News

:: 06.03.10

Cluster tops 40!

The much sought after mirror carp ‘Cluster’ has been caught from Gingerbread Lake weighing an impressive 40lbs 4oz. The lucky angler was Steve Lilly who was fishing as a guest of a member. The two anglers had to endure some of the heaviest rain of the year but were well rewarded for their trouble. This is the second time that this boily-munching fish has exceeded the 40lb barrier and it still has several moths of growth left before spawning time. BHAA now has a long waiting list of persons wanting to obtain night permits to fish this prestigious lake but preference will be given to existing club members when any vacancies become available.

A fantastic trio of big perch has been caught by club chairman Neil Sampson from a BHAA-controlled stretch of the River Ivel. The fish weighed 3lb 3oz, 3lb 13oz and 3lb 3oz and were taken from a 5ft deep hole close to the bank on worms as light faded. Neil was fishing wi th the club’s fisheries officer Martin Crouch and Ray Albon. Martin landed two nice perch himself weighing 2lb 20z and 1lb 14oz while Ray had to be content with a 3lb 12oz chub.

Head bailiff Dave Hallybone recently tackled a stretch of the river close to BHAA’s Sandy Lakes complex from where he caught a super chub weighing 6lb 2oz. Alan Wilkie fished another stretch of the river on float-fished lobworms and saw his float glide confidently under. The culprit turned out to be another super chub weighing 5lb 9oz. Alan was fishing with his son Paul who caught a 3lb 4oz chub and a big perch weighing 2lb 10oz.

Earlier in the week, Alan had a couple ofdays fishing on McGregor Lake where he found carp to be in a feeding mood. On his first visit, he caught 3 carp and lost one then followed this catch up with another three fish haul plus a good-sized tench on his subsequent visit. Alan’s best fish weighed 9lb 15oz.

James Hopper recently fished for pike at McGregor Lake using lamprey as bait. James was ‘over the moon’ to land a 22lb 8oz pike, a new personal best. Members are reminded that live-baiting for pike is banned on all BHAA- controlled waters and anyone found breaking this rule risks being expelled from the club.

Club bailiffs have been active around club waters lately and have caught a number of anglers illegally fishing on BHAA controlled stretches. These anglers risk prosecution under the Theft Act and, instead, should ensure that they only fish where they are entitled in future. Our bailiffs have heard every lame duck excuse under the sun and will be taking a firm line with any offenders subsequently caught.

Members are reminded that BHAA will be holding its AGM on Wednesday, 24th March, at Biggleswade Rugby Club and you are encouraged to attend. You will have an opportunity to vote on some important rule changes and to learn of some of the club’s ambitious plans for future years.

Finally, I am sure that members would want to voice their distain over the damage caused by deep rutting of the roadways around the club waters by selfish drivers who persist in trying to use them when it is clear that the ground is soft and saturated. It will cost the club several hundreds of pounds to rectify this damage so don’t moan when your subscriptions are raised because these few idiots are largely responsible for the increase.

:: 28.02.10

Fishing in the Apocolypse!

Snow, rain and now floods have done little to improve members’ chances of getting a bite let alone a fish. However, Fisheries Officer Martin Crouch could not resist the challenge of fishing during a day of heavy snow and targeted a club stretch of the River Ivel not far from his home. Martin’s reward was two cracking chub weighing 4lb 7oz and 5lb 5oz proving that there is always a chance of catching something even on the coldest of days.

Fraser Hayden got fed up trying to catch anything from the rivers in ever-changing and difficult conditions and, instead, opted for a short session oat McGregor Lake just to try and get a bend in his rod. Fraser used an open-ended feeder plugged with cereal groundbait with maggots in the middle. Hook bait was a dead maggot and a couple of rubber castors – tasty! Fraser had two takes during his session that turned out to be a 3lb bream and a nicely conditioned mirror carp around 5lbs. Job done!

It is hoped to improve drainage at the Sandy complex during the coming month by clearing out the ditch which runs alongside the two lakes. In the meantime, anglers are warned not to try driving on the soft ground surrounding the lakes as they risk getting their vehicles stuck and causing deep rutting of the tracks.

:: 21.02.10

Predators are on the feed!

Another week of awful weather did not prevent some good catches being made by BHAA members. Robert Livock was first to score when he caught a single chub weighing 4lb 3oz from behind the club’s Sandy Lakes complex on the River Ivel. Rob’s fish fell to ledgered cheese paste. Ray Albone decided to target The Jungle stretch of the River Ouse at Tempsford, a largely neglected venue by club members in recent years. Ray was well pleased to catch another big chub this time weighing 4lb 10oz.

Anthony Pogmore decided to try his luck on the River Ivel near to McGregor Lake but was gutted to lose a good fish almost immediately when he had to answer his mobile phone leaving him unable to strike. He soon caught a small chub around 2lb 8oz from the same swim before the bites died off. He missed several suicidal bites throughout the day when his rod top was violently pulled round. It was late afternoon before he connected with another confident take and this turned out to a nice 4lb 12oz chub. Anthony’s tactics were to ledger bunches of lobworms.

Anthony’s brother, Winston, opted to fish the River Ouse at Tempsford and used ledgered bread crust as bait in conjunction with small balls of mashed bread as groundbait. His first cast brought him immediate success in the form of a 3lb chub and soon after he struck into a much heavier fish. This turned out to be a plump 5lb chub. Thereafter, sport was over as icy rain began to fall.

John Murphy took his grandson Tom to Gingerbread Lake where they were able to gain some shelter from the cold wind. Tom caught a 7lb pike and had another take which did not develop but he was still chuffed to bits!

Martin Crouch and Ray Albone visited several of the clubs venues on the Ivel and Ouse but found the rivers in spate and impossible to fish. Late in the day, they managed to find some slacker water on a club stretch of the River Ivel. Using float-fished lobworms as bait, Martin went on to catch a super 3lb 12oz perch and a second weighing 2lb11oz plus a double-figured pike. The big perch was a new p.b. for Martin.

Some great news for BHAA members - this week, the club has introduced large numbers of silver fish into the River Ivel above Langford Mill and also at McGregor Lake where tench were stocked too. The fish were supplied by Mainstream Fisheries and are just one installment of the club’s extensive stocking program to be carried out throughout 2010. The Links Pool and McGregor Lake are both planned to receive more fast-growing carp to further improve sport.

:: 14.02.10

It's grim out there!

Hard overnight frosts during the week all but killed off any chances of fish feeding although lakes and rivers remained free of ice and fishable. The only report of any sizeable fish capture was from Martin Crouch who managed to tempt a 4lb 7oz chub from the River Ivel in Sandy. It will take a return to some milder weather to get the fishy feeding again but hope springs eternal!

:: 07.02.10

Big chub on the feed

:: 31.01.10

Redfins for the Ivel

A welcome stocking of much-needed roach into the River Ivel has been carried out by the Environment Agency’s fisheries officers. Nearly 1600 fish were introduced above Langford Mill where a broken sluice had resulted in many fish being lost to the lower reaches of the river. This is not the end of the story though for further restocking of the stretch is planned by Biggleswade & Hitchin AC in the near future with still more roach and possibly other silver fish.

Despite the continuing cold conditions, more anglers have been venturing out on to the rivers and lakes but bites have been generally hard to come by. Gary Page was pleased to get a single take fishing at McGregor Lake on BHAA’s Sandy Lakes complex. His fish was a 14lb pike that fell for a ledgered roach deadbait.

