Weekly Fishing Report: Draycote, Eyebrook, Thornton
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| Morning Boat: | 8.30am – 2.30pm |
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Eyebrook Fishery Weekly Report
Lodge – 01536 770264 & Fishery Mobile 07834581424
Email: eyebrook@flyfishstore.co.uk
2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Eyebrook is explained on our website
www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/
2023 Membership options visit our website www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/
2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.
https://www.flyfisheyebrook.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/
Week Ending: 27th August Rod Av: 5.3 Water Temperature: 19+°c
It was another calm start to the week with a moderate southerly wind developing as the day progressed. This brought with it some extended periods of sunshine that meant the fish sat slightly deeper in the water column. Subsequently the washing line became the most productive method with fish taken on the buoyant point fly, be that a FAB or Foam Daddy & also on the Nymphs fished above it. Dries did work but only when the conditions suited & the Foam Daddy proved to be the most productive dry fly. All water members Ian Jobe & Andy Lilley both had productive morning sessions, landing 7 & 11 fish respectively. Ian opted for his float tube, targeting the slightly deeper laying fish whereas Andy targeted the fish in the upper layers with Dries & the Washing Line. Both anglers fished the Main Basin with a mobile approach, with the north side of the tower into Harrisons Corner noted as a particular hotspot.
Tuesday brought with it a moderate to strong westerly wind & bright sunshine with occasional cloud cover. The fish behaved exactly as you expect them to, laying a foot or so deeper during the extended periods of sunshine & feeding off the surface when there was sufficient cloud cover. Subsequently, the Washing Line continued to fish well as did the Dries when the conditions suited, with Foam Daddies once again featuring high on the catch returns. With regards to the washing line, small buzzers as an option on droppers have taken a few fish of late which indicates we are experiencing the seasonal late buzzer hatch of very small buzzers. From the boats, Eyebrook member Bill Law had a very successful day on the Washing Line, landing 7 fish on a morning session from various areas in the Main Basin. From the banks, David Coxon enjoyed his short session landing 4 fish from the casting platforms on the Leicester Bank. David used a small buzzer to tempt his fish. Well done, David, 4 fish from the bank in August is a very good return.
Wednesday, saw the weather continue in the same vein as the previous days but with less wind. The reservoir continued to fish well from the banks with both Jim Deacon & Steve Barlow land 4 fish from the area of the Hawthorns & Casting platforms. On the boats, there were still a high number of fish North side of the Tower up into Harrisons, tight in along the Dam wall with Brian White landing 8 fish on lures & Kieron Black landed 7 fish from the same area. Due to the bright sunlight & little wind, Dries did not fish that well with flies presented sub surface performing better on the day.
The reservoir fished well on Thursday with fish being caught on a variety of methods from the banks & the boats. From the banks, anglers caught along the Leicester bank from the casting platforms to Sam’s Dyke fishing Dries, Floating Fry & on the Washing Line. Eyebrook Members Roy Swinfield & Malcolm Thompson caught 8 & 4 fish respectively on the Washing Line & Dries. Whereas Max Woolnough opted to fish Floating Fry & was rewarded with 6 fish. On the boats it was a similar story with the Washing Line & Dries dominating the catch returns. The most productive Dry Fly was the Foam Daddy with both All-Water Members Steve Fairgrieve & Mark Hunt both catching very well on them in the Main Basin. On the Washing Line it paid to fish either a FAB or a Blob Booby on the point with either Nymphs or Cormorants on the Droppers. If the colourful Blob patterns didn’t catch, they done a great job in attracting fish into the other flies on the cast. Another All-Water Member, Mick Glover, used this method to land his 15 fish on what was a very productive session.
The Dries & the Washing Line continued to fish well on the Friday. Eyebrook Member Dave Shaer fished the Washing Line with colour on the point & went on to land 9 fish in a very productive morning session from the Main Basin. Another to catch 9 fish was All-Water Member Ed Douglas. Ed opted to fish the dries & found his most productive patterns to be the CDC F-Fly & also a Crippled Midge. Also from the boats, more Eyebrook Members, Bill Law & Ian Steele had a very productive morning session landing well into double figures on the Washing Line. From the banks Nigel & Max Woolnough chose to target the feeding fish along the weed beds of the Leicester Bank. Fishing Corixa patterns they encountered plenty of fish but found them to be not quite so obliging when it came to entering the net. A massive congratulations must go to Last 4 angler, Dave Huish who caught his first ever trout on a fly rod. Well done, Dave, here is to the first of many…!
