Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  4^th September      Rod Av:2.3      Water Temperature: 18c+

As we move towards the end of August we can look forward to September with its shorter daylight hours which will help reduce the water temperature and turn the fish onto the feed

Monday we saw a few of the larger claret buzzers during the late afternoon, quite often a traditional Mallard & Claret will take fish. We don’t see many use the old traditional flies, J Davidson fished Invicta & Zulu catching 2 trout a cracking 11/4roach but reported lots of interest. All Water member Ian Leach caught 5 for his visit on a floating line & fabs

Tuesday & the first morning you sensed a possible change in the air, much cooler with the water temperature at 19c During the day a good number of swallows & sand martins were down feeding with a few buzzers hatching through the day. Paul Martindale caught 3 on Hoppers & daddies with P Cox still catching on the midge tip & #12 Fulling Mill Sunburst Fab. Andrew Wilson followed the swallows & martins working the area from the corner of the wood across the Markfield arm finding straight line buzzer worked best catching 6 trout.

Wednesday was a noticeably cooler morning with our water temperature down to 18.5c with plenty of martins & swallows on the water feeding. Andy Lilley caught 8 during his morning session on olive buzzer, midge tip, 18ft leader. P Wurm fished the last 4 hours catching 3 drifting across the main basin.

Thursday with martins & swallows working the water, water temperature 18c some fish moving but proving difficult to tempt. P Wrigley fished the morning session catching 4, Paddy Fitch opted for the afternoon session picking up 4 trout with Bill Stone also fishing the afternoon catching 7 in front of the dam. The majority were taken on floating, midge tip, 12ft tip lines with Diawl Back, Claret or Olive buzzer, emergers & dries

Friday with the cooler water 18c in the morning we enjoyed a better day’s fishing. All water member P Walker caught 14 with most taking a muskins, another all water member M Hunt caught 14 on a claret bobs bits, yellow owl and big red with Paul & Sam Cook catching 6 during the last 4 hour session on daddies, muddler and sedge, other anglers caught on black emergers & diawls with the rod average 4.4 for the day.

Saturday with a nice southerly and water temperature of 18c it looked perfect and didn’t disappoint returning a rod average 4 for the day. Brian Perrie caught 8 on a diawl bach and white booby fishes washing line, M Clay caught 5 for his mornings visit with Neil Jones fishing the last 4 hour session catching 6 on small olive buzzers & black dries

Sunday and following Friday & Saturday rod averages of 4, it was surprising that the daily rod average dropped back to 2 on Sunday. Anthony Stone fished daddy patterns to catch his 2 fish, missing others. Pete Hunt & John Thomson shared their usual Sunday morning boat catching 6 on diawl bach with Tony Smith fishing the last 4 hour enjoying good sport boating 5 trout to buzzers

Water clarity is good, our water temperature is steady at 18c / 18c+ ideal for where its required to give us good sport as we move into September

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  4^th September 2022              Rod Av: 2.2      Water Temperature: 19.5 °C

The week kicked off with less than ideal conditions with bright and breezy conditions with the wind coming from the Northeast. On the boats Allan Wither & Lindsey Bates enjoyed a good days sport landing 13 fish to the boat. However, they found there was no standout method or area and commented that various patterns and areas worked during the day. All water member Andy Lillie fished from the boats landing 8 fish. Andy fished over the Aerators using Red Diawl Bachs on a 10ft Midge Tip to tempt his fish. Also fishing the Aerators were Draycote members Bob Smith & Ian Richardson the duo boated 9 fish to the boat using cormorants on a midge tip line. Father and son, Kas & Wilbur Leoviriyakit enjoyed a good day boating 5 fish using a white booby fished on either a Fast Glass or a Di 5 sinking line. With their hotspots being around Lincroft Point on T buoy.

Challenging conditions Tuesday with winds coming from the Northeast once again and not much in the way of cloud cover, however, thankfully some did arrive a little later in the day although it was still broken cloud. Season ticket holder Mike Garner fished from the bank to land 4 fish on Cormorants. Taking 1 from the Swan’s Nest with the other three coming along the Cornfield. On the boats Kevin Rees did well landing 7 fish on dries with small Crippled Midge and Bob’s Bits. Kevin fished at the top dam wall at the bottom of the wind to take his fish. Will Hunt also enjoyed a good day landing 8 fish, although it wasn’t until about 4pm when Will headed down into Toft he started to catch. Will, fished by the Willow tree right down the bottom of Toft drifting out from the corner using a Green Sedge Pupa pattern to tempt the fish.

That cooler northeast wind was still blowing on Wednesday morning, hopefully helping to cool the surface temperature of the water down a bit. Fishing along the north shore is proving to be more productive of late, with fish showing up at Lincroft Point, along the Cornfield and down by G buoy in Toft. Season permit holder Dave Smith had a brace to the boat and lost many more using foam daddies down in Toft Shallows. Draycote regulars Roger and Graham Davies caught half a dozen fish using the rudder with sinking lines and black and green lures. Mr Baker and his boat partner had 3 fish on foam daddies, whilst Mr Shepherd and Mr Nicoll had 5 on boobies and diawl bachs.

The pattern of weather didn’t really change much for Thursday here at Draycote, with that cooler, north easterly blowing, and the slightest hope of rain in the forecast. Once again, there are bank anglers catching with Tony Broadway having 3 fish off Lincroft point on GRHE’s, and Mr D Taylor getting a brace form the same place. Out on the boats season permit holder Paul Havard netted 5 fish on midge tips and intermediate lines and humungus, losing another 4 in open water. The boat pairing of Bob Smith and Ian Richardson chose to drift over the Aerators towards the Draycote Dam. The pair netted a total of 14 fish between them, using an Airflo 12 foot slow tip and cormorants.

Another good start to the day here at Draycote with cloud cover and a light north easterly blowing out of Toft Shallows. The visibility has cleared up in the water quite a bit and fish can be seen moving more regularly in the top of the water. John Clifford had 4 fish to the net whilst fishing from the bank in the Cornfield and Lincroft Point during an evening session. Jamie Scott netted half a dozen fish from a drifting boat around the Aerators, using airflo’s 12 foot slow tip with diawl bachs and a FAB on the point. Draycote inhouse guide Andy Miller ventured out on to the water with season permit holder Andy Tasker. Mr Tasker netted a total of 6 fish using cormorants and floating fry patterns, from The Spit on the Hensborough Bank and the Aerators. Season permit holder John Dickens caught a total of 5 fish during an evening session, which all fell to bob’s bits.

It was overcast with a light southerly breeze on Saturday morning and turned out to be a good day for fishing on Draycote Water. The visibility in the water has improved even more, and the recent overcast conditions have helped with water temperatures. Season permit holder Mark Braun had 15 fish to the boat using a black knat on a floating line, and then a green pea on a DI7. Ian Western and his boat partner Mark Robinson had 7 fish to the boat on midas, blobs and snakes. Albert Coles had well over 20 fish to the boat using an Airflo booby basher line and snakes fished through the Aerators. Stuart Lee and Davis Hoppe netted a baker’s dozen from Toft Shallows and along the northern shore on a wide variety of patterns.

A blustery overcast day Sunday make the fishing trickier that it has been the day before. Draycote member Jon Crowley fished for his usual morning session in the morning, boating 13 fish. Using a Di 5 sweep sinking line with a black snake and a green pea. The hotspot for Jon was to fish at N Buoy just on the start of Musborough shoal. Fishery guide Andy Miller took Dave & Mick out for a 4 hour guide with the paid landing 3 fish. They fished a barred olive snake on a Di 3 over the Aerators and around B Buoy. Paul Mitchell fished with Tim Burn with the pair landing 6 fish fishing across various points of the lake using a washing line.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 04 September 2022       Rod Av: 2.5      Water Temperature: 18°

The week began with a blustery North North-easterly which bought overcast conditions with some sunny intervals. The algal bloom was again prevalent so the search for clear water proved to be paramount. By motoring upwind anglers were able to find some clear water & those that did caught relatively well targeting fish in the upper layers. In open water where the water was more choppy, larger profiled dries such as a Foam Daddy seemed to be most productive. Whereas in the sheltered areas where the water was calmer, smaller profiled patterns such as CDC’s were more productive. Toff Crowther & his boat partner had a productive day, landing 14 fish between them, fishing Dries in clearer water, which is a great return given the conditions.

Tuesday brought with it the same blustery conditions as the previous day. The water quality in the Main Basin remained the same as the algae continued to get pushed into this downwind area. As the day progressed, clear patches started to appear up by the Willows, Seat & in front of Robbo’s Cabin. Those targeting these clear patches with floaters & midge tips were more successful than those fishing below the algae around the area of the Basin. There were fish caught on Foam Daddies fished on & below the surface & also on the washing line with dark nymphs or cormorants on the droppers.

Wednesday saw us host the England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Eliminator which determines who will represent England next season. With the same conditions as previous days 11 anglers took to the water & landed 25 fish, which gave a rod average of 2.2. Given the coverage of algae & blustery this was an excellent effort, well done to all. Congratulations to all those that qualified & a special mention must go to Steve Radcliffe who was top rod on the day with 6 fish. Steve used a washing lined floater, with nymphs on the droppers & concentrated his efforts fishing the clearer water upwind. Well done, Steve, 6 fish is a great effort. Thank you to everyone involved with the day it was a great honour for us to host such an event.

With regards to the algae & weather conditions, Thursday was very much a case of no change. The fishing remained very challenging with the search for clear water being of the utmost importance. Clear patches amongst the algae vary from day to day, so it is worthwhile taking the time to have a look around the reservoir to identify areas to fish. Once clear areas are located, fish slowly & relatively high up in the water column or even on the surface. This is exactly what All Water Member Ed Douglas did, landed 4 fish all on dries.

There was a dull start to Friday which brought some rain by mid-morning. The wind remained moderate northerly throughout the day which continued to push the algae into the corner of the pontoons. There were fish caught from both the boats & the bank with the most notable catches coming from Mr Gilmour & Mick Firth respectively. Mr Gilmour managed 2 fish from the bank at the Hawthorns on a Black Cat fished slowly which is a great effort given the current situation with the algae & that the wind was blowing onto that bank. Whereas, first time visitor Mick Firth, managed to land 6 fish from the boat, all on Daddies. With generally cooler air temperatures, cooler evenings & the forecast of rain over the next few days, the rate of which the algae will disperse should begin to accelerate.

Saturday saw the wind change direction to a Southerly which began to break up & disperse the algae lingering around the Main Basin. Consequently, the water began to clear & the reservoir fished very well. Fish were caught throughout the area of the Main Basin & there were some high returns recorded. Kevin Hart & Dave Pacey had a very productive day catching on a variety of methods fishing the north side of the tower drifting towards Harrisons Corner. Other areas of the main basin that produced were the weed beds along from the Lodge down towards the Hawthorns where fish were caught on Floating Fry patterns. Fish were also caught on Foam Daddies & washing lined floaters with a FAB on the point & nymphs above it; Nemo Crunchers & Diawl Bachs.

Sunday was a busy day at Eyebrook. We hosted an Eyebrook Fly Fishers (EFF) club match & also the latest All Abilities Friendly Fly Fishers (AAFFF)s outing. The reservoir fished very well for both events. The EFF competition was a designated Single Fly match where the participants could only use 1 fly. They could use 2 flies, but they had to be the designated Fly: in this instance, a Brown Foam Daddy. It turned out to be an inspired choice as they caught 31 fish between them, giving a rod average of 5.1. Well done to all. The AAFFF had 14 anglers taking to the water, they landed 74 fish between them which gave them a rod average of 5.2. What was equally impressive was that every one of their anglers caught, that is a great effort. They caught on a variety of methods from pulling boobies to fishing dries with the majority of their fish coming from the Main Basin. Elsewhere, local angler Dale Birch popped down for short session; landing 7 fish & Sam & Rob Edmunds had a very productive afternoon fishing Dries by the dam on the north side of the tower.

All in all, it was a tough start to the week, with algae present in the Main Basin. This area, as we know, had been holding a lot of fish. Consequently, as the water quality improved later in the week, the reservoir began to fish very well. This upward trajectory looks set to continue with the predicted weather forecast looking favourable for the forthcoming week.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  21^st August      Rod Av: 3.8      Water Temperature: 20c – 21c

Monday quiet day with rods watching the forecast & waiting for the weather to break. Tuesday few rods out with the forecast for cooler conditions & a chance of rain later in the day.

Wednesday with overnight rain giving us ¾ inch of rain, much welcomed. Breezier day with a cool northerly will help to reduce our water temperature, its already dropped 3c since Sunday afternoon sat at 21c this morning. Despite the rain which fell steady we have little or no runoff as the ground absorbed the rain. Only 1 rod out Dave Pritchard, he found the trout moving off the stones managed to hook 7 trout on a montana but only landing the 1 trout.

Thursday, overcast morning, with the anglers heading for the dam wall, green bay & stones. Anglers reported trout moving in pockets, locate a pocket of these feeding trout, put on a small #14 diawl, #14 #16 olive buzzer, dries & you were into fish. Carl Bond & his brother caught 11 on buzzer, S Windram fished #14 diawl & caught 6 but lost just as many. S Orton fished with N Perkins catching 12 on dries & emergers. L Serrano fished a washing line, small daddy, small nemo & diawl to catch 27 with Paddy Fitch & Bill Stone catching 29 for their afternoons visit.

Friday Chris Sayer fished pheasant tails to catch his 7 trout with John & Tom Davis fishing diawl bach & damsel nymph to catch their 8 with Richard Smith fishing a short morning session catching 3.

Saturday & a couple of rods found the winning combination, B Perrie fished diawl bach & hoppers to catch his 22 trout with L Serrano fishing the afternoon session close along the main dam to catch his 20+ trout on damsel & pheasant tails. Lorenzo returned to Fish Sunday afternoon catching 12 on daddies & diawls, Emad caught 6 for his morning session with K Walker also fishing the morning session to catch 5

A mixed week with the daily rod average seesawing from 1 to 8, with the water temperature down to 20c, lower evening temperatures we can look forward to steadier, consistent fishing during September.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 21^st August 2022              Rod Av:3.1      Water Temperature: 19  °C

A cooler start to the week, with the wind coming from the Northwest making it a much more pleasant day to be out on the water. Although the water temperature remained high sitting at 22°C meaning the fish could still be found further down in the water column. Jim Dempsey fished for a half day using the rudder to land 6 fish. Jim found the fish off the Draycote Dam using a black snake, commenting that the fish seemed to be about 10-15 feet down. All water member Lorenzo Serrano landed 8 fish using snakes and boobies around B Buoy, A Buoy, and the Aerators. Fellow all water member Ed Douglas also fished in these areas landing 11 fish on boobies fished on a Di 7 sinking line and a figure of eight retrieve. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey headed out on the water for  2 hour experience session with young anglers Leo & Seb Sharp. With the help of Lee the lads landed 4 fish to the boat back drifting white snake boobies near the Draycote Dam. Pictures of the session can be find here www.facebook.com/flyfishstore.

A cooler start Tuesday with some drizzle in the afternoon, however it did get very Humid in the afternoon before rain mixed with some thunder around 6pm. As a result of the slightly cooler temperatures, the water temperature dropped a degree to 21°C. As a result the fish moved slightly higher in the water column. Rob Floyd & Nick Loughrey landed 6 fish to the boat using a Di 5 sinking line with a booby on the point and Diawl Bachs on the droppers. With drifts around C Buoy and the Value Tower proving to be the most effective area. Dave Reynolds & Paul Goulding also found the fish sitting higher in the water. As the pair landed 8 fish to the boat washing line on intermediates. Martin Ashby fished for a half day landing 5 fish from the Aerators on snakes using a sinking line.

