve Lees also caught 8 fish from the bank, but this time on nymphs. The boat anglers faired a bit better with fish getting caught in Toft Shallows, Grays Barn,, Biggin Bay, as well as Rainbow Corner and the Hensborough Bank. Mr M Foster and Mr J Vyse had 20 fish between them from Biggin Bay on a mixture of Black Buzzers and Damsels. Ed Douglas caught over 20 fish from  a boat on Dries. Season permit holder Alex Urquhart had 18 fish to the boat on a sunburst blob and muskins.

Draycote regular Alex Campbell had a bakers dozen anchored up at Grays Barn. Alex fished size 12 Olive Buzzers and Hot Head Diawl Bachs straight through off a floating line to land his fish.

Another set of fine fishing conditions at Draycote water on Saturday helped produce a daily rod average of 9.6. Bank anglers had fish aplenty with Mr M Nicol taking 8 on buzzers, Mike Garner netting 5 on Hares Ears, and Lee Cheshire catching his 6 fish on Olive Buzzers with an orange cheek. The boat pairing of Bob Askew and Ian Roberts netted over 30 fish between them on a mixture of buzzers, damsels and snakes, remarking on a great day out. Mr Craig Culin and Mr John McVay also had over 30 fish to the boat using olive buzzers down in Toft Shallows. Mr M Schofield remarked on what a super day he had out on the water after netting 12 great fish, all on green buzzers. Mr Adam Price Hunt had nearly 30 to the boat on a mixture of buzzers and dries.

Sunday was yet another day with mostly good fishing conditions, interrupted by a storm which came through about lunchtime, but quickly cleared. Again the anglers returned a good rod average with fish being caught on lures, nymphs, buzzers, and dries. Nearly all of the reservoir is fishing well at the moment, with good returns coming from Toft Shallows, Biggin Bay, Rainbow Corner and The Hensborough Bank. James and Les Maplethorpe had a “Superb Day”, netting nearly 30 fish on buzzers and diawl bachs, with several fish of between 3 and 5 lbs. Season permit holder Paul Mtchell and his boat partner had over 40 fish to the boat on buzzers and dries. Jim Smith and Ed Douglas did nearly the whole day on various dries such as shipman’s buzzers, and had a large number of quality fish to the boat. Paul Walley ventured out onto the bank to net 11 fish in Toft on FAB’s and buzzers. Luke Orton also took to the bank to net a dozen fish on buzzers and lures, again in Toft Shallows.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Draycote regular Mr Ron Bevan. Ron was a long time supporter of the reservoir and such a character. He always had a tale or a joke to make you roar with laughter on even the dullest of days. I know he will be sadly missed by many of the anglers and all the staff here at Draycote Water.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 16th May   Weekly Rod Average 9.2  Water Temp: 12c

Monday started us off as gentle as a lamb, but by lunch time the wind and rain descended on Eyebrook making the fishing conditions challenging and a bit uncomfortable for most. However, those that found shelter were justly rewarded with some outstanding sport. A lot of our Eyebrook and All Water Season ticket holders have been catching large numbers of fish for the past few weeks. This shows that there is no real substitute for intricate knowledge of a reservoir and what patterns work best for that time of year. W Juniper and J Wilson had a good day out getting to double figures each from the boat as well as J Smith and K Haken getting good numbers of fish as well. Draycote regular P Biernaki has been a regular visitor to Eyebrook over the past week and has had some great days fishing from the bank, in a short session on Monday afternoon, he managed a cool 7 to the bank on buzzers and nymphs with plenty of action in between.

Tuesday has been a different day from Monday. The weather has been really pleasant for our anglers until about half past 1, when the heavens opened, and we experienced a heavy deluge. This was quickly followed by some of our anglers opting to call it a day and retreat to a drier environment. Half an hour later, the sun was shining, and the Hawthorne flies came out to dance around in the gentle breeze. This sent the fish in to a frenzy around mucky bay. Ian Watts and Rob Toptalo had a fantastic day out on the water bringing well in to double figures each to the boat on buzzers and damsel patterns. Lots of other anglers were reporting good numbers to the boats fishing buzzers washing line method. Andy Sturrock and Keith Arnold joined us for a day on the water after enjoying a tuition day under the direction of Andy Miller. They were having limited success on the top side of the Island. But once Eyebrook Manager Jim sorted out a little bung set up for Keith and cast it far enough to get to the feeding fish, he got a shock when a fish wrenched the line tight and nearly pulled him off his feet.

Wednesday was stunning, a gentle breeze and sunshine with occasional cloud cover. Neil Cohen arrived with the Fly-fishing Large Reservoir group for a day on the water to introduce a few new and experienced anglers to the delights of fishing from a boat on a large water. Ultimately, the FFLR group had a fantastic day out on the water. Bill McIlroy and Michael Rowe were top boated pair on the day and were rewarded with a free boat and 4 fish ticket each. Lots of anglers were experiencing some great catches, but fish of the day fell to Russ Dyer. He landed a lump of a fish weighing in at 4lbs 14oz. It fell to a size 14 Diawl bach by the Chestnut tree. This was only one fish from an impressive haul from the bank.

Thursday continued with fantastic buzzer action from all corners of the reservoir All water ticket holders and long-time boat partners Ged O’Donoghue and Steve Orton had yet again a spectacular day bringing a large number of fish to the boat. Roy Anderson ventured out in a boat  for a day out and managed an eye watering number to the boat. Fantastic angling Roy. Lots of anglers are reporting good numbers and the fishing seems to be most productive around the Island.

Friday seen Mr N Davies take a small group out for a day on the water. As self-confessed novices, they were given some guidance and direction from the staff on set up and where to go to catch a few fish. Everyone of them managed to hook in to and play fish with only 1 from the group practicing long distance release on every fish played. Peter Biernaki once again has been enjoying some fantastic sport from the bank at Eyebrook this week. He has been enjoying some fantastic results fishing buzzers or dry flies.

Saturday welcomed back the regular Eyebrook season ticket trio, Steve Lawrence, Bob Margery and Dave Chadwick. All 3 of them got well in to double figures and were off home by 3 o’clock for a well earned snooze to recharge themselves for more fishing in the coming week.