Saturday started with light westerly breeze with clear skies & as the day progressed, the cloud cover began to build & by midday the conditions were nye on perfect. The wind eventually swung round to the Northwest & brought with it some changeable conditions, bright spells & heavy rain littered the afternoon. The reservoir fished very well throughout the day with some excellent returns recorded from both the banks & the boats. Dries fished very well off the banks with Eyebrook Member Malcolm Thompson & Mr Heawood landing a high number of fish on CDC’s & Foam Daddies from the Hawthorns. As well as Dries, boats anglers also caught on the Washing Line, where the Main Basin continued to fish very well with plenty of anglers getting into double figures. Eyebrook member Bob Margery had a great morning session landing well over 20 fish on the washing line, fishing close into the Dam Wall above the Valve tower. Whereas All Water Member Mark Hunt, fished a couple of Foam Daddies down the wind lanes that were forming across the open water in the Main Basin & also landed over 20 fish. Not to be out done, Neil Shilton in his Float Tube also got in on the action landing well into double figures, also from the Main Basin.
Sunday saw the reservoirs excellent form continue yielding a daily rod average of 9.8 which is excellent for August. Great returns were recorded from the banks, Float Tubes & the boats with plenty of anglers landing well into double figures. From the banks, the Hawthorns continue to fish well wish fish caught on CDC’s over the weedbeds & later in the afternoon, on Sedge patterns. Malcolm Thompson returned & had an even better day than yesterday, targeting the fish feeding in the weed beds. Whether it was in a Float Tube or on a boat, the Main Basin fished exceptional well with the fish remaining high up in the water column & getting caught on the Washing Line & on the Dries. The most productive Dry Fly remains the Foam Daddy, whereas on the Washing Line it was again important to fish a bit of colour on the point in the form of either a FAB or a Blob Booby. As for the droppers, Cormorants, Diawl Bachs, Crunchers all featured highly on the catch returns. With the Main Basin being a relatively large area, it has also been important to remain mobile & cover as much water as possible by fishing on the drift.
The forecast for the forthcoming week indicates that there is more cool weather to come. Coupled with the longer nights, this could lead to a reduction in water temperature which means that the excellent form we are experiencing here at Eyebrook looks set to continue.
Take A Friend Fishing 29th July to 3rd September 2023, a great opportunity to introduce a family member or friend to a Free day’s fly fishing. Your guest will share your permit with the availability of a free day’s rod licence.
Full details visit the website https://takeafriendfishing.co.uk/
The event is supported by the campaign partners Angling Trade Association & the Environment Agency
Upcoming Events
03 September – Eyebrook Fly Fishers – Single Fly, 8 Boats.
06 September – England Disabled Fly Fishers, 15 Boats + 2 WB’s
09 & 10 September – England Ladies National, 15 Boats.
Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.
Both options give a good 48-to-72-hour forecast.
XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE16_8RP use this link for Eyebrook.
Windy App – https://www.windy.com/ on their home page, enter the fishery name Eyebrook Reservoir.
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Thornton Fishery Weekly Report – 01530 230807
Email: thornton@flyfishstore.co.uk
2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Thornton are explained on our website www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/
2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings For details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.
https://www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/
Week Ending: 27th August Rod Av:3.1 Water Temperature: 19c – 20c
Monday and a quiet start to the week with only a couple of members out on the water.
Tuesday a much busier day, algae was again an issue, but a good breeze helped, overall a good days fishing with a 4.5 rod average. Generally fast sinkers with various booby patterns caught fished across the main basin. Arthur Olding caught 15 for his mornings visit with Pete Cox catching 12. Ian Leach and Mark Cowley boated 12 on various boobies fished on a sink 7 & sink 6 fly lines. Best of the fishing was generally during the morning into early afternoon.
Wednesday with light winds and a hot day forecast algae was about which saw most of the anglers fishing with a tip line down to fast sinkers. P Hunt caught 13 on a fast sinker with a blue damsel booby, Richard Price caught 8 also on a fast sinker with a flash damsel booby, with Tim Holder returning to fly fishing catching 4 on a sinking line with damsel booby patterns. Dave Slessor caught 5 trout fishing on a midge tip and fast sinking lines. Overall, a good day with a 3.8 rod average.
Thursday similar start to the day as Wednesday, very humid, light breeze & algae. Breeze picked up and came from the north westerly. There was a fair bit of algae with most rods deciding to fish the morning session. Phil Moore caught 4 but had lots of pulls & fish that took short, he fished a fast sinking line on the drift with various booby patterns. Tim Russell & Ron Rudge caught 5 for their mornings visit with P Birdsall & Mick Norman boating 5 trout.
