Eyebrook Fishing Report – Week Ending the 19 Jun 2022

Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton

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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/

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

Week Ending: Sunday 19 Jun 22       Rod Av:  2.1   Water Temperature:  20°C

The recent blustery north westerly winds had finally abated to leave Eyebrook with a gentle breeze resulting in a gentle ripple. Coupled with a decent amount of cloud cover Monday brought with it some near perfect conditions.  As a result, the reservoir fished very well, in particularly to the dry fly where fish were caught from various locations from both the boat & the bank. The most productive patterns seemed to be small CDC Yellow Owls & small Foam Daddies fished either singularly or in the case of the Foam Daddy, as a point fly on the end of a washing line. Day tickets anglers Mr Hawes & Jackson had a very productive day from the landing well over 20 fish on Foam Daddies out in the open water of the basin. All water member Mark Hunt fished a small, single Yellow Owl to great effect in an evening session landing 12 fish, 2 of which were over 3lb. From the bank it was slightly more challenge given the recent spurt in weed growth but there are still fish to be had. Jude Tuff landed 5 fish from the bank & Dave 4 respectively, fishing predominately dry flies over the weed beds.

Tuesday brought with it clear, bright skies & very little breeze. What little breeze there was, had disappeared by the middle of the afternoon resulting in a flat calm for most of the day. However, there was still fish caught in these challenging conditions & those who caught well benefited from adopting a mobile, stealthy approach. The 2 Float tubers who ventured out, Andre Russell & Neil Shilton, both caught well concentrating their efforts fishing the open water of the main basin. Fish were caught on small Damsel patterns & pin fry patterns around the margins particularly around the Island & the Mucky Bay areas. Whereas the fish concentrated over the deeper water of the main basin were either caught on very small emerging dries or washing lined floaters & tip lines with small nymphs on the droppers & a FAB or Damsel Booby on the point. Bank access at Eyebrook has been slightly reduced to the weed growth from Dogwood Bay to Sam’s Dyke. However, the rest of the banks remain relatively clear & fishable.

Wednesday was a very warm flat calm day, with temperatures hitting well over 20°C, because of these tricky conditions the fishing was a challenge. As a result of the warm conditions the morning and the main part of the day that offered the better fishing as by the evening the water temperature has increased further. One angler who enjoyed a great day’s sport, despite the conditions, was Mr Dougie Skedd who landed 14 fish. Fishing in the Main Basin in the morning targeting individual moving fish using a size 10 Red Klinkhammer. Later in the afternoon he moved up to The Cow Sheds and The Chestnut tree again utilising the same tactic of picking off individual fish. Fishery Management Guide Lee Henfrey took Roddy Clotworthy out on an 8-hour guide. The tactic of the session was to use either Di 3 or Di 7 sinking lines around the Valve Tower with mini snakes, landing some cracking fish.

Thursday brought with it the same challenging conditions & very warm weather for the 3^rd consecutive day. Despite these conditions there was still plenty of fish seen moving feeding on damsels & pin fry & there was still some fish caught. Dougie Skedd returned for a 2^nd day & fished the same tactics as the previous day & landed 5 fish on his Red Klinkhammer. Jake Munro also had a productive day from the boat landing 10 fish fishing with snakes in the deep water of the main basin & around the tower. Mucky Bay is also producing fish with Jonathon Holmes catching a few on Suspender Buzzers & Sedge patterns. With some cooler weather forecast for the weekend it will be interesting to see what impact that will have on the ever-increasing water temperature.

The hottest day of the year Friday with the air temperature hitting over 30°C, however thankfully there was a ripple that helped with the angler’s presentation. As a result of the hot weather, most of the anglers opted to fish a shorter day. With the last four hours proving to be the most popular, Mr W sumpter & D Sumpter landed 7 to the boat during the last four hours. Ian Gadsby & Gary Mickwzy also enjoyed a great evening’s sport landing 9 fish to the boat in Sam Dyke on CDC patterns. Great to see the fish are still moving even in the hot weather, and with the weather set to cool off over the weekend hopefully the surface sport will continue.

As expected, due to the previous day’s weather, the water temperature yesterday increased even further, reading 21°C at 7am Saturday morning. However thankfully we had much cool temperatures teamed with some rain showers and a good Northeast wind. Saturday was not the easiest of days following the heat from the last few days although anglers still report seeing fish feeding on the huge hatches of damsels and pin fry, especially along Sam’s Dyke and down Stoke Dry. Local Angling Club Eyebrook Fly Fishers held their blind pairs competition fishing the morning session with 12 club members taking part. The eventual blind pairs winners were Dave Etty & Phil Mee with 4 trout, 2^nd was Mark Goodge & Clive Moore with Bill Law & Lindsey Bates 3^rd.

Details on joining the Eyebrook Fly Fishing Club are available at the Eyebrook lodge.

Sunday saw us host 10 students from Uppingham school on a Tuition day. They started by going through the basics, setting up a rod & line, basic casting, casting for distance & accuracy. Then in the afternoon they went out in boats & covered hooking, playing & successfully landing a fish. They all had a great time working with the team & the team enjoyed working with them. They caught fish by setting up long drifts across the basin using tubes on fast sinking lines. Other areas that produced fish were up by the cowshed where Eyebrook member Malcolm Thompson caught well from the bank fishing Damsels close to the weed beds & from the boat, Mr Hunter & Mr Todd caught fish from the Cowshed to Stoke Dry on small Yellow Owl CDC’s. Float tuber Neil Shilton also had a productive day, landing 10 fish from various locations around the reservoir using sinking lines. It really does pay to adopt a mobile approach when the fishing is a challenge, covering more water massively increases your odds of a productive session.

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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807

Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk

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

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

Week Ending:  19^th June       Rod Av: 2.8      Water Temperature: 19c+ – 20c+

A bright warm start to the day soon gave way to cloud & a breeze which certainly suited the fishing with the majority of the trout taken in the top few feet. Mick Glover fished an intermediate with fab & a booby stripped back just under the surface, boating 4 trout but getting lots of pulls & follows. L Ford & M Bazeley fished the morning session catching 18 on cdc & cormorant patterns fishing from the main car park up along the dam. Gary Owen fished the afternoon session alternating between dries & the washing line catching 14 on the dries & p on the washing line.

Tuesday the morning session fished best with anglers reporting fish moving down the Markfield arm, opposite the lodge and in front of the dam. Most anglers opted for the cooler morning session 8.30am to 3.00pm. P Mee caught 3 on a popper hopper, P Cox caught fish on a damsel, traffic light buzzer, diawl & muddler, David Hussey fished buzzer & diawl to catch his 5 trout with K Cowen opting for a fast sinker catching 6 on a damsel & cats whisker. Caenis is about in increasing numbers during the evening.

Wednesday and again with this warm spell the cooler morning session fished best with dries, damsel, fabs, snakes & booby all catching fish. J Carrier & Bradbury caught 6 for their mornings visit, Amed caught 4 as did Kenny & Moore all during the morning session. Very few fish moved during the evening due to the heat of the day & bright conditions.

Thursday the forecast warm spell had arrived, luckily a breeze off & on during the morning was welcomed & certainly a help for the fishing. Anglers reported fish moving during the morning with Gary Owen catching 15 on a combination of dries before switching to a sinking line later in the day. P Hunt seeing a few fish move in the morning fished an intermediate with a muddler to catch his 6 trout. Paul Martindale caught his 4 on damsel & buzzer with Barry Deeley catching 9 by using an intermediate with a damsel before switching to a DI7 & booby. With this warmer weather the morning session 8am to 3pm will be the most productive period. Rod average for Thursday was 4.5

Warmest day of the year, the saving grace was the brisk westerly breeze. Majority of the anglers fished the morning session 8am to 3pm with a couple of rods fishing the last 4 hour. During the morning session Chris Sayer caught 5 on a fast sinking line, Mark Gee & his daughter Jess caught 4 for their visit again the majority on a sinking line fishing in front of the main dam. Carl Bond fished the last 4 hour hoping to see a few fish moving, unfortunately the warm weather was against that and he opted to fish a sinking line with booby, a successful change as he went on to catch 3.

Saturday a refreshing cooler northerly with cloud & rain showers. Anglers fished intermediate, Sink 3 & Fast sinking lines catching on all three with diawl bach, damsel, olive snake and booby patterns. Martin Clay fished a DI3 with a weighted cats whisker & diawl on the dropper with all of his 8 trout taking the diawl, H Davies caught his 6 trout on a fast sinker on his home tied damsel pattern with Mark Donoghue catching his 10 trout on an intermediate & fab considering the weather earlier in the week a very respectable daily rod average 3 for Saturday

Sunday a quiet day as people celebrated father’s day with the family. Overnight a drop in air temperature had helped to reduce the water temperature to 19c. M Ravenscroft caught 4 for his mornings visit with 2 on dries & 2 on snakes on a sinker. D Slessor fished a sinker with cats whisker to catch his 3 trout

Considering the weather during the week which at times pushed the water temperature to 20c+ a rod average of 2.8 is good. The morning session 8.00am – 3.00pm fished best with intermediate, sink 3 & fast sinkers with damsel, fab, booby & snakes best
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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/

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

2022 Prices & details on our pre-payment visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/

Week Ending:  Sunday 19^th June 2022              Rod Av:  2.8      Water Temperature:  16°C

Light winds started the week with overcast skies for most of the day as a result the fish could be seen feeding hard on Pinfry. Which at times made it very frustrating for the anglers as they could see lots of fish put they proved a challenge to tempt. The best option was to try and ignore these and look for fish not switched onto the Pinfry. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walley fished for an afternoon from the bank to land a brace on Pinfry patterns at the Swan’s Nest in Toft. On the boats Steve Barby & Nigel Woolnough landed 22 fish to the boat utilising the rudder to take their fish, with runs through the open water the being the best area. Trevor Moore enjoyed good sport landing 9 fish using small black buzzers at the Saddle Bank including a 4lb 4oz “Silver Bar” of a rainbow. James & Ken Maplethorpe also enjoyed a good days sport landing 13 fish on Diawl Bachs fished on a washing line. Draycote season ticket holders Peter Elliott & Lee Patten landed 22 to the boat using a washing line with a FAB on the point and a mix of Diawl Bachs and crunchers on the droppers.

