Unnamed mirror brightens things up!
The ever changing weather conditions has played havoc with fish feeding patterns in the past week but Ian Warner from Kent hit the jackpot at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. He caught one of the lake’s largest residents, a mirror carp that has only recently burst on to the scene weighing 42lbs. Steve Bull was another angler to enjoy some success when he caught several big bream fishing with particles in the factory bay.
Reports have been received of some good-sized carp being caught from Swan Lake with one angler catching three fish over 20lbs in an overnight session. Another angler fishing at the adjacent McGregor Lake found big bream to be feeding. He used method feeder tactics to catch more than a dozen big bream up to over 8lbs.
Sport improving but its still hard
A steady stream of carp are being caught at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake but the constantly changing weather conditions are playing havoc with fish feeding patterns. Several carp to upper 20s have been landed from nearly all parts of the lake during the past week. Also, most of the fish were now beginning to feed during daylight hours so the day anglers have a good chance of catching a big fish too.Chris Tyrell fished for a couple of nights before he experienced any action but his perseverance paid off when he caught a heavily-scaled 27lb 2oz mirror carp. Chris’s fishing companion Ken Smith caught a couple of low doubles plus a bonus 6lb tench from a nearby swim. Matt Parry landed a near 20lb common and Steve Bull tempted another twenty 20 after spotting some fish moving through his swim. Damon Matthews caught his first big eel from the lake whilst carp fishing but was somewhat relieved when it managed to free itself and crawl back into the lake.
Carp to low 20s wee being caught at Swan Lake too as well as the odd double-fiured specimen. Roach and bream have been feeding well at McGregor Lake for those anglers seeking a change from the ever-present carp.
The next working party date for Grace Lake will be Sunday, the 29th of April where work is proceeding apace to get the fishery ready for the new season. There will be a designated car park alongside the lake which members will be able to access through the currently locked gate. Also, a large selection of water plants are being set to help provide features as well as defining swims. If you would like to help in the work, please come along for a few hours in the morning.
A few selfish anglers have been allowing their bait boats to cross into other anglers’ swims causing annoyance. People reported using boats in this manner will be disciplined by the Club and risk losing their membership and/or night permits. Please follow the guidelines set out in Rule 4 of your club book.
Like London buses!
Mark Horspool struck gold on his latest visit to BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where plenty of sightings of carp have been made but few fish caught. Mark was elated to have caught a 30lb plus common carp but only a few hours later he had a second run that resulted in him catching another huge common. His fish weighed 30lb 14oz and 32lb with one of the fish a long lean fighting machine whilst the other was a superbly proportioned specimen. Another member to catch a big common was Mark Arnold who landed a 33lb common, a new personal best for the angler.
Thomas Finney has continued fishing for pike and his latest capture is an 18lb specimen which fell to a ledgered mackerel.
Young Kavanagh Palmer-Fletcher has continued with his terrific start at Swan Lake by landing a second double-figured bream, a 10lb 8oz specimen. The only disappointment for Kavanagh was that he was trying to catch one of the lake’s elusive carp!
The sun shone but the fish went AWOL!
The week started really well with another big carp being caught at Gingerbread Lake. Kevin Gormley spotted carp moving through his chosen swim and after a few hours he connected with the big fish, a 31lb 4oz common carp. Also, during his overnight stay he landed a good-sized tench too indicating that fish were starting to feed. However, a couple of hard frosts early in the week killed sport completely and when the sun eventually came out fish were more interested in basking in its heat rather than getting their heads down. It was a similar story on both Swan and McGregor Lakes where only the odd carp was to exhibit any signs of feeding. It remains to be seen what effect the very warm weather will have during the current week.
Biggleswade and Hitchin AA Ltd held its AGM during the week where members were informed that the Association had enjoyed another good year with a record and ever-growing membership. The Board sought the Meeting’s approval to introduce a two rod limit for all the waters at the Sandy Lakes Fishery from next season in an effort to relieve pressure on these popular lakes. Views were fairly divided on the move but in the end the Board’s recommendation was carried. Work was continuing on preparing Grace Lake for opening as a fishery from the start of next season but more help is sought from members on working parties to complete new swims and landscaping. Working parties are being held on the second and last Sunday of each month and the old proverb ‘Many hands make light work’ applies so, if you are able, why not come along? The lake has been divided into two distinct halves. Big Grace Lake has been stocked with crucian carp and tench but Little Grace Lake is still to receive a stocking of mixed silver fish namely bream, rudd and roach with the possibility of other species too.
Fantastic sport on rivers as season ends while big carp start to feed at Gingerbread
Fraser Hayden fished a BHAA controlled stretch of the River Ouse but bright sunlight made bites finicky. However, in a short three hour session he still managed to catch two chub weighing 5lb 4oz and 4lb 13oz.
Winston Pogmore returned to a BHAA controlled stretch of the Ivel near Sandy from where he caught a 5lb plus chub on his previous visit. Sport started more slowly this time and, for a couple of hours, all he could catch was the odd minnow. He kept feeding his swim with breadcrumb and a trickle of maggots and put a bunch of them on to his size 16 hook. He soon landed a 3lb 10oz chub but then hooked into a really powerful fish that he thought was probably a pike. However, when he finally netted the fish it turned out to be a 6lb 15oz chub, his biggest ever chub. His friend Alan Wilkie fished the same stretch of river catching two big chub weighing 5lb 4oz and 5lb 14oz. The latter of the two chub he has caught this season on three separate occasions!
Adam Pinfold fished the Ivel near Biggleswade catching 10 chub and a big perch before his bait ran out and all from the same swim. Alan’s chub weighed 5lb 10oz, 5lb 4oz, 5lb 2oz, 6 over 4lbs and a small 3 pounder. His perch weighed exactly 2lbs. Ollie Jenkinson fished the same stretch of river catching his best ever chub, a 6lb specimen as well as another 5lb specimen. Over the last couple of weeks, Thomas Finney has been enjoying some great sport catching up to 10 chub per visit and landing his first 6lb specimen too. On his penultimate trip of the week he landed 12 chub to 5lb 7oz and a dace. When he returned to the river on his next visit he found his favourite swim taken so he found another swim lower down the river to fish. After an unsuccessful spell of ledgering he swapped to float tackle and on his first trot through the swim his float was buried beneath the surface. A long and hectic 15 minute fight ensued but at the end Thomas had a pristine 10lb barbel at his feet. The swim died shortly after catching the big barbel so he went back to his old swim that was now fee. Within an hour, he landed 5 chub all but one were over 5lbs with the best topping 6lbs.
Alan Bates has fished at Gingerbread Lake for the past year witnessing other anglers landing carp to well over 30lbs and it has been his ambition to crack this barrier. He had hooked and lost several big fish throughout the year but he finally succeeded by catching a deep bellied 33lb common carp. Alan’s fishing companion, Steve Bull, fished a short session using only a single rod but still managed to rack up another big carp, a 31lb mirror. Darren Coles caught an even bigger carp, a 37lb 8oz mirror during the week and Scott Parkin added a 26lb mirror to his New Year tally. Rob Norris fished a 48 hour session to land a 23lb common, 21lb mirror and a double figured common using a popped up boily on a ‘chod’ rig.