Winston Pogmore tried his luck fishing on the Ivel at High Romper, Tempsford but had to fish long and hard for a single bite. He landed the fish which turned out to be a 3lb chub that accepted ledgered breadflake. His fishing companion also experienced a single bite but, despite his rod tip being pulled violently round by the fish, he failed to connect.

:: 24.01.10

Martin Crouch fished the River Ivel near to the Sandy Lakes using ledgered cheese paste as bait. Sport was predictably slow but Martin persevered and was rewarded by catching two chub each weighing 5lb 2oz over a couple of days and a smaller fish Later in the week, he moved to a BHAA-controlled stretch of the river from where he caught two more 5s weighing 5lb 8oz and 5lb5oz and a super 6lb 9oz specimen.

The Inland Drainage Board has begun work on clearing the ditch which flows alongside the lakes which, when completed, should reduce the risk of flooding particularly around New Road Lake. Although anglers fished both this lake and McGregor Lake, no reports of any catches were received.

Can you help? A member left his made-up landing net between New Road and McGregor Lakes at Sandy. If you have found it, please get in touch with the Membership Secretary so that he can arrange for return to its owner.

:: 21.01.10

Winter did not start to release its icy grip until the end of the week so most of the club’s still waters remained covered in thick ice so it has been impossible for anglers to wet a line.

Fraser Hayden decided to try his luck on the River Ivel near Langford Mill, a stretch that he has found to his liking in recent years. Fraser baited his chosen swim with a couple of handfuls of mashed bread and then waited some thirty minutes to give any fish the chance to start feeding confidently. Finally, he cast a small piece of ledgered crust out and sat back to wait for any action. After about five minutes, his rod tip indicated a bite and a quick strike saw him connected to a good fish. The fish was soon landed and Fraser was well pleased to see a nice 4lb 14oz chub lying at his feet. He fished on for the rest of his stay but without any further action.

The club’s fisheries sub-group will be deciding on further stocking of its waters in the coming months. It is likely that more carp will be introduced into Links Pool and McGregor Lakes; tench, roach, bream and perch are planned for McGregor Lake; and it is hoped some quality roach will become available for stocking into the River Ivel at Langford Mill.

Letters inviting members to renew their night fishing permits have been sent out to existing permit holders with the deadline for renewal being the end of April. Thereafter, any vacancies will be filled from the waiting list. If you have not received your invitation, please contact the membership secretary.

:: 11.01.10

It's Snow Joke!

Only the rivers remained open for fishing as the cold spell continued to bite. Martin Crouch and Kevin Webb both decided to try their luck on the River Ivel near to BHAA’s Sandy Lakes. Martin was pleased to catch two nice chub, the best weighing 4lb 14oz while Kevin managed to land a solitary 3lb fish. On some days the water was so cold that no fish appeared to feed.

Following concern over the continuing losses of specimen fish from both rivers and lakes since the introduction of otters into the Ouse and Ivel valleys, the Environment Agency is now monitoring the situation. It has asked for evidence of fish deaths attributable to otter depredation to be forwarded to Kye Jerrom. His e-mail address is kye.jerrom@environment-agency.gov.uk. Also, recent surveys of the fish population taken from various stretches of the rivers has indicated a continuing decline in fish stocks which will eventually impact on other wildlife as well as on angling interests.

:: 03.01.10

Christmas Crackers!

Whilst most of us have been huddled around the fireplace, a few stalwarts have braved the arctic conditions and have been rewarded for their efforts.

Fraser Hayden was fishing on the River Ivel for perch using stret-pegged lobworm as bait when he saw his float disappear in the fading light. Fraser was both surprised and happy to find that the fish was not a perch but an immaculate 1lb 9oz roach, a relatively rare capture on the river these days.

Another angler who turned his attention to the Ivel was James Lees who enjoys his winter pike fishing. James was well chuffed to catch a new p.b.in the form of a 15lb 8oz specimen. Anglers venturing down to New Road Lake and McGregor Lake at Sandy have found pike to be on the feed too but have been handicapped by the lack of open water following plunging overnight temperatures. Nevertheless, two anglers reported catching two pike each on a recent visit.

Paul Witchell fished on the Ivel behind Sandy Lakes on a rising river using lobworms as bait. It was late into the afternoon before Paul saw any action but his perseverance was rewarded with the capture of two fine chub weighing 4lb 7oz and 3lbs to end the old year on a high.

:: 13.12.09

Winter warmers!

A short evening session on the River Ivel produced two chub for BHAA member Fraser Hayden. Fraser’s fish weighed 3lbs and 4lb 13oz and both fell to his home-made boilies. Fraser was fishing a stretch of the river close to the Sandy Lakes complex.

A mid-week session at McGregor Lake resulted in anther BHAA member, Robert Livock, attaining two firsts. He caught his first tench from the lake, a 5lb specimen and his first double-figure carp from the venue, a 12lb mirror together with another around 7lbs. Robert fished with boilies into a cool westerly breeze.

:: 06.12.09

Big pike fancies a ‘worm’!

Another whopping pike has been landed from a BHAA-controlled venue. Gary Page used float-fished lamprey as bait to tempt the beast, a super-conditioned 24lb 5oz pike. Gary said it was as fat as a pig and was his biggest pike to date. He hooked a second fish during the same session but this one rejected the hook after a short time. Pike anglers are reminded that live-baiting is not allowed on any of the club’s still waters to protect the fish stocks but most big pike seem to readily accept dead baits in any event.

The atrocious weather in the early part of the week did not seem to affect the carp at McGregor Lake where Robert Livock recorded a five fish haul of mirrors and a single common on a recent visit. Robert had to endure a couple of hours of heavy rain but thereafter the runs came fast and furious.

Members visiting the Sandy Lakes complex will be pleased to find that the gravel company has repaired the track surface eliminating the deep potholes that littered it. However, vehicles must not be driven at excessive speeds if the quality of the surface is to be maintained.

:: 01.12.09

Jaws is alive and kicking!

A huge pike has been landed from one of Biggleswade & Hitchin AA’s still waters. The exact location is not being revealed to prevent a deluge of would-be trophy hunters descending on the venue. The captor was Harvey Jones who only recently joined the club. Harvey used half a mackerel as bait to tempt the fish which is the biggest pike ever reported from a BHAA venue. It is hoped to obtain a photograph of the fish soon.

The atrocious weather has prevented many anglers from venturing out but those who visited McGregor Lake found the odd carp and bream still feeding. The productive swims tended to be those on the railway bank with the anglers fishing into the teeth of strong westerly winds.

:: 20.11.09

Big bream on the feed at Gingerbread

An angler fishing for carp in the factory bay got some unwanted attention from big bream during a recent session at Gingerbread Lake. However, he decided to weigh one of the fish which was considerably larger than the others and found that it nudged his scales round to 13lbs.WillyWoodfield confirmed that he had caught a 22lb 7oz common carp and a 9lb 6oz mirror but was upset as he had hooked and lost two much heavier fish.. Jarrald Cooper was again one of the few anglers to record a catch when he landed a 21lb mirror carp using Kream Krunch hook baits.

Martin Crouch fished an overnight session at McGregor Lake but did not bargain on gale force winds throughout his stay. He went on to catch nine carp though, the best weighing around 15lbs which made up for the lack of any sleep! Paul Junke fished during the daytime and caught a big bream around 8lbs but lost a nice carp on the way to the net. Robert Livock moved swim to get some shelter from the strong wind and soon found his move worthwhile taking 5 carp in rapid succession before the runs dried up. Robert was casting close to some overhanging bushes using only a small amount of bait throughout the day. Several other carp were caught during the week as the fish continued to feed in the relatively mild conditions. Mini boilies and halibut pellets were both successful baits used.

