Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 8th September 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

This week has heralded what now appears to be a distinct seasonal weather shift as we enter into that autumnal period. Cooling air & water temperatures, combined with a good westerly based airstream (albeit rather gusty at times), led to some tremendous top of the water sport for many. Every day of the week has angler comments on the catch returns referring to catches on daddy patterns. Standard patterns have worked as have the daddy-hogs, but the detached foam body varieties- especially the orange version- have clearly been the pattern of the week. Angler numbers and catch rates have both increased this week with 301 rods netting a total of 1334 trout – representing rod average for the period of 4.43.

Whilst boat anglers prepared to engage in long drifts across open water in search of shoals & pods of roving rainbows in the waves have caught well, it has also been good to see a significant rise in sport being enjoyed by those on the bank. Toft, Cornfield and Lin Croft have all provided consistent bank angler sport. Many fish have come to dries & daddies fished blind with few actually showing. Numerous anglers have also commented on their experiences of having to ensure that teams of nymphs are kept in the top foot or so to get any reaction. Similarly, good numbers of bank anglers have been encountering feeding fish tight to the shoreline with a quiet, non-wading approach proving to be the best strategy.

As ever, there have been highlights. Afloat on Monday, & fishing “dawn to dusk” as ever, were dry fly fanatics Jim Smith & Ed Douglas. They enjoyed fine sport to dries throughout the day especially into the evening when fish fed in any wind lanes & came blind to their offerings when presented in the slick or especially on the ripple edge. Bob’s Bits in reds & clarets, together with hoppers accounted for most of their fish with both anglers ending the day with over 20 each to the net. Kevin Rees also fished his own Bob’s Bits variants for a 17 fish day taken mainly across the middle. Eugene Hughes was back up from London for a day on the water & chose to spend the morning on a Di3 with a mini humungus following up with dries on drifts across the middle in the afternoon when he felt the fish had come right up. It proved to be a good call as he enjoyed regular action throughout the day ending with over 25 rainbows to the boat. Rod Wilson stuck to his rudder tactics & lures for the day and a 4lbs 8oz beauty was the best of the 6 for the pot he took with a further six returned. Tony Broadway experienced good bank sport on Tuesday with a ten fish tally to a washing line & cruncher set up. Testament to the marginal shrimp feeding, Brian Allwood caught 7 on the bank casting his own bespoke patterns “into any wind lane & just holding on!” Bob Smith joined the action on the Cornfield & Lin Croft too and also netted 7 on his black diawl bach, black cruncher & shrimp combination. Wednesday was a quiet day at the venue with few anglers and smaller catch returns against a 2.5 rod average. Mick Bubela did do well though with an 11 fish tally in the boat.

Tony Broadway & Colin Grainger were both on the banks early on Thursday with Tony alternating between his washing line/cruncher set up and dries. He excelled once more with a 13 fish total. Colin fished Pheasant Tail Nymphs ending with 4 taken and a further 3 caught & released. Owen Rivett was very pleased with a 4lbs rainbow to a black buzzer in his 4 fish catch whilst Dave Kennell & Eddie Mitchell netted 9 grown on rainbows to nymphs presented on a midge tip from C & B buoys. Bob Smith bank fished Lin Croft again on Friday morning with the same nymph/shrimp set-up but substituted his middle dropper for a nemo cruncher in the brighter conditions. He enjoyed what he later described as a “Great Day” with plenty of action throughout and ten rainbows caught & released. Out on the water in the boats those who were covering large areas, particularly across the middle, were finding fish prepared to take daddies fished through quite substantial waves. Jonathon Wood shared a boat with Alex Urquhart and enjoyed some hectic action to the daddies culminating in 15 to the net. Jon later messaged “Just another thank you for fishing at draycote truly appreciate it. Worth the 4am start and 360 mile round trip. Pulling fish from nowhere in the wave was great fun”. Guide Lee Henfrey was also afloat on a four hour guide which resulted in 16 rainbows to the net which came to a team of two detached foam bodied daddies trickled through big waves on drifts over open water.

On Saturday we welcomed Jim Chernikeeff to the venue for the start of a three day guided trip with Tom. Jim was over from Australia and, on the recommendation of a friend, was determined to incorporate the top of the water Draycote sport he had been told about into his trip. Under Tom’s guidance & watchful eye he indeed experienced some of Draycote’s finest action first hand catching consistently from all over the venue on dries, daddies & teams of nymphs. Such was Jim’s enjoyment that he is looking to come back over again in the spring for the buzzer hatches! Also afloat on Saturday were the civil service HASSRA Angling section for their annual championship with seven teams of three from all over the UK competing. Many had chosen to make a break of it and had sneaked in a few pleasure/practise days in advance & match day saw the North East team of Mike Bramham, John Hepdell & Nigel Wall victorious with 19 fish total totalling 39lbs 13oz. Neighbouring North West took the runner up prize with David Hay representing Scotland taking the best individual slot with an 8 fish total for 18lbs 13oz. The best fish of the event came to the rod of organiser Ash Robertson with a 3lbs 8oz rainbow taken across the middle on a detached foam bodied daddy. Scottish Power were also afloat for an annual event with 22 anglers competing against each other. Brian Donald took top individual with his 4 fish limit for 12lbs. Special congratulations though to Len Hicks with the biggest fish. He also used a foam daddy to tempt an immaculate fin perfect rainbow of 4½lbs – a great way to celebrate the fact that it was his birthday! Richard Denny boat fished with Bob Holland & had some great sport to dries across the middle, a couple in Rainbow Corner plus a couple down in Toft. They finished their session with 20 to the net. Hugh Benham was also in action on the dries & hoppers. Fishing out of Biggin & across the middle on a wind that had swung around into the north, he took a fine 4 fish limit with a further 8 returned. Best of the day’s action was enjoyed by Graham Willis & Brad Gifford who concentrated on Toft & Cornfield with daddies & dries all day to end with a grand total of 40 rainbows caught & released. We also held a beginner’s tuition day on Saturday hosted by Andy Miller, assisted by Lee Henfrey. After a brief morning “classroom” session followed by a casting lesson, the afternoon saw the eight newcomers to the sport putting their newfound skills to the test on the banks of the Cornfield. Good sport was experienced with fish coming to foam daddies & daddy-hogs and hopefully our newcomers will themselves now be “hooked”! The next tuition day with available spaces is in October and can be booked at https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/tuition-beginner-courses/

Saturday into Sunday was clear & cold. Dawn on the reservoir saw it shrouded in heavy fog for a while. This was soon followed by clear blue skies & bright sunshine and an almost flat calm. Nevertheless there were still trout prepared to take dries, although many anglers commented on the frustration of many fish coming short because of the bright, flat conditions. Neil & Dean Shilton managed 8 & 4 respectively to dries and George Leaton, who also landed 4 to dries in the morning, proudly displayed a photo of what appeared to be a terrific 4lbs+ rainbow in his net which he caught & released off the Cornfield. A limited ripple developed enabling Richard Slater & Nick Dunn to drift the middle with daddies & big reds. They had a great session to end with 13 & 14 respectively. Ian Reeve fished the Hensborough Bank with daddies to net 9 rainbows and Messrs Frazer Duffy Snr & Jnr spent the day afloat together landing 20. Frazer Jnr won 11-9! Kasidit Leoviriyakit took heed of all the foam daddy action. He fished off J buoy & along the Farborough Dam with the orange body variant which brought him a 15 fish total.

Some mixed weather is forecast for this coming week and it is anticipated that the good fishing currently being experienced will continue. Meanwhile, we await the postman with a delivery of more daddies!!

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. This week we have a special offer on our guides top patterns for Daddies which can be found by following https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.