Sunday had the Mid Northants fly fishers join us for a small group gathering out on the Eyebrook with a majority of the anglers managing to get in to double figures. It was good to see a few familiar faces again joining us for a day out. Andy Lane had a phenomenal day out on the bank fishing CDC’s or buzzers to bank well in to double figures of fish. Lots of anglers are now enjoying the dry fly sport that Eyebrook has a reputation for. With a steady stream of buzzers hatching off in the evenings, Hawthorne flies being blown on to the water, Damsels now starting to hatch off and the occasional daddy long legs making an appearance shows how diverse the variety of food the fish have to choose from is.

The evening hatches have been providing some fantastic sport for the last 4-hour tickets in the past week or so. This only shows great promise for the evening boat league that will be starting on the 5^th of June and run fortnightly. The aim of the league is not to turn our visitors in to competitive monsters, it’s so that anglers get to meet other anglers in a friendly setting and learn from one another and hopefully develop life long friendships. The chance of winning free boats and some cash in the end only makes it sweeter.

Contact the lodge to get booked in/ or for further details.

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 9^th May.  Rod Av: 5.3    Water Temperature: 11c+

Monday due to the weather no anglers on site. Tuesday conditions were only slightly better, P Cox decided to fish from the bank, he found a bit of shelter off the corner of the wood and was rewarded with 7 trout.

Wednesday conditions improved with boats out on the water. Anglers reported fish moving most of the day with an excellent evening rise. Buzzers, suspender buzzers & damsels patterns worked best with trout taken from opposite the lodge and across to the stones & out in front of the main dam. Grey buzzers size 10 / 12 with the olive buzzer size 14 hatching in good numbers throughout the day. Rod average 6.6

Thursday and a bitterly cold northerly wind with rain & sleet showers during the day. Despite the conditions trout continued to move off & on during the day with anglers generally catching on cruncher, diawl bach, buzzer & damsels. Barry Deeley caught 12 on an olive cruncher & blue flash damsel with P Wrigley & R Dunster boating 11 on buzzers for their mornings visit. Overall rod average for the day 6.1

Friday, another early morning frost which quickly gave way to a sunny morning with fish to be seen rising. Chris Sayer was booked for the day but having caught 20+ trout by 1.30pm decided to call it a day, P Hunt fished in front of the wood & caught 16 for his visit. J Smith who is just getting into the sport visited Thornton for the second time catching 6 trout for his afternoon visit. Mark Hunt having spent some time at his fly tying bench managed 9 for his afternoon visit on dries.

Saturday and a windy, cold, wet day with no rods. As forecasted a much better day Sunday with the wind from the south, south west, at last some warmth with the breeze. Again plenty of trout to be seen feeding on the hatches of Grey buzzer size 10 / 12 & olive buzzer size 14. Most anglers started opposite the lodge to the wood but with fish moving across the middle Andre Russell took his float tube & fished along the front of the dam catching 9 for his mornings visit on fabs and buzzers, with Gary Cragg also float tubing catching 13 on similar patterns. Dave Woodall fished on the corner of the wood with buzzers and booby to catch his 6 fish with Pete Hunt & John Thomson fishing buzzers to boat their 10 fish during their mornings visit

Water clarity is gin clear, fish to be seen feeding off the surface. Trout are well spread across the reservoir, its starting to pay dividends to fish areas which to date have been left alone.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

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

The bank holiday Monday was certainly a rough one with the boats cancelled due to the strong winds. As a result of the weather we only had a few hardy bank anglers out. Season ticket holder Ian Richardson landed 9 fish from the bank on buzzers. With John Dickens taking 4 fish, from Hensborough Bank.

Due to high winds and rain no boats went out Tuesday, and what a difference a day makes on Wednesday with had lovely warm sun and light winds to start the day. However during the afternoon the wind picked up and we had some very wintery showers. On the bank all water member Lorenzo Serrano enjoyed a good day fishing buzzers at the old pipe in Biggin Bay. On the boats John Goodwin used black buzzers to take over 25 fish. R Symons also opted for black buzzers but also a black booby to land 18. Draycote season ticket holder John Dickens fished in Dunn’s & Biggin Bay using a black and green lure and also a washing line with a FAB and Buzzers in a boat to land 24 fish. Also on the boats Steve Cullen fished with Barry Tindell catching a good number of fish using buzzers in the morning before switching to a single blob in the afternoon catching fish in Rainbow Corner and Biggin Bay.

Thursday was yet another hit and miss day with the weather. We had hailstones early on, followed by intermittent showers, some calm conditions and at times bright sunshine. Despite this Draycote water fished pretty well overall, with the daily rod average coming out at 7.6. Alan Grant and Colin Grainger managed 8 apiece whilst bank fishing up near the valve tower on buzzers.  Tony Broadway caught 16 fish from the bank using a washing line with buzzers and diawl bachs. Boat partners Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had over 30 fish on buzzers between them, remarking on the quality of the fish. Ray Wallace and Dave Ward had nearly 30 fish to the boat on buzzers and noted” A great day with quality trout”.

Friday was an excellent day to be out on the water, with both boat and bank anglers enjoying some great sport. Off the bank Tony Broadway and Colin Day caught 17 and 14 fish apiece, mainly on buzzers. Bob Barfoot also had a good day on the bank netting 7 fish on a washing line, with buzzers and a green and white mini booby. Out on the boats Lee Patten and Peter Elliott managed to get well into double figures using buzzers and FAB’s. Both Tom Bird and Lee Henfrey had a good day out on the water. Tom and Lee used Midge tips and floating lines with buzzers and FAB’s to boat a good number of fish, remarking that they fished all four corners of the reservoir and caught wherever they went. New Fishery management staff member Steve Meacham and his boat partner caught a good number of fish between them in Biggin Bay using a washing line and black buzzers with an orange cheek.

Saturday was wet and windy all day, and not the most pleasant of conditions here at Draycote. Consequently only eight anglers in total ventured out, mostly on the bank. Mr L and Mr D Orton managed 17 fish on buzzers from various points around the bank. Out on the boat Mr Harrison and Mr White caught 6 fish between them in very uncomfortable conditions up near rainbow corner.