BHAA Ltd held a Special General Meeting (SGM) where it was agreed to make some important changes to the club’s Constitution and Rules. The changes will be published in next season’s membership books but were essentially aimed at improving the Board’s ability to manage the club’s finances more effectively by determining and implementing any changes required to membership rates each year; reducing the size of quorums at meetings to improve decision making capabilities; increasing the number of members required to call a SGM; and giving specific powers to the Board to take action against any member deemed to be putting the Association’s assets at risk by his actions.

The Environment Agency has recently stocked more barbel into the lower reaches of the Ivel at Tempsford to boost stocks in this part of the river and in the middle reaches of the Ouse into which it flows. This recognizes the excellent habitat which this section of river provides for the species.

Big commons make an appearance

Anthony Pearson caught a big 25lb common carp at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. He was using S2T bait. Jarrald Cooper maintained his run of big fish by landing another nice common, this time a 21lb specimen that fell to a Kream Krunch bait. Willy Woodfield caught two carp on his latest visit to the lake including another 20lb plus carp. Willy was using his own homemade boilies once again.

No reports of any catches have been received from anglers fishing at either the Links Pool or New Road Lake.

It was a different story at McGregor Lake where fish remain active although sport has been patchy. Gary Page had a good mixed bag of fish including a 9lb 9oz pike, a 6lb tench and two single-figured carp. The milder weather mid-week brought carp back on the feed when Anthony Pogmore caught three mirrors in the 8-9lb bracket. His successful bait was Scopex Squid Liver mini-boilies.

Anglers wishing to obtain night fishing permits for next season on BHAA’s still waters are advised to register their interest with the Membership Secretary as soon as possible as a growing waiting list already exists. They should note also that preference will be given to existing club members in filling any vacancies that may become available.

:: 08.11.09

Big carp are still feeding

Sport has been gradually slowing down as winter approaches but the odd big fish is still being caught at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. Bait supplier Steve Slater fished a session in two-bar bay where he caught a single fish, a 31lb mirror carp on his S2T bait. On a previous visit Jon Course landed another big mirror, this time a 30lb 2oz fish. Anglers have spotted some shoals of big roach in the lake and these may be targeted over the winter.

Jarrald Cooper had a change of venue deciding to try his luck at the Links Pool from where he has caught a 16lb mirror.

Ralph Williamson has been quietly putting in the time at New Road Lake and has been catching carp on a regular basis but both the weights and numbers of fish caught are not yet to hand.

Carp were being caught daily at McGregor Lake although catch rates were well down on previous weeks. Richard Griffin reported landing an 18lb mirror on a recent visit. Pike were active though with fish seen breaking the surface in the margins but no reports of any catches have been received.

Members are reminded that a Special AGM is being held on Wednesday, the 18th of November to amend the Association’s constitution and are encouraged to attend.

:: 31.10.09

Big pike dominate the news!

Jarrald Cooper has enjoyed some great catches on his first season at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where, on a recent session, he caught his second common carp over 30lbs from the lake. This time it was yet another scale-perfect specimen weighing 30lb 4oz.

Mark Laurence has been putting in some time in recent weeks at the Links Pool from where he has caught both mirrors and commons to around 20lbs. Also, Mark reckons he hooked and lost one of the water’s big boys when it dived into thick lilies and shed his hook.

Pike were on the feed at New Road Lake. A polish member reported catching a beauty weighing 24lbs and Kevin Peacock landed another 20 weighing 20lb 5oz. Kevin was using mackerel as bait.

Anthony Careless was well pleased with his first ever pike session at McGregor Lake catching two pike, the best weighing an impressive 19lb 6oz. His fishing companion, bailiff John Lincoln, also caught an 11lb pike during the same visit. Winston Pogmore reckons he caught the same 11lb plus pike on successive visits from the same swim. Winston uses small roach dead baits supplied by Walker’s Pitch which he fishes on single hooks. This method ensures that the fish can be returned to the water unharmed to fight another day. Carp have been feeding well during the week too although the numbers being caught have dropped off a little. Some beautiful fully-scaled mirrors have been landed including specimens to around 12lbs. Anglers who prefer to float-fish have reported some great sport with bites continuing throughout much of the day. Catches have included roach, rudd, bream, perch and the occasional hybrid. All the fish caught have been in pristine condition.

:: 24.10.09

Willy’s on a roll!

Willy Woodfield chalked up his third 30 of the season when he caught another 31lb mirror carp during a mid-week session at Gingerbread Lake when little or nothing of note had been caught previously by other anglers. Paul Witchell was another happy angler after he broke his duck with a 24lb 7oz mirror which he caught on an overnight session at the lake.

Bridge repair work was drawing to a close but the few anglers who braved the background noise fishing at the Links Pool did not find the fish to be in a feeding mood with no reports of any catches. It was a similar picture at New Road Lake which received some attention during the week but with little or no success.

James Hopper fished his first ever pike session at McGregor Lake and was well pleased with the result. James fished for only a short 5-hour spell yet recorded three double-figure pike weighing 19lb 12oz, 12lb 8oz and 13lb 12oz. He took all his fish on ledgered sardines. Both mirror and common carp were being regularly caught throughout the week with tuiti-fruity pellets proving to be a good choice of bait.

:: 22.10.09

Willy bags his second 30!

High pressure throughout the past week has dramatically slowed sport with anglers often having to fish long and hard for the odd fish. Willy Woodfield managed to get a single run on his latest session at Gingerbread Lake but that was enough for him to chalk up his second carp over 30lbs this season, a 31lb 2oz mirror. Another angler caught a couple of large bream and tench whilst fishing in the factory bay.

Despite the disturbance caused by the nearby bridge maintenance, some good fish have been caught by anglers fishing at the Links Pool. Dave Sappianno reported catching a 21lb common carp as well as some stockies whilst several big carp have been lost in the lily pads.

The odd good carp is still being caught from New Road Lake but the fish seem to go off the feed when too many anglers are present. Alan Wilkie was getting no action until he spotted a couple of fish break the surface. He cast his baits to where they had risen and, within half an hour, he had a take which resulted in him catching a superbly-conditioned 18lb mirror carp. Reports have been received of one the club’s polish members landing a near 20lb pike too.

Richard Griffin just cannot stop catching at McGregor Lake where, on his latest visit, he landed seven mirror carp between 5 and 15lbs and a huge 8lb 8oz tench. Richard also managed to land an 18lb 8oz pike that grabbed his boily when he was retrieving it from a missed run! Ian Murphy reported catching two super fish, a 16lb 8oz mirror carp and a whopping bream weighing 10lb 2oz. Many anglers reported catching the odd stocky mirror but generally sport was patchy.

:: 10.10.09

Big boys put on daily displays!

Throughout much of the past week, anglers fishing at Gingerbread Lake have been observing many of the lake’s big carp leaping clear of the water but still proving difficult to catch. One angler who seems to be on a run at the moment though is Willy Woodfield who caught a big common weighing over 27lbs on his latest visit. Willy tries to spot carp activity when cjosing his swim and will move if signs of action appear elsewhere. This tactic has enabled him to amass a formidable list of big carp in recent weeks including the cut-tail common at 28lb 1oz and mirrors to 29lb 11oz all caught using his home made baits. Jarrald Cooper is another angler enjoying a great first season and recently catching two mirrors weighing 28lb 12oz and 27lb 15oz using Squid 2-T baits. Work still continues on renovating the bridge so few anglers have ventured on to the Links Pool while this work is in progress.

Reports of some good carp being caught from New Road Lake have been received with fish to, at least, 17lbs. Alan wilkie was desperately unlucky to lose a heavy fish which he had seen jumping earlier in the day. He cast a bait in the direction of the leaping fish and soon was striking into a good run. He played the fish for two or more minutes before the hook became dislodged and the fish regained its freedom.

Colin Webb fished dead baits at McGregor Lake and found the lake’s pike to be on the feed taking three fish to 15lbs. Richard Griffin was pleased with a recent haul of carp catching six fish in the 8-10lb region. Richard was intrigued by some big fish he spotted close to the long island but could not get a bait to where they were feeding. It is likely that these mystery fish are big carp that entered this new lake during a flood some years ago. Some of the smaller carp are exhibiting signs of damage caused by cormorants for which the club is applying for a licence to control these unwelcome visitors.

:: 03.10.09

An autumn 30 for Duncan!

There have been signs of carp shoaling up in recent weeks resulting in patchy sport for many anglers and multiple catches for others. Floating leaves and drifting submerged weed were both adding to anglers’ problems too. However, Duncan Burge had a cracking session at Gingerbread Lake using Magnum Baits’ Seafruits boilies as bait. During his latest visit, Duncan caught common carp of 17lbs and 21lbs and a 30lb 4oz mirror. Also, he was unlucky to lose another big fish just as he was packing up. Wesley Hayden was well pleased to catch a 29lb 11oz mirror fishing in the factory bay the previous week. Fisheries officer, Martin Crouch, got amongst the carp too landing fish of 18lbs and 27lbs using Mistral Baits’ Liv-R boilies.

Ralph Williamson returned to New Road Lake with his target of catching the first 30 from the lake. He got off to a good start on his campaign by catching three double-figured mirrors up to 18lbs and a 24lb 8oz common using his ‘Autumn Mix’ version of his home made boilies

Sport has remained pretty constant at McGregor Lake throughout the week with plenty of single-figured carp being caught as well as sizeable bream in the 4-6lb range. Float-fishing was accounting for good bags of silver fish including some small carp.

:: 26.09.09

Mick gets his dream fish!

For much of the season, Mick Lomas had experimented with a popular bait but found that he was being plagued by tench that were not his intended quarry. In frustration, Mick returned to using an old favourite bait of his, scopex squid liver and he finally caught the fish he had been after for seasons. It was Gingerbread Lake’s much sought after ‘Cluster’ that snapped up his bait during an overnight session and the fish nudged his scales to over 39lbs. The fish was in super condition and could be nudging 40lbs by the winter.WillyWoolfield is another angler who believes in doing his own thing. Willy has enjoyed some cracking sport in recent months using his own homemade boilies and, on his latest session, he landed six carp, four of which were over 20lbs. Willy’s fish were a 24lb 12oz common and mirrors of 25lb 14oz, 27lb 9oz and 29lb 11oz plus two singles. He spotted carp around the weed beds and fished his baits amongst them along with a helping of freebies that he kept topping up. Nearly all his fish came during the hours of darkness which was to be expected during the recent spell of sunny weather. Please note that over the next fortnight repair work will be carried out on the A428 bridge between Gingerbread and the Links Pool. Anglers are asked not to impede the workman by leaving their vehicles where they might obstruct this essential work.

Sport at McGregor Lake has been affected by the bright conditions but method feeding with scopex squid liver boilies has been doing the business. Anglers using these tactics have accounted for plenty of single-figured carp plus the odd double and plenty of sizable bream that are in tip-top condition. A new member, Garry Page, fished the lake for only the second time but had a great day catching a 14lb mirror carp after losing two others, a 7lb tench and bream weighing 6lb 8oz and 7lb 4oz using plum and tuity fruity flavoured boilies as bait.

:: 21.09.09

Spud tames the Creature!

The mysterious fish spotted by anglers in the Links Pool has finally slipped up and is a mystery no more! John Murphy had fished well into the afternoon and he had not had a single bite although he had seen clouds of feeder bubbles periodically appearing near to his baited area. He was talking to bailiff Colin Burge and joking about catching the Creature when his alarm suddenly sounded a run. John struck and the fish immediately dived into dense lily pads and became stuck. However, it soon began to move and gave a rather disappointing fight thereafter and was soon in John’s landing net. Colin immediately recognized the fish by a row of prominent scales along its back. It was weighed and registered 32lb 12oz which was impressive for a lean fish. John was using Carp Company's Icelandic Red boily but sparingly. Earlier in the week, Mark Bailey had landed another thirty, ‘Bobby’s fish’ at 30lb 4oz. Both fish must have being living for years in the Pool receiving little or no attention from anglers. On his last visit, Mark caught another four carp but only to about 12lbs.

Alan Wilkie fished a day session at New Road Lake using both pop-ups and bottom baits cast to a clear patch of gravel close to the bank. After a slow start, Alan went on to catch five carp to 20lb 2oz plus a 10lb 2oz bream while other anglers all blanked. Paul Dixon bought himself a night permit and was well pleased with his first visit to this intimate venue catching a large eel and a 10lb 7oz bream.

Some good catches were being made at McGregor Lake too where anglers method feeding was accounting for stockie carp and some good-sized bream. Float fishermen reported similar success along with plenty of small silver fish. The fish seemed willing to accept a variety of baits. It was more a case of choosing the right swim for the conditions.

Willy Woolfield was at it again on his most recent visit to Gingerbread Lake. Using his own homemade boilies, Willy caught the sought after ‘Cut-tail’ common weighing 28lb 1oz and a 20lb 10oz mirror plus a small carp. Willy chose a swim where he had seen anglers piling in bait earlier in the week – they had blanked! Chris Tyrell fished the 20/20 swim using his own boilies rolled from a CC Moore’s base mix. A run late in the afternoon was enough for him to catch a beautifully conditioned 26lb common. During the following night he hooked a much larger fish that powered off into the lake but managed to shed the hook.

As autumn approaches, anglers should think about reducing the amount of spod and freebies they are using as over baiting can render swims fishless for days afterwards and also can lead to fish spooking.

:: 13.09.09

Rob wins his battle with big Bobby!

Rob Aston decided to try his luck fishing at the Links Pool armed with a tench rod, 8lb b.s. line and a size 12 hook. Little did Rob know that he was soon to experience a tremendous scrap with one of the Pool’s big carp. He skillfully played the fish and was finally able to net it. It turned out to be a whopping 31lb mirror that Rob has decided to call ‘Bobby's Fish’. A single run was all John Murphy experienced but that was enough for him to chalk up another big carp, this time a 20lb 2oz mirror that picked up his Icelandic Red boily cast close to a large bed of lilies. Mark Bailey fished overnight but found he was getting plagued with runs from small stockie carp but he decided to fish on later the next day and was rewarded by the capture of another 30lb carp from this increasingly popular venue. Another member reported catching a super 8lb tench fishing in the bay adjacent to the golf links.

Alan Wilkie fished an overnight session at New Road Lake after struggling to get any action during a previous daytime visit. Alan was well pleased with the result when he went on to land no fewer than six carp including mirrors weighing 15lb 14oz, 16lb 12oz and 17lb 2oz...Some of the lake’s big bream have been seen rolling on the surface indicating that they will soon be feeding in earnest too.