Heavy overnight rain certainly gave a much fresher feel to the day Wednesday with a brisk Northeast wind. Draycote member Mike Garner fished from the bank landing 4 fish from along the Cornfield on cormorants. A good sign that the fish have moved closer to the bank with the change in weather. On the boats the fishing was a little challenging as, the big swing in weather conditions seemed to put the fish off the feed. Beginner member Simon Enstock landed a brace from E Buoy in Biggin Bay using a black and gold humungus and a booby. All water member Chris Bobby fishing with Mark McCleod landed 6 fish to the boat using “various boobies on various lines in several places”. So I think its clear to see from that report that was no standout method for the day the key was to just keep on the drifting searching the water.

A grey start to Thursday with he water temperature dropping down to 20 degrees, with some drizzle around first thing in the morning. On the boats all water member Paul Havard landed 8 fish using a 3ft midge tip and a washing line. With 6 fish taking the black crunchers on the droppers and 2 on the tequila booby on the point fishing in Rainbow Corner. Frank Sumnall & Lester Booth landed 14 fish to the boat using nymphs fished on a floating line or a Midge tip around Rainbow Corner & B Buoy. Draycote member John Dickens landed 9 fish with 6 of them coming to crippled midge in the last hour as the fish came on the feed. Dave Kennel fished with Alec Urquhart with the pair landing 14 fish using a washing line with a mixture of nymphs FABs and daddies. All water member Ed Douglas also used a washing line to land 10 fish drifting around Y Buoy.

A bright day Friday with quite a gusty Southwest wind at times. We had a number of boats on the water with anglers practicing ahead of the John Horsey angler’s world holiday final on Sunday. Dave Reynolds & Dale Griffiths landed 21 fish to the boat using nymphs fished on a washing line. Ben Dobson & Ian Gaskell also enjoyed a good days sport landing similar numbers. Ben had the lion share of the sport using a Di 5 sweep and a gold arsed Cat Booby. Jon Crowley enjoyed a great 4 hour session on the boats landing 10 fish from B Buoy & Y Buoy. Jon used a Di 7 sweep sinking line with a black and gold snake to land his fish. Draycote Member James Alexander fishing with a work colleague  landed 10 fish to their boat. Fishing with snakes on a Di 3 drifting from C Buoy to Y Buoy.

This weekend here at Draycote we hosted the Anglers World Fly Fishing Championships. The practice day on Saturday went pretty well overall, with lots of anglers being very tight lipped about where they were catching and on which method. From what we can gather, lots of anglers fished over the deeper water across A, B and C buoy, straight lining nymphs on a floater or midge tip line. One angler in particular said he caught at M buoy on the Hensborough Bank, pulling two blobs with a diawl bach in between on a DI3. Fish were showing early on in the day, inside the golden triangle, but no one seemed to catch in that area on Saturday.

And so to the match day on Sunday. Competitors were very excited to get out on the water, and it was noted that there were many different types of set ups between the anglers first thing in the morning, all avenues were going to be explored. At the start, all boats headed west, up to the deeper water near the Draycote Dam, as well as M buoy and the front of the Overflow. Towards the close of the competition, with boats moving ever closer to the pontoon, from the lodge we could see anglers bending into fish near J buoy. The total number of fish caught for the competition was 308, producing an average of 3.1, with the top three rods netting ten fish apiece. Third spot went to Mark Miles, with a bag weight of 20lbs 11oz. Gordon Leavy came second with a bag weight of 20lbs 12oz, and the winner on count back, with a bag weight also of 20lbs 12oz, was Paul Tweddle. Congratulations to all anglers who supported the competition. Full copy of the results on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 21^st August 22       Rod Av:   3.3        Water Temperature: 19°+

After a stifling hot few days’ last week, Monday started with some welcome cooler weather although the forecast was for thunderstorms storms over the early part of the week. Although the Algae hadn’t totally cleared, there were areas of clear water out in open water of the main basin. Monday lunchtime saw some ominous clouds forming along with some moderate winds, but after an hour they passed to leave a nice summers evening with swallows, and a few trout, responding to the hatching fly life. Ian Jobe was top rod, taking 9 fish whilst float tubing alongside the netted bank. Ian used snakes on a DI7. Snakes were the most consistent fly with the anglers out in the other boats all recording fish to these patterns.

Tuesday brought with it overcast conditions & a warm air temperature. Throughout the day there was showers, some lighter than others. As the reservoir began to readjust from the recent hot spell anglers found the fish to be in a selective & picky mood. All anglers reported plenty of interest from the trout, be that follows or pulls but very few positive hook ups. This is to be expected really, as the fish will require time to adapt to the change in conditions & there is bound to be a small period of adjustment.

There was a strong to moderate Northerly wind on Wednesday which lasted all day. With it, it brought some heavy intervals of rain which petered out as the day wore on. The wind pushed the warmer water from the shallower, northern end of the reservoir down into the basin which did increase the water temperature. It also pushed the remaining algae into the shore & up onto the bank. During this period the water quality did decrease in the basin & the fishing became challenging & subsequently the anglers who went to the basin, struggled. However, the water quality up the north of the reservoir dramatically improved & consequently so did the fishing. Those who ventured up there, went initially in search of softer water, but it soon became apparent that there was plenty of moving fish. All water member Mark Hunt went up to the Willows & had an excellent day, landing 13 fish, all on dries: CDC emergers proving to be successful. Whereas regular angler Chris Martin caught very well, in the same area but this time on a washing lined floater, with Diawl Bachs up the line. The reservoir will continue in this short term, state of flux until we have a period of consistent & settled weather.

Thursday brought with it a 180-degree change in the wind direction, which meant the wind was now coming from the lodge. After an initial slow start, which is only to be expected after such a change in the wind direction, the reservoir fished well & produced a solid rod average of 4.4. Fish were caught all along the Leicester Bank from the lodge to the Hawthorns area on either a washing lined floater or dries. Resident Guide Andy Miller shared a boat with John Butler who was on a Guided boat session, & they had a great day landing plenty of fish all of which came to a Foam Daddy. Elsewhere, Mr Stern & his boat partner also had a very productive day, landing over 20 fish to boat, from the Hawthorns area. Their fish came to either a washing lined floater or dries & most notably, all in the afternoon.

Friday was a relatively quiet day & of those who ventured out, Ian Mcleod had the top bag, landing 9, all on dries from the boat. There were fish still caught in the Main Basin & along from the lodge to the Hawthorns. The fish remain high in the water column & have been caught on Dries & small nymphs, fished on a washing lined floater. As the water temperature continues to drop, the amount of time the fish will remain in the surface layers will increase, especially during periods of cloud cover. In these situations, don’t wait to see moving fish to put the Dries on, give them a try as large proportion of fish will come blind to well-presented Dry Fly. By “blind” we mean that you haven’t cast to rising fish & the fish has simply came up & taken your fly. If larger Dry Flies are receiving a lot of attention but not resulting in positive hook ups, try scaling down hook sizes or even a smaller pattern entirely.

Saturday saw the reservoirs good form continue with plenty of fish being caught from both the boat & the bank, yielding an impressive daily rad average of 6.9.  Season Ticket holder Malcolm Thompson landed 14 fish from the bank fishing a Washing Lined floater with Diawl bachs on the droppers at the Bell. From the boats, dries yet again proved to be a very productive method with Hares Ear, Midas & Foam Daddies being amongst the more successful patterns. Fish were caught from various locations throughout the day, from the Willows to the Hawthorns the fish were sat high up in the water column & willing to take flies just under or off the surface. Another season ticket holder, Bob Margery opted to fish below the surface & landed 16 fish in a morning session using a Geen Pea & a White lure. Also, Andruis Papeika & his boat partner had a very productive day, landing over 20 fish between them on Hare’s Ear’s which is a great return.

Sunday brought a bright start to the day, with a gentle south westerly breeze which stiffened during the day. The clear blue sky gave way to periods of broken cloud cover which varied in length & density. The reservoir fished well again, however due to the changeable conditions it did not quite hit the heights of yesterday. Fish were still caught from both the boats & the banks. Malcolm Thompson & Dave Etty both caught from the bank down by the Bell & the Hawthorns fishing either CDC’s or Nymphs on a floating line. The most productive area from the boats remained the Main Basin with plenty of fish being caught on either Washing Lined Floaters & Midge Tips or on the Dries out across the open water. Mr Radcliffe had a very successful day landing 11 fish. He targeted the fish in the upper layers by using a Midge Tip & Cormorants for most of the fish & Dries for the others. Changing your approach throughout the day to match the conditions can often pay dividends & this can at times, make all the difference.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We recommend you call the lodge for latest update 01530230807

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  7^th August     Rod Av: 3.2     Water Temperature: 20c+

Monday & the first day of August. Water clarity is good with increasing numbers of a light coloured buzzer size #12 hatching during the day & daphnia showing in the water. Floating line or the various midge tip & longer 6ft & 12ft tip lines are working best with small hoppers, daddies, cdc, diawl bach, cruncher & damsel patterns working best. Main dam, in front of the main public car park & green bay most productive areas. Pete Hunt caught 7 on diawl bachs, R Keeber with grandson Tom caught 5 with Carl Bond catching 4 during the late evening session on a red buzzer, black buzzer & diawl bach

Tuesday, refreshing light rain & a brisk south westerly in the forecast. Pete Cox headed for the area in front of the public car park & dam area, found fish moving off & on, fishing with a midge tip small yellow fab on the point & a diawl on the dropper he caught 11 for his mornings visit. P Cross & S Windram caught 6 for their mornings visit on an orange daddy with Andrew Wilson catching his 4 on diawl bach & buzzer

Wednesday anglers reported fish moving off & on in front of the main public car, dam & stones. Nev Welsh fished with his grandson Jacob who was visiting from New Zealand catching 4 on a diawl bach for their mornings visit. Pete Hunt & John Thomson fished a morning session fishing a washing line they boated 6 on a diawl bach.

Thursday surprisingly cool northerly helped to keep the trout high in the water with the area in front of the main public car park, orange buoy, dam, green bay & stones still producing best to floating or midge tip lines with small fab, diawl bach, orange daddies best. P Mee caught 9 for his mornings visit fishing diawl bachs, Scotty Wilson fished orange daddy to catch his 12 with Jamie Scott & P Wrigley catching 8 each. Jamie Scott success these past few tips is to fish a 12ft slow tip with diawls & fabs.

Friday & similar conditions to yesterday. The morning to teatime session is fishing best with a diawl bach #12 #14 a must have nymph on the leader. Small Fulling Mill Mini Fab Sunburst, damsel, orange daddy & diawls were the flies that caught best with a midge tip or floating line best. All Water member P Walker caught 19 on diawl bach, fab, damsel, Chris Sayer caught 10 for his mornings visit on a diawl bach, Bob Jones caught 8 fishing a washing line with diawls, Olive buzzer while John Bebbington caught 5 on pheasant tail orange thorax, Diawl & Fab.

Saturday same northerly breeze but a brighter day. Anglers opted for the same approach as the day previous with fish at times to be seen feeding on the surface. Jan Webber decided to take a look down the Markfield arm towards the farm bank & caught 4 trout on a blue flash damsel. Green Bay continues to produce with Brian & Alison catching 5 for their mornings visit with M Clay catching 7 on buzzers from the same area. Mark Hunt caught 9 from various spots around the reservoir with a big red been his most successful pattern.

With the brighter Sunday weather the morning session fished best with the green bay area fishing best. Pete Hunt & John Thomson boated 8 for their mornings session fishing the washing line with a Bejesus booby, buzzer and diawl bach.

With the weather forecast for the coming week looking warm the morning session will fish best, we will endeavour to have the boats ready & out before 8.30am

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 7th August 2022      Rod Av: 3.8      Water Temperature: 20 °C

A cloud start to the week, however, the cloud soon burnt off leaving a bright hot day. Dave Adams fished from a boat over the Aerators to land 6 fish on the morning. Dave used a floating line with an orange daddy with Diawl Bach’s on the droppers. Draycote members Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot landed 7 fish to the boat, using a washing line set up. The duo used a Midge tip line with a booby on the point and cormorants on the droppers to land their fish with Rainbow Corner being their best area. John Dickens opted to fish dries even in the bright weather and was rewarded with 5 fish falling to Bob’s Bits and daddies. Mark & Liz Dermot over from Ireland landed 10 fish on the first of a 4 day break. The pair fishing washing line set ups and dries taking ling drifts over the open water. All water member Andy Lillie fished with Graham England boating 18 fish between them. They found the fish drifting from the Hensborough Bank toward M Buoy, with a washing line being the best tactics with a sparkler booby on the point, as the fish were “full of sticklebacks”.

A blustery day Tuesday with 17mph winds coming from the Southwest, however, it was a very humid day with high air temperatures. Once again, the water fished well with the anglers producing a 6.3 rod average. Draycote member Peter Elliott & Lee Patten landed 34 to the boat with Peter sticking to dries all day with Bob’s Bit being his top pattern, while Lee opted to washing line. Due to the wind the best area for the duo was to fish off the Draycote Dam wall drifting towards A & B Buoy. Rob Middleton enjoyed a day on the water landing 15 fish, using a washing line with a Daddy & FAB with nymphs on the middle. Like the rest of the boats Rob caught around A Buoy and drifting the Hensborough Bank towards M Buoy. Mark & Liz Dermot on their second day of a 4 day package boated 17 fish all on daddies. Another boat taking advantage of our package breaks was Nigel Evans & Bill Surtees, who landed over 25 fish on Big Orange (A Big red variant).

The gusty wind remained Wednesday with overcast skies to start with however, the cloud did clear leaving a bright afternoon. Despite the conditions Draycote produced a rod average of 7.5 for the day. The fish seem to be holding in the top few feet of the water and are well spread throughout the reservoir. The vast majority of the fish fell to dries, with some caught on buzzers on a washing line and some on lures. Jim Dempsey used the wind and the rudder to net 17 fish on long drifts across open water. Liz and Mark Dermott had 16 fish to the boat using a mixture of dries and nymph patterns. Mr Evans and his boat partner used the big red to good effect boating 25 fish on the drift. In house guide Andy Miller took George Turlas out for a guided session to net 14 fish from Rainbow Corner to M buoy, using foam daddies and snakes.

High cloud and fairly calm conditions greeted us at Draycote Water on Thursday morning. Once again Draycote produced, with a good rod average (5.1) coming from a wide variety of areas on the reservoir. Fish were falling to many different patterns and techniques, and seem to be constantly on the move, foraging for food, but keeping to the top few feet of the water. Season permit holder Tony Broadway had a good day out on a mixture of dries and nymphs, catching a dozen fish during a morning session. Another season permit holder with a dozen fish to the boat was Colin Grainger. Colin used a floating line with pheasant tail nymphs and diawl bachs. Colins boat partner Ian Reeve, who has been catching some good quality fish lately, had 6 fish to the boat on PTN’s.  Lee Tones had 15 fish to the boat on hares ears and crunchers with an orange fritz booby on the point. Lee used both a floating and midge tip line and was drifting by the Valve Tower. Liz and Mark Dermott, on the final day of their trip with us here at Draycote boated 15 fish between them. Liz and Mark used a combination of dries and buzzers fished from a drifting boat.

Friday morning was bright, sunny and calm. The conditions did not bode well for a good days fishing but nevertheless, Draycote was once again on good form, producing a daily average of 4.6. Season permit holder Ian Reeve has been putting the hard work in lately and it has been paying off. Ian and his boat partner had yet another good day out, netting over 20 fish on a mixture of olive and white snakes drifting near the Valve Tower. Mr A Scott also caught over 20 fish using FAB’s, diawl bachs and daddies. The father and son pairing of Frazer Duffy senior and junior, netted 18 fish drifting in Duns Bay, Biggin Bay and Alberts Bottom. Season permit holder Ray Rawlings netted 5 fish using a mixture of dries and nymphs fished on a washing line. Ray caught his fish drifting around D buoy in Duns Bay, as well as Toft Shallows.

