Draycote Water weekly report week ending 16th April 2017
Telephone Number 01788 812018
Report
Some tremendous sport experienced by many this week, peaking mid-week with a bonanza of a day on Thursday when a staggering 777 trout were recorded for the day! For the week as a whole, a total of 347 anglers visited the venue & caught 2563 trout for a rod average of 7.4.
Monday saw a great start to the week with a rod average of 12 fish. Dave East had his best session to date, christening his new Vision ONKI rod with 10 rainbows to buzzers both washing lined & fished under an indicator on Lin Croft. Newcomer to the venue, Mike Sinclair, is anxious to get amongst the “Troutmasters” badges! He also caught his best catch so far netting a total of 31 lure caught rainbows fishing an intermediate line from the bank on the lodge side of Toft. Meanwhile the boat of Alan Greenhalgh & Dave Heseltine saw consistent action to their black buzzers in Toft and they landed 16 & 23 respectively. Also enjoying the action in Toft was the boat pairing of Ken Whitehouse & Paul Burnell. They chose to pull lures on an intermediate line & netted 40 between them. Ray Cramp had a long day on the bank over in Biggin, making the most of non-stop feeding fish. He ended his session with a 36 fish tally, captured on a mix of lure & nymph tactics on a floating line.
Tuesday saw Tony Broadway hard at it on the bank fishing his black buzzers down to size 14s. He netted 22 rainbows. Fellow season rod Mike Garner also bank fished down in Toft landing 19 on Diawl Bachs. A couple of Mike’s fish topped the 5lbs mark. Peter Wyles & John Symonds took to the boat using a combination of black buzzer & Montana nymph & netted 11 apiece, whilst Andy Lane pulled blobs & damsels for a total of 28.
On Wednesday anglers were greeted by strong westerlies on a day when many had come to attend the official launch of the Draycote Wheely Boat. During 2016 a fundraising effort, spearheaded by one of our most valued members, assisted by a group of Draycote regulars & members and with the support of the fishery, led to the commissioning of a “Coulam Wheely Boat” ( see The Wheelyboat Trust at:- www.wheelyboat.org ) . As a fishery, we wish to thank all anglers who participated in fundraising events to successfully achieve our goal with special thanks for a valued donation from the Janet Nash Charitable Settlement.The vessel has now been built & sits on the water as a proud addition to the fleet following it’s official launch last Wednesday. It is a wheelchair accessible craft which will enable our mobility impaired anglers to enjoy the freedom of getting afloat.
The blustery conditions knocked the rod average back slightly. However, significant action was still being experienced out on the water by Sean Hanlon in particular. He got into deeper lying fish off the Farborough Dam & down into Toft. Using blobs on a sink rate 7 line he ended his session with a tally of 26 to the boat. Roger Kerrison also boat fished to net 16. Eyebrook staff member David Davis paid us a visit on his day off & presented a team of buzzers both straight lined & as a washing line for a total of 14 from the boat. Wednesday also saw our stocking of beautiful blues which, by early Thursday, were delighting anglers in Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay & Toft!! These fish are proving to be extremely aggressive and most powerful in play.
Tony Broadway was back in action on the bank on Thursday and his 20 fish total included five blues. Richard Damon also took one as part of his 10 fish boat catch which he weighed in at 5lbs 4ozs. Howard & Marion Rutter were also afloat fishing teams of buzzer to get well into double figures with “Marion having her best ever day at Draycote”. Matt Harris similarly enjoyed a frantic boat session landing huge numbers of fish on “everything except dries!!” With three fish over five pounds to his net he described the stock fish as the best he had ever seen! The 777 catch total for the day equated to a rod average of 10.02
Friday saw us back to increased WSW & SW winds, gusting up to 24mph with decreased temperatures & a significant wind chill factor. This led to boat & bank anglers having to work harder for their fish. Nevertheless, regulars Gordon Slack & Alan Bettles managed 8 each on the bank. Gordon fished Lin Croft & Dunn’s Bay with a washing lined buzzer setup. Meanwhile, Mr Lambert caught 7 off the bank at Lin Croft on snakes & described his first encounter with a 3lbs blue as “Top battle!”. Mr C J Day also fished Lin Croft with buzzer & damsel & netted one blue amongst his 11 fish tally whose fight he described as “magnificent!” The blues continued to impress down in Toft too where Mike Sutton, fishing from the bank with a washing line, enjoyed an exhilarating “superb fight” with a blue of 6lbs. The fish was net weighed before being carefully released.
Saturday dawned with bright sunshine and blustery conditions. This made for difficult fishing, particularly as the wind changed direction several times throughout the day. The Paisley Patterns visiting us from Scotland on a 3 day package found it a bit harder through Saturday although they did boat 62 fish between them. All in all, they did comment that it was a great trip. Mr Dave and Mr Mike Mee, again visiting us on a 3 day package, had 35 fish to the boat between them on small buzzers. Season permit holder Dennis Tidmarsh caught 8 fish from the bank. Mr Martin Hancox caught 6 fish from the bank in an afternoon session. The boat pairing of Mr M Robinson and Mr L Haslam Jones did really well on DI 7’s and boobies, netting 21 fish between them. The Ospreys Team from South Wales caught a total of 75 fish between 20 rods on various methods.
To say Sundays weather forecast was inaccurate would be a bit of an understatement. The wind blew a steady westerly with only one or two light showers throughout the day. It was Toft shallows, Grays Barn, the Cornfield, Lin Croft point and Biggin bay which gave the best sport both for bank and boat anglers. Mr A Stanbridge and Mr J Sheridan shared a boat for the day and caught 19 fish between them on buzzers down in Toft. The boat pairing of Mike and Dave Mee once again did really well with 31 fish to the boat. Season permit holder Mr Paul Walley had a good day with 10 fish from the bank. Mr D and Mr N Starsmore had a total of 12 fish to the boat on buzzers, crunchers and diawl bachs.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr Jim Dempsey of Bedworth who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 347 Number Trout Taken: 604 Number Trout Released: 1959
Total Catch: 2563 Weekly Rod Average: 7.4
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until : 20:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:15
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:00 PM 14:00 until 20:15
Last 4 Hours from: 16:15 until 20:15 (Ticket sales available from 16:00)
Gutting Room Closes – 19:45
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:45
Fishery News
Sage & Rio Day
Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. Limited slots remaining. To reserve your free place, please call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Tuition Days- Beginners Courses
Saturday 6th May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Course now full
Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently three spaces available
Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently five spaces available
Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available
Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information
Trout Masters
Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!
Dates for your diary:-
Competition Contact
England Ladies Mixed Pairs Match – Sunday 30th April – Ms Hilary Thompson – 01664 474268
England Eliminator – 27th and 28th May – Ian Colclough – 01543 689117
Scierra Pairs Match – 25th June – Visit website.
Alex Booth Memorial – 29th June – Roy Lewin – 07762 746825
Angling World Holiday Heat 5th and 6th August – Visit website
TEFF Fundraiser. Dry Fly Championship 16th September – Ian Colclough – 01543 689117
Angling World Holiday Final – 23rd and 24th September
Troutmasters Final – 9th October. – See Fishery staff.
Boat Cleanliness:
Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.
Catch 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 will be found on the counter in the gutting room next door.
Anchoring
Boat anglers are also politely reminded of the ruling that there is no anchoring within 100 yards of any pontoon or aerators. 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.
Car Passes
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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