Draycote Water: Weekly report ending Sunday 18th September 2016.
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
A very warm start to the week with temperatures reaching 27°C on Monday and Tuesday, however despite these very warm conditions the fishing remained fantastic with great catches being recorded. The weather then cooled off back to a more normal 17°C for the remainder of the week as a result the fishing improved further and the bank fishing really started to come into its own, the rod average for the week came out at 4.93 for 280 rods.
With the unusually warm weather Monday catches were expected to be slow, however the fish ripped up the rule book and remained right in the top few feet of the water column. Season ticket holder Ed Douglas had a goof day landing 17 fish. Ed fishing around the aerators with and A, B buoys with a floating line washing lining crunchers. Gordon Byers and Don Coe from Northumbria also had a good days sport landing 12 fish to the boat all falling on dries with small CDC shuttlecocks being the best patterns in either olive or black. John Dickens also enjoyed good sport taking an afternoon boat and landing 11 fish all on dries, drifting from Rainbow corner to A buoy then around B buoy towards the boils.
Tuesday further warm weather was forecast, however a misty start to the morning meant the early morning conditions started off well with the sun and heat coming later in the day. From the bank Tony Broadway landed 5 fishing from the corner of Hensborough using a washing line with small nymphs and a FAB. Out on the bats M Gunnell and M Barrett enjoyed good sport landing 18 fish to the boat all on dries fishing around Hensborough bank and Rainbow corner then taking a longer drift into the middle of the lake towards B buoy. Eileen Chatwin also enjoyed good sport catching 14 fish using a washing line and catching again around Rainbow corner and the Hensborough bank. Finally Ray Cramp enjoyed a great afternoons sport landing 12 fish with his 8 fish bag tipping the scales at 21lb 9oz Ray used a team off small nymphs fished around the aerators to catch his fish.
Wednesday was a drop in air temperature; although it remained sunny the fishing was fantastic with the rod average for Wednesday coming out at a staggering 11.09. Malcolm Rough landed 12 fish all on dries with hoppers being his best pattern catching his fish around Biggin bay drifting towards D Buoy and then out from Lin Croft towards H Buoy where he picked up a couple of cracking fish. Mr K Finlayson and I Dobie had an absolute red letter day landing 40 and 42 fish. The pair used a variety of methods, altought the top tactics were washing lining diawl bachs and crunchers with a FAB on the point. Then later in the afternoon the pair switched to dries with crippled midge being the best pattern. The best areas seemed to be drifting around the aerators with the calm section just after them producing the most fish. Gary McGinlay and G Pecini also had a cracking days sport using the same tactics around the boils to land 35 fish a piece. Les Watson and Ken Rawlings look advantage of the last four hour ticket taking a boat to land 15 fish again from around the aerators using a variety of tactics from lures to dries.
Thursday started with over cast conditions and light winds, which later gave way to sun. Tony Broadway fished the bank and had a fantastic day landing 16 fish from the Cornfield, clearly the drop in overnight temperatures in causing the fish to move back into the margins to feed. Tony used a washing line in the morning with size 14 buzzers and 14 crunchers to land his fish. Later then switching later in the day to big reds when he noticed a number of fishing moving close to him. Malcolm Rough was on his final day of a three day break and landed his most fish of the three days having 15 fish again all falling to dries fished from a drifting boat from various areas of the lakes. Mr Finlayson and Mr Dobie also returned for their last day of a three day break and again caught very well this time landing 25 and 27 fish with washing line being the best tactic for the pair. Mr Pecini and Mr McGinlay also enjoyed great sport taking 35 fish to the boat this time catching a majority of fish on dries over the washing line as they tried to take some of the better fish they had been seeing move over the previous days. Mr J Wood took the long journey down from Newcastle and was rewarded with a great catch of 17 fish using black diawl bachs on a washing line and then going on orange CDCs to catch his fish later in the afternoon and into the evening.
Friday saw the regular Friday bank fishermen cashing in on the fish moving back into the margins with a number of them catching well from the bank. Tony Broadway led the way with 10 fish coming again to small nymphs and buzzers fished on the washing line. Brian Warwick and Gordan Slack also caught well on the washing line landing 6 and 5, the cornfield being the best area for them. Out on the boats Paul Miley and M Sargent enjoyed good sport in the morning on taking a half day boat to land 14 fish with the majority of the fish coming to a black diawl bach with a purple rib. The pair found that the hotspot for them was drifting out of Biggin bay towards D buoy. Season ticket holder Peter Elliot enjoyed a good days sport 31 fish with them all falling to dries with Peter landing 3 fish over 4lbs. Peter found the fish all over the lake and just kept doing long drifts over the open water. Another Season ticket holder who enjoyed fantastic sport was Ed Douglas who landed 29 fish all on dries from around the aerators. Mr McGinlay and Mr Pelini enjoyed a good final day on the three day package landing 30 fish a piece with daddies fished dry being the best method. A Lane also enjoyed good sport landing 17 fish all on hoppers.