Cambridgeshire’s Invicta’s FFC held their Carr Cup competition on Saturday. Simon Peck won the competition with 10 fish on a floating line with FABs on the point and a winning bag weight.

28 anglers competed in the competition with a rod average of 5 and most anglers chose rainbow corner or the Valve Tower to C buoy.

Saturday had very light, high cloud with light breezes, and these conditions stayed with us for most of the day. Despite this,  the reservoir seems to be holding up quite well. The fish can now be caught right throughout the water column, with fish being taken on anything from dries on a floater and nymphs on a midge tip, to snakes on a DI7. The deeper parts of the reservoir are best through the warmer parts of the day, whilst some fish are being caught in shallower water during the mornings and evenings. Peter Elliott and Lee Patten had over 30 fish to the boat using a washing line and nymphs, from various areas around the reservoir. Season permit holder Mark Braun used white snakes and boobies fished on DI7’s and DI3’s to net 22 fish. Mark kept on the move, drifting around B and Y buoy. Lester Booth and Martin Greatbatch used both wet and dry flies on floating lines to net 11 fish between them from  a drifting boat. Draycote regular Ed Douglas caught 7 fish on a mixture of lures and dries drifting in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.

Bright conditions prevail at Draycote Water, and it looks like they are set in for the next few days. Sunday fished well, all things considered, with once again fish being caught throughout the water column. Dries weren’t working as well as they have done this past week, with most returns being made with midge tip or sinking lines, using nymphs or lure patterns. John Crowley netted 9 fish during a morning session on FAB’s, diawl bachs and a hot head damsel. John fished down in Toft Shallows as well as taking long drifts over K buoy. Richard Walker fished through the early part of the day to net half a dozen fish around B buoy using sinking lines and snakes. Mr Eatough and his son had a brace on diawl bachs whilst fishing along the bank in Toft Shallows.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 7^th August 22       Rod Av: 3.6          Water Temperature:  19 – 20°C

A cloudy start to the week, however, the cloud soon burnt off resulting in a hot muggy day, with a cooling westerly breeze. This seemed to be to the fish’s liking as they continued to enjoy the harvest provided by the abundant fly life here at the Eyebrook. Eyebrook regular Ed Douglas was afloat and enjoyed a fine day’s sport fishing his favoured dries. Ed netted & returned 15 trout, whilst all water member Lorenzo Serrano netted over 20, again fishing dries on the drift. There were 2 other boats that recorded double figure hauls & all other anglers caught from the boats. The most successful methods were fishing dries across the main basin & in amongst the weed beds along the Leicestershire bank or fishing a washing lined floater with diawl bachs and FABs. Successful Dry Fly patterns were again, Dry Damsels, Foam daddies & Yellow Owls.

The reservoir continued to fish well on Tuesday with many anglers catching well into double figures. The successful methods were yet again either Dries Or Washing Lined Floaters with Diawl Bachs up the line & FAB’s on the point. All water member Mr Walker had a very successful day catching a high number of fish on either the Dries or Diawl bachs on the Washing Line. Mr Walker found that by chopping & changing between his CDC Dries & the Washing Line he was able to continue to catch throughout the day. It serves as a gentle reminder that just how important it to ring the changes even if we are still catching to keep the fish coming to the net consistently. In addition to CDC’s, other successful Dry Fly patterns included Foam Daddies & Yellow Owls. The Daddies have taken a lot of fish of late in a whole host of colours; Tan, Olive & Orange being the most successful.

Wednesday saw us host the England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Presidents Cup. 13 anglers were met with a strong south westerly wind & overcast conditions which made things challenging. Despite the conditions, the 13 anglers caught 52 fish between them for a rod average of 4 which is excellent. Congratulations to Dave Porter who was top rod on the day with 10 fish. Most of the fish caught were all caught in the upper layers of water with dries proving to be the most productive method. External to the competition, regular angler Ed Douglas returned for a second visit of the week & had a very successful day, landing well over 20 fish on dries. Whereas Ian Jobe & Clive Moore ventured out for their regular Wednesday session & had well into double figures between them fishing high up in the water column. The most productive area remans the Main Basin, from the Island to Robbo’s all the way into the Dam wall.

The English Fly-Fishing Association (EFFA) held a Summers Members Day on Thursday where Eyebrook’s excellent form continued. 28 anglers caught 146 fish for an overall length of 6053cm between them which gave them a rod average of 5.2. Congratulations goes to Mike Carr who had an overall length of 343cm which saw Mike pip Jeff Hickson by 2cm, very fine margins indeed. For the second consecutive day, the reservoir has yielded an excellent competition rod average which is testament to the success of our current stocking policy. Elsewhere on the reservoir, Chris Bobby & Mark Macleod had a great day on the Dries & Washing Line landing a high number of fish to the boat & Mr Scott landed 9 fish on a Foam Daddy. The Main Basin fished well yet again & the most successful patterns were Foam Daddies, CDC’s, Yellow Owls, Diawl Bachs & FAB’s.

As a potential result of the recent strong northerly winds carrying warmer from the north of the reservoir down to cooler water of the south, Friday brought with it an Algal bloom which made the fishing somewhat challenging. Fish were still caught however, but not in the previous numbers that they were. Those targeting the Damsel feeders around the margins seemed to fair better than those sat over the deeper water of the Main Basin. Those fishing around the weed might well have found the weed acting as a filter to the particles of Algae, therefore providing clear water in & behind the weed. An Algal bloom is a seasonal hazard of fishing large reservoirs during the warmer months, however there are ways to successfully counteract it & still be successful. One of the most obvious ways is to simply avoid it by fishing up wind where the water would be clearer or by searching for clear areas where the Algae isn’t as prevalent. Another way is to fish underneath it. Algae tends to move across the water in a dense band, by varying your approach you can sometimes find clear water underneath the Algae. If we cannot find clear water, it sometimes pays to fish dark flies, as these standouts more in coloured water, very slow to give the fish more chance to see them, There is no doubt that an Algae bloom makes fishing more challenging but by thinking laterally about what we are trying to achieve we can still catch.

Saturday started with a very gentle South-westerly breeze which over the course of the day, swung round to a strong northerly. The moving Algae again made fishing challenging but there was still plenty of fish course on a whole variety of methods. As previously mentioned, finding pockets of clear water seemed to be the key. As the wind swung round the Algae was simply getting pushed around the reservoir so there were no obvious clear locations. There was, however, intermittent patches of clear water amongst the blooms, so by utilizing long drifts anglers were able to come across clear areas. Season Ticket holder Bob Margery had a very productive morning landing 7 fish, 4 of which came in the same drift from The Bell over to Harrisons Corner. Bob fished a washing lined floater with Diawl Bachs on the droppers. Practising for the forthcoming England Ladies Mixed Pairs, Leanne Frost & Chris Bobby had 10 fish to the boat, targeting fish in the upper layers. To amplify the importance of water clarity, when they came across clear patches, the interest from the fish came thick & fast with Leanne landing 3 fish in quick succession. Other methods that seemed to work were Dries on occasions & also FAB’s fished static on a Fast Glass. To illicit a response from the fish, changing methods frequently also seemed to work, with Daniel Tranter landing 6 fish, using 3 different methods.

It was a bright clear start to Sunday. The wind was initially a light South Westerly that developed into a moderate North Westerly by the end of the day. The Algal bloom remained from the previous day & thickened throughout the day as the air temperature increased, making the fishing extremely challenging. 18 Anglers took to the water for the England Ladies Mixed Pairs competition & they caught 25 fish between them which produced a rod average of 1.4 which given the conditions was a great effort. Congratulations goes to Leanne Frost & Chris Bobby, who followed on from the previous day’s success by landing 5 fish between them & taking top pair for the day. Well done to everyone involved on what can only be described as a challenging day, It was great to see you all. Later in the day it became apparent the Algae had begun to clear up in the northern lee areas of the reservoir as the constant wind had begun to push the Algae down towards the harbour. A few days of a consistent wind direction will increase the prospects of finding clear water.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: 31^st July       Rod Av: 3.2      Water Temperature: 21c+

Monday surprising how strong the northerly wind blew during the late afternoon into the evening. It seems to be fishing better late morning into the afternoon / evening. Trout remain high in the water taking daddies, hoppers, small fab, small muddler with Lorenso finding a team of traditional wets fished well as well. Best area along the dam, green bay and across the mouth of the Markfield arm. Andrew Wilson caught his 4 on hoppers & muddlers with Lorenso catching 12 on daddies & team of traditional wets.

Tuesday with a northerly breeze it kept the trout in the top surface layers with the majority of anglers using a floating, various tip lines & sink tip lines with daddies, small fabs, small muddlers, diawls & crunchers. Fish seem to be in pods with various pods along the dam wall, green bay & in the mouth of the Markfield arm. Usually, the arms don’t fish during the warmer weather but Kevin Hart decided to take his tube up the Thornton Arm to see if the fish were still there from two weeks ago. He found feeding fish between 12.30pm & 4pm fishing a lightweight #5 outfit with small fab, diawl bach & crunchers he caught 7 trout. Along the main dam J Scott fished a 12” slow tip line with fab, diawl & daddies to catch his double figure catch with P Cox catching 17 on small fabs & P Hunt fishing diawl bach to catch 10. Dennis Barnes caught 3 on a small white booby pulled across the surface but reported lots of fish prepared to chase but wouldn’t take the fly. Water clarity has improved the algae has dropped out of the water.

Wednesday anglers reported pods of fish moving at times, getting them to chase or follow the fly but proved trickier to hook. Stuart Thompson fished small diawls to catch his 4 trout with Howard Davies fishing his version of the muskins to catch his 6 trout. Green bay proved productive for Ian Leach catching 10 on fab and diawl with Ian Brearley fishing daddies for his 4 trout. I Shepherd fished a Montana and hares ear for his 4 trout.

Thursday and again reports of trout feeding but proving difficult to tempt with Kevin Hart top rod on the day with 6 caught on a cruncher and fab fishing from his float tube in front of the dam. No real pattern to the day with anglers picking up odd fish on a variety of flies fished on a floater or tip line

Friday, conditions looked similar too Thursday and yet it fished far better on Friday with a rod average 3.7 Daddies, Blue Dry Damsel, cdc, diawl bach worked best with Lee Henfrey on a day off from Draycote catching 11 for his mornings visit fishing 2 dry blue damsel patterns, fishing them static was the successful method. Chris Sayer caught 6 for his mornings visit on dragonfly nymph patterns with Ian Leach & Mark Cowley catching 12 on diawl bach, olive cdc in the green bay area. Majority were caught on a floating line, washing line or one of the midge tip to 12ft tip lines. Productive area, main dam, green bay & across main basin

Saturday with the breeze in the west and cloudy anglers report trout moving, on occasion in good numbers but they were difficult to tempt. Maciek caught 4 on dries with Dave Woodall also catching 4 on a small dry sedge with Rob Anderson also reporting 4 trout. All water member Mark Hunt cracked the code by using a small Bibio, bobs bits and big red to catch his 20+trout from in front of the main car park along the dam, fishing long leaders with the flies static was the key.

Sunday a very quiet day, for the fishery & site with few general public about, everyone was at home watching the commonwealth games & the football. Only 2 rods fished for the morning session only catching 1 trout on a sedge pattern.

We are seeing an increasing number of light coloured buzzer hatching size #12 and this morning I spotted the first of the August claret buzzer. First time in a while I’ve seen daphnia in the water and you can still see damsel nymphs swimming upwards to hatch. Water Clarity is good

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 31st July 2022      Rod Av: 5.0    Water Temperature: 18°C

Monday saw a bit of a  change in the fishing here at Draycote, with good returns coming from quite a few different areas of the reservoir. The fish have definitely moved up in the water column with most catches now coming to either a washing line on a floater or a midge tip, or dries. The best areas are Rainbow Corner right on the dam wall, C buoy to D buoy and down in the bottom of Toft Shallows near the Nature Reserve. Season permit holder John Dickens had 28 fish to the boat using dries such as bob’s bits and daddies. Chris Discombe used crunchers on a washing line to net 7 fish from Rainbow Corner. Both Graham Homer and Martin Ashby used daddies to net 9 and 6 fish respectively. Bob Smith and Ian Richardson had the grand total of 36 fish to the boat between them. Bob and Ian used bob’s bits in a size 12, as well as culs, before moving over to hot head diawl bachs and crunchers to net their fish from Rainbow Corner.

Tuesday started overcast and a bit muggy, with hardly a breath of wind. There were plenty of fish showing early on around the pontoon and out across the reservoir towards X buoy. During the course of the day a ripple did arrive and the great fishing that the anglers experience on Monday continued. Colin Day fished from the bank to land 5 fish taking 3 from Toft using a Jack Frost lure and the other 2 coming from Rainbow Corner on gold sparkler. All water member Paul Walker fished in Rainbow Corner from a boat to land 17 fish using Diawl Bachs, crunchers and daddies. Jem Dunn & Phil Thomas enjoyed a good day afloat boating 24 fish between them. Their hotspots being A Buoy, Rainbow Corner and C Buoy using a washing line with Black size 12 Diawl Bachs and then a foam daddy or a Biscuit and Tequila FAB. All water member Ed Douglas landed 16 fish with 11 of them coming to dries. Ed, fished in Rainbow Corner and used a daddy and CDC shuttlecock on the point. Another boat pairing using dries to great effect was Lester Booth and Nigel Nixon who landed 16 between them on dries. The fished around B Buoy with a Big Red and a Red Shipmen’s being their best pattens and commented on the “excellent fishing”.

An easterly wind Wednesday with overcast conditions. Fishing from a boat in Toft, Draycote members Colin Granger & Ian Reeve enjoyed a good morning’s sport landing 20 fish to the boat using various lures. Frank Sumnall & D Morris fished a washing line with a foam daddy on the point and then holographic diawl bachs on the droppers to boat 8 fish picking fish up from various points across the reservoir. Martin Ashby fished for an afternoon to land 9 fish using daddies on a floating line with the Aerators being his best area. Member Graham Homer fished in Rainbow Corner using Diawl Bachs and black buzzers to boat 6 fish using a floating line.

The wind remained in the East on Thursday with overcast skies, it looked a great day to be out on the water, and this proved to be the case with the rod average for the day finishing at 6.2 fish per angler. Season ticket holders Peter Elliot & Lee Patten landed 21 fish between them, Peter, opted to fish dries all day to land his 11 fish. With Lee fishing a washing line and also dries. Tony Broadway & John Clifford enjoyed a good morning’s sport landing 16 to the boat. Tony used a neutral density with a Minkie, whole John opted for a floating line. Landing the fish around the Aerators and C Buoy. Fellow season ticket holders Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot landed 20 fish to the boat around the Hensborough Bank & Rainbow Corner. They used a mix of methods taking fish on Bob’s Bits, washing lining on a Midge Tip using a tequila booby and then nymphs on the droppers. The best catch of the day went to Kevin Rees who landed 30 fish all on dries, Kev fished drifting around M Buoy using CDC Culs to take his fish. Also commenting on the amount of fish over the 3lb mark.

A bright start on Friday here at Draycote led into sporadic cloud cover and light breezes. Once again the rod average turned out to be very good with anglers making good returns from several areas around the reservoir. Rainbow Corner seems to be about the best area, with the Hensborough Bank, the  Valve Tower and the Dam Wall in Toft Shallows also holding fish. Quite a lot were caught on dries such as CDC’s and foam daddies yesterday, with a few fish falling to buzzers. Season permit holder Ray Rawlings netted 4 fish on Foam daddies around A and M buoy. Paul Cramp used buzzers, cdc’s and the midas to boat 7 fish. Mr A Hodgekiss had 5 fish to the boat in Rainbow Corner, all on dries. Mr Frazer Duffy netted a total of ten fish on dries, whilst Mr Dave Reynolds had 17.