COMPETITIONS During September.

                                                Association of Major Fishing Clubs. Saturday 21^st September 2019.           

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Wilbur Leoviriyakit from Bristol, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods: 301  Number Trout Taken: 361     Number Trout Released: 973

Total Catch: 1334  Rod Average: 4.43

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until 19:45

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 19:45

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30   PM 14:30 until 19:45

Last 4 Hours from: 15:45 until 19:45 (Ticket sales available from 15:30)

Gutting Room Closes: 19:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 20:00

Tight lines,

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Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 1st September 2019
Tel: 01788 812018
As reported last week the steady west to south westerly winds have brought through some changeable, but not unpleasant weather conditions. The occasional showers have kept the surface water temperature at about 18 degrees and this in turn has allowed the reservoir to fish pretty well for the time of year. There is action to be had just about everywhere out there at the moment, and at practically any depth, but by far the vast majority of the sport is coming from the top few feet. Dries are accounting for a good percentage of fish, even in bright conditions. The washing line on a floating line or a midge tip is also producing some great sport, particularly if you string out a couple of black, JC Diawl Bachs on it.
This week 164 anglers have caught 598 fish, giving us a weekly rod average of 3.6.
Snakes and Cormorants worked well for Hugh Benham on Monday around the Aerators and the Farborough Dam to net 9 fish, whilst it was all “Deep and slow, but fun” for Chris Flay, who netted 10.
Jamie Scott used the Anti Static buzzer in the Aerators on Tuesday to great effect, netting 8 fish up to 3 and a half pounds.
Peter Elliott netted 7 fish on Wednesday using Crunchers and Diawl Bachs on a Midge Tip Line. John Dickens boated 6 fish on dries such as Bob’s Bits. Mike Garner managed 2 from the bank in Rainbow Corner using Crunchers on a floating line.
Season permit holder Mr P Havard commented on “A wonderful day” after netting 10 fish from a boat on Thursday using Olive and Black Snakes on a DI 3. Draycote regulars Ruth and Tony Kirk caught 6 good fish on dry fly patterns such as Sedge’s. Also out on the dries were Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennell, who netted 11 fish between them in very blustery conditions.
Tony Broadway had 8 fish from the bank on Friday using a washing line and Crunchers. Season permit holder Paul Walker had 19 fish to the boat on Diawl Bachs and Crunchers. Tim and Liam Lycett boated 8 fish on Copper headed Damsels and Perch Fry patterns. Kevin Rees caught 18 fish on dries such as Bob’s Bits. Other anglers who faired well from the bank on Friday were Peter Allen, 2 fish, Brian Allwood, 5 fish and Andy Adkins, 4 fish.
Saturday proved to be a really good day out on the water with the rod average rising to 5.4. Lots of fish were being caught again in the top few feet of the water with Floaters, Midge Tips and Intermediate lines. Season permit holder Debbie Gilbert did really well on Damsels, boating 4 fish. Chris Discombe and Jim Brennan caught 23 fish from a drifting boat in open water on Olive Snakes and Buzzers. Local Guide Nick Dunn had over 20 fish to the boat on Daddies. Season permit holder Mike Garner caught 4 from the bank on Crunchers near the Overflow. Draycote regular Lee Cheshire Caught 3 fish from the bank on an evening session, again on Daddies. Mr P Green caught 14 fish from a boat on Damsels and Diawl Bachs.
Sunday and again Draycote was fishing well. Staff member Michael Hanlon took to the water with his brother John to net 10 fish from the cornfield on Snakes. Richard Walker caught 10 fish on Snakes whilst fishing the Aerators. Paul Davidson and Tony Baldwin boated over 30 fish using dries over the weed beds up in Rainbow Corner. Mr Chris Flay caught 6 fish on snakes whilst fishing “deep down”. Andrew Wheildon caught 9 fish from a boat using Diawl Bachs, Hoppers and Daddies.

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop
Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.
We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website.
VISION TACKLE This past week we have highlighted the popular Vision Nymphmanic neck gaiters £9.99 www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/vision-nymphmaniac/
Also highlighted on our online store this week was the VISION Extreme+ leader material £4.99 per spool www.flyfishstore.co.uk/shop/vision-extreme/
Disabled Anglers
Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.

COMPETITIONS During September.
Association of Major Fishing Clubs. Saturday 21st September 2019.
Weather Forecast:
We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr T Evans from Kirkby in Ashfield, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 164 Number Trout Taken: 128 Number Trout Released: 470
Total Catch: 598 Rod Average: 3.6
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 20:00
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:00
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:00
Last 4 Hours from: 16:00 until 20:00 (Ticket sales available from 15:45)
Gutting Room Closes: 19:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 20:30
Tight lines,
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twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 25th August 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag this week as far as the weather is concerned. The mainly west/south westerly winds have brought through a mixture of bright sunshine and showers, which changed to very warm, sunny and muggy conditions later in the period. We were then almost becalmed at times over the weekend whilst experiencing record breaking Bank Holiday temperatures. But the reservoir generally fished well overall, with practically every method producing right up until the weekend, when the heat alone made fishing very difficult. This week 272 anglers caught 753 fish, giving us a weekly rod average of 2.76

Most anglers like to stick to their preferred methods and the nature of Draycote is such that it is so often feasible to find success with extremely diverse tactics, even in the heat of the summer months. Kevin Rees loves his dries and stuck to them on two trips to the venue this week. His skilled & patient quiet approach, invariably with his own Bob’s Bits patterns, paid dividends with 11 landed on Monday and a further half dozen in much hotter conditions on Friday. Similarly, Ed Douglas boat fished twice this week. Like Kevin, he is something of a dry fly aficionado & also likes to seek out roving fish over open water, most often drifting along the edges of any wind lanes. He will, however, not hesitate to go slightly subsurface with a washing line nymph setup should fish refuse to rise. His philosophy paid off with a 14 fish total on Tuesday (8 coming to the dries) and 19 on Wednesday (9 to the dries). John Dickens loves the quiet approach with the dries too and he also managed 10 to the net from open water on Wednesday using his own “go to” choice of Bob’s Bits. Conversely there are those who like to pull lures presented through the depths and covering large areas of water on the drift. Whist accomplished in all styles; Eugene Hughes is one such angler who regularly travels up from London to go afloat. He fished during the week & explored water from B,X & Y Buoys. Eugene located fish relatively high in the water column and was able to tempt over 20 hard fighting rainbows to the net. His choices on the day were snakes & lures in varying colours presented on a Di3 Sweep, Di3 or Fast Glass Intermediate. Although many anglers found themselves scratching their heads for answers this week, with fair numbers of dry nets, Ged O’Donogue took advice from Tom and fished a daddy & cruncher combination. He enjoyed what he later described as a “superb day” with a fine fish for the pot & a further 8 caught & released. Bryan Brown always prefers the imitative approach but often likes the attraction of a FAB or mini bobby in his team to draw fish in. He enjoyed a fine session with a total of 12 rainbows to the net and is convinced that the sunburst attractor pulled fish in towards his team which then turned on to his jungle cock cheeked diawl bachs. He also firmly believes that hanging his nymphs at the end of the retrieve enhances his catch rate. Bryan presented his team on a 9ft Ghost Tip throughout his session and found most of his fish around X Buoy. This time of year is traditionally challenging for the bank angler as heightened water temperatures, particularly in the margins, push food & subsequently fish, out into deeper, cooler water offshore. However, season rod Mike Garner has been a stalwart on the shoreline with consistent results throughout the season. He usually adopts the imitative approach with crunchers & diawl bachs as his generic nymph patterns when the buzzer are not in evidence. Ironically it was the dry fly that accounted for the four early morning fish Mike netted in Rainbow Corner at the beginning of the week in a brief, but frenetic, session. Come Friday & he was back on the banks but this time, in bright sunshine & hot conditions, his favoured nymphs were those incorporating red holographic in the dressings. I saw him in full concentration quietly wading the Lin Croft shoreline during the afternoon & was pleased to later hear that he had ended with a seven fish total. Whilst the heat & higher water temperatures of summer have set back aquatic insect activity somewhat, it has been interesting of late to watch the intense feeding of numerous egrets along the banks – especially the rocky shorelines. A quick investigation reveals, not unsurprisingly, the presence of shrimp which will no doubt soon be significant food items on the trout’s menu as they were later in the season last year. Bespoke patterns work as do scruffy, teased out Hare’s Ear Nymphs fished as a team. They can also be teamed up with small floating fry patterns to good effect and numerous reports of fry feeding activity to small fry have also been heard during the week.