Mr J Winstone and T Gounlay enjoyed good sport landing 18 fish a piece on Saturday with dries being the best method, the best area for the pair was drifting over the open water around G buoy in toft. Jim Smith also used dries to catch well on Saturday landing 23 fish from various areas of the lake with hoppers and big reds being his top pattern. Dave and Mike Mee landed 15 fish to the boat on a variety of methods with dries accounting for a number of fish as well as nymphs and Minkies. Tony and Maggie Curtis landed 24 fish to the boat. Saturday also was the day of the in house Tuition day ran by Kevin Hart, a great day was had by all 6 participants and they even managed to land 4 fish from Lin Croft point on dries in the afternoon fishing session.
Sunday saw the rod average drop slightly as a near flat calm and sunny conditions meant the fishing was a challenge to those out in the water. Mr B Jones found the method landing 10 fish from out on the boat fishing over the north shore and the boils. Mr R McMaster also had a good days sport but this time from the bank fishing over on the cornfield landing 6 fish on a damsel pattern. Steve Clanston landed 6 fish from the boils including a 5lb rainbow using a 5 inch per second sinking line and snakes. Shaun Higgins and John Morgan also caught well off the boil landing 12 fish to the boat again using sinking lines and lures.
Looking ahead to next week the weather looks to be remaining in the teens during the day and dropping towards single figures on the evening meaning the fishing should just get better and better as we head towards the autumn fry feeding.
Draycote looks forwarded to hosting the English Ladies national final this coming weekend good luck to all taking part from the Draycote Team.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 280 Number Trout Taken: 395 Number Trout Released: 987
Total Catch: 1382 Weekly Rod Average: 4.93
Current Fishing Times :
Bank: 07:30 until 19:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 19:15
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:00 PM 14:00 until 19:15
Last 4 Hours from: 15:15 until 19:15 (Ticket sales available from 15:00)
No Gutting of Fish after 19:00
All Anglers to be off site by: 19:30
Weekly Free Boat Draw
Congratulations to Lloyd Burden of Atherston who is the winner of this week’s Free Boat Draw.
Demo Tackle
We now have a considerable amount of Sage & Rio demo tackle available to try at Draycote. The following link will take you to the website where you can check out the available items: We have added a 10ft 7wt SAGE ACCEL to our demo rods. The Sage One is currently in the process of being phased out. Very limited stock left. Contact the Lodge for details of special offers.
http://www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/demo-tackle-3/
Forthcoming events:
The annual Fur and Feather match will be held this year on Sunday 27th November, and will be fished as a pair’s competition. The winning pair will receive a Christmas hamper each with second, third and largest fish will win a selection of seasonal drinks. Please note there will be no raffle this year, no need to bring along a prize. Competition rate for this will be £68 per boat for a 16 fish limit to the boat (£34 per angler). Please call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book your place.
Selling of Fish
Anglers are not allowed to sell or distribute fish to members of the public on site.
Disabled Parking Bays
Anglers need to ensure that whilst obtaining a fishing permit, they do not park in the disabled parking bays adjacent to the main car park, unless they are the holder of a duly displayed “blue badge”.
Gutting Room
Please be aware that the Gutting Room refurbishment has now been completed. We ask that you respect the facility and leave it in the same way in which you would wish to find it. Please also note that no fish are to be gutted after 19:15
Returns
In order to maintain the accuracy of our records could all anglers please ensure that they fill in the catch return sheet before departure. If not in the lodge, it can be found next door in the gutting room.
Anchoring
Boat anglers are politely reminded of the ruling that there is no anchoring within 100 yards of any pontoon, aerators or the Tower. This is especially relevant to the harbour pontoon as its own mooring chains & anchors extend out a considerable distance from the end of the harbour & are easily fouled.
Bank Anglers
Car passes should be booked prior to coming fishing, as we only have a limited number available.
Rudder Hire
Boat anglers may wish to note that we now have a rudder for hire at the daily rate of £7. It can be pre booked at the time you make your boat booking.
Tight lines
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