Yet another good day on Draycote Water. With good cloud cover and light breezes throughout the day, anglers made some good returns on Saturday. The Farborough Dam has switched on in the last few days with a good head of fish sitting between T buoy and the wall. Although Rainbow corner continues to be the hottest spot on the reservoir, the Valve Tower and the bottom of Toft Shallows are also producing some good returns. Mark Braun netted 16 fish from a drifting boat using CDC;s as well as blobs on a midge tip line. Sean and Debbie Gilbert had 8 fish during a half day session which all fell to klinkhammers. Lester Booth and Nigel Niixon had nearly 30 fish to the boat and remarked on “A brilliant Day”. Lester and Nigel fished up in Rainbow Corner and along the Hensborough Bank and used dries such as foam daddies and the midas. Season permit holder John Dickens had 11 fish to the boat during an afternoon session also using foam daddies as well as bob’s bits.

Overcast humid conditions Sunday, as a result the fish remained in the top few feet of the water column. Draycote member Jon Crowley landed 11 fish in short 5 hour morning session. Jon, fished at Rainbow Corner and the Hensborough Bank using orange daddies before switching to a black and gold snake also taking fish at the Swan’s Nest. Father and son due Fraser Duffer Jnr & Snr fished from a boat to land 18 fish. The pair used daddies and a washing line around Rainbow Corner and A Buoy. Another, father, and son boat was Gary & David Turner who also used daddies to land 10 fish in a morning. The pair also landed some cracking fish with 2 over 3lb 8oz and one tipping the scales at 4lb. James Collins & Sean Martin landed 22 fish between them using a variety of flies with dries, buzzers and lures all catching.

Thanks to Draycote Fly Fishing Association for running their “Try Fly Fishing Event” with casting instruction and an opportunity for a taster session from a boat at Draycote on Saturday

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 31 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.5          Water Temperature: 18-19 °C

Monday saw the blustery weather from the previous week continue. The moderate to strong south westerly that started the day swung around to a west-northwest direction which brought with it some isolated showers & a cooler air temperature. This had an impact on the prolific Damsel hatches that had featured previously. The hatch did not occur until much later in the day & by mid to late afternoon the hatch was in swing. This reflected in the catch returns with anglers departing earlier in the day not doing as well as those who stayed a little later. One angler who benefited from this was All Water member Stuart Ponter who had 10 fish to the boat from Dogwood Bay. Stuart caught all his fish on Foam Daddies, brown & natural coloured during the day & once the Damsel hatch was in full flow, he swapped to a Blue Foam Daddy & continued to catch. For those who want to target the Damsel feeders it is worth remembering that prior the hatch, the fish will be feeding hard on Damsel nymphs sub surface, intercepting the Nymphs as the swim towards the weed beds.

There was gentle west north westerly breeze on Tuesday, bringing with it a gentle ripple & a cooler air temperature. As the day progressed, the gentle breeze dropped resulting in flat calm conditions. It was a very quiet day with only 5 boats taking to the water. Those that did venture out caught on Damsel nymphs & Foam Daddies fished around the weed beds from Dogwood to Sam’s Dyke. The water temperature continues to drop & as a result, there was a lot of fish moving across the Main Basin for most of the day. With the cooler weather due to continue, the surface activity will be increase & the outlook looks excellent for the rest of the week.

Wednesday brought with it a flat calm & a surface layer of mist which is indicative of a cool night. The flat calm gave way to a gentle ripple by mid-morning & it brought with it a build-up of cloud cover. Some algae about but with our water temperature at 18c it was a day for the dries with blue dry damsel, daddies, big red, cdc taking some of the better catches from across the main basin & down along the weedbeds. Jude Tuffs caught 10 for her visit, Mark Hunt fished cdc to catch his 12 trout with Lianne Frost & Chris Bobby fishing a big red to catch theirs. D Jeffrey & C Martin fished buzzer patterns to catch their 14 trout. Mr Holmes fished the afternoon session from 3pm catching his 9 up to 6.30pm on a cdc daddy.

Thursday saw the reservoir continue to fish well to the dries with fish taken on Grunters, Foam daddies, Hares Ears & Adult Blue Damsels. John Duncan landed 12 fish with most coming to the Grunters & Nige Savage had a very successful day fishing Suspender Hares Ears. All Water Member Ed Douglas was another who had a very successful day, landing 17 fish on a mixture of dries & nymphs on a Washing Lined floater. The best area remains the Main Basin with fish being taken from Dam right the way up to Robbo’s Cabin. Those targeting fish in the upper layers were more successful than those fishing deeper. There are still fish feeding hard on Damsels in & around the weedbeds along from the lodge to Sam’s Dyke. They can be caught fishing Damsel Nymphs in the morning sub surface & later in the day on Adult Blue Damsels once the Damsels begin to hatch.

Friday started with a very gentle breeze from the north which had pushed any remaining surface algae into the south corner of the dam around the pontoons. Fish could be seen moving across the Main Basin, with a large number of fish seen in front of Robbo’s Cabin. Ian Jobe ventured out in his Float Tube & had a productive day. He initially went out targeting the deeper fish & after a little interest he decided to move up in the water column. This proved to be decisive with Ian landing 7 fish & reporting a lot more interest from fish higher up. The anglers fishing the upper layers were catching fish on both Dries & the Washing Line from various locations around the Main Basin. Drifting was difficult due to the lack of wind, therefore, to maintain a mobile approach, frequent moves were necessary until the fish were located. The most productive patterns remain Foam daddies, Dry Damsels, CDC’s & nymphs.

A flat calm & an overcast sky greeted the anglers on Saturday. As the day progressed, a slight breeze developed from the southwest which formed a very inviting ripple across the Main Basin. With the water temperature of 19 & the overcast sky, the fished were sat high up in the water column & happy to feed off the surface. The reservoir fished extremely well with high catch returns recorded from both the boats & the bank. Malcolm Thompson landed 15 fish from the bank which is an excellent return for bank fishing in July. Malcolm fished the area known as the Bell, wading out to the weedbeds & targeted fish feeding in/around the weedbeds with Dries. From the boats there were some very high numbers recorded. The best method seemed to be fishing long drifts across the Main Basin with either a Washing Lined Floater, with a small booby or FAB on the point with nymphs on the droppers, or by fishing Dries. As reported earlier in the week, Foam Daddies in various colours remain the most productive Dry Flies. It is also worth trying Big Reds, Crippled Midges & the Midas, especially during the windier days forecast for the coming week.

Sunday saw the wind swing round to the Northwest & build throughout the day. Periods of overcast gave way to sunny spells as the increasing wind brought changeable conditions. The reservoir continued to fish well from the bank with Malcolm Thompson returning for a 2^nd day & landing 4 fish in a short session, all on dries & all around the weed beds. That means he has had 19 fish off the bank over the 2 days which is an excellent return for bank fishing in July. Dave Etty also enjoyed a productive bank session landing 6 from the Hawthorns area on Hares Ear CDC’s, once again fishing over the top of the weed. The boat anglers continue to catch, fishing CDC’s & Foam Daddies at various locations around the Main Basin.

With the weather forecast for next week looking favourable the reservoir should continue to fish very well.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Thornton is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  24^th July    Rod Av: 4.4      Water Temperature: 21c+ – (26c on Tuesday at 4pm)

Monday & Tuesday angler followed our advice not to fish due to the intense heat & high water temperature.

Wednesday and a much cooler start to the day, L Serrano went out for a few hours during the afternoon fishing a S5 with two humungus catching 4 trout from the buoy and lower end of the stones.

Thursday and a much cooler morning, cloud, light rain and an air temperature of 16c. Few rods about but the ones who are out fishing are looking at the cooler morning session. Tony Socket fished the deeper water with a sinking line and a silver white humungus & appetizer catching 3 but losing a further 3. Phill Mee fished diawl bachs to catch his trout. The heat has left us with some algae, its nowhere near as it could be with visibility still 3ft+

Friday an easterly wind which felt cool with light rain greeted the anglers. We were expecting a better day’s fishing, surprisingly it proved difficult. Ian Brearley caught 6 from green bay on damsel patterns during the day. A few fish moved in the evening with the rain and a drop in temperature, Karen Thompson fished a floating line losing a fish on a small blob and catching 1 on a orange daddy.

Saturday southerly breeze with anglers reporting fish feeding in front of the dam and across the corner, which in all honesty surprised us all following the hot weather we had Monday & Tuesday. Jan Webber found a pod of feeding fish off the corner of the wood catching 7 on a floating line with daddy & muddler. Tim Price caught 2 on daddies in front of the dam but reported he had another 15 come to the fly but wouldn’t take it properly. Mark Hunt fished team of daddies in front of the dam to feeding fish catching 20+ for his visit. Water temperature was 22c and dropping, some algae in the water with visibility 3ft

Sunday, floating lines with daddies, hoppers, small fabs, small muddlers was the successful method with a rod average 7+ for the day. With the westerly breeze the most productive area was in front of the dam, Adam Gunby & Lorenso both caught 14, John Thomson caught 6 on Fab, soldier palmer & diawl bach with Andy Dermott also catching 6.

Considering the heat & high water temperature at the start of the week the fishing Wednesday onwards has been far better than expected & noticeably better than years gone by & is without due to the change to the stocking policy introduced to cope with higher temperatures were facing. Prior to 2000 when we first trialled our new stocking policy we would not see much, if any top of the water sport once the surface water temperature went above 19c. Were know seeing as we did at the weekend excellent top of the water sport with water temperature at 21c+

www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 24th July 2022              Rod Av: 2.2      Water Temperature: 20 °C

Well with the record temperatures Monday and Tuesday, it was hardly surprising that no anglers decided to venture out on the water. Wednesday was the first day we had anglers return to Draycote to give it a go. Jim Dempsey fished utilising the rudder using Di 7 and a Booby basher to land 5 fish. Jim didn’t really have any specific areas just drifting from the Top dam wall straight down the lake into Toft. Draycote member Ray Rawlings landed a brace also fishing deep on a Di 7. Ray found his fish at Y Buoy and B Buoy using a olive snake.

A much cooler day Thursday with a cool northwest wind and some drizzle first thing in the morning. This has helped the water temperature drop back down to 20 degrees, and hopefully we should see a few fish moving nearer the surface. Season permit holder Dave Adkins caught a brace using a DI7 line and snakes in the area around Y buoy. Richard Walker also took two fish in the area around C buoy again on a DI7 and snakes. Frazer Duffy and his son took four fish between them on sinking lines and lure patterns.

It was overcast with a light easterly breeze on Friday morning, but quite muggy with it. Most anglers chose to fish in the deeper water up by C buoy and the Valve Tower, where 2 or even 3 fish was considered not a bad day at the moment. Mr David Chambers had 2 fish in Biggin Bay fishing between E and D buoy. Mr Ian Leach and Mr D Stoll had a brace a piece fishing over the deeper sections on the reservoir, but as sometimes happens here at Draycote, the fish are not sticking to the rules. Most of the fish on Friday came from the shallows down in the bottom of Toft. Mike Garner, fishing from the bank, used a washing line and crunchers to net 7 fish from the area near the big willow tree. Mike said that there were a lot of fish moving right across the bottom of Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Peter Harris used a single FAB to net 3 fish from the same area.

An overcast start to Saturday, with the sun breaking through, before the cloud rolled back in with some gusty winds for the afternoon. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey took to the water on a 4 hour guide taking Nicholas Golding & James Holier for their first ever visit to Draycote or any reservoir for that matter. Under Lee’s instruction and guidance the pair landed 6 fish with Lee in 4 hours, losing a number of others and went on to finish the day with 10 to the boat.  The method was to fish a floating line, a tequila booby on the point and 2 size 12 black Diawl Bachs on the droppers. The best fishing spot was in Toft near the nature reserve buoys and the large willow tree. At the other end of the reservoir all water member Andy Lillie fished with Graham England to land 11 fish to the boat. They opted to fish foam daddies drifting from Rainbow Corner to A Buoy and landed a cracking 4lb fish. Fishing for an afternoon Paul Bailey also fished daddies to land 8 fish. Draycote member Mark Braun landed 11 fish dropping his flies a little deeper using a Di 5 sweep. Mark used a humungus and an olive snake with the best areas being A Buoy and Y Buoy.

An overcast start to the day on Sunday with a gusty south westerly blowing across the water. It’s obvious now that the fish have moved up in the water column, as anglers are regularly catching on floating lines using nymphs and lures, as well as some fish falling to dries. Jon Crowley used a hot headed damsel fished on a floating line along the dam wall in Toft to boat 9 fish. Stephen Dewhurst had half a dozen to the boat whilst Mark Robinson and Ian Western netted 3 apiece. Mr Craig Davies’ group, visiting us from Wales, had 60 fish to the boat between 8 anglers on their second day. The group used foam daddies and other dry flies, drifting in Rainbow Corner and out to A buoy.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 24 Jul 22       Rod Av:   2.7         Water Temperature:  19 – 22°C

Due to the extreme weather on Monday & the fishery was very quiet with no anglers attending. With even hotter weather on Tuesday, the decision was made early afternoon to close the fishery.

Wednesday saw the first anglers arrive to the lake after the break in the hot weather. Eyebrook Member Ian Jobe fished from a boat to land 8 fish. Ian found the fish in the main basin fishing deep utilising a Di 7 with a black and gold humungus. In a very different approach Stuart Ponter used a floating line and foam daddies to land 6 fish. With all his fish coming from Dog wood bay fishing near the weed.

Cool Northwest winds on Thursday with overcast skies, and a lovely ripple on the water. Fishing from the bank Malcolm Thompson enjoyed a great morning’s sport landing 4 fish. Malcom caught his fish from the Hawthorns using a blue dry damsel. Out on the boats Mr Purdon & Mr Wilson used fry patterns on Di 7 sinking lines to land 3 fish. With the cooler temperatures forecast Friday and some much needed rain in the forecast, we should see the water temperature drop further and the fish start to rise in the water column.

With Friday’s water temperature sat at just over 22 degrees, the fish as predicted, started to move up in the water column. There still appears to be 2 bands of fish, there are a group of fish sat in the first 3ft & some sat at 20-25ft. The fish in the upper layers can be caught on dries; Grunters, Foam Daddies & later in the day when the Damsel hatch in full swing; Dry Blue Damsel have accounted for quite a few fish. Whereas the deeper fish have been getting caught on Di7s with a Humungous Booby, fished relatively slow & hung for a considerable amount of time.  All-Water Member Mark Hunt targeted the upper layer of fish & his endeavours were rewarded with 7 fish caught on Foam Daddies. Another All-Water Member Ian Jobe chose to target the deeper fish from his float tube. Ian had a great day landing 14 fish all of which came to a Humungous fished deep & slow. Best bank areas were over the weedbeds; Dogwood to the Hawthorns & the best boat area remains the main basin.

Saturday brought with it a light South-Westerly breeze with plenty of cloud cover. Fish were caught from both the boat & the bank with Season Ticket holder Malcolm Thompson catching 3 fish from the bank at the Hawthorns. Malcolm selected his area wisely identifying the channels dividing the weed & fished his Dry Blue Damsel in these areas. The fish he caught were spooned, they were full of Damsel Nymphs. Elsewhere, Season Ticket holder Bob Margery had 6 from the boat, fishing Washing Lined Floater with Diawl Bachs on the Droppers up by Robbo’s Cabin & Tim Sheppard had 5 from his Float Tube in the Main Basin.