A vast improvement on the weather forecast Sunday with the rain never making an appearance, however the gusty wind did mean presentation at times was a challenge. However, the fish seemed eager to take the anglers fly with he rod average for the day being 9.4. Stephen Dewhurst fishing in Toft from the bank landed 9 fish his new PB at Draycote, so a very well done to Stephen from all the fishery team. Draycote member Paul Walley enjoyed good sport in the corner of the Hensbrough Bank landing 7 fish using buzzers fished on a washing line. On the boats Stephen Peart landed 33 fish using buzzers on a midge tip line taking his fish from the Hensborough Bank and also the Farborough Dam wall. Lee Nolan & Glen Thompson landed 47 fish to the boat at the Hensborough Bank fishing lures with their biggest fish being a cracking rainbow of 5lb.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

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

Week ending 9th May   Weekly Rod Average 12.5        Water Temp: 12c

Following on from an amazing couple of weeks on Eyebrook, where we had many anglers enjoying the fantastic buzzer fishing, unseasonal weather returned this week with a vengeance. Monday and Tuesday saw heavy winds prevent any boats from venturing onto the reservoir, whilst Wednesday, although better, saw snow and hail. The conditions improved on Thursday and Friday but deteriorated again over the weekend with heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday morning. Notwithstanding the weather, the fishing was good with some fine catches rewarding those anglers willing to brave the elements. Anther stocking took place on the Tuesday when a further 1500 quality fish were stocked.

Monday kicked off this week with an impressive 10+ rod average from the bank, with Gaz Roberts taking a dozen whilst Mr Biernacki topped this with a baker’s dozen. Mark Hunt fished an evening with dries and netted five. Buzzers and hoppers were still catching on Tuesday with Ken Key taking 9 whilst Alan Middleton had 4.

The winds had abated by Wednesday, so the boats were allowed out, although the weather was at times uncomfortable with squalls of snow and hail mixed in with distant rumblings of thunder. Notwithstanding this, the fishing was awesome with 24 anglers recording a massive 569 fish for a daily average in excess of 20, highlighting the benefits of a couple of days rest. The excellent catches were shared by both bank and boat anglers with numerous double figure returns. Naturals and dries all produced, with straight lining a team of buzzers, fishing the bung and the washing line all producing. Anyone needing a refresher session on these methods can find excellent guidance on Tom Birds blogs on our guiding and tuition website which can be accessed by the following link; www.flyfishtuition.co.uk/latest-report

The fishing on both Thursday and Friday continued to be excellent, with an impressive double figure rod average on both days. Nearly 100 anglers visited the Eyebrook over these two days and enjoyed excellent sport from the bank, in their float tubes or from the boats. Reviewing the catch returns over the two days and being out and about on the banks, it was nice to see a variety of methods being used to great success with buzzers, crunchers, diawl bachs and dries to the fore. The fish were spread out across all four corners of the reservoir, with anglers, if they desired, being able to find quite areas to enjoy all that the Eyebrook has to offer. This includes not just the excellent fishing, but the abundant water fowl and birds for which the Eyebrook is renowned, and the opportunity to watch an Osprey fishing, all set in lush peaceful countryside. One newcomer to our sport, visiting the reservoir after an introductory course the week before, remarked how enjoyable it was to be fortunate enough to spend a morning catching fish in such a wonderful place.

Over these two days, several anglers fished from their float tubes and enjoyed excellent sport, fishing for and catching trout from a completely different perspective. Eyebrook has float tubes for hire and our staff are able to offer guidance in their safe use. If this area of our sport sounds appealing, contact the lodge for further details or have a look on our social media pages.

Saturday saw heavy rain move in, which kept the majority of the anglers at home. However, Eyebrook members Dave Chadwick and Bob Margery fished rom the netted bank on the Rutland side of the reservoir and were rewarded with excellent sport, as both of them reported getting well in to double figures.

Sunday showed much more comfortable conditions than were forecast. Great sport was had with good numbers coming from Mucky bay up to the Chestnut tree. Bank anglers were also having success by the Hawthorne’s as well. Mark Goodge, Shaun Higgins, Ian Bradfield and Dave Davis from the All Abilities Fly-Fishers had a great day afloat with all anglers getting well in to double figures each fishing around the cow shed to mucky bay on Buzzers and FAB’s, all water member Andy Lilley had great sport to a dry hawthorn pattern with these insect in abundance.

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

Week ending 2^nd May    Rod Av: 3.6    Water Temp: 11c+

I wasn’t surprised to read were having the coldest April since 1970, our water temperature this week dropped back, however, I’m not complaining, were seeing the best April rises for years with fish feeding on the buzzer hatching all day

Monday and another frost and cold easterly wind, anglers generally fished in the shelter of the wood with the successful anglers coming off their floaters to fish with sink 3 or 5 sinking lines with damsels, olive booby or black & green tadpole.

Tuesday, a rare treat, flat calm with whatever breeze coming from the south. The excellent hatch of black buzzers with fish to be seen feeding most of the day from the Thornton arm opposite the lodge across to the stones & dam wall. Black hoppers & black buzzer size 12 fished best although the fish moving in the evening were tricky, its time in the evening to get off the anchor & drift, it allows you to cover more water & puts your fly in front of different fish every cast.

Wednesday a quiet day angler wise due to the forecast, we’re back to the north, north easterly cold winds, the heavy rain that was forecast missed us. Anglers opted to fish in the shelter of the wood bank, the wind wouldn’t settle in one direction and veered from a northerly to an easterly off & on during the day. Anglers reported fish moving on & off for most of the day with black buzzer size 12 been the most effective pattern, although an intermediate or sinking line with a damsel or cats whisker also worked.

Thursday and the water temp had fallen back to 11c+ fish to be seen feeding off the surface with the best sport to be had in the Thornton arm & main car park across the middle. Plenty buzzers hatching.

Friday, at last light winds, flat calm at times, with the trout again rising all day from in front of the lodge all the way across the middle of the reservoir to the stones. Lots of buzzer hatching, a grey buzzer size 10 / 12 & an olive buzzer size 14, photo of the buzzers on our facebook page,  www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  With the majority of the trout being taken on buzzers & suspender buzzers member Alan Smith found a silver invicta worked best for him. Great evening rise.

Saturday and another day with the trout rising well, at times close to the bank along the Thornton arm and wood. They weren’t easy preoccupied on the buzzer hatches, the boats that drifted enjoyed the best of the sport

Sunday fish again moving feeding hard. Floating, midge tip and intermediate lines worked best with damsel pattern and grey / black buzzer size 12 / 10 and size 14 olive buzzer. Suspender buzzer also took fish, but again with so many fish moving a drifting boat scored best.