Friday surface water temperature at 20c with algae about. Despite the conditions anglers fished the cooler morning session with fast sinking lines & a variety of booby patterns fished on a 3ft or 6ft leader, producing a rod average 4.0 Chris Sayer caught 7 with S Zeleny & Swinfield boating 6 for their visit.
Saturday, overcast morning, surprisingly humid with algae about again this morning. Forecast is for a cooler day with light showers. Overall, a challenging day with Jan Webber top rod for the second Saturday in a row with 5 trout caught on a fast sinker 7 line & booby patterns. John Bebbington spotted gulls feeding on the fry along the stones, moving to this area he fished fry patterns under the surface boating 3 trout.
Sunday, cooler overnight dropped the surface temperature to 19c. Algae unfortunately still an issue for Thornton. The morning session continues to fish best with a fast sinker & various booby pattern on a 3ft or 6ft leader generally best. Orange, red & damsel, minkie boobies have worked best although on Sunday Neil Bates caught 8 fish for his mornings visit on a sparkler booby.
With the cooler evenings & a much cooler forecast for the coming week we will hopefully start to see the algae clear. Current surface water temperature has dropped to 19c & should continue to drop. As always call the lodge for latest fishing report.
Take A Friend Fishing 29th July to 3rd September 2023, a great opportunity to introduce a family member or friend to a Free days fly fishing. Your guest will share your permit with the availability of a free days rod licence.
Full details visit the website https://takeafriendfishing.co.uk/
The event is supported by the campaign partners Angling Trade Association & the Environment Agency.
Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.
Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.
XC Weather – https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/LE67_1AR use this link for Thornton.
Windy App – https://www.windy.com/ on their home page, enter the fishery name Thornton Reservoir
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Draycote Fishery Weekly Report – 01788 812018
Email: draycote@flyfishstore.co.uk
2023 Stocking Policy Details of our stocking policy for Draycote is explained on our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/stocking-policy/
2023 Membership Options visit our website www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/season-permits/
2023 Permits & Pre Payment for Boat Bookings Details of our Day Permits, Package Breaks & our Boat bookings pre-payment policy visit our website.
https://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/about-us-2/day-permits/
Exclusion Zone Due to the work being carried out on the Hensborough Bank there is an exclusion zone in place, clearly marked with yellow buoys. Under no circumstances are anglers to enter this area as there are divers in the water.
Week Ending: Sunday 27th August 2023 Rod Av: 2.9 Water Temperature: 17.5 °C
A bright start to the week Monday, with a gusty wind at times coming from the Southwest. Peter Evans fished from Rainbow Corner drifting towards Y Buoy to land 3 fish in a morning session. Taking the fish on the booby fished on the point. Paul Cramp also fished for a morning landing 5 fish, using cormorants on a midge tip. Paul drifted the open water through the middle around P Buoy to take his fish with the best being a cracking 4lb rainbow. Draycote season ticket holder Paul Walked landed 14 fish while out on a boat. Paul used a red gold head lure fished on a midge tip to take his fish. Landing them at B Buoy towards the Valve Tower and also down at the Swan’s nest in Toft.
Another bright and breezy day on Tuesday, which made the fishing a challenge at times, as the fish still remain high in the water. However, the bright conditions mean they feed for shorter periods of time. All water member Ken Key battled the strong winds at Lincroft point and was rewarded with a cracking Rainbow taken on a cruncher. Draycote member Tim Davies fished with his son Johnathan with the duo landing 7 fish in a morning session. Using a washing line, with a booby on the point and nymphs on the droppers. With the most productive area being a the Exclusion zone buoys towards M Bouy and then around K Buoy. All water member Ed Douglas stuck to dries for most of the day landing 6 fish with shuttlecocks and crippled midge being his most productive pattern. James Maplethorpe fished with Trevor Moore, between the Draycote Dam and B Buoy. Landing 15 fish between them using small biscuit boobies on the point and Diawl Bachs on the droppers and commented “brilliant day 4 over 3lbs”.
Wednesday was overcast with a light breeze to start with and brightened up as the day progressed. The water quality is pretty good overall, with a little colour at the windward end of the reservoir, which doesn’t seem to effect the fishing too much. As seems to be the standard this season, anglers can be seen catching fish in bright sunshine either on dries or on a washing line just below the surface. On a visit from Canada, Stuart Lee had a great day out netting 11 fish on dries as well as the washing line on a midge tip. Stuart fished near the out of bounds markers on the Hensborough Bank as well as in Rainbow Corner. Ed Douglas and Kevin Rees had a bakers dozen apiece on dries such as crippled midge, bob’s bits and the F fly. Alex Campbell had half a dozen good fish during a morning session, one of which weighed roughly 4 lbs 7oz. Alex used a DI7 line and a mini tube fly around the Dive Platforms and the front of the Valve Tower.