Sunday saw a blustery wind from the Southwest & good cloud cover with the occasional sunny interval. As the water temperature continued to drop the reservoir fished well from both the boat & bank. The weed that limited the bank access earlier in the year has ceased being an issue as the water level as dropped slightly due to the recent warm weather & lack of rain. This means that bank anglers can now wade up to the weed & fish their flies out in front of the weedbeds to intercept fish that are feeding along the edge of the weed. Their diets consist of mainly Damsel Nymphs in the mornings & as the air temperature increases late morning, they turn their attention to Adult Blue Damsels. Season Ticket Malcolm Thompson, did just this & had another very successful morning session from the bank, landing 12 fish. Away from the bank, another Season Ticket holder, Neil Shilton caught very well in the Basin fishing a Di7 & an Olive Barred Snake, landing 8 fish.

With the cooler weather looking set to continue, the prospects for the forthcoming week excellent

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

View our latest YouTube video Flyfishstore – Talks Fishing

Talks Fishing will be a series of videos when we go out fishing on Draycote, Eyebrook & Thornton with one of our fishing regulars. We delve into their fly box & talk to them about their fishing on our waters.

Series 1 we go out on Eyebrook with Bill Law to catch those damsel feeders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgeUzhyi_hU

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Thornon is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  17^th July       Rod Av: 3.4      Water Temperature: 20c+ – 23c

Monday and the start of the hot weather that’s forecast with our water temperature at 20c+ Not many anglers out with most fishing the morning session before the heat of the day pushed the temperature upwards. Bob Menhams fished over the deeper water in front of the main carpark with an intermediate & yellowish damsel pattern catching 4 trout by 11am. Pete Hunt fished a fast sinker with a bejesus booby catching 5 for his visit from the deeper water in front of the dam

Tuesday everyone fished the morning session up to 3pm with the deeper water best with intermediate down to sink 7 with booby, Dawsons olive patterns. Colin Chambers & Ian Leach both caught 4 trout for their mornings visit with Ian commenting a number of fish would follow the fly to the surface but not take.

Wednesday a quiet day rod wise. Howard Davies went up the Thornton Arm fished a sink 6 to catch his 3 trout.

Thursday a busier day with nearly all the boat out. It proved t be the best day of the week so far returning an average of 4 Most rods fished the deeper water with a few venturing up the Thornton arm in search of the damsel feeders. Again, intermediate to sink 7 lines caught fish with damsel, cormorant, cats whisker, booby and snakes. Richard Price fished a white minkie booby to catch 9 for his mornings visit, with P Hunt catching 7 on a booby. Ian Brearley fished all day with a cormorant and booby to catch 11. Ian Leach and K Counihan caught 8 for their visit on buzzer and cats whisker.

Friday & fortunately a bit of cloud & a good breeze made it quite tolerable out on the water, surprisingly at sunset there was a noticeable temperature drop. Again a mixture of lines from an intermediate to a fast sinker with diawl bach, damsel & booby. Mal & Dave Ravo caught 5 for their visit with John Bevington & Chris Sayer catching 3 each for their part day session. P Walker fished the deeper water in front of the main car park & dam finding the fish willing to take a damsel & diawl bach recording a double figure catch. Water clarity remains good

Saturday and all of the anglers opted for the morning session. Surprisingly some of the fish caught were much higher in the water than expected, Lee Henfrey was out guiding & commented the trout they caught were between 3 & 4ft down. The Harwood family caught 10 for their mornings visit catching on buzzers & cats whiskers.

Sunday & a very quiet day as the 1^st day of the hot weather was forecasted. Surprisingly the trout were higher in the water than expected with G England reporting fish moving on the surface with some taking the blue damsels. He set up a washing line & caught 6 trout.

We seem to have two layers of trout, the larger triploids have gone deep & generally not feeding with the smaller triploids 1lb8oz to 1lb14oz within the top 5 feet still feeding & happy to take a fly. With a rod average of 3.4 for the week its proof our stocking policy of smaller triploid rainbows during the summer works.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 17th July 2022              Rod Av: 3.1      Water Temperature:  21 °C

A muggy start to the week on Monday after a warm weekend. The water temperature at the start of the day was 21°C and finished the day at 23°C. As a result the fishing was challenging, Husband & Wife duo Debbie & Shaun Gilbert landed a brace in the morning and lost a number of others, using a Di 5 sinking line with olive barred snake and also a black dancer. Draycote member Philip Waters landed 4 fish using a fast sunk line and a lure around the Aerators and B Buoy. Chris Pyke fished using a Di 5 & Di 7 and a cat booby to land 5 fish, with Chris concentrating his efforts around the deeper water at B Buoy C Buoy and Y Buoy.

Another humid “muggy” day Tuesday with heavy cloud, despite the cloud the water temperature remained high starting at 22°C. We had a number of boats out practicing for the AMFC match the following day. One such boat was Fraser Duffy Snr & Jnr with the father and son duo landing 16 fish between them. They fished around A Buoy using a sunk lines with boobies to land their fish. Chris Pyke took the water on the second day of his package break to land 7 fish again focusing on the deep water using fast sinking lines. Another boat out practicing for the AMFC was Jack Vallis from the Royal Navy boat a dozen fish, using a Di 7 around A Buoy and the Valve Tower. As the water warms the Aerators are a great place to try, as the Oxygen brings the cooler water from the bottom and increases the dissolved oxygen levels in the water which the trout love.

A slightly cooler day in terms of air temperature, however, the water temperature was still 22°C which once again resulted in the fish sitting deeper in the water. Wednesday saw the fishery host the Association of Major Fishing Clubs (AMFC) Group 2 match. With 6 teams of 6 anglers taking part for a total of 36 anglers taking to the water. Despite the hot weather they enjoyed some good sport, catching 145 fish for a rod average of 4.14. Winning the match was Invicta with 34 fish for a total weight of 80lb 1oz, second was The Greylags with 33 fish for 75lb 15oz and in third place was Bristol Reservoir FFA with 26 fish for 60lb 12oz. The overall individual was Gary How who was the only angler to land his 12 fish limit at 5.20pm. Gary used a sliding bung and a team of hot head Diawl Bachs underneath it to catch fish at 14ft down. The best other tactics in the match were a 6ft Midge tip with a heavy buzzer on the point and then a team of Diawl Bachs on the droppers. A Di 7 40+ with 2 boobies and 2 nymphs, Di 8 with a Cat booby on the point and then a UV cormorant and a UV Cruncher. The best area in the match was to drift in the deep water from the Valve Tower to C Buoy and then off the Dam wall towards the deeper water around B Buoy. Outside of there match there was also some good catches. Jim Dempsey landed 8 fish in a morning session utilising the rudder. Jim, caught the fish deep using a Di 7 and a half with a black and gold humongous. With his best areas being a drift from the back of the Aerators towards Y Buoy and then around Y buoy. John Dickens also found the fish deep using a black snake on a Di 5 fished out the back to ensure to get as deep as possible.

There was a good north westerly breeze blowing over Draycote on Thursday morning,  with limited cloud cover. As previously reported, the warmer temperatures have moved the fish deeper in the water column and therefore the current fishery advice is to follow them into the depths of the reservoir. Sinking lines are the order of the day, such as DI5’s, DI7’s and the booby basher. Jamie Scott used a DI8 with snakes and a biscuit blob to catch 4 fish. Dave Adkins had 8 fish to the boat using black snakes on a DI7. Dave caught his fish near Y buoy,  and weighed 4 fish in for 14lbs. Andy Miller went out with Will Thomas on a 4 hour guided session and netted 8 fish. Andy and Will caught their fish on a DI7 and olive barred snakes.

Another bright and blustery day here at Draycote on Friday with a bit of colour in the water, mainly at the windward end of the reservoir. Most fish are coming to sinking lines and lures but some anglers have resorted to buzzers fished deep, (about 15 feet) on a midge tip line at the western end of the reservoir. Sam Smith used buzzers on a midge tip line to net 20 fish from Rainbow Corner. Chris Pallot used black and gold boobies on a DI7 sweep line to net 4 fish near Y buoy and lost several more. Debbie and Sean Gilbert used a DI5 with a barred grey snake up near the Valve Tower to boat 2 fish and had takes too numerous to count, but sadly did not convert these. Sean Devlin used snakes and cormorants on a DI7 to net a dozen fish  in the deeper water near C buoy.

Flat calm and bright skies made for a very warm day on the water. However this didn’t seem to affect the fish with the rod average for the day finished at over 6 fish per angler. All water member Rob Edmunds fished with Andrew Scott with the pair landing 20 fish to the boat in a half day using a booby basher with snakes. Sam Edmunds & Sam Smith also used Booby Bashers and snakes to land over 20 to the boat, with Albert Coales also doing well on these tactics. The best area on the day were Y Buoy, B Buoy and also G Buoy in Toft. Draycote member James Alexander landed 4 fish once again in a morning, on buzzers fished in the Aerators.

Sunday saw Draycote host the Scierra Pairs with 10 teams competing for 2 places in the final in on Lyn Brenig in Wales. A very warm day with temperatures hitting over 30 degrees, thankfully there was a breeze to cool the anglers slightly. Winning the Scierra Pairs, Albert Coales & Mathew Griffiths who fished by G Buoy in Toft using a Booby Basher with a black snake booby and an olive snake booby allowed to sink for 20 seconds before using a figure of eight retrieve. With their bag wight for 12 fish tipping scales at 32lb 4oz. In second place was Rob Edmounds and Andrew Scott who fished at A Buoy and also G Buoy using similar tactics to Albert & Matt. Fishing outside the competition was John Crowley who caught 7 fish using a DI7 line with minkie boobies. John caught his fish in the area of deep water between B buoy and The Valve Tower, and along The Hensborough Bank. Richard Walker used the same tactics to net 5 fish from the area around A buoy.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 17 Jul 22       Rod Av:   3.5          Water Temperature:  23-25°C

The week started as last week ended, with high temperatures & not a cloud in the sky. With the water temperature sat at 23°C, those who did venture out were in for some challenging conditions. All Water member Ian Jobe threw caution to the wind, well he would have if there was any wind about & decided to head out over deeper water. Armed with years of experience of fishing Eyebrook in these type of conditions Ian set up his Di7 Sweep & headed out in his float tube to the Tower area. In a relatively short session Ian landed 9 fish to 4lb & plenty over 3lb, which is a great effort in the conditions. Getting his flies deep was the most important factor, hanging his flies between 10 & 20ft Ian had a lot of interest. Often this would result in a sharp pull or a positive hook up. With the hot weather due to continue, getting your flies down to where the fish are is going to prove critical to your chances of success.

Tuesday brought with it overcast skies & a very light ripple caused by a gentle south westerly breeze which remained consistent throughout the day. Despite a water temperature of 23+ fish were still feeding hard on the abundant adult Damsels in relatively shallow water. Resident Guide Andy Miller took out Jim Marlow on a short, guided session. They headed straight out to Mucky Bay & Jim had a great day, landing 10 fish, all of which came to the Blue Foam Daddy. Fish were also caught along the weed beds on the Leicester bank into Sam’s Dyke & further out in the Main Basin fishing over the deeper water. Regular angler Tim Shepherd had a very productive Last 4-hour visit, landing 6 fish in the Basin fishing his Di 7 from a float tube. These two very different methods seem to be most productive; Dries over the weed beds or fishing deep in the Main Basin. The bank preparation work over at Harrisons to Robbo’s is now complete which has opened a large area that can be fished off the bank that gives access to deep water relatively close in.

The warm weather continued Wednesday & the anglers seemed to concentrate their efforts fishing over the deeper water of the Main Basin. Fast Sinking lines such as Di 7, Di8 & the Booby Basher seemed to be the order of the day, with those fishing the deepest being the most productive. There was a lot of fish taken on the Hang, so it was imperative to stop your retrieve as the flies travelled up towards the boat. It also paid to vary the retrieve & at what point the flies were Hung, as this would invariably induce a take. The Damsel hatches are still prolific around the weedbeds from around mid-morning & there are still fish around the weedbeds which is testament to how much food is in them. Additionally, our summer stocking policy (see link at the top of the page) seems to be paying dividends with our rod average for this time of year being particularly healthy.

Thursday was still very warm, although there were light breeze & overcast skies. Fish were still caught deep in the Main Basin, but there was also fish caught on dries; CDC’s, early on before the surface layers of the water got too warm. When fishing deep it has been imperative to get your flies as deep as possible & to fish the Hang. When trying to achieve depth, not only is it important to cast as far as you can so that the line sinks to its maximum potential, but we can also shorten our leader. By reducing the distance from our fly line to our flies or the top dropper, it enables the flies to be pulled down deeper by the sinking fly line, especially if we are fishing a booby. Fishing a single booby on a short; 5 – 6 ft leader at this time of year, when the fish are sitting deep, can be absolutely devastating. It is fished on a slow retrieve, with the occasional long pull & pause, to illicit a response from the fish.

The bright, clear skies returned for Friday & what was a gentle breeze from the South had stiffened to a northerly by the afternoon. As previous days, fish were still caught in the Main Basin over the deeper water. However, what was different from previous days some fish were caught mid-water on a washing lined fast glass. There is absolutely no doubt that most of the fish are sat deeper down the water column & as they ascend in the search of food or descend back down to the more comfortable water they were getting picked off. With the water temperature stabilising at 23 degrees, the fish are not sat cruising at 2ft down; they will move up from the depths, do what they need to do until they become too uncomfortable & then they move back down to the cooler water. The Northerly wind in the afternoon, had made the mid to upper layers of the water column more tolerably to the fish. The more recent stocked fish, in line with out stocking policy, are also more resilient to temperature than fish off a larger stamp. Mr Pattinson & Mr Eckard had a very productive day landing well into double figures, fishing over the deeper water of the Main Basin.

Saturday was a busy day at Eyebrook with 15 boats out practicing for Sunday’s 6 x 4 Competition & a cluster of pleasure anglers which included Andy Miller who was out on a 2-hour experience session. Andy hosted father & son, Harry & Teddy Ellis, who had a great time hooking & catching several fish using an Olive Barred Snake in the Main Basin, which was a great effort given the conditions & in such a short space of time. Well done, Teddy. Of those practicing, fish were caught at various levels of the water column & on various lines; Booby Bashers, Di 7 Sweeps, 6ft Tips to Floaters. The best area seemed to be the deeper water of the Main Basin with fish falling to Dries, Nymphs, Blobs & Boobies. Season Ticket holder & regular Float Tuber Neil Shilton spent the day in the Main Basin, around the Tower area & was rewarded with 12 fish which was a great effort given the conditions. All of Neil’s fish were taken on a Booby Basher fishing very deep.

Sunday started with a light Southerly breeze & a relatively clear sky which developed into light cloud cover by early afternoon. With the water stabilising at 23 degrees, it would be interesting to see how the Reservoir would fish for the latest round of the 6 x 4 Series. 52 anglers took to the water & 239 fish were caught which gave an excellent rod average of 4.6 given the conditions. To yield such a rod average in the middle of July, in the weather conditions present, is testament not only to our summer stocking policy of stocking slightly smaller triploids, but also the hard work of anglers, well done to all. Fish were caught on a variety of methods; from washing lined tip lines to pulling lures on anything from a Fast Glass to a Di7, fish were caught at a variety of depths. One angler who targeted the deeper lying fish was Neil Cohen. Neil fished a team of heavy buzzers on a 6ft tip line to great effect, landing 12 fish which is a great effort. Well done, Neil. The best areas remained the deeper water over the Main Basin, with most of the boats conducting long drifts from the Tower & Dogwood Bay on the southerly breeze.

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REPORT WEEK ENDING 10th JULY 2022
Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  10^th July      Rod Av: 7.4      Water Temperature: 18c+ – 20c+

Monday with a rod average 7.3 to start the week helped by the water temperature at 18c+ and a brisk cooler north westerly wind helping to keep the fish in the top few feet of the water. Floating lines, midge tip and intermediate with orange daddies, muddlers, yellow owls, buzzer, fab, diawl bach and damsel patterns taking fish. Surprisingly for Thornton during July there are good numbers of fish up the Thornton arm but the majority are being caught in front of the dam, green bay, stones and across the main basin. J Brinksman on his first visit to Thornton caught 8 on an olive nomad, Dennis barns fished a morning session catching 6 on fab & hopper with Bb Menhams fishing damsel & diawls to catch his 6 trout during a morning’s visit. G Jackson & Gary Owen shared a boat for the day catching 4 trout between them.