A new member, Grant Mead, opted to fish at McGregor Lake and was soon netting a nice 14lb carp but then he hooked a much larger fish that had his clutch screaming as it made for the middle of the lake. Although Grant was able to turn the fish, he was unlucky to lose it when it gained sanctuary in the marginal rushes.

Willy Woolfield’s latest session at Gingerbread Lake saw him landing a 25lb 12oz mirror and a small carp which both took a liking to his home made boilies. Wesley Hayden had a similar result but this time his baits used were Sticky Baits boilies. Lake regular John Course caught a couple of good-sized carp around the 20lb mark and Jarrald Cooper had a couple of commons around the 14lb mark on their latest visits. Squid 2-T was their chosen bait.

A report has been received of a member catching bream from the Association’s stretch of the River Ouse at Priory Farm, Harrold weighing up to and over 11lbs. Now that’s some river bream!

:: 06.09.09

Stripies on the move!

Whilst the majority of anglers are ensconced by the still waters, Fraser Hayden decided to try his luck on the rivers. He used float-fished lobworms for bait at School Meadow, Tempsford on the River Ouse where he found big perch to be in an aggressive feeding mode. Fraser went on to catch four fish weighing up to 2lb 4oz and spotted some larger specimens which he is keen to try for on a return visit.

Most anglers fishing at the Links Pool have found carp to be feeding actively with the best reported fish this week being a 19lb common carp caught by Lee Pybus. The fish seem to willing to feed on most baits so anglers can try a variety of baits with confidence. Also, another angler landed a super 8lb tench from this increasingly popular venue. Members are reminded that fishing is not permitted from the golf course side and anyone caught flouting this rule will be strongly dealt with.

At least three different twenties have been caught at New Road Lake in the past week. . A new member, Roger Purkiss landed a 29lb 8oz mirror and Ken Smith caught qanother weighing 28lb 12oz. Matthew Parry caught the third, a beautifully conditioned 23lb 8oz common carp. Several large doubles were landed during the week demonstrating that the fish are starting to get their heads down at last.

Neil Sampson took his son Jake with him for a day at McGregor Lake where they had no fewer than 26 runs landing seven carp. Steve Cook had a night on the same venue and was experiencing so many runs that he decided to wind his baits in for the night. The next day he soon landed a couple more carp but then the bites switched off completely leaving him kicking himself! As well as carp-, anglers also reported taking some good bream and tench whilst float anglers were enjoying plenty of sport from mainly small silver fish.

Strong winds during the week saw carp crashing out at Gingerbread Lake sand their progress could be followed as a large group moved across the lake to feed on the windward side. Martin Knibbs chose the right swim for the conditions and caught a 24lb common and 20lb mirror but then had to leave for wok. Dave Hallybone took over the swim from where he landed another three 20s and an 8lb tench. Also, Dave dropped another mid 20 at the net. Stephen Gale landed a 21lb common and Steve Slater had a 25lb mirror and a 20lb common using his Squid 2-T baits. Steve said that big roach were now starting get caught by picking up baits intended for carp as sport from tench starts to diminish. The much sought after common known as ‘Cut-tail’ was reportedly caught too weighing 27lb by an angler fishing from the road bank.

:: 30.08.09

Stunning catches by two new members!

A new member, Mervin Watts from nearby Paxton on only his third visit to the Links Pool caught a 20lb+ mirror carp. The astonishing thing was he was fishing with maggots and managed to land the fish using a quiver rod using only light line on this densely weeded water. Other anglers reported landing some of the recently stocked carp which have brought this venue to life this season.

Polish member, Michal Tyburczy has caught another big carp whilst fishing at New Road Lake. This time he could not quite crack the 20lb barrier but was well pleased with his 19lb mirror. Another new member, Russell Clarke was naturally over the moon when he banked a huge 11lb+ bream on his very first visit to the venue. Lake regular John Murphy followed suit by landing an 11lb 1oz bream during a daytime visit. All these big bream are in superb condition and, at times, fight like sizeable carp. Stephen Gale, a lake regular for many years, was well pleased with his catch of two carp over the 20lb mark on a recent trip.

The much sought after mirror carp named ‘Cluster’ put in another appearance at Gingerbread Lake. The lucky angler was Jarrold Cooper who could it weighing 36lb 4oz. Jarrald is enjoying a great first season on the venue using Squid 2-T baits. It was that man Russell Clarke who was at it again! This time Russell was enjoying catching small rudd and roach using float-fished maggots until one of his fish was grabbed by something a lot heavier. Fishing on only a size 18 barbless hook and 3lb b.s. line, Russell still managed to bank the predator which turned out to be a whopping 15lb pike.

Mike Hames took a guest with him to McGregor Lake for a day’s fishing together and the pair were not disappointed. Mike had no fewer than 8 screaming runs and managed to connect with some catching carp and a sizeable tench. His companion John who has only recently returned to fishing caught fish steadily throughout the day on float tackle and even managed to get smashed up by a carp during the day. A return trip is being eagerly planned although John now lives in France!

:: 23.08.09

Big commons on the feed!

Fishing tight to a weed bed in the factory bay at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake, a new member called Rob caught two big common carp weighing 30lb 10oz and 20lbs using Apocalypse boilies as hook baits. Andrew Stapleton reported catching another big common, this time a 24lb 8oz specimen on a homemade boily. Jarrald Cooper landed a 25lb mirror on his latest session; the successful bait on this occasion was Squid 2-T. Another new member, Mark Arnold caught an 18lb mirror carp. Bailiff Steve Slater took his daughter Chloe with him and she opened made a lot of experienced anglers envious by catching a huge 9lb 2oz tench. A number of session anglers have continued to report multiple catches of tench with fish to over 7lbs. Day angler Paul Saunders was well pleased to catch a 7lb 8oz tench using OCM boilies. The fish was a new pb for him. On the bailiffing front, Colin Burge will be taking on bailiff duties throughout the week but there is no truth in the rumour that he carries a sword stick with him!

It has been confirmed that the second 31lb plus carp to be caught from Links Pool was not ‘Trio’ but a previously uncaught specimen. This water is fishing as good as any of the club’s waters with Kevin Webb catching another nice common, a 15lb 12oz fish which took a Nash boily fished in conjunction with a scattering of Destiny Baits’ boilies.

Polish member, Michal Tyburczy proved that you do not have to fill the lake in to catch carp. Michal has been using single hook baits at New Road Lake and on a recent visit caught mirror carp of 25lbs and 22lbs. Fisheries officer Martin Crouch was pleased to land a hard fighting 25lb 7oz mirror carp. Martin is convinced that some of these twenties are fished stocked by the club over the last four years weighing no more than 5lbs each when stocked. Another member reported catching a 10lb 8oz bream during an overnight session.

Fishing at McGregor Lake has been great in recent weeks with many anglers reporting catching carp to low doubles along with good-sized bream and tench. It is a great water for float-fishing too with maggots being greedily taken by silver fish.

:: 18.08.09

Big fish catches from still water venues!