Thursday was flat calm and bright to start with but got a bit breezy through the afternoon. Due to the flat conditions there was a bit of colour in the water but once again, it doesn’t seem to bother the fish too much. Paul Havard had 3 fish to the boat using a washing line and a tequila blob. Mr Brendan Thomas also caught 3 fish using muskins and stated that he had lost a lot more. Frazer Duffy senior and junior caught 14 fish between them using a mixture of dries and cormorants during an afternoon session. Mike Gillett and Colin Campbell had 4 fish to the boat between them using diawl bachs on a floating line near the flat stones.
Overcast skies and westerly winds on Friday, however despite the good conditions the fishing was tricky. Although the bank anglers enjoyed good sport Stan Hillman and Mick Cronin both landed 5 fish each from Lincroft point. The used floating fry to land their 5 fish and commented on the quality of the fish both landing fish up to 5lb. On the boats we had a number of anglers practicing for the John Watts Fly Dressers Guild match on Saturday so exact numbers and methods where a closely guarded secret. One of the teams practicing for the match landed 11 fish between the 3 of them. There was also similar numbers recorded by the Scottish team of 4. With the tactics that worked successfully being Di 7 sinking lines and lures. Mr David Molineux used a Di 7 sinking line and a sparkler booby to land 6 fish from Rainbow Corner.
The wind on Saturday remained on the Southwest, with a mix of cloud and sun during the day. Draycote member Mike Garner fished from Lincroft point landing 3 fish all on fry patterns. With his first fish being a cracking 4lb rainbow. On the boats Draycote member Jon Crowley landed 7 fish on claret bobs bits in the morning before the sun came out. Drifting from M Buoy out towards K Buoy on ling drifts. Fishery Ranger Mark Braun enjoyed a mornings sport on a day off landing 8. Staring his drift at C Buoy and heading through the Aerators. Using an intermediate line with an orange blob fished with a fast retrieve. Draycote member Chris Pallot fished from A to N Buoy in a morning session landing 4 fish. Including a cracking 5lb 8oz Rainbow, which can be seen on our here www.facebook.com/flyfishstore Chris used a Di 3 sinking with a white and silver Humungus to land his fish. Saturday also saw the fishery host the Fly Dressers Guild John Watts Competition. With 10 regions from all over the UK taking place from Kent all the way to Scotland. Overall there was 117 fish caught for a rod average of 3.0 per angler. With the winning team being the North Kent Salad Dodgers with 23, Second Place went to Trout ‘n Gout with 21 and New Haylie Fly Fishers with 14. The overall top rod was Paul Cramp who landed 10 fish, using a Di 5 sweep in the morning with black hoppers on the droppers and a cat booby on the point. Before swapping to two foam daddies on a floating line in the afternoon. Taking 5 of each method, fishing from T Buoy down to H buoy into Toft and around Lincroft point.
An overcast day Sunday for the most part with a bit of sun later in the day and the odd shower around lunch. Draycote member Richard walker fished for a morning landing 9 fish, taking 5 on dries. Either Big Reds or Orange Daddy with the other 4 coming to a white snake. All water member Ed Douglas also finished the day with 9 fish, all of which that came to dries. Lianne Frost fished with a single FAB on various tip lines or an intermediate to land 8 fish. With Chris Bobby also using the same tactic along with a single CDC to also land 8. Draycote member Paul Mitchell fished with Tim Burn with the pair landing 22 fish to their boat. Using sparkler boobies and FABs fished on various midge tips around Y Buoy, N & M Buoy. All water members Frazer Duffy Snr & Jnr landed 28 fish fishing around Y Buoy. The father and son duo used a 12ft slow tip with a FAB on the point and then crunchers on the droppers.
Take A Friend Fishing 29th July to 3rd September 2023, a great opportunity to introduce a family member or friend to a Free days fly fishing. Your guest will share your permit with the availability of a free days rod licence.
Full details visit the website https://takeafriendfishing.co.uk/
The event is supported by the campaign partners Angling Trade Association & the Environment Agency
Competitions Due at Draycote:
Scottish Power- 2nd September 15 boats.
EFFA- 14th September 18 boats.
Airflo Sheild Final- 16th September 42 boats.
Mid Northants- 17th September 20 Boats.
Weather: we use two weather forecast pages.
Both options give a good 48 to 72 hour forecast.
XC Weather – Forecast for CV23 8AB | XCWeather use this link for Draycote
Windy App – https://www.windy.com/ on their home page, enter the fishery name Draycote Water