Tuesday and with this early July weather still on our side we enjoyed another excellent days fishing with the rod average 8.2 Andre Russel & Gary Cragg fished from their float tubes catching 27 between them along the stones on a diawl bach. A Lilley & S England shared a boat catching 40 fishing a washing line with P Cox fishing a sink tip & fabs to catch his 15 trout. All Water member Dave Slessor caught 17 for his visit with J Wright on his first visit to Thornton catching 6 for his mornings visit on a small olive snake. Water temperature was 18c+ at 7am with a strong cool northerly wind & some cloud cover which all helped to keep the fish in the top few feet of the water

Wednesday and the forecast continues to be kind to the angler with todays rod average 5.6  Floating to intermediate lines are still best with dries & emergers such as small orange or brown daddies, hoppers & yellow owls, muddlers & small fabs pulled through the surface with diawl bach, olive or black buzzers, damsel & small olive snakes. Best area continues to be in front of the main dam, stones & across the main basin. H Davies fished an olive snake to catch his 15 trout for a mornings visit. T Hutchinson also fished a morning catching 10 on orange daddy & black epoxy buzzer with S Lorenso catching 20+ on fabs, damsels & hoppers.

Thursday & a busy day for early July with the anglers enjoying an excellent days fishing with the rod average 9.6 for the day. Majority of the trout were high in the water taking dries, damsel, fabs, diawls & hares ear. Paddy Fitch decided to fish the bank concentrating his efforts to the Thornton Arm, wading through the weed he fished hares ear & gold head damsel to catch 21 trout. Andre Russell & Gary Crag float tubed fishing with diawls & blue flash damsels to catch 45 trout between them. Bob Jones continues to enjoy a successful season at Thornton catching 17 on suspended olive buzzer, blue flash damsel & booby. David Rowbottom fished a morning session catching 8 on diawls & cats whisker with Mr Caley fishing Thornton for the first time in a number of years catching 11 trout for his mornings visit on emergers. I Shepherd another angler returning to Thornton after a number of years fished with P Fletcher catching 10 between them on Montana & Diawls. Mick Smith & J Wenlan caught 36 for their visit with Mike commenting on the quality of the dry fly fishing during the morning. Jason on a day off from his ranger duties at the Eyebrook caught 10 for his afternoons session.

Friday and the start of the warmer spell that’s forecasted. S Swinfield & S Zeleny opted for the fast sinking line & booby approach catching 5 for their mornings visit. Lee Henfrey on a day off from his Draycote fishery ranger duties fished with Kevin Hart boating 40 trout on crunchers, nemo, damsel & fabs starting their morning fishing the main basin before moving into the Thornton arm. Couple boats opted for the last 4 hour session finding fish still feeding in the Thornton arm with J Brown catching 4 on a fraser nymph with Sam & Paul Cook fishing sedge patterns to catch their 3 trout.

Saturday a quiet day due to the hot weather forecast but the anglers missed a good day with the daily rod average 4.4 Keith Cowen caught 6 on sinking lines with a cats whisker booby over the deeper water. Martin Clay also caught 6 from the deeper water but also the shallower water in the Thornton arm. K Hart and D Pacey fished the afternoon and evening fishing up the Thornton arm with nymphs they caught 8

Sunday and the hottest day of the year so far, not many rods out fishing & the ones that did fished the morning session with fast sinkers booby, damsel & bloodworm patterns. Carl Bond caught 4 for his visit with P Hunt catching 3 overall rod average 2.3 for the day

Overall & excellent July week with the rod average an excellent 7.4 Water clarity remains good but the water temperature is up to 20c+ This coming week with the current forecast expect the mornings to fish best with the deeper cooler water in front of the dam, buoys & stones fishing best

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 10th July 2022       Rod Av:  3.7    Water Temperature:  19°C

A bright warm start to the week, however as forecast cloud cover did roll in about 11am. The cloud cover certainly helped he bank fishing with the best catch of the day coming from the bank. Draycote member James Kelly enjoyed a great day’s sport landing 13 fish from the Swan’s Nest in Toft. Using Diawl Bach’s and Damsel patterns to land his fish. Out on the boats John Dickens enjoyed a good day landing 9 fish using a washing line with buzzers on the droppers. A fellow angler who used buzzers to great effect on the boats was Francis Campbell who landed 7 fish, all on red buzzers. Kevin Rees used his trusty dries to land 6 fish with his best patterns being Crippled Midge & Bob’s Bits.

Nearly identical weather as the previous day on Tuesday, however, the cloud did clear later in the day. All water member Ken Key fished for a short 4 hour session on the bank during the middle section of the day to land a brace from the Cornfield. Bernard McCarthy also fished from the bank for an afternoon to land 3 fish all from the Swan’s Nest in Toft. The cooler water temperatures this year are certainly helped the fish remain closer to the margins for longer than normal. On the boats Geoff Allsop & Graham Wood enjoyed a good day using dry flies. The pair drifted from the Valve Tower over towards C Buoy and the Aerators using Claret Hoppers and suspender dries to land 15 fish to the boat. Also fishing around this area the boat paring of Vic & Pete also landed 8 fish, but did comment as to how they caught them.

Overcast conditions Wednesday with quite a strong breeze, as a result of the overcast skies the fish seemed to be sitting not only high in the water, but, there was once again a good proportion close to the bank. C.J Day fished in Biggin Bay on the bank to land 15 fish, with the fish sitting 12-20ft from the edge. With his Colin’s best flies being Damsel emerger, black buzzer and a red cruncher. Another bank angler who enjoyed great sport was Brian Joseph who only fished for 5 hours landing a dozen fish all on nymphs fished along the Cornfield. Another angler finding the fish close to the bank was former Fishery Manager Kevin Hart. Kev, fished by the Willow Tree in Toft fishing close to the shore to land over 30 fish to the boat. His set up was a #5 rod, floating line then a team of nymphs with 2 crunchers and a Damsel on the point. All water member Ed Douglas landed 19 fish opting to stick with dries all day. The best pattern for Ed was a CDC shuttlecock, with his best area drifting from the Valve Tower towards C Buoy. Draycote member Jim Hall, like Kevin, fished tight in to the bank at Toft landing 15 fish on a team of Diawl Bachs. John Falconbridge also enjoyed good sport in Toft, once again on Crunchers & Diawl Bachs. Fishing for the afternoon Matt Crisp & Paul Newnham landed 14 fish between them from Rainbow Corner on CDC dries and commented “very good fish”.

More overcast cool conditions Thursday morning, with the sun breaking through late in the afternoon leaving a very warm afternoon & evening. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walker fished on the bank landing 5 fish on Diawl Bachs from Biggin Bay. With beginner season ticket holders Tim Illsley & Andrew Tasker also fishing the bank landing a brace each from the Cornfield. A busy day for Beginner season ticket holders with Colin & Tracy Wilson also on the water but fishing from a boat. With Tracy landing her first fish while out on her own after a couple of session of instruction. Tracy’s fish took a hot head Diawl Bachs near the Aerators, a massive WELL DONE Tracy hope it’s the first of many. Draycote season ticket holders David Holding & Geoff Brooks fished from a boat with he pair landing a dozen fish from Toft by the Willow tree using a team of nymphs fished on a floating line. John Clifford fished in the middle around K Buoy and N Buoy to a land 10 fish in a morning using an intermediate and various lures. All water member Ed Douglas fished for another day landing 24 fish with 13 falling to dries. Ed, fished around X Buoy and P Buoy in the morning on dries before heading down to Toft in the afternoon. Another angler who found dries to be a good method for catching was Kevin Rees who landed 15 fish on crippled midge and CDC Culs.

A warm day Friday with the sun making an appearance all day. A number of anglers fishing Draycote were in the Repechage on Sunday so exact numbers and tactics were a little scarce. On the bank the bright weather slowed what had been some great  bank sport. However, Stan Hillman did manage a brace from the Tower bank. On the boat Michael Hanlon landed 7 fish using a Midge Tip line with a washing line. With his best patterns being a cruncher on the dropper teamed with a Cat Whisker booby on the point landing fish from the Aerators and also near J Buoy. Another boat who caught at J Buoy was that of Paul Roach and Jeff Mason, the pair used a washing line on a floater and also dries even in the bright sun to land their fish. Mr B Barlow fished the boats for the afternoon to land 6 fish. Mr Barlow used a washing line to land his fish with the best drifts being around B, C and D Buoy. All water member Craig Middleton enjoyed a good days sport landing 9 fish using a 12ft slow tip with a washing line with most of the fish taking the FAB on the point.

A scorching day Saturday, however, the day did start with cloud cover, although this didn’t last very long. However, while the cloud was over Matt Nuttall practicing for the Repechage the next day landed fish on dries. Then when the sun come out the fishing certainly slowed up with the anglers keeping how they caught close to their chest. There was defiantly a mix of reports on they caught, with some people optioning for a washing line on a midge tip with FABs and nymphs while other anglers went for Di 5s and boobies. Outside of the anglers practicing for the match on Sunday, Mark Thistleton landed 7 fish on snakes using a Di 7 sinking line. With fellow Draycote member Tim Davies landing 5 fish using a pink booby on a Di 5 sinking line around the aerators and C Buoy.

A very warm day Sunday with temperatures sitting in the high 20s and very little to no wind. Certainly not ideal conditions for the 32 anglers competing in the Angling Trust- Team England Loch Style Repecharge looking for a final chance to make into the national final in September. As expected the conditions made the fishing challenging, but the anglers did manage a very respectable rod average of 3.5 fish per angler. Winning the day with an impressive 12 fish was Alex Johnstone who used a Di 7 sinking line with a mix of boobies and cormorants to land his fish, with his best area being the Valve Tower. In Second was Robert Williams and Third, his boat partner Martin Griffiths who landed 11 and 10 fish. Like Alex they used Di 7 sinking lines with boobies and cormorants to land their fish, but the hotspot for them was A Buoy. However, it wasn’t just sunk lines that caught the fish Andrew Haskins fished a 12ft Slow Tip 2 Muskins and a foam daddy around A buoy to land 8 fish giving him 4 place. For a full list of the results please see www.facebook.com/flyfishstore

Outside of the competition Draycote season ticket holder Jon Crowley landed 5 fish, only out on the water for 4 hours before it got to hot. Jon, used a 12ft slow tip with an orange blob on the point and cormorants on the droppers. Taking his fish on one long and very slow drift from Rainbow Corner, Hensborough Bank and out to K Buoy. The best catch of the day came to fellow Draycote season ticket holder Mark Braun who landed over 25 fish fishing at Y Buoy. Mark used a Di 7 sinking line with a 5ft leader and a small comp legal humungus booby fished on a 5 foot leader.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website

www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending: Sunday 10 Jul 22       Rod Av:   4.0          Water Temperature:  20-22°C

The start of the week brought with it a moderate South-Westerly breeze which swung round to the West as the day progressed. There was on occasions, some decent cloud cover, which was interspersed with sunny intervals. The Reservoir fished well, recording a daily rod average of 4.3. Fish were caught across the Main Basin with Dries proving to be the most productive approach. On the day the most effective patterns proved to be Foam Daddies, Adult Damsels, Big Reds & small CDC’s. All water member Ian Jobe landed 10 fish in what was a relatively short session. Ian also spent a considerable amount of time targeting some of Eyebrook’s larger resident Browns on fast sinking lines & a large Humungous. After losing a substantial fish, Ian then returned to fishing higher up in the water column to catch his 10 fish. Enjoying day 1 of a 3-day Short Break package, Mr Benjamin & Simmons had a productive day, landing well into double figures between them, all on the Dries.

The reservoir continued to fish well on Tuesday. The day started with a stiff, cool West/Northwest breeze & overcast. As the day progressed the breeze lightened, bringing with it sunny intervals & a rise in the air temperature. This meant that the Damsel hatch that had previously been occurring late morning to early afternoon, did not occur until late afternoon, early evening. This reflected in the reservoir fishing very well in the evening with All Water Member, Albert Coales catching a very high number of fish in a relatively short space of time. Throughout the day fish were caught all through the Main Basin, either on a washing lined floater with Diawl Bachs on the droppers or on the Dries. Another All Water Member, Jamie Scott caught well throughout by utilising the washing line early on & them caught on the Foam Daddies & Damsels later. Foam Daddies caught well throughout, the trout seemed to prefer the larger profile of the Foam Daddy today, what with the bigger wave. Whereas the adult Blue Damsel or Blue Foam Daddy did not really become effective until later in the day, once that air temperature had increased.

Wednesday bought with it a light to moderate westerly breeze & a good amount of cloud cover. Therefore, the reservoir fished well to the Dries from the off. Season Ticket holder Mr Johnson had a great day on the Dries, with most of his fish falling to a Grunter from numerous locations around the reservoir. Malcolm Baker thoroughly enjoyed his session with resident Guide Andy Miller, catching numerous fish on Blue Foam Daddies from the relatively shallow water of Mucky Bay. We offer numerous Guiding options on all of our fisheries & If you are at all interested in any of the options, please follow this link https://www.flyfishtuition.co.uk/  or phone Tom Bird on 01788 812018. Fish were caught from all over, from the weedbeds along the Leicester Bank up into Sam’s Dyke, all across the Main Basin to the deeper water off the netted bank. The banks also produced, with those willing to fish over the weed being rewarded for their endeavours with some explosive action. A point to note is when you are fishing around the weedbeds it is sometimes better fishing with a single fly as it is easier to control & not having a trailing dropper will prevent it snagging in the weed when you are playing fish.

On Thursday, the day started with almost perfect conditions with a light breeze & plenty of cloud cover. As the day progressed the wind swung round to the north & gathered in pace. This did not affect the air temperature too much as there was a significant Damsel hatch mid-late morning. Subsequently, the reservoir fished very well with plenty of fish caught on Blue Damsels, Foam Daddies & CDC Emergers. Mr Williams & Heritage had a great day catching a high number of fish on Damsels & CDC’s from various locations. All water member Andy Lilly also had a very productive session landing 9 fish in a relatively short session. Andy fished Foam Daddies on the washing line in the Main Basin picking up fish from various locations. We have started working on the bank access at Harrison’s Corner & this will continue around to Robbos’s Cabin. This will give bank anglers access to deeper water relatively close in which will become very important as the water temperature looks set to rise due to the recent warmer weather.

Friday saw the start of the recent high pressure. With it, it brought a rise in air temperature & bright clear skies. Consequently, the water temperature started to rise, starting the day at 20 degrees it rose 2 degrees during the day. This made fishing relatively challenging, however, there was still fish caught with those catching well fishing dry Damsels over the deeper water. All water member John Duncan caught 8 from the Main Basin on Blue Foam Daddies & Rob Keeber caught 10 on the Dries over the deeper water. Well done to both anglers as this was an excellent effort given the conditions.

Saturday started with a brief spell of overcast cloud which soon gave way to searing sunlight. The water had increased again overnight & now stood at 21 degrees. This did not deter the fish from feeding hard on adult damsels & there was plenty caught throughout the day. As well as being caught on the Blue Dry Damsels, fish were also caught on the washing line. The fly that seemed to be doing the damage on the washing line, was the one that was nearest the surface be that a FAB or a Booby. Some anglers also tried fishing deep on fast sinkers which did prove successful; Season Ticket Holder Neil Shilton had 6 from his Float Tube.  The percentage method seemed to be the Dries though, with fish not only caught over the Main Basin but they were also caught down by the Cowshed. The most successful patterns were Blue Foam Daddies, Blue Dry Damsels, Foam Daddies & Grunters. Season Ticket holder Mick Farrell had a very productive day with his boat partner landing over 20 to the boat, mostly on the Dries. With the water temperature on the steady rise, the fish will eventually start to move down in the water column as they seek the cooler water, don’t discount the use of sinking lines, especially over the Main Basin.