Whilst the weather conditions were against them, we were pleased to see the Fly Dressers’ Guild on the water at the weekend for their annual trophy event. Conditions were tough and it proved to be the hottest August Bank Holiday weekend on record, but they were not to be put off. A total of 36 anglers took part with a total of 76 caught & taken and a further 8 caught & released. The team event was won by the New Haylie F F who took 16 fish for 30lbs 3oz to take the John Watts Trophy. The Falkirk Trophy for second place went to the Surrey Snakes with a 13 fish total for 25lbs 14oz with Thames Valley Invictas in third. Julie Wicks took The Wessex Shield for the biggest fish at 3lbs 7oz with best bag at 15lbs 9oz caught by Graham Steele, for which he was awarded The Hertfordshire Shield. As always, our congratulations to all those winners.

A forecast weather change looks like we will be experiencing some more favourable angling conditions during the coming week. With cooling winds & some showery days to come, our water temperatures should start to decrease significantly as we approach that productive late summer/early autumn period when we start thinking about “Daddies & Fry”…

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During September.

                                                Association of Major Fishing Clubs. Saturday 21^st September 2019.           

Weather Forecast:

We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr Lant from Sileby, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods: 272     Number Trout Taken: 212     Number Trout Released: 541

Total Catch: 753  Rod Average: 2.76

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until 20:15

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:15

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30   PM 14:30 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

Tight lines,

Follow Us on

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twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 18th August 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

Overall it has been a terrific week at the fishery despite some extremely wet, windy & blustery conditions at times. In total, 350 anglers fished the venue catching 2,149 trout for a weekly rod average of 6.14. The general improvement in sport is primarily down to decreasing water temperatures which in turn has brought fish actively back on the feed.

Monday was a good start to the period with a 9-12 mph WNW wind, broken cloud & a maximum temperature of 17°C. Eugene Hughes found fish in the vicinity of B Buoy and switched between dries & lures as they rose & fell in the water column. He also found feeding fish right through the middle which he took on lures presented on sinking lines. His hectic session ended with 25 to the net. Meanwhile Kevin Rees searched off the Draycote Water Dam with his own Bob’s bits patterns to land 17, closely followed by Tony Parker who boated 15. Ed Douglas shared a boat with Jim Smith & they also stuck to dry fly tactics over open water to end with over 15 apiece. Season rod Paul Walker however, stuck to nymphing tactics taking over 20 rainbows on diawl bachs & olive crunchers. Tuesday saw an increase in wind speed with a shift into the west. With bright sunshine to also contend with, anglers found things a bit harder. That was not to put off Tony Broadway & Brian Warwick who came off the banks to share a boat with Tony netting 10 & Brian 13 using a mix of buzzer & cruncher as a washing line setup. Graham Homer was also on the water, drifting the middle with a team comprising black diawl bachs to bring 9 to the net. David Webb used black & red buzzers in size 14 to tempt 5 from Biggin Bay whilst Ged O’Donoghue had a 6 fish day mixing dries & lures. Wednesday was very quiet on the water given extremely high SSW winds and heavy showers. Nevertheless the trout kept pulling for those prepared to go afloat and five anglers recorded a total of 65 trout landed representing a staggering rod average for the day of 13 topped by a catch of 20 for Norman Perkins who fished diawl bachs on a washing line. By contrast, Thursday’s anglers enjoyed warm, dry conditions, albeit on a brisk westerly. Many chose the relative shelter of the main Draycote Dam towards Rainbow Corner, either at anchor or on short drifts towards A buoy or past the Overflow & along the Hensborough. Ian Pugh & Tony Whitcher both washing lined crunchers & diawl bachs near Rainbow netting 6 & 8 respectively. John Hoskins chose similar tactics at anchor off the Flat Stones to take 10 with a Nemo Cruncher proving to be his top pattern on a floating line. Tony Broadway was also back afloat fishing nymphs off the main dam. His 9 fish nymph caught tally included a beautiful grown on full finned rainbow which tipped the scales at 5lbs 8oz. The father & son pairing of Jim & Richard Hall were also afloat, enjoying good sport bringing 17 to net. Jim has been successful with a small olive snake pattern of his own tying whilst Richard scored heavily on a small black tadpole incorporating a little UV in the body. Although few have ventured onto the banks this week, Ifor Bullock fished the shoreline at Dunns Bay for a 5 fish total taken on nymphs with additional takes missed. Friday brought some very windy, wet conditions to contend with on a very gusty SSW, especially during the afternoon, which kept angler numbers low. It was, however, a productive day for some with Andy Cooper landing 11, Paul Roach 18, Derek Moore 14 & Robert Middleton 10. The rod average for the day was 5.4 but with most rods practising for the Anglers World Holidays Fly Fishing Championships final on Sunday, methods, flies & locations were being kept very close to their chests!  The same applied for Saturday with over 45 boats on the water for the official practise day. Weather conditions were thankfully much improved with the wind back in the WSW with speeds decreasing to 16-17mph although it was a very sunny day for the most part with top temperatures of 19°C – a very similar forecast to the forthcoming match day. Action was witnessed right across the venue throughout the day with competitors searching out locations, testing tactics & patterns.  The majority found the fishing slightly more challenging than on previous days, with the bright and breeze conditions knocking the fish off kilter slightly. But it became clear that lots of fish were getting caught high in the water with the best lines seeming to be a floater down to a fast glass. Talking to the anglers coming off the water confirmed that Rainbow Corner still held a good head of fish. Again there seemed to be a variety of flies, although sunk hoppers and daddies were to be mentioned by several anglers. However, specifics on the areas and the specific flies were quite clearly being kept under wraps until after the match.

Come Sunday’s match day, as forecast, the conditions were very similar to Saturday. The wind remained in the west south west, but for the most part were lower than the day before with a mix of sun and wind. Ninety eight finalists competed in the event and competitors comprised many current & past internationals, together with nine previous title winners. The match itself was fished to a three fish kill followed by C&R. It was quite a sight to see 49 boats departing from the harbour at the beginning of the match & it soon became clear that fish were being netted throughout the venue. From the start a large proportion of boats headed up to Rainbow Corner with the rest of the boats split between the middle around X Buoy and drifting around J Buoy, T Buoy and the Farnborough Dam. As soon as the weigh-in commenced it became clear that large numbers of trout had been netted & results were likely to be tight. However, the winner claimed a decisive victory, his 20 trout catch for 40lbs 9oz being six fish ahead of nearest rival – our congratulations go to the 2019 champion Gary Morris. Second place was taken by Geert Janssens with 14 rainbows for 29lbs 13oz & third place taken by Maggie Curtis, again with 14 fish for 29lbs 9oz.  Our own Lee Henfrey also featured in the top ten with 13 fish for 26lbs 2oz to take ninth spot. A staggering 697 trout were landed in the competition representing a rod average of 7.01 – (For full results visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  ). New champion Gary has since revealed that a 12 foot slow tip fished in conjunction with a 22 feet leader with 3 crunchers & a fab on the point was his winning setup. He caught variously at M buoy & out towards the middle, B buoy and the Tower. As a team, we were proud to have hosted such a prestigious match and extend our congratulations to all finalists for achieving their place in the final, as well as to John Horsey for such a well organised event.

