Draycote Water weekly report week ending 21st May 2017
Telephone Number 01788 812018
A very mixed bag with regards to weather this week, from torrential rain one minute to sunny spells the next, it certainly would be classed as changeable spring conditions. This made the fishing tricky at times as the method of catching could suddenly change, from dries one minute in the flat to pulling lures or wets in a good ripple the next. The weekly rod average was 7.0.
The week started with a very blustery day, mixed with heavy showers at times. Out on the boats Rod Wilson utilised the rudder to catch over 25 fish. Rod caught fish all over the lake, although the hotspot seemed to be the inlet, with his best line being a Di 3 with gold and silver tubes. Also, catching well from the boats was Mr Blatchford who landed 15 fish from Rainbow Corner using black CDC shuttlecocks. Also, out on the boats fishing Rainbow Corner was Mr James & Mr Carter wo had 20 fish to the boat including 2 cracking 4lb fish taken on washing line tactics. On the bank, Mr walker fished in Rainbow Corner using a washing line to tempt 5 cracking fish.
Tuesday saw the windy drop slightly from Monday, with overcast and showers for most of the day. Mr Darlow fished in Rainbow corner and like many others commented on the amount of fish moving, although while several anglers struggled to catch the obviously preoccupied fish, Mr Darlow found the method to catch the fish and enjoyed great sport landing 15 fish all before 2pm. Mr Darlow found that the fish wanted skinny size 12 plain hare’s ears, fished on a washing line. Mr C.J Day also enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 11 fish with a split coming from Toft at the Swans nest and then in Rainbow Corner. Mr Day found the fish wanted a mixture of nymphs, buzzers and damsels. Out on the boats season ticket holder Colin England & Tony Plummer enjoyed good sport fishing near the overflow in Rainbow Corner landing 17 between them on buzzers and nymphs fished on a floating line.
Wednesday the heavens opened with rain all day, testing even the best of waterproofs. Despite the horrific weather conditions, it proved to be the best fishing day of the week with anglers having red letter days. Mr Richard Wheel, Nick Moan, Ian Tearle and Andy Campbell all recorded cricket score s from the boat. They all found the fish in the mood to chase lures on either intermediate or floating lines down the Farnborough Dam wall. Mr George and Mr Lewis enjoyed a good morning sport landing 29 fish before the constant rain became too much for them at lunch. The pair found the fish up in rainbow corner and where willing to take washing lined nymphs, fished from a floating line. Mr Farrell enjoyed good sport from the bank taking 8 fish from Rainbow corner on the washing line with nymphs and buzzers.
Thursday saw possibly the best day of the week, with warm sun and light winds with cloud around to help the fish rise for most of the day. Tony Broadway fished the banking using a washing with a small FAB with buzzers to land 20 fish. Also on the bank alongside Tony was Jude Tuffs who used similar tactics to land 8 fish. Out on the boats Peter Elliot fished for a morning session to land 10 fish from Dunns bay using lures and then dries. Another pair taking advantage of a morning boat was Ron Beavan and Ted Mills who landed 20 fish between them using buzzer on a floating line from Rainbow Corner. Dave Smith took to the water landing 12 fish from Rainbow corner and Toft Shallows. Rainbow was the hotspot in the morning, with his best method being buzzers on a floating line. His catch included a 5lb rainbow from near the outlet. Season ticket holders Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennell took to the water in boat to land 29 fish, the pair fished a washing line with a FAB on the point with a team of nymphs to tempt fish from all areas of the lake. Toft and Rainbow Corner were the hotpots. Another angler out the boats was regular Jim Smith who enjoyed a fantastic day’s sport landing 38 fish. Jim fished a washing line with a small biscuit FAB on the point and a team of diawl bachs and buzzers. He then landed 12 fish on dries with the best pattern being a size 12 claret crippled midges. Jim found the fish around the inlet and out towards B buoy over the deeper water.
