Eyebrook Fishery Report, Week Ending Monday 04 Sep 2022.

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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 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 upmost important. Clear patches amongst the algae vary from day to day, so it is worth while 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. Which 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 a 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.

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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:  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 buzzer 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 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. 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 were 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

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 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.