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018. 

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website.

COMPETITIONS During August.                                                         

Fly Dressers Guild 24^th August 2019

Weather Forecast:

We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr Brian Moore from Coventry , the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods:  350     Number Trout Taken:   425    Number Trout Released: 1724

Total Catch: 2149   Rod Average: 6.14

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 20:30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:30

Boat Part Day:  AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:30

Last 4 Hours from:  16:30 until 20:30 (Ticket sales available from 16:15)

Gutting Room Closes:   20:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 20:45

Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 11th August 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

I think the best way to describe the past week here at Draycote would be frustrating. For a few reasons, firstly the strong winds meant that the boats were unable to take to the water Saturday, then secondly the fishing has been frustrating. The water temperature for the first part of the week was just hovering around 19/20°C meaning the fishery showed signs of bursting into arm wrenching sport but it just didn’t quite happen. Overall with a weather plagued week 128 anglers visited the fishery landing 338 fish for a rod average of 2.6

With the variety of weather we have experienced this week, a wide range of methods have worked. Dries have probably been the most consistent method of catching with them seeming to work in most conditions throughout the week. Again it seems to be the smaller dries that are proving to be the most effective with 12s and 14s featuring on the catch return. Patterns such as Bob’s Bit, Crippled Midge & Shipman’s have taken the lions share of the action on dries. However, larger patterns such as the Big Red, Midas and Daddies have proved successful given the correct conditions. The top colours for the week on the dries have been claret, fiery brown, red and black. On the days where the sun has made more of an appearance the washing line caught well. Depending on the day the intensity of the sun has varied the lines the anglers have been using. A standard RIO Midge Tip has worked great on days with a mix of cloud and sun, though on the days it has been bright sun all day the longer midge tips have worked well, as has a slow glass. The top flies on the washing line have been very similar in size to the dries, the smaller the better. The KJ Black & Red Diawl Bach has worked very well, as too a size 14 Hot Head Diawl Bach Special. On the end of the washing line a standard Tequila FAB has worked great or a more suitable Biscuit FAB. The other method that has featured on the catch report this week has been using snakes on fast sinking lines. The best sinking lines have been either the Di 5 sinker or a Di 7, with the best colours either being olive or black.

Regarding the areas, while there seems to be fish very well spread across all the lake. There has certainly been more hotspots that others. P Buoy has featured well this week with reports of quality silver fish being taken from there onto middle shoal. Drifts from A Buoy to Rainbow Corner proved to be very effective specially to washing line techniques. There are still fish from the flat stones to B buoy, which seem to be sitting high in the water with washing line on a floater or dries working for them. Other areas that have been recorded on the catch report have been the Overflow, Hensborough Bank and the Aerators.

Far less then idea conditions Monday with a gusty winds with a mix of sun and spare cloud cover. This caused the fish to move up and down in the water Column like a yoyo. Derek Elms caught on dries fished around B buoy despite the sun. Guiding & Tuition Manger Tom Bird fishing with Cameron Rothwell caught on dabblers fished on a RIO Hover and a DI 3 around B Buoy and the Aerators. Also using Dabblers was Will Hunt who landed 3 fish on the last four hour ticket from the bank at Rainbow Corner. Father & Son duo of Lee and Robert Hankins used very small buzzers in size 14/16 around the Aerators on a floating line to land 16 fish to the boat.

Ed Doulas fished around P Buoy on Tuesday to land 8 fish, 2 on dries in the morning before swapping to a washing line in the afternoon. Fishing around Rainbow Corner to A Buoy, Keith Coley and Bob Taft landed 17 fish on a washing line with Diawl Bach’s, but, it was the FAB on the end that tempted most of the fish.

Wednesday turned out to be a day for the sinkers. All water season ticket holder Paul Havard and Steve Jordan landed 11 fish between them. The pair back drifted around various marks using a DI 5 and Olive snake for Paul while Steve went for a DI 7 and a mix of Olive and Black snakes. Another season ticket holder who found snakes on sinkers the key was Dave Atkins who landed 9 fish on a Di 5 sinking line and again Olive was the colour.

A busy day Thursday with all the boats taking to the water. With the day turning out to be a very mixed affair with regards to the weather and the fishing. The day started sunny before the cloud rolled in around mid-afternoon. Eyebrook, regulars Oliver Mills & Jeff Crowden enjoyed a good days sport on their first ever trip to the water. Boating 17 fish the pair found the fish at P Buoy with most taking black snakes fished on a booby basher then later in the day some coming to dries. John Clifford & Tony Broadway also found the fish deep using snakes and tubes to land 16 fish. While these lads fished deep other anglers found success on the dries. Kevin Rees landed 11 fish all on fiery brown crippled midge in a size 14 around S & P Buoy. Craig Smith also used crippled midge to take the majority of his 7 fish while taking a boat for an afternoon.

Friday was the day the weather changed with rain forecast all day and stronger winds very few anglers took to the water. Those that did found the fish willing to take UV Cormorants fished around the Hensborough Bank fished on a Di 3 sinking line. With 30 MPH winds forecast Saturday the boats where held back to the pontoon. Although these strong winds didn’t deter the 3 hardly bank anglers who braved the awful conditions. All 3 where rewarded all catching from Rainbow Corner, landing the fish on a washing line with small size 14 Diawl Bach’s with a tequila FAB on the point.

Sunday saw the wind drop enough for the boats to be able to once again take the water, with overcast conditions and the strong winds and rain of the previous day. Cooling the surface temperature to 18.5°C the hope was that the fish would be in the surface looking for food. Season ticket holder John Hanlon fished from the bank to land 9 fish. John caught his fish using a long midge tip with a mix of flies from traditional wets to tequila FABs and boobies. Mike Garner also had some good sport from the bank, netting 8 fish on Fry Patterns in Rainbow corner. Season permit holder Richard Walker boated 5 fish on an intermediate line and Olive Snakes.

Boats Fully Booked for Saturday 17^th & Sunday 18^th August as we host the Final of the John Horsey Anglers World Competition.

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During August.

                                                            Anglers World Final 17^th and 18^th August 2019

Fly Dressers Guild 24^th August 2019

Weather Forecast:

We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr Tony Broadway from Coventry , the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods: 128     Number Trout Taken: 100     Number Trout Released: 238

Total Catch: 338 Rod Average: 2.6

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until 20:45

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:45

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:45

Last 4 Hours from: 16:45 until 20:45 (Ticket sales available from 16:30)

Gutting Room Closes: 20:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 21:15