Sunday brought with it bright sunshine, without a cloud in the sky & the lightest of ripples. Venturing out in these challenging conditions was the All Abilities Fly Fishers. They managed 45 fish between 23 anglers giving them a rod average of 1.95, which is a great effort given the conditions. Those that had the more productive days fished Damsel patterns around the weed beds in the shallower areas, Sam’s Dyke & Mucky Bay. Fish were caught on small Damsel Boobies on the washing line & then Blue Dry Damsels once the Damsel hatch was in full flow. The fish over the deeper water in the Main Basin could be seen moving consistently during the day but they were harder to catch. Despite still feeding on the surface It would appear that these fish are starting to sit a little deeper in the water column & as the warmer weather looks set to continue they will drop deeper still.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

Online Shop: www.flyfishstore.co.uk      Tuition & Guiding: www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

Fishery YouTube Channel: YouTube Flyfishstore

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  5^th June      Rod Av: 6.2      Water Temperature: 16c

Our water temperature is excellent for the time of year at 16c and were seeing good numbers of trout feeding on small midge and the first of the pin fry

Monday with fish moving off and on all day anglers were catching trout throughout the day with good numbers in front of the dam wall. Two very different approaches worked, #14 #16 hares ear, buzzer, Sedgehogs cast directly at feeding trout and then stripped as fast as you could, or single #14 #16 emergers, dries, shuttlecocks cast 6ft in front of feeding trout and fished static allowing the trout to move onto the fly. Andre Russell float tubed catching 13 trout, B Morris caught 5 with P Wurm fishing the evening rise with #16 owls hooking 9 but only landing 3, never the less, exciting sport.

Tuesday was overcast in the morning with showery rain, surprisingly cool at times. Trout continue to feed on huge hatches of tiny midge, buzzer & reports of pin fry especially in front of the main dam. Lots of fish reported coming short to the fly or hooked & lost. Dave Pritchard for the morning session landed 1 but lost a further 7 trout. Phil Mee & Steve Faregrieve returned 9 for his mornings visit.

Wednesday & better conditions with trout moving from in front of the lodge, across the main basin, Dam & into the Markfield Arm. Float tubers A Russell, Steve Frakes & Rik Dunnett all caught good numbers of trout fishing in front of the main dam, their method was to fish a sedgehog , buzzer, diawl, damsel, cruncher or booby, throw at the fish, pull away creating wake, the fish chased. Andy Hubbard & Tony Bokenham caught 15 on damsel, buzzer & snake patterns. Diawl Bach worked for S Wilson & D Dyer helping them to their catch of 23 trout. Thornton Member David Hussey fished the last 4 hours in front of the main car park catching 5 on buzzers.

Thursday with trout again to be seen feeding across the reservoir with anglers reporting good numbers of fish down the Markfield arm. A mixture of small dries and emergers to nymphs & buzzers caught fish, with some reporting better sport on a static fly whilst other caught by stripping the flies through the surface. Ian Brearley and S Higgins shared a boat catching 40 trout between them with some falling to a daddy and Sedgehogs. P Wrigley and R Dunster caught 15 with buzzers helping the Harris father & son catch their 11 trout. Tony Lorrimer fished his successful rabbit patterns picking fish up all over the reservoir.

Friday a cool blustery east wind greeted the anglers. Despite the weather anglers reported fish willing to take a dry or chase a small muddler through the surface with a good number of trout reported down the Markfield arm with D Skudder catching 5 on a small muddler pulled quickly through the surface for his mornings visit.  Tony Smith fished the last 4 hour session catching 4 on dries with A Capener fished a washing line catching 7 on a small green buzzer. Dries such as the Orange Daddy, small H&H Sedge caught a number of trout with Lee Henfrey catching 20 on a midas. Trout are high in the water & are prepared to chase a fly pulled.

Saturday another morning with a cool fresh easterly, although it didn’t affect the fishing with a rod average of 8.1 for the day. Mixture of methods caught fish from muddlers, dries to booby. Jan Webber caught 9 for his visit on orange cats whisker & booby, T. Michalak enjoyed an exciting day fishing a daddy muddler with trout eager to chase his muddler through the wave catching 12 for his visit. Mark Hunt stuck to his tried & tested dries sedgehog & F Fly catching 21 for his visit.

Sunday a very quiet day due to the bank holiday festivities & the poor forecast. Anglers missed out on an excellent days fishing with Gary Owen fishing the afternoon session down the Markfield arm catching 28 on dries between 2.30pm & 8.30pm, excellent fishing.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022. Details are on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 5^th June 2022     Rod Av: 2.5       Water Temperature: 15 °C

Monday dawned with the ideal conditions of overcast skies and a light westerly breeze. A good day for the dries, as season permit holder Kevin Rees found out, netting 10 fish from a drifting boat in various areas around the reservoir. The young pairing of Peter Elliott and Lee Patten fished the washing line method, using a floating line with FAB’s and nemo crunchers to boat twenty fish between them. Ian Richardson and Bob Barfoot had 9 fish to the boat between them, using cormorants as well as dries such as crippled midge and klinkhammers.

A very mixed day with regards to the weather with some very heavy rain showers throughout the day. On the bank Andrew Tasker landed 3 fish on his first visit to Draycote after attending a beginners tuition day earlier in May, a very well done Andrew and we look forward to seeing you in the banks throughout the season. On the boats John Jones landed 7 fish on a Bejesus booby and crunchers landing his fish at Toft and also the Hensborough Bank. Jason Hermon also fished from the boat landing 5 fish on Buzzers in Rainbow Corner. All water member Norman Perkins landed 10 fish using a washing line with a FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs in the middle fishing around the Outlet and the Hensborough Bank.

Great conditions with light winds with cloud and sunny intervals. On the bank Stan Hillman landed 5 fish on a pearly pheasant tail with regular fishing partner Mick Cronin also landing 3. On the boats Jim Dempsey used to Rudder to land 9 fish with small tubes being his best pattern. Draycote member John Dickens used dries to land 8 fish, another season ticket holder who used dries to good effect was Kevin Rees. Kevin fished by Y Buoy using small F flies and other small emerges to land 9. All water member Paul Walker fished with John Falconbridge around the Hensborough Bank and the outlet landing 21 fish to the boat. With FABs, crunchers, Diawl Bachs and Damsels being their best patterns. Mr C Cowan & C Smith landed 13 to the boat using a mix of dries and also washing lining. Mr Tresser fished for the last four hours in a boat for the evening landing 6 fish on a green snake by A Buoy.

Once again at Draycote the conditions for fishing on Thursday were excellent, albeit, with a little bit of sunshine thrown in for good measure. The fish are well spread throughout the reservoir and being caught on a wide variety of patterns. As reported previously there are a number of fish taking a tiny green midge off the top of the water, and these can be caught with either very small patterns or, by pulling a lure through them to knock them off their stride. Tim Joyce and his boat partner Jon Smith did well on black buzzers fished in the bottom of Toft Shallows, netting 13 fish from a drifting boat. Richard Walker caught 5 fish in the aerators using foam daddies on the top and then a DI 6 with black and green snakes. Draycote regular Tony Plummer had a total of 8 fish to the boat, one of which was a rainbow of approximately 7 lbs, which was returned. Mr John Jukes had 6 fish to the boat using red holographic diawl bachs and a montana. Season permit holder Brain Allwood had 3 fish from the bank on buzzers.

Good conditions for fishing at Draycote again on Friday with maybe a chance of a shower later on. On the second day of their 3 day break Both Tim Grove and Jon Smith had a dozen fish to the boat, using small black buzzers in Toft and Alberts Bottom.  Mr D Brooks and Mr M Warren had 3 and 4 fish respectively from the bank using buzzers and FAB’s on Lincroft Point.  Mr J Morgan Parker caught 9 fish from a boat, both on dries and crunchers with a FAB on the point. The father and son pairing of Dave and Mike Lee had 8 fish to the boat between them, all on dries. The Draycote Fly Fishers held the “Gordon Griffiths One Fly Challenge” on the bank on Friday evening which was attended by 9 anglers. Not the easiest evenings for some, but the lads did produce a competition rod average of 2. A great evening was had by all members, with the results being as follows; In third place was Anthony Hart with 2 fish and a finish time of 5:40, in second place was Brian Froggatt with a brace and a finish time of 5:30, and in first place was Stephen Dewhurst with 3 fish and a finish time of 5:25. The club would like to thank Mr Ray Rouse for supplying some quality flies for the competition again this year.

Saturday morning dawned with cloud cover and a very strong north easterly wind. Apart from the odd angler, most chose to ply their trade along the leeward shore, fishing in the Cornfield, Toft Shallows, Alberts Bottom and Biggin Bay. One angler who did venture out into the wind was season permit holder Mark Thistleton, who ended up boating a dozen fish on a pink snake over Y and A buoy. Mark Braun caught 14 fish drifting in the Cornfield on a black booby. Dave and Mike Mee caught 7 fish between them using dries such as shipmans buzzer and klinkhammers. Wayne Propert caught his 7 fish using black buzzers in Toft Shallows. Andy Lilley went and fished from the bank for only a couple of hours and managed one from Lincroft Point.

Heavy rain both through the night and today has put paid to many angler’s day out on Sunday here at Draycote water. However, there were a few brave souls who ventured out in a torrential downpour this morning, possibly heading for the north shore and at least a bit of relief from the weather. As the rain eased up, season permit holders Chris Bobby and Leanne Frost put a dozen fish in the boat, all on dries. Jon Crowley had 11 fish during a morning session. Jon was drifting from Y to B buoy and along the Hensborough Bank using a washing line and buzzers, as well as a black and green lure on a sinking line.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre-Payment
We will be asking you to pre-pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 05 Jun 22       Rod Av:  2.5       Water Temperature:  15 – 17°C

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

The week started with excellent conditions for fly fishing, a nice gentle ripple with a good amount of cloud cover. Fish were caught from both the boat & bank with either washing lined nymphs or dries being the percentage methods. Season ticket holder Dave Etty had a productive session from the bank, taking 6 fish & having numerous other chances up by the Cowshed down to the Chestnut. He finished his session down in Sam’s Dyke where he witnessed the fish feeding hard on damsels. All water season ticket holder Ed Douglas had an excellent day from taking a high number of fish from various locations, all falling to very small Olive Emergers. Ed attributed his success to a mobile approach, fishing from a drifting boat & not leaving his dries sat too long on the surface. The benefits of fishing from a drifting boat at this time of year should not be underestimated as you are covering more water in the attempt to locate fish & you are constantly fishing fresh water in front of the boat. As the day drew to a close the first batch of jelly fry was observed seeking shelter around the pontoon.

Tuesday was a challenging day with the fish feeding hard on the abundant natural food items available to them. What was also apparent is that in their search for food the fish are beginning to migrate further down the reservoir from Mucky Bay to the Cowshed & over to the Willows & Stoke Dry. Having said that, there are still fish being caught in Sam;s Dyke but not in the numbers that they were. Washing lined floater with small nymphs or fishing small olive dries still seem to be the best methods. All water member Andre Russell had a very productive day out in his float tube, adopting a mobile approach he landed 12 fish on buzzers & nymphs. Day ticket angler Mark Woolnough also adopted a mobile approach fishing small olive dries from a drifting boat & took fish from Sam’s Dyke, Mucky Bay & Robbo’s Cabin. The bank is still producing with Mr Jennings taking 7 fish on emerging midge patterns.

Wednesday was a busy day with us hosting the England Disabled Fly Fishers (EDFF) Floating Line only competition. 19 anglers took to the water & they caught 55 between them giving a healthy rod average of 2.9. Congratulations goes top rod on the day Neil Hodgson who had 9 fish & Dave Porter took the Frank Roberts Trophy for the biggest fish with a beautiful rainbow of 2lb 11oz. Well done to all participants, it was great to see you all & we look forward to seeing you all again. There was fish caught all around the reservoir from both the boat & bank & anglers reported that there were plenty of fish moving all over. However, tempting these fish was easier said than done. One angler who managed to work them out was Mr Woolnough who used a Split Wing Olive Dry to tempt 14 fish on what proved to be a challenging day. Other successful methods were once again a washing lined floater with small nymphs & lightweight buzzers up the cast & fishing a single yellow owl Dry Fly. One of the benefits of fishing a single fly is that you can concentrate on the presentation of that fly & fish that one fly correctly, which can make all the difference when targeting tricky fish.

A challenging swirling wind made things slightly tricky for the anglers on Thursday. Eyebrook member Neil Shilton fished in his float tube in the main basin to land 4 fish. On the bank Andrew Famer fished at the Willows on the Rutland Bank to land 5 fish. However, it was the boats that produced the best results. All water member Paul Havard landed 5 with all of them taking the tequila booby fished on the point as part of a washing line set up. Paul landed 1 from the Island while the other 4 fish came just down the bank from the Willows. Colin Smith & Craig Cowen enjoyed a good days sport landing 18 fish to the boat taking fish from various points all across the lake with a washing line a FAB and then small olive dries taking their fish. All water member Ed Douglas landed 12 fish taking them from Mucky bay and in the main basin on a small hopper and small CDC patterns.

Quite a gusty wind Friday coming from the Northeast meant that the Leicester bank was a little coloured, meaning the bank anglers fishing headed over to Mucky Bay or the Willows on the Rutland bank. Tim Shepard fished for the afternoon at the willows to land a brace on dries. Mr Critchley fished on his final day of a 4-day break from the bank and landed 3 fish from Mucky Bay. On the boats all water member Mark Hunt used small CDC dries and also an adult blue flash damsel to land 7 fish from Sam’s Dyke and Mucky Bay. Fellow all water household member Rob & Sam Edmounds used Damsel patterns fished just under the surface in Sam’s Dyke to land 9 fish in a morning session. The best catch of the day went to Ed Douglas who once again used dries to land his fish. Ed, landed 18 fish drifting from the Rutland Bank into open water and also in the Main basin from the netted bank. With grunters and small hoppers taking the majority of Ed’s fish.

The gusty, cold North Easterly wind continued Saturday which had by now, coloured the majority of the Leicester Bank. Anglers venturing out from the bank stuck to the clearer, sheltered Rutland shoreline & they all were duly rewarded with everyone catching. Season ticket holders Bob Margery & Malcolm Thompson both had productive morning sessions catching 4 & 6 fish respectively. From the boats Sam & Rob Edmunds’s, accompanied by Albert Coales, had a very productive day catching over 20 fish between them. There has been plenty of fish moving up & around the surface in most areas but getting them to take has been the challenge. It will pay to adopt a mobile approach & be prepared to ring the changes in order to find the successful pattern of the day. Damsel patterns just under the surface have taken a few fish. So to have small CDC emerging patterns; Yellow Owls, Grunters, Hoppers have also accounted for a few fish either fished dry on the surface or wet just under the surface.

Sunday brought with it a stiff North Easterly breeze with heavy rain which lightened as the day progressed. Amongst the anglers to venture out were the Alex Booth Fly Fishers who had 12 anglers fishing the Alex Booth Memorial club match. It was a tough day with the 12 anglers catching 24 fishing, giving them a rod average of 2. Congratulations to Riccardo Saccone who was the top rod on the day with 10 fish. Riccardo caught his fish in & around the clearer water in Sam,s Dyke, stroking back a Tequila Booby on a Di 3 just under the surface. Given the blustery weather conditions, this was an exceptional return & just goes to show the importance of fishing a method to suit the conditions rather than trying to make the conditions suit the way you want to fish. Season Ticket holder Neil Shilton also had a productive day from his float tube netting 4 fish & having numerous other opportunities. The forecast for the week ahead indicates some better weather to come which should increase the amount of surface activity at Eyebrook.