This past week our water temperature remains cool for the time of year but that has not affected the hatches see photos of the buzzers hatching on our social media pages. Water clarity is excellent. Time to fish low diameter leaders, with boats on the drift starting to catch better than the anchored boats.

If your short of time, get out for the last 4 hour evening rise, you’ll see plenty of trout moving.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Week ending 2^nd May 2021          Rod Average: 4.3         Water Temp: 10’c

A warmer feel to Monday with the cold East wind dropping slight to single figures, as a result the fish responded well with some great catches on buzzers. The Tower Bank continued to produce for the bank anglers with season ticket holder Ian Richardson, landing 12 fish on buzzers. On the boats all water member Ian Jobe enjoyed a great day’s sport landing 35 fish. Ian, fished from an anchored boat at the School slips fishing a team of buzzers on a floating line. Draycote member Lee Patten used a snake on a Di 5 sinking line to take over 20 fish. Fishing the afternoon Matt Osbourne & Pete Whealan landed 24 fish on a mix of buzzers, damsels & minkies.

The first cloudy day we had in a long time, as a result the fish fed high in the water and when the wind dropped out later in the day the reservoir was boiling with fish. However the flat calm conditions did make it tricky to get the correct presentation. On the bank Norman Perkins fished the Tower Bank on Buzzers to land 15 fish, with Draycote season ticket holder Steve Lees & John Falconbridge landing 8 fish each again on buzzers. On the boats Ian Morris landed 22 fish on Diawl Bachs fished on a washing line around Rainbow Corner and commented on “the good fish & good fishing”. Using Gold headed Hares Ears in Biggin Bay Adam Hollins landed 16 fish.

A vastly different day Wednesday with heavy overnight rain and a breeze North wind, which later swung to a strong North East wind. Fishing on the bank Alan Bettles enjoyed a great day’s sport landing 16 fish on black buzzers in the droppers and a white and green lure on the point. On the boats season ticket holder James Alexander landed 7 fish in Biggin Bay on a snake. Jeff Ide enjoyed a great days sport landing 27 fish from Alberts Bottom in Biggin Bay. With the vast majority of Jeffs fish taking a blue flash Damsel fished on the point of a team of flies. Draycote/ Guiding & Tuition Manager Tom Bird took fly fishing newcomer Tom Thorpe out for his firs ever go at Fly Fishing with Tom landing his first ever fish.

Another cold wind Thursday this time from the North West, however, in the afternoon the wind did drop and the temperature rose causing the fish to be seen feeding on the surface. Season ticket holder Tony Broadway landed 21 fish from the Tower Bank fishing with a FAB on the point. John Hall fished on Lincroft point using a weighted Green Pea landing 13 fish and enjoyed “good days sport”. On the boats Richard Walker enjoyed a good mornings sport landing 15 fish using various Damsel patterns at the Overflow. Richard also landed a cracking Rainbow of 5lb which is pictured at www.facebook.com/flyfishstore Season ticket holder Alec Urquhart fished with Johnathan Wood with the pair boating 22 fish using a mix of Diawl Bachs and Buzzers fished on a washing line with a FAB on the point. Fellow season ticket holders Paul Mitchell & Eddie Mitchell enjoyed a “Fantastic Day” boating 40 fish using a Midge Tip line and a team of buzzers held up again on a washing line with a FAB with he fish being caught through Biggin Bay & Dunn’s.

The wind changed around at various point Friday going from the straight North to a North West then into a straight West. As a result of all the wind changes the bank anglers found it a bit difficult, Jim Hall landed 5 fish on buzzers in the morning before calling it a day. The boat angler faired much netter with season ticket holders Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landing over 60 fish. The pair found the fish at the School Slip using Buzzers and Crunchers fished deep on a floating line with a slow nearly static retrieve. Dave Bennett & boat partner Chris Smith landed 26 fish in a morning season fishing along the Draycote Dam using Blue Flash Damsel Patterns. Russel Swimbourne fished buzzers at Hensborough and Rainbow Corner landing 18 fish.

A bright but cold start to Saturday with a light north westerly, which then clouded over in the afternoon. A good day on the bank for Mr M Braun who netted 7 fish from the bank in Duns Bay on buzzers. The boat pairing of Les and Karl Lerigo netted 16 fish between them, commenting on  “a good day”. Karl had 2 fish over 6lbs whilst Les weighed in a rainbow of 9lbs 8oz, all from rainbow corner. Mr B and Mr T Ball had a great day again up in rainbow corner, having well over 30 fish to the boat on buzzers, the best of which was 5lbs 8oz. Ian Ross and Mike Garner used buzzers and damsels to good effect, netting 17 fish, one of which was in excess of 7lbs. Mr M Schofield caught 8 fish from a boat using buzzers and holographic diawl bachs fished deep.

Again a sunny start to Sunday with an air temperature of about 3’c. It was mostly flat calm through the morning with a small storm and hailstones coming through about one o’clock. This in turn lead to cloud cover and a light breeze through the afternoon, and improved fishing conditions. Season permit holder Paul Walley used FAB’s to good effect on the Hensborough Bank to net 9 fish, whilst Mark Johnson Jones caught 4 from the bank using FAB’s and black buzzers. Mark Edwards went out for an afternoon session on the bank, netting 5 fish again on buzzers. It was tough going out on the boats to start with, with anglers commenting that things didn’t pick up until after the storm. The boat pairing of Mr K Harding and Mr M Clarke had 18 fish to the net on various methods.  Richard Walker had 5 fish to the boat on lures but said that he had dropped twice that number. Paul Mitchell and Mr T Burn had over 30 fish to the boat using small buzzers, the best of which was about 4lbs. The usual suspects of Ed Douglas and Jim Smith also had over 30 fish to the boat on buzzers, quite a few of which were caught drifting across the front of the pontoon. Mr L Foster and Mr D Webb had 7 fish apiece to the boat in Rainbow corner, mainly on buzzers.

Foremark Fly Fishers held a competition on Draycote water on Sunday which was attended by 9 anglers. A total of 38 fish were caught,( the best of which was 3lbs 12oz ) giving a competition rod average of 4.2. Well done to all those who took part.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Week ending 2^nd May   Weekly Rod Average: 11.2 Water Temp: 12c

Following on from an amazing week on Eyebrook, where we had many anglers enjoying the fantastic buzzer fishing.