A home made, fruit flavoured boily accounted for another of Gingerbread Lake’s big carp during the past week. William Woolfield chose a swim in the factory bay for his latest session but for much of the first afternoon he had to endure heavy showers. However, a run in the evening resulted in him catching a super 38lb mirror carp. Earlier in the week, Paul Saunders fished the same swim from where he caught another big carp, this time a 29lb 8oz mirror carp that picked up his ‘Tails Up’ OCM boily. Paul went on to catch a big bream later on in the day. John Course caught carp weighing 24lb 8oz and 15lb and Steve Sewell landed a 27lb mirror using Squid 2-T baits. Steve Slater reported catching carp of 19lbs and 11lbs plus a haul of nine tench. Steve Cook fished during the day with his father Richard ‘the Blank’ so-called because of his lack of success in catching fish! Steve used a 15mm honey boily fished in the margins over a small bed of pellet and broken up freebies and was well pleased to catch a 7lb 8oz tench on his first visit. Richard broke his duck too by landing another tench weighing 4lb 1oz.

Reports have filtered through of a 31lb mirror carp being caught from Links Pool by a member. The fish is probably the fish recently caught by Mark Bailey which he named ‘Trio’ attributable to three prominent scales. Kevin Webb had a super day’s sport on the water too catching common carp weighing 25lb 8oz and 15lbs plus two big bream both well over 8lbs. Kevin fished with Nash boilies over a small bed of freebies introduced alongside a bed of rushes. All of Kevin’s fish were caught during the daytime. A disturbing report has been received though of two swims being illegally cut out in the spinney next to the golf course. Fishing is strictly prohibited from this bank and, if the culprits are caught, they may face prosecution for fish attempted theft. Any members observing such behaviour are asked to ring the Environment Agency’s emergency hotline immediately.

New member Matt Parry opened his account at New Road Lake by catching a 24lb 12oz mirror carp. Matt fished overnight using ‘Mistral’ Liv-R boilies fished over a liberal helping of freebies. Plenty of big fish have been spotted on the move at this venue in recent weeks but they have proven to be quite difficult to catch.

Many anglers fishing at McGregor Lake have reported that it has been almost a case of a fish a chuck particularly when float-fishing with maggots or pellet. The fish caught include small perch, roach, bream, rudd and hybrids along with the odd stocky carp. However, regular visitor Richard Griffin proved that this lake has far more to offer than just small fish as on a recent trip he caught four carp between 8 and 10lbs plus a big mirror weighing 22lbs. Richard lost another four fish during the day that came off en route to the net.

The Association is applying for a license to cull a small number of cormorants that are constantly depleting fish stocks throughout the year and would ask all members to supply the membership secretary with details of any cormorant feeding activity in the coming weeks and/or photographs of damage inflicted by these alien birds. This information will help to support our application.

:: 09.08.09

Bertie slips up in torrential rain!

Environment Agency officer, Neil Sampson, fished the River Ivel in torrential rain and was rewarded by catching one of the river’s sought after barbel, a fish affectionately known as Bertie that weighed in at an impressive 14lb 6oz.

Colin ‘the worm’ Burge has caught another of Gingerbread Lake’s residents, a 34lb mirror carp. Colin used his own homemade boilies to tempt the fish believing that ‘fresh is best’. Mike Lomas was on hand to witness the capture and to help Colin weigh the fish. Mike caught a 22lb 12oz mirror carp himself after being plagued by tench on previous sessions. Mike caught his fish on Squid 2-T boilies as did Steve Sewell who caught a 21lb mirror. Garran Beevor landed a super looking 27lb mirror carp using Magnum Baits’ boilies and several other anglers caught some good tench and carp to 20lbs during the week.

John Murphy took his grandson Tom with him to McGregor Lake and enjoyed a great day’s sport catching bream, tench and carp throughout the day. John said the pair had eight screaming runs during their visit but only managed to connect with four. Their best fish was a 6lb tench.

:: 31.07.09

Is it the Creature?

Mark Bailey had a hectic overnight session fishing at the Links Pool catching no fewer than 17 carp and giving him little rest. All but one of the fish were carp recently stocked into the water plus an odd bream. The exception was a colossal 31lb 12oz mirror carp that towed Mark’s line up and down the Pool for what seemed an eternity. The fish was easily recognizable by three large scales along the lateral line and Mark suggested it be nicknamed ‘Trio’ but wondered if it might be the elusive ‘Creature’. Colin Burge was adamant though that the fish which he and others spotted was much larger. Colin has been enjoying some great sport fishing at the Links Pool landing numerous stockies and tench. He has hooked some much larger fish too which have managed to get free before netting.

A number of big carp have been landed by members fishing at Gingerbread Lake. Martin Knibbs fished the ‘Pylon’ swim but found he was being plagued by tench so moved to another part of the lake from where he caught a 25lb mirror carp. Mark Ryder also found tench to be feeding avidly when he fished the pylon swim later in the week. Dave Hallybone fished a swim near the bridge landing a 23lb carp. Anthony Pogmore had the perfect birthday present when he caught a 22lb linear mirror using midi boilies fished with a small PVE bag of freebies. ‘Rob’ caught two carp fishing from the factory bay spinney weighing 20lbs and 28lbs. Jarrald Cooper caught a 29lb 13oz specimen plus an 11 pounder using Innovate Baits’ Squid 2-T. Several other anglers reported catching multiple bags of tench whilst fishing overnight for carp.

Martin Crouch reported catching a 12lb bream fishing overnight at New Road Lake where many anglers have found the big carp to have gone AWOL in recent weeks! It is hoped that cooling conditions may bring them back on the feed with a vengeance.

The series of evening matches held at McGregor Lake have been producing weights up to 30lbs for the winners with carp, tench, bream and silver fish all featuring in catches. A pleasure angler reported catching a 9lb bream during the week as the lake continues to produce some really nice specimens.

:: 25.07.09

Another stunning capture from New Road Lake!

Environment Agency officer Alex Malcolm landed a superbly-conditioned 23lb 8oz common carp on a recent visit to New Road Lake, a venue which is proving a hard nut to crack for many anglers. Several double-figured carp were reported during the week up to 18lbs plus the odd bream to nearly 10lbs.

Richard Griffin enjoyed a great day’s sport at McGregor Lake catching carp to 15lbs as well as a near 8lb tench. Richard was desperately unlucky to lose a big bream the came off as he was about to net it. Matthew Presland was well pleased to land a super 7lb 1oz bream on his first visit to the lake. Winston Pogmore was surprised to land a double-figured pike that took his luncheon meat hook bait on a recent visit. Sport is really starting to pick up at this venue with fish falling to all methods.

Colin Burge and Mark Bailey both experienced some hectic action from some of the new carp recently stocked into the Links Pool. Colin reported catching fish up to 8lbs and he said that they all fought really hard.

Plenty of good-sized tench to around 8lbs were being caught at Gingerbread Lake with many fish feeding avidly at night taking boilies intended for carp. Dave Clark and Dennis Smith were two anglers who enjoyed some tremendous sport from roach and rudd up to the 1lb mark fishing in the factory bay. Dave pole fished in the factory spinney and said he was taking a few practically every cast throughout the day. Dennis started off catching some good-sized perch on worms but then switched to sweetcorn which brought the red fins on the feed. Anthony Pearson has been trialing a new Innovate Bait called Apocalypse on which he caught carp weighing 19lb, 19lb 4oz and 22lb 4oz. Earlier, Anthony had taken two big eels and a bream at the same venue. Steve Slater was gutted to lose an upper 30 at the net particularly as it was a fish he had been hoping to catch for some time. Steve went on to catch a low 20 and tench to nearly 8lbs. A new member Rob made a great start catching two carp to 21lbs plus several tench to 8lbs using the popular Squid 2-T bait.

A report has been received that someone has been strimming the vegetation at The Riddy. This work was not authorized by the angling club or by any of the officials who manage this nature reserve. The culprit(s) face criminal prosecution as well as cancellation of fishing permit(s) if caught. It is vital that the habitat is left undisturbed for the water voles and other animals that live there.

:: 18.07.09

Kevin cannot stop catching twenties!

It was BHAA’s developing big fish water, New Road Lake, which has grabbed the headlines this week. Kevin Webb only seems to be able to catch 20lb plus carp from the lake and his latest capture confirms this, a super mirror carp weighing 28lb 8oz. Kevin caught his fish at range on a simple rig and it was his only bite of the day. Michal Tyburczy was another angler to break the 20lb barrier when he landed a 27lb 6oz mirror carp from the same venue. Earlier in the week, Alan Wilkie caught a 16lb 13oz mirror and a big 9lb 4oz bream.

Lewis Feneley reported catching a 30lb mirror on a recent trip to GingerbreadLake and Mick Usher returned to catch a 22lb common carp on an overnight session. Tench have featured more in anglers’ catches recently than the lake’s carp which have been seen spawning again for the second time this year.Martin Knibbs has been enjoying some great sport with the lake’s tench taking 15 good-sized fish to nearly 8lbs plus an eel on his last two trips

:: 12.07.09

Dave is over the moon!

Dave Hallybone has landed one of Gingerbread Lake’s most sought after residents, the mirror carp known as Moon Scale. Dave was fishing overnight in a weedy part of the lake when at 2am his alarm sounded. It turned out to be the big mirror that had taken his bait and the fish weighed in at an impressive 37lb 6oz. Wesley Hayden was another angler to taste success when he caught a 26lb 2oz mirror carp which took his Sticky Baits bloodworm boily. Despite these captures, the lake has been fishing extremely hard at the moment with many anglers blanking or landing only the occasional tench. However, anglers float-fishing have been experiencing some great catches of silver fish with roach, rudd and even dace being caught throughout the day on maggots. There also appears to be an almost endless supply of small perch keen to grab any worms that are put in their paths.

It has again been sport from silver fish that have been filling anglers’ nets at McGregor Lake with only a few carp being caught.

Anglers fishing the margins at New Road Lake have enjoyed some success with Ken Smith catching a 20lb 3oz mirror and two 14 pounders on an earlier visit. John Murphy continued to tempt another carp into feeding, this time it was a 16lb 3oz mirror that John was convinced was a much bigger fish from the way it fought

Ken’s fishing companion, Chris Tyrell, was well pleased to catch one of the Links Pool’s larger residents when he caught a 20lb common carp during a recent trip. Fraser Hayden fished with maggots and caught plenty of small carp up to 8lbs but suffered being smashed up a couple of times by bigger fish.

:: 05.07.09

Mick lands a trio of big tench!

Mick Wilmot is yet another angler to land an outstanding catch of tench from BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake in recent weeks. Mick targeted his fish using three maggots as hook baits and went on to catch three tench including fish of 6lbs, 7lbs and a huge 10lb specimen. Ron Kaye brought his friend Keith Kerr with him on a guest permit and Keith was not disappointed for he ended breaking his personal best three times during the day with two 6.5lb tench and another weighing 8lb 8oz. Ron dragged his swim and baited it with chopped worm and other goodies. He was soon catching perch after perch on worm followed by the occasional roach and rudd. Later in the day, the small fish went off the feed heralding the arrival of bigger fish and Ron caught a 5lb 8oz tench to complete a memorable visit on one of the hottest day’s of the year. Reports of three 30lb+ carp being caught over a weekend have been received including a 30lb 10oz mirror by Jon Course. Jon caught a 22lb common too with both fish falling to Innovate Squid 2-T baits. Martin Knibbs caught two commons, the best weighing over 20lbs fishing in the Dugout swim. Several anglers reported catching double-figured carp showing that the carp in the lake are breeding and maintaining there numbers. Plenty of good-sized roach were being taken on float and small perch were greedily feeding on worms in many swims.

Anglers fishing at McGregor Lake reported plenty of action from silver fish boosted by the odd single-figured carp despite the very high daytime temperatures.

Both Alan Wilkie and John Murphy fished at New Road Lake from early morning when the fish seemed to be more interested in feeding. Alan caught a whopping bream weighing 10lb 7oz and John a 13lb mirror carp that scrapped like a fish twice its size.

Some of the small carp stocked into the Links Pool have found their way into anglers’ nets but the very large mirror carp now nicknamed ‘the Creature’ has, so far, evaded capture.

:: 28.06.09

What now? Ninja turtles!

New member, Chris Horne , has won the prize for the most unusual capture of the season when he landed “Terry”, the giant terrapin who resides at BHAA’s New Road Lake. Oh, by the way, the successful bait was a bunch of maggots! “Terry” is a very reclusive creature and this is the first time he has slipped up.

Lake regular Colin Burge has been enjoying a rich vein of success at Gingerbread Lake and has recently caught a 22lb 3oz mirror and a whopping tench weighing 11lb 2oz. Both fish fell to Colin’s home made boilies fished tight to an overhanging tree. Keen tench anglers Mike Ralston and Anthony Galloway have had some great catches of tench from the lake this year but Mike caught a super 10lb 12oz bream and a 15lb carp on one of the pair’s recent trips. Steve Slater of Innovate Baits caught a 24lb 8oz mirror carp at the weekend and new member Jarrald Cooper got off the mark with a 19lb 8oz common.

Dave Clark paid a return visit to McGregor Lake and hit the jackpot when he landed no fewer than 20 bream weighing up to 8lb 4oz for a combined weight of around 100lbs. A few days later Dave fished the whole day without landing a single fish! Dave’s successful tactic was to fish boilies or corn in conjunction with a small method feeder.

Fraser Hayden pre-baited a swim on School Meadow at Tempsford at the start of the new season but was disappointed to catch only a couple of bream around the 6lb mark.

Unfortunately, it has been necessary to put up a warning notice at Gingerbread Lake following reports that certain anglers have been using the vicinity of swims for toilet purposes. If the culprits are found, they will risk expulsion from the Association.

:: 21.06.09

Three thirties for Steve!

Good-sized carp have continued to show in BHAA’s Links Pool but have shown little interest in anglers’ baits although a good fish was lost during the week.

The start of the new season at Gingerbread Lake has proven to be a bit of a damp squib wityh no reports of any carp being caught and only the odd tench and bream. In previous weeks, Steve Slater of Innovate Baits has caught a trio of big carp by landing ‘Cluster’ at a new high weight of 39lb 5oz and two previously unknown thirties weighing 31lbs and 30lb 4oz. Steve said that all his fish fell to Squid 2-T baits. Kevin Webb caught a super 8lb 8z tench using a single sweet-flavoured boily. The big framed fish could have weighed more but was lacking in length. It was Kevin’s second tench over 8lbs from the lake this season.

Lee Pybus reported catching a 29lb 14oz mirror carp recently from New Road Lake, Sandy although the water is starting to be a difficult nut to crack for many anglers as the fish become increasingly wary of anglers’ baits.

Dave Clark paid a visit to McGregor Lake and was well pleased with a mixed bag of around six carp, two good-sized bream and a 6lb tench. Dave said that the action was constant throughout the day.

:: 14.06.09

King Ralph regains his crown!

