Andrew Flitcroft is shown Draycote Water’s hidden secrets by one of reservoir fishing’s most likeable characters
ICAN THINK OF FEW REASONS why I wish I were older, but one is to have seen Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix live on stage. I was only four when Hendrix died and given how briefly he played, I am sure many of you missed out, too. I can only imagine the excitement, the unpredictability, the haze.
Another reason I’d like to be a little older is to have the time in retirement to take full advantage of the fishing season’s best bits. How wonderful to be able to fish through the whole of May when everything comes alive, or through October when I might catch many big fry-feeding reservoir trout.
In a way, that’s what the bloke who sat next to me in a boat last autumn has done. Andy Miller is closer than I am to the Hendrix and Led Zep generation, although you would never guess from his countryman complexion and playful character. Many of you will know him from Eyebrook Reservoir, which he managed for many years and where he was always welcoming and full of charisma. Andy is an all-round fisherman who enjoys game and coarse fishing equally. Look at his Twitter feed and you will see that he is a man of simple means who wears his heart on his sleeve. I had met him many times, but had not had the pleasure of fishing with him, so before he retired as a guide at Draycote Water, I put that right.
It was October and the great and good of fly-fishing had descended on the reservoir. Draycote is a bucket-list destination for those who hunt fry-feeding trout, but it is a venue of modest proportions. This makes it easy to explore in a day and to spot where the action is — and therein lies its popularity.
Not only is its stocking programme highly praised, but its unusual topography sets it apart from other reservoirs. Distributed over its 590 acres are a series of shoals, or sunken islands, which rarely break the surface. Under what appears a featureless sheet of open water are reefs rich in food that are prime trout habitats. Suffice it to say, if you patiently search with a fast-sinking line and have confidence, you’ll find these shoals and, more often than not, plenty of fish.
Reservoir anglers tend to stick to the edges where visible depths, weedbeds and drop-offs instil confidence. They are rarely convinced by vast swathes of open water. But if you fish Draycote, you need a different mindset. Here, it’s worth trying a fast sinker, if only to locate the shoals by touching the bottom, then adapting your method to suit.