Monday kicked off this week with an impressive 11+ rod average. Anglers are reporting large swathes of fish from the Island, all the way to the nature reserve boundary line. Most of these fish are falling to washing lined buzzers or straight through Diawl bachs and crunchers on floating lines and midge tips.

Tuesday and we have just had Roger Charles pop into the lodge to the lodge this morning to tell us that he has had a fantastic morning catching rising fish on a ginger hooper from the bank at the Chestnut tree. Truly a sign that the fish are now coming up in the upper layers of the lake to feed. Everyone seems to be focused on the Leicestershire bank, but there are plenty of fish rising all the way from Robbo’s cabin up to the Stoke dry car park on the Rutland bank. A slight shift in wind direction would make for fantastic sport from the bank. One of our Pike anglers had a pleasant surprise when he landed a large Perch. The Perch weighed in at 4lbs 1oz, apparently beating the previous Eyebrook record of 4lbs.

Wednesday arrived along with some strong winds coming out of the North East which in turn has made fishing the Leicestershire bank pretty much unfishable for the bank anglers. The Rutland bank is offering the much-needed shelter for the bank anglers, float tubers and boat anglers alike. From what I saw in those areas the day before, I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised, there were a lot of fish moving in the surface yesterday. Today marks the 3^rd day of D. Quigley and J McGuiggan’s 3-day package with us at Eyebrook. They’ve had 3 days of fantastic sport from the top end of the reservoir, mostly fishing buzzers, but having some great action on the CDC Yellow Owl’s, an Eyebrook favourite.

Thursday brought some harsh cold North Easterly winds which made fishing from drifting boats quite difficult. Those that ventured out on the boats headed into the more sheltered corners of the reservoir and still managed some really good bags of fish throughout the day. Most of the bank anglers struggled to get out in to areas that the boats could reach.

Friday the whole fleet out in the morning, obviously, a reflection of how well Eyebrook has been fishing this past week. Things have been really busy in the shop, with the phone ringing off the hook and lots of customers looking for guidance and advice as well as those little bits of kit that they need. The fishing still looks to be prolific and anglers reporting pods of fish feeding heavily on buzzers and Damsel nymphs. With light breezes in the afternoons and the temperatures rising, anglers are starting to take fish on the dries. All water ticket holder Phil Mee was so happy after practically living on the lake for a week, he even dropped off some cakes for the staff.

Saturday continues to be really busy, and we are receiving calls from anglers desperate to get out on to the water to enjoy the amazing buzzer action. Dan Goodlie joined Mr Eyebrook (Andy Miller) for an hour’s casting tuition. He had a thoroughly entertaining introduction and could not wait to get set up with kit. A very experienced Coarse angler, he is looking forward to getting stuck in o his fly-fishing journey and his future visits to Eyebrook and beyond. It was a pleasure to spend a bit of time with you to help you get started.

Sunday weather reports were showing that we should have been getting a westerly wind at around 5 – 7mph. However, looking out on to the water, at times it looked and felt more like a Northerly wind. Bank anglers and boat anglers were reporting that the conditions were a little different to what they were expecting. Eyebrook Ranger Jason took to the water on his day off with his friend Shak, who managed to whittle out a stunning 4lbs 8oz Rainbow. Jason and Shak decided to try and stay away from the crowded areas and search the other parts of the lake that weren’t getting as much attention. Sometimes doing your own thing can produce results. Well done Shak.

Yet again, Eyebrook legend, Andy Miller was joined by a group of 5 for a day’s tuition. Robert and Victoria Carr, Richard Hartland, Keith Arnold and Andrew Sturrock enjoyed an entertaining day with Andy, learning all the basics. From setting up the rod’s and tying on leaders, through some entomology to gain an understanding of the trout’s diet. Then on to some casting basics. Then under Andy’s watchful eye, they ventured out on to the water to put in to practice what Andy had taught them. We hope you all had a pleasant experience and plan to visit us again in the near future.

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

Week ending 25^th April.     Water Temperature:  11c+          Rod Av: 3.5

Flat calm for long periods of the day with the wind during the late afternoon swinging to the south. Most of the day anglers concentrated their efforts to the bank opposite the lodge & wood although a few rods took our advice & went across the main basin towards the stones & green bay.

The wood bank continues to produce to floating & intermediate lines with damsels, buzzers, crunchers & biscuit fab, with some anglers catching in excess of 20 trout.

Most of last week we have seen an improving evening rise especially across the middle of the reservoir, Monday night we enjoyed our best evening rise of the season with fish moving along the middle of the Thornton arm across to the stones & out in front of the dam. They weren’t easy to tempt on emergers or dries with the best results falling to black buzzer, small diawls & crunchers fished just sub surface.

Our last 4 hours fishing permits are £4.00 boat with the last 4 hour permit £10.00 which allows you to take 1 trout & return any others.

Tuesday from late morning onwards the trout moved all day to a continuous buzzer hatch with trout moving from in front of the lodge all the way across to the stones and dam. Anglers found it was easier to catch on buzzer, diawls & crunchers fished sub surface rather than emergers & dries. Great to see the fish moving as they did during the day despite the cool easterly.

Wednesday and the coldest day of the week, frost in the morning with a biting east wind. Mr Perry on the bank fishing with buzzers caught 10 when most other anglers in the boats found the fishing difficult.

Thursday and Friday were similar days, warm in the sun but with a cool easterly breeze. Although most anglers started opposite the lodge and off the corner of the wood by late morning, early afternoon they were more spread out from the stones to green bay and across the middle. Floating lines continued to take fish with buzzers, diawls and damsels with some anglers finding a sinking line with black and green lures, humungus and bunny patterns also taking fish.

Saturday & Sunday, morning frost with the cold easterly continuing to blow. Trout are starting to move away from the wood with anglers picking up trout in the Thornton arm, stones, green bay and across the middle with some of the better catches falling to anglers using a sinking line with damsel, black and green lures and humungus with limited evening rise with the cold easterly.

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Week Ending 25th April 2021   Water Temperature 9’C.   Rod Average 6.3

A lovely start to the week with bright sunny conditions, and light winds. However, not the most amazing fishing conditions. Despite this Ian Richardson fished at the Tower Bank to land 9 fish all on buzzer on a half day session. All Water member Phil Mee landed 17 fish all on buzzers with the biggest being a Rainbow of 5lb 4oz. Draycote season ticket holder James Kelly also used buzzers but this time in conjunction with a Damsel to land 6 fish from the bank. Out in the boats Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed over 60 fish to the boat using buzzer fished deep and slow in the bright conditions. Fishing from the boat in Rainbow Corner Andy Kress used Buzzers and Diawl Bachs to land 14 fish.