A very bright warm day Tuesday with very little to no wind all day and the temperatures hitting 20°C, however thankfully we did get a ripple in the afternoon to help with the anglers presentation. Jim Dempsey fished on the aerators with sunk lines and barred olive snakes to land 5 fish. Also using snakes to good effect was Steve Tressler who landed 10 fish on the pattern once again near the Aerators and in the deep water around C Buoy and the Tower. Draycote season ticket holder Dave Kennel & Eddie Mitchell landed 9 to the boat fishing nymphs at Rainbow Corner to A buoy and around the Hensborough Bank. Fishery Ranger Jim Sheehan enjoyed a good mornings sport landing 4 fish and losing a number of others. Jim, used a washing line on a RIO 3 ft midge tip with a Tequila FAB on the point and Diawl Bachs on the droppers. Fellow ranger Lee Henfrey fished with teammate Martin Rowson with the pair landing 18 to the boat. Martin started on the bung to take a number of quick fish before Lee started to catch on a washing line on a 3ft Midge Tip. They found fish down at the Swan’s Nest in Toft and also drifting off the Draycote Dam Wall into the open water.

Flat, calm and bright, is the only way to describe Wednesday. Draycote fished surprisingly well under the circumstances, for those that kept on the move and worked through the different tactics. Buzzers on the bung was one method that produced fish, as was snakes fished on a slow sinking line, with one or two anglers having some success on the dries. Season permit holders Ian Reeve and Colin Grainger had 11 fish to the boat using snakes and damsels along the Draycote Dam and near the Flat Stones. Mr M Foster and Mr J Vyse caught 4 fish using black buzzers and blobs, with one of the rainbows tipping the scales at 8lbs. Mr Rob Price had 6 fish to the boat for a total weight of 14lbs 1oz, the best of which was 2lbs 15oz.

Once again another flat bright day Thursday, with the conditions even hotter than the day before. All water member Paul Havard used a 6ft Midge Tip with a washing line to land 4 fish. Paul caught all his fish on a tequila booby fished on the point and landed the fish in the open water. Richard Walker fished over the Aerators with snakes to boat 4 fish in a morning session. Phil Wood fished with Gareth Bulman on their last day of a three day break. Only fishing till 2pm they landed 5 fish to the boat over the Aerators using a FAB or a small snake. Colin Campbell & Mike Gillet enjoyed a lovely days sport in Biggin Bay with the pair boating 9 fish all taken on Buzzers. Also using buzzers to land 9 fish was Gordon Bramwell & Ken Cooke, with black and red being their best colour. Lee Patten & Willy Walker used nymphs all day to land 10 fish to the boat with Green Cheeked Diawl Bach’s being their best fly.

Breezy with bright sunshine here at Draycote water on Friday, but still good returns at the end of the day. The boat pairing of Craig Middleton and Gary Martin had 14 fish to the boat on a Sunburst and Pink FAB’s in various areas of the reservoir. Season permit holder Stephen Dewhurst caught 3 fish from the bank during an evening session in Rainbow Corner. Mr D Morris and Mr F Sumnall had a dozen fish to the boat on a wide variety of patterns.

Saturday saw the weather break after the flag cracking temperatures of the previous day, with a much cooler North wind and overcast skies with showers in the morning, before some very heavy later in the evening. With Draycote hosting the 6X4s series the next day a number of anglers took to the water to practice. While there was some good scores reported the exact details of how they caught the fish. However I know that washing line on a Midge tip caught well, dries and also pulling on Di 3 sinking lines. With the best areas being Biggin Bay & Rainbow Corner.

There has been a lot of rain throughout the night, with the cool North winds remaining, with a mix of cloud and sun.

Sunday dawned cool and breezy with sporadic cloud cover and a slight drop in water temperature due to some quite heavy overnight rain. Overall, Draycote returned yet another good daily average with fish being caught in Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay, the Cornfield and Toft Shallows. Season permit holder Alan Grant caught 4 fish from the bank at Lincroft Point using an intermediate line and yellow FAB’s. Justin Owen caught 2 fish from the bank on pin fry patterns and a green buzzer. There were a total of 52 rods taking part in the Draycote round of the 6 x 4’s competition, catching 198 fish between them, giving a competition average of 3.9. The best rod on the day was Leigh Pond with 11 fish to the boat. The top team on the day were the Renegades, closely followed by the Swifts and then the Reservoir Dogs.