Tight lines,

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Draycote Water fishing report week ending Sunday 4th August 2019
Tel: 01788 812018
A very mixed week here at Draycote with cooler weather at the start of the week which brought much needed rain to cool the surface temperatures. However, by the end of the week the warm weather returned with a mix of sunny hot days and overcast humid weather. As a result the fish didn’t know if they were coming or going, with them moving up and down in the water column depending on the day. Overall a total of 277 anglers visited the fishery landing 676 fish, for a weekly rod average of 2.4
With the weather being so changeable the fish have come to a variety of methods. With dries, nymphs/buzzers and pulling all featuring. The dries have been one of the most consistent method with fish willing to poke there noses out even in the hot conditions. The one inconstant aspect to the dries seems to have been the size of the fly needed. At times it seems that a small fly is the only way to get action, whereas later in the week and weekend it was the larger flies with the bigger profile that produced the goods. The top areas to fish dries have been in the middle around P & X Buoy then around the Draycote Dam through B & A buoy. For the anglers who found the fish on sinking lines Di 7 and larger flies proved to be the best option. With snakes and tubes being the best flies, with regards to area’s the sinking line anglers have found the fish in the same areas as anglers who favoured the dries. Although one area that produced over the weekend on the sinking lines was D Buoy and Dunn’s Bay.
The final stand out method for the week has been either nymphs or buzzers fished a on floating line or midge tip. The key to this method has been small nymphs as the fish have seen a lot of flies either small sparse 12s or 14s. The key to fishing these small nymphs is to make sure that you are fishing them with a very slow retrieve or fish them static. See www.flyfishtuition.co.uk/latest-reports for the buzzer article on tips on how to fish these flies static from a drifting boat. The best areas on the nymphs have been around the Hensborough Dam, The Outlet, Dunn’s Bay and around J Buoy.
Season ticket holder Kevin Rees used dries to great effect Monday landing 12 fish on crippled midge. Kevin found that these small patterns the key to pulling fish up through the middle around P buoy. As well as landing good numbers Kevin landed some cracking Rainbows up to 6lb with several others over 4lb. Alex Campbell found that a sinking line with a small barred olive snake the key to landing 5 cracking fish from the Outlet and the flat stones to B Buoy. The fish on Thursday dropped slightly deeper to feed and it was either sinking lines and lures or nymphs straight lined on a floater or midge tip that featured. Steve Barby used the rudder with a Di 7 sinking line with various lures to land 14 fish around X Buoy drifting to the Farnborough Dam. Andy Birkett & Brent Vinall taking advantage of another 3 day break ticket. Catching well on all 3 days. The pair caught on dries, nymphs and sinking lines on their trip. With Andy also catching a fantastic 4lb 8oz brown caught on a small size 14 hare’s ear around P Buoy.
Over the weekend Draycote held the Anglers World Individual Championships heats for the Grand Final held on the water in 2 weeks’ time. With 2 large heats 80 anglers took to the water over the 2 days fishing in the any line then the floating line only day the Sunday. A challenging first day for the 44 anglers who caught 126 fish for a rod average of 2.86. Winning the day was Sean Porter who fished around Dunn’s Bay, A & B Buoy. Sean’s winning tactic was to fish a RIO Midge Tip Long with a red holographic booby on the point and 2 small cormorants on the droppers. Maggie Curtis, Bill McIlroy, Alex Johnstone & Vince all found success around the Hensborough bank, the Overflow and Rainbow Corner, using nymphs fished deep on a floating line or a midge tip. More overcast conditions prevailed on Sunday for the floating line only match, with some sporadic showers coming late in the afternoon. Sunday fished really well with a lot of fish sitting no more than a couple of feet down in the water. The best of the fishing again seemed to be at the western end of the reservoir with Rainbow Corner and A buoy throwing up some good bags of fish. Leigh Pond won the day using a small FAB on the point and 3 size 10 black Diawl Bachs on the droppers. Dries such as fiery brown or claret Crippled Midge worked for some anglers as did two Dabblers with a nymph between.
Draycote Restaurant
The Restaurant here at Draycote Water will be open early for breakfast on Saturday 10th August 2019. Pre booking is advised, by calling 01788 815274.

Disabled Anglers
Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop
Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.
We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During August.
Anglers World Final 17th and 18th August 2019
Fly Dressers Guild 24th August 2019

Weather Forecast:
We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr Vince Aronica from Loughborough, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 277 Number Trout Taken: 239 Number Trout Released: 437
Total Catch: 676 Rod Average: 2.4
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 21:00
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:00
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:00
Last 4 Hours from: 17:00 until 21:00 (Ticket sales available from 16:45)
Gutting Room Closes: 20:30
All Anglers to be off site by: 21:30

Tight lines,
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facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Water weekly fishing report week ending Sunday 28th July 2019
Tel: 01788 812018
The hot weather that ran from Monday through until Thursday of last week made for some very tough days out on the water. Lots of sun block, cold drinks and an immense amount of patience were needed in order to get the most out of the day. Sporadic overnight showers have helped the water temperature, (currently 20 degrees) and despite long days of bright sunshine, a lot of fish are still getting caught on dries. The washing line with Diawl Bachs, Crunchers or Buzzers is also proving it’s worth, either on a floater or a midge tip line. Sinking lines and snakes are producing good returns, but it seems that a lot of anglers may be fishing them too deep. A DI 3 or even a DI 5 counted down to about 6 to 8 feet, seemed to be about the best method this week, using a variety of retrieves. The weekly rod average is 2.5.
The most popular dries seem to be either culs such as The Yellow Owl, or a black Shipmans Buzzer. The best technique for dries out there is to target the wind lanes from a drifting boat. Keep your casts fairly short, say about 15 to 20 feet or so, and don’t leave the flies on the water for any more than about 10 seconds. These short casts mean that you are covering the water better, and also help with being able to see any moving fish. Fan cast, in other words keep the casts moving all around in front of you. If you have difficulty in seeing the smaller sized flies that are currently so popular, then put a large hopper or a foam daddy on the point as a “sighter”, and then one or two smaller flies on droppers above them. Keep a close eye on your “sighter”, and as soon as you see any movement in the water surface, between the “sighter and your fly line, strike by lifting the rod tip straight up, never to the side. Hopefully this may result in some good sport on your next visit.
On Monday Kevin Rees had 11 fish to the boat on dries such as Bob’s Bits, whilst John Clifford went to the other end of the spectrum and caught a dozen on Lures on a sinking line. On Tuesday the rod average took a dive in the bright conditions. This didn’t seem to deter Chris Pyke who, on the first day of his weeks fishing at Draycote leading up to the Scierra pairs match, took 9 fish, mostly on dries. Tim and Jonathan Davies were not deterred at all by the conditions, and after seeking advice from Draycote Guide Lee Henfrey, boated 6 fish on sinking lines. With air temperature of about 28 degrees and the lightest of breezes, Wednesdays rod average was only saved by the Father and son team of Mr Frazer Duffy, and Mr H and S Rae. Both pairs managed to boat a respectable number of fish on what seemed an impossible day. Thursday was the hottest day ever recorded in Britain, with the air temperature here reaching 32 degrees. Ray Wallace and Dave Ward managed 7 fish while Aneta Hojnor and Chris Czernecki caught 4. Nigel Keeber and Lee Henfrey used the “Boobie Basher” and snakes on Friday up at A buoy to catch a dozen under a very cloudy sky. Success on the dries again fell to Chris Pyke, and in a separate boat, Kevin Rees. The regular Saturday team of Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey proved that on certain days, sinking lines and lures will top anything out there. The pair netted 30 plus fish, all in the deeper water at the western end of the reservoir.
Sunday was a very busy day here at Draycote. We had a heat of the Scierra Pairs competition, The All Abilities Fly Fishers and the Mid Northants club out on the water, in some very miserable, wet and windy conditions. All but only a few anglers caught fish, an achievement by anyones standards. The Scierra Pairs match was won by Gary Owen and Phil Longstaff with a total bag weight of 35lbs 8 oz. In second place was Chris Pyke and Nik Tomkins with 31lbs 12oz. Third place went to our very own Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird with a bag weight of 26lbs 14oz. Well done to all those who took part.
Disabled Anglers
Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop
Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.
We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During August.
Anglers World Heat 3rd and 4th August 2019.
Anglers World Final 17th and 18th August 2019
Fly Dressers Guild 24th August 2019

Weather Forecast:
We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience regional forecasts can be quite inaccurate. We tend to use more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr David East from Japan, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods: 184 Number Trout Taken: 271 Number Trout Released: 199
Total Catch: 470 Rod Average: 2.5
Current Fishing Times:
Bank: 07:30 until 21:15
Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:15
Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:15
Last 4 Hours from: 17:15 until 21:15 (Ticket sales available from 17:00)
Gutting Room Closes: 20:45
All Anglers to be off site by: 21:45

Tight lines,
Follow Us on
facebookwww.facebook.com/FlyFishStore

twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore

Draycote Water weekly fishing report week ending Sunday 21st July 2019
Tel: 01788 812018

Generally a hard seven days, especially when compared to the exceptional fishing many experienced the previous week. A total of 305 anglers fished the venue with a total catch for the week of 945 representing a rod average of 3.0.
Contrasting with the great weather conditions & fishing at the weekend, anglers on both Monday & Tuesday had to contend with bright sunshine, limited cloud cover, almost flat calms & temperatures of 21 & 22°C. This encouraged an algal bloom which made things even more challenging. Whilst the rod average dropped to 2.3 from the impressive 6.9 of Sunday, Ged O’Donoghue managed 4 on snake patterns, Kevin Rees netted 8 to his dries and a 4 fish limit taken for the pot by Mr Brown weighed in at 11½lbs. Of the 72 fish anglers caught on Monday, most came from the deeper, open water with many fishing the aerators. Mr & Mrs Ryalls enjoyed a tuition session with guide Lee Henfrey and netted 7 between them using buzzers under an indicator. Lee noted that the holding depth appeared to be around eight feet sub-surface. Tuesday proved to be harder still with numerous blank rods, although Terry Evans and Joe Bilinski boat fishing did well with Diawl Bachs netting 5 & 9 respectively. Peter Elliott alternated between teams of washing lined nymphs & dries to end the day with 11 to the net from the aerators. Weather conditions improved a little for Wednesday with a 9-10mph south westerly wind and good cloud cover, although it did remain very humid & sticky. Six anglers fished the bank, but all drew a blank. As ever though, there were successes, with best boat for the day being that of Eugene Hughes sharing his boat with Gary Owen. They concentrated their efforts over the middle, together with drifts through “A” buoy, alternating between dries and pulled lures fished on a Di3 sweep. Whilst not recording his method, location or patterns, Mr J Shiers did record his visit as being his best day ever! He netted an 11 fish total which included two rainbows at 5lbs+. John Clifford was also into action having located feeding fish deep over the middle. Fishing fast sinking lines & snakes he took a fine six fish limit with a further half dozen caught & released in his relatively short morning session. Varied methods remained the order of the day on Thursday with season rod John Dickens seeking out wind lanes in the middle in which to present his dries. He finished his day with 12 rainbows to the net. John Hoskins was on the water and finished with 5 beautiful grown on rainbows for the pot with another 3 caught & released. He commented that he could not get a touch throughout the morning but drifts through “P” Buoy during the afternoon, using olive & black barred mini snakes fished on a Di5, brought him regular action. James Maplethorpe & boat partner Trevor Moore meanwhile stuck with teams of nymphs catching 10 & 12 respectively fishing straight lined Diawl Bachs whilst at anchor approximately 60 yards off the Tower Bank. Of four spooned fish, one was full of shrimps, one was full of daphnia, one was full of snails whilst the fourth contained nothing! A forecast change into Friday saw increased wind speeds, albeit remaining in the south west, on what turned into a very gusty & very wet day & evening. Norman Perkins fished near the Tower with lures on a Di3 sweep to net 8 during his morning session whilst Tony Day did very well in the high winds to boat 5 on Big Reds. Jonathan Wood intercepted pods of feeding fish high in the waves on long central drifts towards Toft & managed a creditable 10 fish total on teams of nymphs. Jim Dempsey fished on the rudder to land 4 for the pot with a further 4 released. He also concentrated on open water with lures & similarly located fish high in the water column. Notwithstanding the very wet conditions, Draycote Water Fly Fishers were out in the evening for a bank session and enjoyed what was probably the best bank sport of the week. Dave Adkins fished the overflow with a team of nymphs on a floater. He hooked and landed, after an epic fight (which at one stage saw him deep into his backing), a grown on rainbow of 5lbs. The fish took his own tied size 14 Hare’s Ear Nymph on the top dropper and is a Draycote personal best for Dave. John Hanlon was fishing next to him & caught four rainbows including one at 4lbs on a holo fritz lure which had also come from Dave’s vice. Will Hunt chose to check out the Swan’s Nest & he found good sport too, landing 3 rainbows to one of his own sedge patterns. The intense rains continued through the night & despite the boat fleet being deep in water by dawn, probably helped to keep rising water temperatures at bay. Our water temperature is currently holding at 20°C.
Most anglers on Saturday were practising for the Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing Repechage on Sunday with hopes of securing the last remaining places in the National at Chew Valley Lake in September. They were greeted with strong WSW winds gusting up to 24mph with some short, but sharp showers. Most of the anglers wanted to keep their cards close to their chest so the catch return was a bit sparse, however the rod average did come out at 4.1.
Sunday was overcast the whole day with a steady WSW wind blowing at 12 to 14 mph. A total of 38 competitors were fishing for 23 places at Chew. The match was fished on a full catch and release basis with the first 4 fish measured and that total length added together. The remaining fish caught were then netted and immediately released and given the fishery average length of 47cms. It turned out to be a tough day for some competitors with Draycote only giving up a rod average of 2.5. Congratulations to the top 23 anglers who fought their way through to the national. Results are being published by the Angling Trust.

Disabled Anglers
Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018.
Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop
Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.
We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During July.
Scierra Pairs – 28th July.

Weather Forecast:
We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience the BBC regional forecast can be very inaccurate. We tend to lose a lot of customers based on these, and therefore have started using more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.
Weekly Boat draw
Congratulations to Mr Tony Kirk from Tamworth, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.
Weekly Stats:
Number Rods:305 Number Trout Taken:217 Number Trout Released: 728
Total Catch: 945 Rod Average: 3.0
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: 21:45

Tight lines,
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Draycote Water weekly fishing report week ending Sunday 14^th July 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

We have experienced a bumper week at Draycote Water and the boat fishing during this period can only be described as having been outstanding at times – especially for this time of year.  Good catches have come from all over the venue with drifts over the middle probably producing the most consistent results. The bank fishing, which tends to be a hit and miss affair through July, has also seen an improvement and some anglers have recorded impressive returns from all along the North Shore, Rainbow Corner and the Swans Nest. A total of 229 visiting the venue netted 1501 trout representing an impressive rod average of 6.55 for the week.

Whilst still our intention to highlight notable catches during the week, we intend to place a little more emphasis in forthcoming reports on actual tactics & methods which have proved successful for our top anglers. This, over time, will hopefully enable anglers to improve their tactical range & ultimately their overall catch rate.

Diverse arrays of methods have proved successful this week. For the dry fly enthusiast Culs, Bob’s Bits, Big Reds and the ever deadly Crippled Midge, have all worked well. Washing line tactics, utilising  a FAB on the point with a couple of Diawl Bachs or Crunchers on the droppers has put fish in the boat, especially around G buoy in Toft, whilst deep buzzers fished on a floating line with a long leader through the Aerators has made for some very exciting sessions for some. However, snakes fished on a sinking line, has been the most successful method by far during this reporting period. Our own guide Lee Henfrey, a master of sunk line techniques, recommends either a Di5 (a fly line that sinks at 5 inches per second), or a Di7 (with a sink rate of 7 inches per second) with no more than 10 feet of leader. His approach is to make initial retrieves as soon as the line lands.  On the second cast the line is retrieved after a ten second count down, and the third cast is retrieved after 15 seconds and so on. Using this method you are slowly searching the depths of the water column seeking out the taking zone. As soon as you get a take, you are likely to have established the correct feeding depth. Another tip which Lee will always advocate is to “Hang your flies” at the end of the retrieve.  Many anglers, once they have finished a retrieve, simply lift the flies out of the water and cast again, but Lee maintains that in doing so anglers are so often missing out on the chance of hooking a following fish. His sound advice is that once you come towards the end of the retrieve, when the fly is about 15 feet from the boat, stop it dead in the water. Keep a firm hold of the rod and line and count up to ten seconds. This allows the fly to sink slowly down and proves very tempting to any unsuspecting trout that has followed it back towards the boat. Give this technique a try the next time you visit us here at Draycote water. To coincide with his advice there is an online offer of snakes on our website at  www.flyfishstore.co.uk    These have been specially selected by Lee Henfrey as top patterns to compliment this tactic.

Whilst numbers of anglers on the bank at this time of year is limited, bank highlights this week include C J Day who fished a morning session in Rainbow Corner straight-lining a team of nymphs to bring 7 rainbows to the net. He reported his best pattern to be the Nemo Cruncher fished on the top dropper. Mike Oliver also did well to land 5 on his PTN variants along the North Shore. Season rod Tony Broadway – so often the bank angler’s “barometer” – worked a team of crunchers on a FAB based washing line to tempt a good six fish total from the Tower Bank. His catch was topped by a fin perfect silver bar of a rainbow which tipped the scales at 3lbs 12oz. Mick Cronin bank fished a late day session on Saturday to also land six fine rainbows with his best topping 5lbs.

Out in the boats this week Mark Hunt described his Monday evening 8 fish session as “Fantastic top of the water fishing” Keith Coley & Bob Taft netted a combined total of 18 to snakes on Tuesday with season rod Chris Discombe netting a dozen to both snake & damsel patterns too. Ed Douglas found conditions perfect for his dries on Wednesday enjoying a sensational day all over open water with 34 to the net – all caught & released. Whilst the pairing of Peter Elliott & Lee Patten stuck to dries in the aerators on Thursday with both recording impressive double figure returns, season rod Richard Walker went with the Olive & black snakes deeper down for a total of 23.  Another season rod, Ged O’Donoghue, wryly recorded “Snakes 15 Dries NIL” for his “Fantastic Day” on Thursday!! Many of the anglers out on Friday were exploring the venue & experimenting ahead of the AMFC match the following day and as such kept their tactics confidential. Nevertheless, despite blustery conditions on a brisk North Westerly, some excellent figures were recorded with Chris Bobby netting a 17 fish total & Peter De Kremer 13. Regular rod Jamie Scott stuck with the snake theme sub-surface to land 24 rainbows up to 4lbs – his best pattern being his own tying of a black snake. Most of his fish came in the boils. Lee Hankins concentrated on the dry fly approach using fiery brown Bobs Bits + Big Red in the Inlet & Biggin Bay to end with 4 fine fish for the pot & a further 14 C&R. On Saturday the rudder boat pairing of weekend regulars Ifor Jones & Jim Dempsey had an epic day with 20 & 21 fish respectively to their sunk line deep tactics out over open water. We also hosted the Group 2 Association of Major Fly-fishing Clubs Round 4 event which was a great success. Twenty four competitors from 4 teams landed 181 trout for a rod average of 7.5 with 18 of the 24 rods limiting before the final whistle. Bristol Reservoirs FFA Paul Bond took largest fish with a terrific rainbow of 4lbs 11oz together with best bag (Including time bonus) of 25lbs.  Organiser John Caldwell later described it as an excellent match & we congratulate both Paul Bond and GWFFA’s Chris Bobby for coming in as top boat pairing. Chris fished a slow glass with FABS & nymphs against Paul who stuck with dries. Team honours went to Grafham Water FFA with a total weight of 123lbs 2oz, followed by Bristol Reservoirs in second and Greylags securing third spot.

Saturday was also the occasion of another beginner’s tuition day which proved to be an extremely successful event. This course concentrated on boat fishing with emphasis on safe handling of the vessel, anchoring, setting up & controlling drifts etc.  All participants landed fish under the watchful eye of Guiding and Tuition Manager Tom Bird, and guide Lee Henfrey. They are now undoubtedly “hooked for life”. For information on upcoming tuition please visit our website at www.flyfishtuition.co.uk

The week finished with a quieter day in terms of rod & boat numbers but Sunday anglers enjoyed some blistering sport – especially down in Toft. Winds mainly from the west had kept boat away for most of the week but as wind speeds dropped at the end of the weekend anglers were greeted with feeding fish & some great catches resulted. Amongst those enjoying fine sport was Leicester’s Lester Booth who netted 17 to Crippled Midge + Big Reds. He commented on how many other fish he moved or missed too. Martyn Moore was also in Toft & alternated between a buzzer team & dries for a 14 fish session. Keith Harding was nearby & similarly finished with a 14 fish total. He switched between dries & washing line tactics on a 5 weight outfit. Keith probably summed up the view of many successful anglers this week describing “…stunning fish which all but pulled my arm off…Fabulous!!”

Water temperatures have only just breached the 20°C mark which probably accounts for such consistent sport. With cooler temperatures and rain forecast later in the week it is anticipated that such good sport will continue.

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat, call the lodge on 01788 812018. 

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line and sinking lines can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

COMPETITIONS During July.        TEFF Repecharge – 20^th and 21^st July. (All boats fully booked)

Scierra Pairs – 28^th July.

Weather Forecast:

We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience the BBC regional forecast can be very inaccurate. We tend to lose a lot of customers based on these, and therefore have started using more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr Jim Dempsey from Bedworth, the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods:  229     Number Trout Taken:   414    Number Trout Released:   1087

Total Catch:  1501       Rod Average: 6.55

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 21:45

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:45

Boat Part Day:  AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:45

Last 4 Hours from:  17:45 until 21:45 (Ticket sales available from 17:30)

Gutting Room Closes:   21:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 22:00

Tight lines,

A joint compilation this week from The Draycote Team

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Draycote Water weekly fishing report week ending Sunday 7^th July 2019

Tel: 01788 812018

Special Offers – Please check out www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers  to take advantage of a great deal on our in house guides top patterns, when fishing the washing line.

Following on from a good report last week, Draycote has literally exploded. The rod average shot up to a tremendous 8.3 on Monday, and has remained above 6 for the rest of the week. The bright and sunny conditions that persisted through the middle of the week have not put the fish off in the slightest, and indeed fish continue to be caught on dries on the surface, right down through the water column into the depths of the reservoir. Nearly every method is working now, and nearly every fly. Some anglers have persisted with dries right through the middle of the day and netted well into double figures, whilst others have straight lined buzzers off a floating line, or used crunchers on a midge tip, whilst again other anglers have used sinking lines and snakes to net good returns. To be fair the bank angling here at Draycote has not had the greatest of seasons, but this week that also seems to have changed. The Swans nest, Lincroft point and Rainbow Corner seem to have come alive towards the latter part of the week, with good returns coming on buzzers, Diawl Bachs and dries. Overall a total of 221 anglers visited the fishery making the most out of the amazing fishing. Landing a total of 1,391 fish for a fantastic 6.2 rod average for the week.

Bright conditions greeted us on Monday with a light north westerly breeze, and the chance of light showers throughout the day. The boat paring of Terry Evans and Joe Bilinski netted 45 fish between them on Diawl Bachs.