Another warm day Tuesday, season ticket holder Tony Broadway did well from the bank landing 26 fish all on Buzzers in Biggin Bay and The Tower Bank. All water season ticket holder Norman Perkins fished in this area to take 10 fish also all on buzzers. On the boats it was also buzzers that caught the anglers their fish. Tony Plummer had a great day landing 20 fish and losing a lot in play, fishing at Rainbow Corner & Hensborough bank with Tony commenting, “stuffed with fish along there”. Johnathan Wood & Alec Urquhart landed over 50 fish all on buzzers as well. With their fish coming from Biggin Bay, Dunn’s & Rainbow Corner.

A much cooler day Wednesday with a North East giving a definite chill the air. All Water season ticket holder Phil Mee enjoyed a good day on the bank again this time taking 14 on buzzers. Mr Squires fished at the Tower bank deep to take 8 fish. On the boats Geoff Preston took 12 fish on Damsels around Rainbow Corner and The Hensborough Bank in a short morning session. Also using Damsels to great affect Richard Walker landed 20 fish in the same area as Geoff. Tim grove enjoyed a good day’s sport on black buzzers to land 20 fish up in Rainbow Corner. Mick Cartlidge landing over 34 fish from various point on the reservoir fishing a sinking line and lures.

A tricky day for the bank anglers with bright sun and a frosty start on Thursday. Draycote season ticket holder Tony Broadway landed 8 fish on buzzers from the Cornfield. Fellow season ticket holder Dave Kennel landed 5 fish on the bank from various marks. The boats faired better as the fish had pushed out into the deeper water. Martyn Moore fished in Rainbow Corner using buzzers and commented on a “Fantastic Day” landing 19 fish. Tim Grove fishing the last of a 3 day break took 23 fish all on buzzers. Eddie Mitchell & Paul Mitchell fished an Airflo 12ft slow tip with a team of buzzers and a FAB on the point to boat 30 fish. Jim Brennan & Chris Discombe landed 25 fish using small black buzzers in Rainbow Corner.

Friday started bright and breezy with a bit of a nip in the air. The very welcome sunshine has pushed the fish down a bit in the water but it hasn’t stopped them biting, as the daily rod average came out at 10.6. Conditions have been a little more difficult of late off the bank, which is to be expected, whilst the boats have faired a little better in deeper water. Season permit holders Lee Patten and Peter Elliott fished the washing line and buzzers to good effect, netting a large number of fish from a drifting boat along the Hensborough Bank and by the Old Pipe in Biggin Bay. Mr P Swinbourne had over 20 fish to the boat using buzzers along the Hensborough Bank and remarked on how good the fishing was. Mr Les Lerigo had 5 fish to the boat using yellow dancers on a sinking line. Draycote regular Chris Flay ventured out for an evening session in a boat and fished damsels “Slow”, by the Inlet to net 15 fish, and a 3lb perch.

Another sunny day on Saturday with a cold start, warming up slightly as the day progressed. The breeze picked up a bit in the afternoon and was swirling around, making for difficult casting at times. Mike Garner fished crunchers off the Tower Bank to net 3 fish through the middle of the day, whilst Luke and David Orton managed 6 apiece. Season permit holder Tim Davies netted a dozen from a boat using a mixture of buzzers and snakes in Biggin Bay. Mr B Cowlishaw had 4 fish to the boat on buzzers, remarking on how much he enjoyed the day. Mr K Doleman used buzzers and FAB’s to catch his 10 fish, all netted between 12 noon and 4pm.

A very cold easterly was blowing across Draycote on Sunday, making for uncomfortable fishing, for those who didn’t wrap up warm. Overall, most anglers who ventured out onto the water did quite well, with more fish being caught through the afternoon as the day warmed up, “slightly”. Richard Walker and Paul Davis had 14 fish between them on Lures fished on sinking lines, whilst Ed Douglas used buzzers to catch well into double figures. Young Mike Oliver had 5 fish to the net on buzzers and Staff member Lloyd Thompson caught 10 fish using much the same method. The Local angling club, “The Draycote Fly Fishers”, held their spring bank pairs match on Sunday which was well attended. 18 anglers took part, catching 41 fish between them. Paul Farrell and John Pearson took third place with 4 fish, Dave Adkins and Brian Frogatt were in second place with 12 fish, and the match winners with 14 fish were Paul Walley and Richard Hanlon.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Weekly Rod Average: 11.4               Water Temp: 11c

Another week with the Eyebrook rod average in double digits, excellent fishing for the first month of the 2021 season.

This week saw Eyebrook starting off with a predominantly cold north easterly wind and bright blue sky. The fishing has been quite prolific, and reports are coming back to the lodge of good numbers of fish coming from all over the lake. The brighter weather is starting to push the fish out from the bank slightly and the boats are now starting to catch more than their fair share of fish. Most fish are falling to buzzers, but there are also a few falling to hare’s ear patterns, pheasant tail nymphs and the occasional Montana/ Pitsford pea style lures.

Tuesday saw the day start off with the introduction of another large group of piscatorial residents, fresh in from Exe valley. Good strong hard fighting fish seemed to just hit the water and disperse in all directions. Even though the weather conditions remained bright, the wind did help to provide excellent sport for all our visitors, with a majority of them being able to get themselves into double figures.

Wednesday saw Mike Brookes join Andy Miller for a 4-hour guided session. He had an excellent 4 hours with Andy and lost count of the number of fish to the boat and felt that he had learned a hell of a lot from Andy as well as having a great laugh along the way. The fishing remains on form as lots of our anglers are coming back to the jetty happy. Plenty of compliments about the staff taking their time to give a bit of guidance and direction for setups and where to fish.