Friday saw the return of the rain, with showers here for most of the day, the wind changed a bit as well with periods of flat calm. As a result, the fishing was again changeable with dries working one minute in the flat calm, to pulling lures when the wind increased. On the bank, Ian Richardson had as he described it a “Red Letter Day” landing a fantastic 31 fish. Ian fished in a variety of spots with Toft and Rainbow corner being the pick of the bunch. The tactics Ian employed where to fish small buzzer and snail patterns from a floating line. Another season ticket holder enjoyed good sport but this time from the boats it was Ed Douglas who landed 25 fish with 18 of them coming to dries including some cracking fish of around 4lb. Out on the bank at Rainbow Corner John Dews enjoyed great sport having 16 hard fighting fish, using a small tequila FAB and buzzers. Another boat catching well was the father and son team of Richard & John Hood who landed 20 fish to the boat using a variety of method from dries to pulling lures. The pair found the fish at Rainbow corner then out in the middle. Airflo’s Gareth Jones was out on a boat filming and doing an article with Peter Gathercole. Gareth enjoyed great sport landing over 25 fish on small CDC pattern out in the middle including some fantastic fish up to 4lb.
Saturday was bright with light breezes and whilst there was a threat of showers they didn’t appear. Both boat and bank anglers enjoyed excellent sport with season permit holders Paul Walley and Mike Garner netting good numbers from the bank on muskins and diawl bachs in biggin bay and rainbow corner. Jim Hall also had a good haul from the bank on buzzers. Mr John Pearson had an excellent evening session, netting 6 good fish from the bank in various spots along the north shore. Mr R Kingscott also fishing from the bank, netted 8 fish on diawl bachs. The boat pairing of Draycote regulars Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey had a good day out bringing 22 fish to the boat, and returning fish up to 5lbs. Both Sean and Michael Hanlon caught and released over 40 fish from a boat. Tony Harris caught 30 fish from a boat. Ronnie Gent and Martin Rowson caught 25 fish from a drifting boat on a wide variety of patterns such as buzzers and diawl bachs. The boat pairing of Mr K Sichi and Mr M Ritchie caught well over 40 fish from a boat using a FAB and buzzers.
Sunday started with light southerly breezes and sunny conditions and looked like it could be a good day for fishing, we turned out to be right. With one of the highest daily rod averages of the week at 9.2, there were a lot of tired but happy anglers at the end of the day. The bank seemed slow to begin with, possibly due to the chilly start to the day, but it picked up very quickly from midday onwards. Mr Tim Davies had 16 fish from the bank down in toft. Mr Alan Grant caught 7 from the bank. Draycote regular Mr Ray Cramp also did well from the bank netting 8 fish in an afternoon session. The best return from the bank came from Mr J Bellamy, who had over 30 fish from the swans nest on PTN’s and buzzers. The boats seemed to fair slightly better overall with some returns well into double figures. Kirby Fly Fishers had a club competition in which 16 anglers caught a total of 84 fish, producing a rod average of 5.2. Other notables of the day were Mr D Norrie with 20 fish to the boat on a black and green zonker and black buzzers. The boat pairing of Mr D Mcintosh and Mr P Taggart had 37 fish to the boat. The rest of Mr Mcintosh’s party did extremely well, with all of them reaching well into double figures.
Weekly Boat draw:
Congratulations to Mr Gary Owen of Coalville who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 372 Number Trout Taken: 593 Number Trout Released: 2045
Total Catch: 2638 Weekly Rod Average: 7.0
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until : 21:30
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:30
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:30
Last 4 Hours from: 17:30 until 21:30 (Ticket sales available from 17:15)
Gutting Room Closes: 21:00
All Anglers to be off site by: 22:00
Damaged Trees
There are a number of trees on Lincroft point which have been deliberately damaged. Upon inspection it looks like someone has used a saw to remove branches on the path leading down to the water. Anglers are not allowed to take or damage any bushes or trees within the boundary of the site. If you do feel that your fishing is hindered by any of the growth around the bank you should bring this to our attention and allow us to deal with it in conjunction with the rangers.
Fishery News
Tuition Days- Beginners Courses
Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently fully booked
Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four places available
Saturday 8th July Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places available
Saturday 14th October Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places 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 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.
Guiding & Tuition:
Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..
Tight lines
Follow Us on
facebook www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore