The fishing at Draycote has been exceptional although the consistency of the sun over the last few days has seen the rod average dip to an average of 6 per rod - still impressive! The bright conditions have caused the fish to move away from the margins, and hold approx 25 yards out.

The fish are now becoming a little more spread out throughout the lake, so anglers who move around on a day out have faired better. Regular bank angler Mr Cronin always manages to find the fish, as he took 14 fish on an afternoon visit on Tuesday, fishing in Biggin Bay. Season ticket holder Mr Duffy also managed 10 in an afternoon session, the best fish weighing 4lb. Mr P Mitchell fished from the bank on Saturday 24th March and landed 14 fish, the biggest 5lb 8oz, with his 4 fish bag limit weighing just over 16lb!

Match angler Phil Longstaff led the way on the boats this week with a 16 fish bag limit for 68lb!! These were all caught fishing deep with big lures. Regular angler John Hoskins landed 16 fish on buzzers anchored off the Cornfields, with the best fish weighing 6lb 11oz.

Fish in the deeper water have been feeding on Daphnia whereas fish closer to the margins have been feeding hard on small green and black buzzers buzzers. Size 14 buzzers have worked very well from the bank.

Best bank areas have been - the Cornfields, Lincroft Point, Toft Shallows and Biggin Bay.
Best Boat areas - Toft Shallows, The Cornfields down to Lincroft Point, Rainbow Corner and Biggin Bay to the Tower.
Best Flies- Black and green buzzers(small), orange blobs, woofter booby, Cocktail booby, Diawl Bachs, golhead lures.(Flash Attack Flies available in the tackle shop)
Best Lines - Midge Tip, Floater, DI-3 and intermediate lines.

Number of rods 257 Number of fish killed 605 Number of fish returned 1128 Rod Av. 6.74.

Car parking is available around the lake with easy access to the water, 30 cars are permitted at any one time, call the lodge to book a car pass.

Disabled anglers are able to take their vehicles near to the pontoon for boat fishing. Please ask a member of staff on arrival for access.

We also have 30 car parking permits for boat anglers, allocation one per boat. A car pass will be issued when purchasing you fishing permit.

For those travelling or looking for a short break:

3 day package for two anglers and a motor boat £145 - 1 fish each per day and catch an release.
3 day package for two anglers and a motor boat £180 - 8 fish per day per angler and catch and release.

To book a boat or one of 30 car passes for the bank please call the fishing lodge on 01788 812018.

For Boat bookings up to date information call 01788 812018.

tight lines
Craig Barr

Draycote is still in good form, and is not yet showing any sign of slowing down. It is almost certain that last weeks weather played a good part in this fact, as light winds and mild conditions allowed for great fishing conditions.

Peter Elliot, Mr Hughes, Mr Wyant, and Mr K Rees all recorded fish over 7lb with several browns of similar size being returned. Mr B Warwick weighed 8 fish for 33lb.

The fish have moved away from the very edge of the lake and now appear to be 20-30 yards out. Bank anglers have enjoyed some excellent sport fom Toft Shallows and the Cornfields. Favoured winds have encouraged most anglers to head to these areas, however quieter parts of the lake have also fished well, Biggin Bay and Rainbow corner.

Boat anglers have also done exceptionally well as bank fishermen have pushed fish a little further out at times. Drifts from Lincroft Point, down to the Cornfields have yielded fantastic catches, many fish over 4lb!! Rudder fishermen have worked a little harder for fish in the deeper water, however have been rewarded with some fantastic over wintered fish around the 3.5lb mark.

Best flies have been black & olive buzzers, orange blobs, Fab Blobs, black & green lures, and boobies.

Best bank areas - Toft Shallows, The Cornfields, Lincroft Point, and Biggin Bay.

Best boat areas - Toft Shallows, The Cornfields, Rainbow Corner Farnborough bank.

Best lines - floating, slow intermediates and Di-3 lines. The fish are around 3′ down at the moment.

Bank anglers: Car parking is allowed around the lake in designated parking bays, 30 cars are allowed to use the perimeter road at any one time, call the lodge and book one of the 30 available Car Passes.

Boat anglers: Every boat booking is issued with one free car parking permit.

We are in the new lodge we have a tackle shop and the gutting room and toilets are also open.

Fish Killed 663 Fish returned 1607 Number of anglers 209 Rod average 10.8.

For further information contact the fishing lodge on 01778 812018.

tight lines
Craig Barr

Draycote press day was attended by club members from the Draycote Fly Fishers and other members from the angling press. Keith Arthur, the host from Sky Tv’s Tight Lines programme, also attended with the TV crew. Fishery manager Craig Barr and Keith fished in Rainbow Corner, managing 22 fish between them. This can be seen on the Tight Lines programme this coming Friday, or the following week.

Thursday, the official opening day got off to a flying start. Weather conditions were near perfect, and boy did the lake respond. 60 anglers caught an incredible 1151 fish, giving a rod average of 19 fish a man!!!

Fish were well spread out and anglers on every stretch of the banks caught. The boats fished exceptionally well too, as the fish appeared to cover every bit of the shoreline around the lake. Reports quickly came in of fish being full of bloodworm and tiny snails. Coots have been seen diving close to the shore picking up weeds, which suggests the mild winter has failed to kill the weed right back, allowing for this early food bonanza for the trout.

The weekend, especially Sunday, saw near summer conditions and many anglers headed out with floating lines and buzzers. Lee Pattern took full advantage of the conditions and was rewarded with a fish of 7lb, although this was not the biggest fish so far. Mr R Blackwell caught a rainbow of 8lb 8oz from the bank on a black buzzer.

The best areas have literally been anywhere on the lake. The best flies have been Cats Whiskers, Black & Green Lures, Blobs, fab blobs, Boobies, black & Green buzzers and Diawl Bachs.

We now have a fully equipped tackle shop on site, gutting room facilities, toilet facilities and 30 free car parking permits for boat anglers.

Bank anglers as they did last year are also allowed to drive around the lake to fish, although we are restricted to allowing 30 cars at any one time. If your coming bank fishing call the lodge and book one of the 30 car passes.

Total number of rods 200
Total number of fish caught 2683 (2010 of which were released) Rod AV 13.4
Fish stocked pre-season 7000

Bank fishing commences at 7.30
Boat Fishing commences at 8.30

To Book telephone the fishing lodge on 01788 812018.

tight lines
Craig Barr