Thursday looked to be the best day of the week so far with nearly every angler managing to get in to double figures from the bank and the boats. Good numbers of fish were being targeted by Andrew Lilly along the Robbo’s cabin area from the bank early in the day, but sport slowed down once the sun was at its highest point. All along the Leicestershire Bank, fish are still traversing the bank in sizeable pods and can be found all the way from Dogwood bay to the Cow Shed. The Island is holding a good number of fish with even a few big Perch to be taken as well. Mr K Bird had a bit of a surprise when one of his fish came in with an 8lbs Pike attached. Mr Allen has just started getting back in to fly fishing and was pleasantly surprised with a 6lbs Carp taking one of his buzzers. He was also pleasantly surprised when the fishery manager popped around to see how he was getting on and to offer a bit of advice to get him in amongst the fish.

The excellent sport continued on Friday with similar conditions albeit accompanied by a chilly wind. With the fish in similar areas to the earlier part of the week and still feasting on the abundant hatches of chironomids, sport was more or less guaranteed. Season ticket holder, Mr Farrell and his boat partner used crunchers to good effect both recoding high double figure catches, whilst Phil Mee and Horace Wood had over 30 to the boat using a combination of green fritz and buzzers. Mr Signy was afloat in his tube and also recoded a double figure catch. Anglers fishing from the bank are also finding fish with season ticket holder, Tom Dickson using a small black and green lure to take 10. Best fish of the day though was a 6 lb brownie which was taken, and safely returned, by Mr Burnham during his last 4-hour bank session.

A clear blue sky awaited our anglers on Saturday morning, although the north easterly wind had a raw edge to it, especially in the morning. The Eyebrook was pleasingly busy with 40 odd anglers and it didn’t disappoint returning a daily of average of over 9. Regular bank anglers, Bob Margery, Steve Sibley and Mr Gillis all recorded double figure catches during their morning sessions, catching from both Sam’s Dyke and Three tress on cruncher, buzzer and FAB combinations. The evening bank anglers were also finding fish with James Beeson recording 6 in his last four-hour session, whilst the local osprey took one which wasn’t returned. Catches were also good from the boats, again a combination of buzzers, crunchers and diawl bachs responsible for several double figure catches. The warmer evening tempted some of the anglers to try the dries and were rewarded with some sport, surely a harbinger of evening rises to the dries during May. Also several anglers recorded catching some of our fine looking big perch.

Sunday continued the fantastic fishing for our visitors. We were once again visited by the Gillespie brothers who had an amazing day out on the water getting well in to double figures each. Mick Glover took his young grandson out for a day out and had a great day fishing buzzer and Diawl Bachs which lead to Mick’s grandson landing a lovely silver 3lbs 5oz Rainbow. Over the weekend, anglers have been catching a few larger trout, a clear indication that some of the over wintered fish have started to show up to gorge on the buzzers.

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

Week ending 18^th April 2021   Water Temperature: 10c     Rod Av: 6.4

Cold start to the week with sharp early morning frost with a cold Northerly, North Easterly wind which reduced our water temperature to 9c

The cooler conditions & angling pressure have moved the fish a bit further off the bank & pushed the trout further along the banks past the lonesome pine down towards the farm.

Not surprising therefore that a sinking line with boobies, cats whisker & dawson`s olive worked best on Monday

Tuesday & Wednesday fished similar with anglers reporting catches to black buzzer fished static or under the bung or sinking lines with boobies and cats whiskers with the majority of anglers concentrating their fishing to the Thornton arm opposite the lodge, wood bank & down past the lonesome pine. Look out for swallows & martins working the main basin especially during the early evening as the buzzer hatches are drawing fish to the surface across the main basin, the start of our evening rise

Thursday our water has gone up to 10c, another frosty start but with improving daytime temperatures. Most of the anglers headed towards the corner of the wood with buzzers & small black cormorants working well. From early evening fish were rising across the main basin from the stones to the car park to another good buzzer hatch

Friday & a busy day at the reservoir with angler still finding good numbers of trout off the wood with cruncher, black buzzer & cormorant patterns fished on a floater or intermediate. Increasing number of trout to be seen feeding across the main basin.

The weekend and again the majority of the anglers headed to the bank opposite the lodge and the wood although the anglers who ventured further up the Markfield arm toward the farm reported good catches from this area. Again another good rise in the evening from the stones across to green bay and in front of the dam

We welcomed Thornton Fly Fishers our local angling club to their first visit of 2021 they returned a club rod average of 5.8 with trout up to 3lb6oz recorded. Details on the club are available via their website Thornton Fly Fishers Club (simpl.com)

Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Week Ending 18^th April 2021      Rod average   10.0    Water Temperature 9°C

Monday started cool, however when the sun broke out it soon warmed up making for some lovely conditions. As the sun warmed the water the fishery experienced another god buzzer hatch. The sun caused the fish to be pushed off the bank making it a challenging for the bank anglers. Although season ticket holder Bob Smith took 7 fish all on a blue flash damsel in Dougie’s Gap at the top of the Cornfield. The boats faired much better being able to access the fish feeding hard on Buzzers at the edge if the drop off. With buzzers being the order of the day for most of the anglers, Dave Bailey fished at the Toft side of Farborough Spit taking 24 all on buzzers. With Carl & Frank Chambers landing 19 fish. Draycote Fishery Manager Tom Bird and Fishery Ranger Lee Henfrey enjoyed some great sport all on buzzers with some fantastic, overwintered fish caught to see pictures of their day visit www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

A lovely spring day Tuesday with blue skies and warm sun, once again buzzers featured heavily on the catch returns. Season ticket holder James Kelly landed 6 from the bank using a washing line with buzzers in the droppers and a FAB on the point. With the sun out it was again the boats that faired best, Gary Haskins fished with Richard Hood landing 55 fish to the boat. The pair used buzzers on either floating line or a midge tip to take the fish with he Hensborough Bank being the most productive area. Chris Webster & Martin Barrett fished the same area on buzzers to take 45 to the boat. Ian Morris opted for Toft using Diawl Bachs and buzzers to take 30 fish. With Brendon Thomas fishing the Farborough Dam wall and the spit to take 17 fish including a cracking Rainbow of 4lb 8oz.

A mor overcast day Wednesday, which caused the fish to sit closer in to the banks and as a result the bank anglers fared much better than in the previous days. Phil Mee landed 17 fish on buzzers from the bank, with his best fish being 4lb. Stan Hillman took 14 fish from the bank fishing at the tower Bank. With season ticket holder Brian Allwood taking advantage of an afternoon landing 5 fish including a cracking 5lb Rainbow. Jim Hall on the bank took 15 fish all in Buzzers from the Cornfield and Biggin Bay. On the boats again it was buzzers that took the majority if the fish all water member John Kirk landed 22 fish all o buzzer from Hensborough and the Outlet. With season ticket holder Tony & Nick Parker landing 31 fish to the boat on buzzers and crunchers.