The boat pairing of Gary Johnson and John Slavin had 30 plus fish to the boat in rainbow corner and around A buoy, on olive snakes and a white minky. Gary and John were taking advantage of our 4 day package which costs just £194 for two anglers. Details on our short break package page  www.flyfishdraycote.co.uk/prices/short-break-packages/ split your visits between our fisheries.

Dave Bailey and Alan Cooke netted 28 fish from a boat using buzzers, olive snakes and hoppers around the valve tower. Draycote regular Rod Wilson had 30 plus fish to the boat on a DI3 with pink and olive snakes. Steve Barby and Andy Bell netted 32 fish from a boat on tubes and pink snakes, and then dries.

The sun was splitting the skies first thing on Tuesday with the threat of a flat calm day. Bank angling was a hit and miss affair with Season permit holder Tony Broadway netting 3 fish on dries. Alan Grant improved this slightly with 4 fish from the tower bank. Again Gary Johnson and John Slavin took to the water to net nearly 40 fish between them on nemo crunchers and FAB’s on a 10 foot midge tip line.  Gary and John caught most of their fish around A and B buoy. Season permit holder Jim Hall caught 3 rainbows and a duck from the bank. (ducks are of course full catch and release) Mr H Smith and Mr C Meade had 16 fish to the boat on buzzers and Diawl Bachs.

Wednesday started bright with a light breeze which kept swirling around and changing direction throughout the morning and didn’t settle into a steady northerly until mid afternoon. Despite the conditions Draycote again fished well with Johnson and Slavin once again enjoying a great day boating 17 fish on DI5’s and minkies. Chris Discombe caught 8 fish from around the aerators on snakes. Mike Gillett and Colin Campbell caught 16 fish from a boat on Diawl Bachs in Biggin bay. Mr K Higgins and Mr J Wilson caught half a dozen deep down on snakes and sinking lines.

Thursday was the final day for Gary Johnson and John Slavin and the fishing did not disappoint. The pair netted a further 27 fish on Red Holographic Crunchers (Nemos) and FAB’s on a ten foot midge tip from the Hensborough bank and around G buoy down in toft. Season permit holder Dave Smith netted 8 fish from a boat on a DI3 with FAB’s and crunchers off Biggin bay. All water season permit holder Jamie Scott caught 23 fish using a Dennis the menace buzzer on a fast glass in the aerators. All water member Ged O’Donaghue had 9 fish to the boat on snakes. Steve Lee used mini snakes on a DI5 in the aerators to net 18 fish. Mr B Hall and Mr I Morris remarked on the quality of the fish after boating 21 between them on hares ears in Biggin bay. “Jim and Ed” did themselves proud with over 30 fish to the boat, every one of them falling to a dry fly, fishing tight in to Rainbow Corner in a short half day session.

Friday was bright and sunny all day with a very light westerly breeze. Season permit holder Brian Allwood banked fished from Lincroft point to land 4 fish, one of which was a cracking full tailed 4lb 2 oz rainbow. (The photo can be seen on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/flyfishstore). Draycote regular Ivor Bullock netted 7 fish from the bank. Mr John Hoskins caught 22 fish from a boat on sinking lines and lures. Peter Elliott netted 25 fish from a drifting boat on a combination of a washing line and dries. All water season permit holder Alex Urquhart caught 15 fish from a drifting boat and remarked on the good quality of the fish. Mr J Wood remarked on an incredible days fishing after catching had 21 fish from a boat on the washing line.

Saturday remained overcast all day with a few light showers drifting through in the afternoon. Draycote manager Tom Bird took to the water on his day off to net over 20 fish on dries near on drifts from the Draycote dam to B buoy. Tom found the fish keen take Claret Crippled Midge and Fario Olive CDC’s. Paul Davison also fished from a boat in the same area as Tom landing a cricket score with Ginger Midas being his top fly and commented on the amount of fish that came blind to the dries and the amazing quality of the fish. Mike Garner netted 11 fish whilst bank fishing in Rainbow Corner on crunchers.  Another season ticket holder who found the fish in Rainbow Corner was Jim Hall who landed 15 fish all on dries with a Sedge pattern being best pattern. Tim Sykes & Richard Pelly enjoyed a great days sport landing over 20 to the boat using Yellow Owl’s and Big Reds, from various areas of the Reservoir. The rudder boats of Jim Dempsey and Melvin Severn enjoyed a good day with both boats landing into double figures. They found a good stamp of top quality fish deep down around the deeper water at B Buoy using a Di 7 sinking line and a silver tube.

The conditions for Sunday make the fishing slightly more challenging after the near perfect conditions of the day before. With Easterly winds very little to no wind and sun for most of the day. However, despite the conditions the fish still rose to dry flies. Paul Davision returned with Tony Baldwin with the pair landing over 20 fish to the boat all on Midas and Tony commented all the fish where over 3lb and in fantastic condition. All water season ticket holder Jim Smith fishing with Manger Tom Bird, fishing around B buoy near Tony & Paul to also boat over 20 fish to the boat. Jim & Tom also found that it was the bigger flies in the less than ideal conditions that would pull the fish up to the surface to eat the dries. Michael Hanlon fished the open water around X buoy using a DI 5 forty plus and an olive snake to land 7 fish as well as dropping a few others. Richard Walker & Peter Davies fishing in the Aerators and around B buoy on snakes to boat 13 fish between them. Peter Saunders landed 7 fish using buzzers and a blob fished on a Di 5 around B Buoy.

Visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FlyFishStore  or Instagram page www.instagram.com/flyfishstore/ for latest weekly photographs and updates

Disabled Anglers

Draycote has a wheelie boat for hire, which includes a ramp and hydraulic lift for wheelchair access. To book the wheelie boat call the lodge on 01788 812018. 

Fishery Tackle Shop & Online Shop

Draycote has a tackle shop at the fishery stocking SAGE, RIO, VISION, REDINGTON, WYCHWOOD, GREYS, SNOWBEE, FULLING MILL, FARIO, LOON, FISHPOND and STREAMWORKS products with demo SAGE, Vision & Redington rods & RIO fly lines for you to take out and try.

We also have an online shop. For all you anglers who might not be aware www.flyfishstore.co.uk is the online store for Draycote and the whole of Fishery Management (UK) Ltd. During the 2019 season we will be looking at doing weekly specials offers on the website. The Fishery Management (UK) ltd guides top flies for all venues for the washing line that can be found on the online shop https://www.flyfishstore.co.uk/offers/”

The Gutting Room

Unfortunately the gutting room is closed at the moment due to a problem with the freezer. We are in the process of purchasing a new one and hope to have this rectified as soon as possible

COMPETITIONS During July.

AMFC Group 2 match – 13^th Jul

TEFF Repecharge – 20^th and 21^st July. (All boats fully booked)

Scierra Pairs – 28^th July.

Weather Forecast:

We’re often asked which weather forecast we use. In our experience the BBC regional forecast can be very inaccurate. We tend to lose a lot of customers based on these, and therefore have started using more localised weather apps such as XC Weather or Windguru. These can be downloaded to your phone or computer, and using our post code of CV23 8AB, will give you a dedicated, more accurate forecast for Draycote water.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr  Brian Allwood     from     Dunchurch   the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:  

Number Rods:    221    Number Trout Taken:  319      Number Trout Released:   1072

Total Catch: 1391         Rod Average: 6.2

Current Fishing Times:

Bank:  07:30 until 22:00

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 22:00

Boat Part Day:  AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 22:00

Last 4 Hours from:  18:00 until 22:00 (Ticket sales available from 17:45)

Gutting Room Closes – 21:30

All Anglers to be off site by: 22:15

Tight lines,

The Draycote Team

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twitter www.twitter.com/FlyFishStore