Draycote Water

Fancy a proper reservoir session? Draycote Water at Kites Hardwick, near Rugby, covers 240 hectares — approximately 590 acres. That’s a very different proposition from a little pool and a favourite peg. Rainbow and brown trout are on the menu for fly anglers, with fishing available from both bank and boat.

• 1 lake: Draycote Water
• Fish: trout, pike, perch, zander
• Tickets from: trout permit: eight fish retained, then catch-and-release. — £40
• Find it: Rugby · CV23 8AB

Based on how each lake is set up — not a ranking.

Fancy a proper reservoir session? Draycote Water at Kites Hardwick, near Rugby, covers 240 hectares — approximately 590 acres. That’s a very different proposition from a little pool and a favourite peg. Rainbow and brown trout are on the menu for fly anglers, with fishing available from both bank and boat. The postcode is CV23 8AB; take care with map pins, as coordinates identifying the south-western embankment don’t mark the entrance.

The trout season runs from 7 March 2026 to 31 January 2027, giving you plenty of calendar to work with. Bank fishing starts at 07:30 and finishes at the designated boat-return time, rather than a fixed closing hour you can assume all year. The site is locked before 07:30, so turning up ridiculously early won’t get you fishing sooner. Overnight fishing or parking needs special permission — this isn’t a turn-up-and-bivvy sort of place.

There’s a useful choice of trout permits, depending on whether you want fish for the table or a catch-and-release session. The sporting permit is catch-and-release only and requires barbless flies. Other options allow a stated number of fish to be retained before switching to release, including a senior permit. Brown trout must be released, so don’t treat the retained-fish allowance as a free choice between the two trout species. Accompanied children fish free within the adult permit’s rules and limits.

If you’re heading afloat, remember that boat hire sits on top of your fishing permit. Full-day, half-day and sunset options are listed, with single-angler rates for full and half days. Half-day sessions fall before or after 14:00; sunset boats are after 18:00. Booking ahead avoids the surcharge on non-prebooked boats, though evening boats can only be booked on the day and depend on availability. Blue Badge holders also have a restricted-access Wheelyboat hire option.

The predator side has its own timetable, so don’t simply borrow the trout dates and crack on. Lure and fly predator fishing is boat-only, with an early March window followed by the longer season from May. Sea-deadbait fishing has a separate October-to-January window, also from boats. Pike, perch and zander must go back alive. There’s a two-rod maximum, no livebait or powered trolling, and trout and predator fishing can’t be mixed in one boat. Sort your target before booking.

For the practical bits, there’s a tackle shop, fishing lodge and upstairs Waterside Restaurant. Permits can be booked online or bought at the shop, which opens later than the bank-fishing start. Parking is included with fishing permits, but you must validate your registration at the lodge every visit — an easy bit of faff to overlook. Dogs aren’t allowed while bank or boat fishing. Overall, it’s a cracking choice for anglers wanting reservoir trout fishing with a separate predator option.

Good background reading. Most of it is a few years old, so treat it as a starting point and ask on the day.

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• Our read

  Checked Sept '26 — “Draycote Water is a proper big-water venue near Rugby, with roughly 590 acres for bank and boat fly fishing. There’s boat-only predator fishing too, but the dates and permitted methods need a careful look before you book.”

This is our own summary of recurring public feedback and the venue details we checked, not a copied customer review or a promise you’ll catch. Feedback changes, so we keep it separate from the Tackle Index score.