Yet another fine day for fishing at Draycote Water. With light breezes and the rod average topping out at 10 today, there was plenty of sport had by all and sundry. Once again the main catches have been on the buzzer, ( any colour, as long as it’s black ), with lures and blue flash damsels also putting fish in the net for some anglers. Tony Broadway had 17 fish off the bank on buzzers fished deep. Ian Richardson had 24 fish off the bank on buzzers, hares ears and boobies down in the Cornfield and remarked on how good the fish were.  Mr C Squires caught 6 fish from the bank on black buzzers fish deep, again remarking on the quality of the fish. Bob Smith netted 15 fish from the bank in Dunns Bay, again using buzzers fished deep. Out on the boats Lee Patten and Alec Urquhart used buzzers on the bung to great effect, netting over 50 fish between them by the old pipe in Biggin Bay. Martin Foster and John Vyse had a good day on the boat netting well over 30 fish from the Cornfield and Dunns Bay, again on buzzers. Chris Discombe and Jim Brennan caught over 20 fish from a boat using buzzers on a washing line from various points around the reservoir.

Friday was a great day to be out on the water with cool temperatures and light breezes. Once again the bank fishing is going really well with Mr M Miller and Mr M Smith catching 16 fish between them from Lincroft point on buzzers. Draycote regular Mr John Pearson had 20 fish from the bank on buzzers, remarking on the quality of the fish. Mr M Nolan caught 18 fish from the bank by the old pipe in Biggin Bay on buzzers.  Mr R Clews, returning to fishing after a long break, caught a total, of 5 fish from the bank, one of which was an overwintered 8lbs 8oz rainbow.  Season permit holder Steve Lees netted 7 fish from the bank, all on damsels. The boat anglers are also enjoying some great sport with Lee Nolan and Glen Thompson netting over 50 fish between them on snakes. Rob Middleton and Steve Peart caught over 60 fish from a drifting boat using FAB’s and buzzers. Jim Dempsey had 29 fish to the boat using lures on sinking lines.

It was a bright and frosty start on Saturday morning, which soon cleared up, with a large number of fish showing along the Farborough Dam and across the front of both pontoons. On the bank Mark Braun fished in Biggin Bay using a team of Buzzers on a floating line to land 20 fish. Draycote bank regular Mark Parsley also enjoyed good sport on Buzzer this time on the Tower Bank. On the boats season ticket holders John Kirk and Richard Dayman enjoyed good sport on the Hensborough Bank on buzzers. Terry & Tony Ball used Damsel patterns to take 35 fish to the boat. Using Blobs to great over 80 to the boat Brian Shields and Dave Morris catching the fish in Biggin Bay and various other marks of the reservoir.

A very bright start to the day Sunday with light winds, however, this did not seem to bother the fish as good catches were reported from both the bank and the boat. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walley fished on the Tower Bank using FABS and buzzers to land 21 fish. Fellow season ticket holder Mark JJ and Stephen Dewhurst all used Buzzers on the Tower bank to take their fish. Slav & Johnny fished on the popular last four hour ticket on the bank landing 9 fish between them. The All Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers enjoyed a good day on the boats using buzzers to land their fish Mark Goodge & Horace Wood found a number of fish around J buoy using Buzzers. Elsewhere Dave Davis & R Oliver once again used buzzers to take 44 fish to the boat. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Mitchell fished with Tim Burn like the bank anglers at the Tower Bank to land a total of 59 fish to the boat, unsurprisingly all on Buzzers.

Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Weekly Rod Average: 10.8                Water Temp: 9c

Following on from a fantastic week’s fishing last week, Eyebrook is seeing a distinct change in the weather. With blue skies and the wind dropping off, we are presented with conditions that a lot of anglers would not favour. But despite this, the fishing continues to be on top form. The fish are still quite close to the banks. Most of our anglers are enjoying success on floating lines and midge tips fishing washing line method or straight through Buzzers and Diawl bach’s. Some anglers looking for a good workout are having success pulling blobs and FAB’s on sinking lines from a boat, with Di3 seeming to be the line to go to.

With easing of COVID restrictions and the hairdressers and pubs opening, Monday and Tuesday were pretty quiet. This was probably down to people treating themselves to a long overdue haircut and a pint at their local. Signs of some level of normality are returning.

Wednesday has been a lot busier, with a small group of anglers from the Higham Ferrers Fly fishers joining us for a day out on the water. The fish are still very much gorging themselves on buzzers all over the lake. Some of our anglers have been moving around out on the boats and finding large pods on the Rutland bank now. With the wind coming from the East, Eyebrook season ticket holder Roy Swinfield ventured over to the willows to fish from the bank and got in to double figures of fish on buzzers. He said he lost count of the amount of takes he had and fish in and off again. The day ended with a Rod average of 12.75. the fishing has been pretty spectacular for some anglers hitting the right spot at the right time.

Long term fishing buddies and Eyebrook season ticket holders Richard Watson and Bill Whittle joined us on Thursday for a morning session. When they returned, Richard said they had blanked. But he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face long enough to convince me. They had an amazing morning session fishing buzzers and small nymphs to get both of them well in to double figures to the boat and with plenty of action in between.

The good sport continued from both the bank and boats on Friday with an overall rod average of nearly 11. There were several double figure returns made by the bank anglers with Roy Swinfield and Lyndsey Bates using buzzers to good effect. Ian Jobe had a highly successful day finding fish in several areas of the bank as did day ticket angler, Mr Normington.  All water member, Phil Mee took to the water in a boat and had a very successful afternoon, fishing washing line style with a diawl bach, a buzzer and a FAB on the point, whilst Mr Davies and Mr Baldock had a creditable double figure catch, using a montana as well as the more usual Diawl Bach and Buzzers.

With the weather starting to warm up and the sun being high in the sky all weekend, we started to think this would push the fish out in to deeper water. However, the fish did not seem to mind at all, and they kept coming thick and fast for a lot of our anglers. The usual spots have still been producing a lot of action and there are a lot of pods of fish out there still to be discovered.

Our Eyebrook Tackle shop is open new items arriving daily.