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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

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Congratulations to Draycote & All Water Members  Lianne Frost, Sam Edmonds & Sue Potts fishing with the English Ladies Fly Fishing team at the International held at the Lake of Menteith last week. The English Ladies Team won gold.

Congratulations to all the Ladies from England, Scotland Wales & Ireland who took part, having not been able to hold an international during 2020 & 2021 due to covid restrictions

Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Can we remind members & day rods of our pre payment policy for 2022 details are on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  29^th May   Rod Av: 3.9      Water Temperature: 16c

Monday, trout sipping off the surface in front of the lodge, these fish are feeding on small olive or black buzzer #16 or smaller. Best approach is a long leader and single dry, emerger, cdc #16 Chip Kawalsingh  fished small dries to catch 6 of these trout. Were seeing increasing number of damsel with midge tip or Sink 2 lines with damsel nymphs best for these. With the excellent water clarity some anglers are starting to find success over the deeper water with Sink 3, 5 or 7 lines with fabs, blobs or booby, all in all a day when a variety of methods and flies caught fish with a rod average 3.8

Tuesday with trout again sipping small midge / buzzer off the surface but proved tricky to catch. Peter Wrigley straight lined a traffic light buzzer & bloodworm pattern catching his 8 trout at a depth of 10ft. Carl Bond caught most of his trout during the evening session catching 7 on hopper & black buzzer patterns.

Windy forecast for Wednesday with not many rods out on the water. Ian Leach ventured out catching his 5 trout on a variety patterns from fab, damsel to a muddler.

Thursday and another blustery day, benefit of this current cooler blustery weather is our water temperature has dropped back to 16c ideal to keep those trout in the upper layers. Phill Moore fished a morning session catching 6 trout, Peter Wrigley returned for another half day catching 5 trout on buzzers. Tony Lorrimer caught 16 for his visit, catching 8 of them off the top during the last hour. Mark Hunt continuous to catch on his #14 #16 dries this time an F Fly catching 12 for him during the last 4 hour session

Friday and another day with a blustery wind, this occasion a stiff north wind. Main Car park area fished best, T. Keeber and grandson caught 9 for their mornings visit on small damsel & olive diawl bach in the top foot of water. J Bebbington caught 7 on buzzer with P Walker catching his trout on fabs, buzzer, diawl bach and damsel. Straight line buzzer was the method some rods caught  with the point buzzer at 10ft. By 8.30pm the wind had fallen away with fish moving down the Thornton arm, main car park and across the main basin with S Proffitt catching 4 during the last hour on quill buzzer.

Saturday with lighter winds the trout were up and about most of the day with anglers reporting good numbers fish moving in front of the dam. Water clarity is excellent with fish taking #14, #16 dries, emergers and buzzers. Paul Martindale fished along the dam wall towards green bay catching 11 on #14 black hopper. Jan Webber caught 11 on diawl, olive booby and brown hopper with M ODonoghue on his first visit to Thornton catching 9 on fab and cruncher

Sunday back to a cooler northerly wind, although it didn’t stop the trout from feeding on the surface with good numbers of trout moving along the dam wall. Thornton Fly fishers held a club competition with 5 anglers catching their 4 fish limit with ounces separating the top three places, with Norman Perking coming out on top.

A week of mixed winds & temperatures, were seeing increasing numbers of damsel with huge hatches of the smaller midge. Water temperature is 16c which should ensure the trout are in the top few feet of the water.

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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018

Email:  draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk

Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/

Week Ending:  Sunday 29th May 2022        Rod Av: 3.4       Water Temperature: 15 °C

Monday was a beautiful day with overcast conditions and a soft south westerly breeze. Once again it can be said that Draycote is holding a good head of fish, which are well spread throughout the reservoir. Methods of catching have changed slightly over the last few days with more anglers using sinking lines such as DI 5’s, DI 7’s and the booby basher with lures. In some areas anglers are seeing a lot of fish moving in the surface of the water but proving very difficult to catch. It is likely that these fish are preoccupied on a very small green midge which can be, because of it’s size, quite difficult to imitate. There are, in this case two courses of action, either tie on that size 22 olive midge pattern you happen to have with you or, move on to different areas where you are more likely to catch. Season permit holder Kevin Rees had a bakers dozen using dries from various areas around the reservoir. Ian Richardson used the washing line method with diawl bachs to net 5 fish, one of which was a beautiful fully finned rainbow of 4lbs. Mr David Willacy used the midas to good effect also netting 5 fish. The boat pairing of Peter Elliott and Lee Patten caught 8 apiece on a mixture of dries and the washing line with buzzers and diawl bach’s.

A very mixed day Tuesday with heavy rain at times, bright warm sun and then strong winds. As a result it was a challenging day out on the water. There was fish moving in the open water around B Buoy for most of the day. However they were preoccupied on a very small green midge, which meant they didn’t want to look at much else. Phil Gray fished in Rainbow Corner to land 4 fish on black buzzers, although it wasn’t till much later in the day when the fish seemed to switch on. Members Paul Walker & John Falconbridge enjoyed a good day in the tricky conditions landing 15 fish to the boat. The pair commented that it switched on later in the day and it was buzzers, FABS and lures that caught their fish. Fishery Manager Tom Bird fished with Sam Smith with the pair landing 6 fish to the boat on a mix of nymphs fished on a washing line and then sparklers and boobies fished on a sunk line, but sounds like they missed the best fishing by calling it a day early.

A windy day Wednesday with cloud cover and showers throughout the day as well. All water member Paul Havard fished in Rainbow Corner using buzzers to land 8 fish with size 12 black buzzers being his best patterns. Also fishing in Rainbow Corner on buzzers was John Kelly & Stephen Mclean who landed 18 fish. Their best buzzer was a size 10 black buzzer with red cheeks with anchoring their best tactic. Brothers Roger & Graham Davies enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 12 fish to the boat utilising the rudder to good effect. The pair found the fish over the open water from the top dam wall using tube flies on an intermediate line. Another angler who used the rudder to land his fish was Jim Dempsey who landed 14 fish, with tubes also being Jim’s best fly. Andy Ross & Dave Barratt landed 9 fish between them using black and orange buzzers on a midge tip in Rainbow Corner.

A breezy day Thursday with cloud cover for the entire day. On the boats season ticket holder Paul Mitchell & Gordon Bramwell enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 15 fish to the boat. They fished with orange foam daddies and suspender Hare Ears to land their fish. The best areas being from A-B Buoy and coming from the top dam wall. Ian Richardson & Bob Barfoot enjoyed a good day landing 10 fish from Hensborough Bank & Rainbow Corner with small gold and silver cormorants being their best flies. Fishery Guide Lee Henfrey & teammate Ron Gent fished ahead of the Airflo Open Heat on Saturday. The pair enjoyed a great days sport using a Slow Intermediate line fishing over the open water with a mix of hoppers and boobies, using a roly-poly retrieve. Else where a lot of other boats practiced ahead of the match at the weekend put kept the methods close to their chest to try and get the edge for the match. However, word on the grape vine was pulling and washing line was the best methods with the fish sitting high in the water.

Another breezy day Friday, however, this time the sun shone all day, making it a more challenging day than the previous day. Once again most of the boats taking to the water were practicing ahead of the match the new day. Resulting in exact information and tactics were being kept very hush hush. Draycote RIO Masters team with fishery guide Lee Henfrey did well using a Single Hand Spey 3D line and a mix of hare’s ears and midas, fishing in the open water around A, OL & J Buoy. Other teams also fished out in the open water fishing a mix of hoppers, cormorants and also washing lining tactics to take fish. Some teams also dries to be very effective even in the bright sun. Outside of the competition practice Andy Ross & D Barrett landed 8 fish at the Hensborough Bank fishing with buzzers from an Anchored boat.

Great conditions Saturday for the Airflo Open competition with 10 teams of 6 competing for 3 places through to the grand final in October and 2 places through to runners up 1 day final here in September. Overall it was a nice fair match with the 60 anglers landing 217 fish for a rod average of 3.62 fish per man. There was a real mixture of score with some anglers doing very well and others struggling, however, all reported seeing lots and lots of fish moving. They just proved very difficult to catch as they were located onto small flies. Winning the match was team Elinor who landed an impressive 46 fish. With Ed Foster having his 12 fish limit by 14.24 Ed, used a 3ft midge tip with 2 FABS and 2 nymphs at S buoy. Also, doing well on this tactic in the same area and same team was Tony Baldwin. Away from this area other good catches came from Martin Rowson of Draycote RIO Masters who fished in Toft around the nature reservoir buoys and also G Buoy. Iain Gaskell used dries to great effect catching around C & B Buoy. There was also some cracking fish caught with Hywel Morgan landing a 5lb 8oz fish taken on the bung. Outside of the match Liz Astill landed a lovely fish from the bank on a Diawl Bach taken from the Cornfield. Gareth Jones & Kieron Jenkins from Airflo took advantage while the match was on to get out in the spare boat and enjoyed good sport on small size 16 dries in Biggin Bay. The key to their success was small dries and very light tippet cast into the area of moving fish and left alone and let them come back round to find the flies.

A lovely calm start to Sunday morning with good overcast conditions which brightened up as the day progressed. Trickier conditions over the past week has seen boats moving around throughout the day in order to gain the upper hand on the fish, which are concentrating their efforts on some very small flies. Ed Douglas boated 7 fish on dries such as small hoppers. John Crowley fish off the bank in the Cornfield using a DI 3 and black boobies to net a total of 5 fish. Mark Braun, who also fished from the bank caught half a dozen from Lincroft Point using a gold ribbed hare’s ear. Out on the boats Ben Bayliss and Adam Larbalester had a bakers dozen between them on fry patterns and an olive snake from Toft Shallows and the Farborough Dam. Season pemit holder Mark Thistleton who also ventured into Toft Shallows boated 7 fish on olive snakes.

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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report – 01536 770264

Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk

Pre-Payment
We will be asking you to pre pay when you call to book. If your unable to make your visit or the fishery needs to cancel your visit due to weather conditions, you will be entitled to a full refund or move the booking to another date. Further details visit our website http://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending: Sunday 29 May 22       Rod Av: 3.1       Water Temperature:  16c

As the Building work continues at the Harrisons corner area of the dam, we are still asking our customers to come to the lodge via the Alec Lane gate.

There was a steady start to the week with 34 anglers catching 179 fish, giving a rod average of 5.3. Fish were caught primarily on the dries with the fish coming blind to flies presented static, any unnatural movement would cause the fish to shy away. Capitalising on the fish feeding on the surface was Martin Griffiths, who had a very productive Last 4-hour session from the boat with all his fish coming to dries. Another successful tactic was to washing line a floating line with Diawl Bachs up the cast, which is what Mr A Thomas & Mr R Thomas had done & had a productive day from the boat landing well over 20 fish to the boat. The most productive areas remain the Leicester Bank in its entirety where fish can be found all the way along it. Even from the bank it is essential to remain as mobile as possible to locate the fish. Once located, the fish will feed confidently & happily take Dries presented properly. Another area that is holding fish is the area of the basin where fish can be found feeding high up over deeper water.

Tuesday bought with it some unsettled weather with intervals of bright sunshine & a blustery wind from the west. The changeable weather seemed to reflect in the fishing in what proved to be a challenging day. However, there was still plenty of fish caught from the Leicester Bank area with Emerging Dry Fly patterns & a washing lined floater, with nymphs up the cast, again proving to be the percentage methods. Mucky Bay to the Cowshed seemed to be a very productive area along this bank with fish caught from both the boat & bank. Further south along the Leicester Bank; Dogwood Bay to the Sam’s Dyke is still holding plenty of fish. The Trout in this area have been witnessed feeding aggressively on the abundant Damsel nymphs present & as we all aware, this can provide both excitement & frustration in equal measure. A method that can sometimes prove effective in these circumstances is to pull something quick through these actively feeding fish to try & elicit a response.

Wednesday with the blustery conditions continuing most of the bank & boat anglers fished along the platforms to Sams Dyke & Mucky Bay. Dave Searson fished a morning session off the bank catching 6 trout on damsel patterns as did Gordan Thorand. Keith Cowser fished 4 hr from a boat picking up 10 trout for his visit. Kevin Hart spent most of his visit fishing mucky bay with #14 quill buzzer and an orange bobs bits to catch his 14 trout. Wednesday regulars Ian Jobe & Clive Moore found the afternoon session was far more productive catching 18 trout. There are still pond olives hatching in good numbers down Stoke Dry with an increasing number of damsels and sedges also adding to the trout’s menu. Water clarity is excellent try and fish as long a leader as you can and as low a diameter as you have confidence to use.

Thursday and were starting to see pin fry around the pontoon, time for the Barron’s Pin Fry pattern. These, together with the Damsels which we are now seeing in ever increasing numbers, are the next instalment of the annual Eyebrook larder. Both pin fry and damsel patterns are available from the lodge. With the                 blustery conditions continuing, most of the bank & boat anglers fished along the platforms to Sam’s Dyke, around the island and into Mucky Bay. Natural patterns continue to do well, with buzzers, crunchers, Diawl Bachs, damsels and hare’s ear patterns all featuring in the catch returns. With the prevailing conditions, a daily rod average of just under 3 was not unexpected, although some anglers were rewarded with better catches, top boat being that of Mr Skipper who netted twelve.

Friday was still very bright with a troublesome north-westerly wind blowing down the reservoir, probably the least favourable combination at the Eyebrook. All in all, it was a repeat of the previous days, with small naturals, either just under or on the surface being the better options. The Leicestershire bank, being slightly sheltered from the wind, performed best. Given the calmer water nearer the margins, the bank fished well, with nearly all those who fished from the bank catching, top rod being Eyebrook member, Mr Johnson with eight on CDC patterns. Top boat was Mr McClean and Mr. Kelly R Kelly with 14 who were successful using size 16 Hares’ ears and damsels.

Saturday was a very busy day with us hosting a Cancer Charity Day Boat Pairs competition. It was a very successful day with an excess of £1800 being raised for such a great cause. A special mention must go to the event organiser Steve Owen, who’s hard work & dedication ensured the day was such a success. 42 anglers took to the water & caught 143 fish, giving them a rod average of 3.4. Congratulations to Richard & John Hood who took first place with 16lb 12oz, closely followed by Martin Griffiths & Graham who had 16lb 10oz & 3^rd was John Goodwin & Mark Rose with 16lb 8oz. Thank you to all the competitors who supported the event. In addition, Season Ticket holder Neil Shilton enjoyed a very productive day from his Float Tube where he netted a good number of fish with the cream of the crop being at exceptional Rainbow Trout of 9lb 12oz. A truly magnificent specimen, it was weighed & it returned strongly to grace another net. It just goes to show that there is no substitute for hard work & commitment as Neil can be seen every weekend out in his Float Tube targeting the bigger fish.

Sunday morning brought a stiff, chilly breeze from the North & bright sunlight. As the day wore on the wind did not albeit, however the bright sunlight was interspersed with intervals of dense cloud cover. The changeable conditions reflected in what was a challenging day on Eyebrook with reports of plenty of fish moving but they seemed very reluctant to take. Anglers that caught well, fished very small imitative patterns be that on the surface or below it. All Water Member Kevin Hart did just this & had a productive day, landing 10 fish on what was a very tricky day, fishing small buzzers in Sam’s Dyke. Scaling down fly sizes is a proven method when the fishing becomes challenging & can often be the difference in us catching or not. The fish that have been seen moving on the surface are taking a very small olive-green midge so in our quest to “match the hatch” it is very important that we address the size issue first as this will increase our chances of eliciting a response from a feeding fish. The closer your fly size is to what the trout are feeding on the better chance you have of catching.