A near 28lb mirror carp has been caught from BHAA’s Links Pool confirming the potential of this almost forgotten water. Also, several anglers have reported spotting a much larger fish that seems to swim alone and will be a challenge to catch as the lily beds start to thicken providing it sanctuary.

A truly magnificent haul of carp was made by Ralph Williamson when he tried out his new homemade boilies at Gingerbread Lake. His catch comprised of mirrors weighing 33lb 6oz, 24lb 8oz, 20lb 8oz and 17lb 8oz and common carp of 31lb 12oz, 18lb and 13lb. Ralph returned to the lake a week later to catch two more commons weighing 25lb 4oz and 21lb, the latter being caught on a floater. Steve Slater of Innovate Baits reported landing a 25lb 8oz large-scaled mirror carp and Anthony Pearson lost another big carp. Mark Harris reported losing a big carp too on his first visit to the lake but managed to catch a double-figure bream and a 9lb tench on the day. Several other anglers caught 9lb+ bream on boilies intended for carp. Some Polish members have also been enjoying some great sport with Cezary Zaremba catching a 30lb mirror carp, Slawek Figura landing a super 8lb tench and his friend Grzegorc Zietar catching two more huge tench weighing 8lbs and 9lb 8oz.

An increasing number of 20lb carp are being caught from New Road Lake, Sandy and this week it was the club’s fisheries officer, Martin Crouch, who was to catch a 23lb mirror carp. Mike Hames had to strip off and go in after a 14lb mirror carp he hooked became entangled in marginal reeds. Eventually, the fish was netted and returned to the lake to fight another day

Night fishing permits for the 2009/10 season for Gingerbread Lake have already been fully taken up and a growing waiting list for 2010/11 started. Persons wishing to secure a permit for next season are encouraged to register their interest with the club’s membership secretary. Please note though that preference will be given to existing club members in the allocation of next season’s permits. A few night fishing permits are still available for 2009/10 for the Sandy Lakes complex which also allows holders to fish the Links Pool at Wyboston

The Club has recently arranged a limited Match Fishing programme with both mid-week and Sunday matches being arranged initially to be fished on McGregor Lake. Evening matches will be held on Thursdays on June 25, July and July 9. Anyone interested in participating should meet at the lake at 5pm. The matches will be fished from 6pm until 9pm. Sunday fixtures have been arranged for June 28 and July 26 with an 8.30am draw and fishing from 10am until 3pm. It is planned to extend the programme throughout the autumn and winter utilizing some of the Association’s river stretches

Members will be pleased to learn that the Association has recently entered into new leases for the fishing rights to the Riddy nature reserve at Sandy, Manor Farm at Lavendon and Priory Farm, Harrold.

:: 07.06.09

We are back!!!

Sorry there was no report last week but the reporter has been taking a long overdue holiday! We are back now so enjoy the read:-

Bob Kitchener recently fished an overnight session at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake and ended up catching two 30lb plus carp and another weighing 19lb 8oz. Alan Wilkie also fished overnight catching a 23lb mirror carp and a 3lb 8oz eel. Steve Slater of Innovate Baits had another big hit landing carp of 31lbs, 27lbs, 24lbs and 18lb 8oz whilst Jon Course caught four carp all over 20lbs using the same baits. A new member was pleased with his haul of tench weighing 6lbs, 7lbs and another weighing over 10lbs. A number of anglers have reported seeing groups of smallish carp cruising the surface in the hot weather. These fish, mainly doubles weighing up to 20lbs, are fish that have grown from spawn in the lake and are not part of the recent club stockings made into the adjacent Links Pool.

Adam Savage of Walker’s Pitch has enjoyed some great sport fishing at New Road Lake, Sandy from where he has taken carp weighing 28lbs, a new pb for him, 23lbs and two 13 pounders. The big bream in this lake continue to feed avidly too with John Murphy catching specimens weighing 10lbs 2oz, 10lb 9oz, 9lb 2oz and a mirror carp of 14lb 6oz. Alan Wilkie has continued with his rich run of catches by landing 3 bream over 9lbs and another over 10lbs plus two carp of 13lbs each..

Anglers are now starting to try for carp and other specimen fish in Links Pool but have found the fish hard to catch and easily spooked. It may well be that the carp have gone back to feeding on natural food and it will take a more frequent input of anglers’ baits to wean them away from their natural diet.

The Club recently introduced another 400 plus carp into McGregor Lake but the water seems to be fishing rather hard at the moment. Again, an abundance of natural food may be a contributory cause as the lake now holds over 1000 carp.

:: 21.05.09

Big bream, tench and carp continue to feed

There were plenty of good-sized fish being caught throughout the daytime hours at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. Alan Wilkie caught another big tench, this time an 8lb specimen and Fraser Hayden landed his second seven pounder in two visits. Several other anglers reported catching tench to nearly 9lbs from various parts of the lake. Kevin Webb caught bream weighing 9lb 8oz and 8lb 2oz whilst fishing off the promentory near the factory bay. Winston Pogmore was pleased to catch a 9lb 4oz bream on worms after being pestered by small perch in the early part of the day. Another angler caught some nice roach and rudd at the rate of a fish nearly every cast when fishing from the spinney in the factory bay. A Polish member landed a whopping 29lb mirror carp fishing overnight in two-bar bay and Ralph Williamson had totted up three more large carp midway through his latest session. Simon Carr of Walker’s Pitch spotted some large carp cruising about in a small bay. He fished close to the margins and, despite being disturbed by anglers keen to know what he had caught, he finally tempted one of the fish into feeding, a 24lb mirror carp

Some good reports of catches have been filtering through from New Road Lake at Sandy with big bream and carp being caught. John Murphy caught bream weighing 10lb 1oz and 9lbs on his latest visit and a 15lb common carp earlier in the week. He witnessed some other anglers banking a large carp which looked well over 20lbs and others catching carp to double figures.

Some of the recently-introduced carp into the Links Pool have been spotted cruising the margins but, as yet, few anglers seem prepared to fish for them or their bigger cousins. The Pool now holds an estimated 200 carp with the chance to catch Koi, Ghosts, Mirrors or Commons all of which have been spotted.

:: 16.05.09

Huge carp at tench catches!

The list of big fish caught at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake shows that the lake is back to its brilliant best with some truly spectacular fish catches. Alan Wilkie reported a three fish haul of tench weighing 7lb 9oz, 9lb 15oz and a colossal 10lb 11oz. Alan used an inline feeder in conjunction with Destiny Baits’ mini boilies. Several other anglers caught tench to over 9lbs and bream to well over 10lbs during the week too. A guest to the lake, Dave Gash, caught an 8lb 12oz tench to make it a memorable first visit. Ralph Williamson has made some spectacular catches over the last month with mirror carp weighing 38lbs and 33lb 12oz and a common carp of 31lb 8oz. In addition, Ralph has caught a further 10 carp weighing between 17lb 8oz and 27lb 8oz.. Ralph catches all his fish on his homemade boilies. Paul Wilkinson of Dynamite Baits caught a 31lb mirror using a fresh fish boily to tempt the fish. Colin Burge was at it again, this time he landed another big carp weighing 34lb 7oz using a Tails-up boily plus a tench around the 5lb mark caught on lobworm. Laurie Bowden from Ouse Specialist Angling Supplies just cannot stop catching landing a 31lb mirror carp plus a good-sized eel. Bob Kitchener paid his first visit to the lake since making a trip to France and was well pleased to land a 30lb 2oz mirror carp fishing from the jetty swim

:: 10.05.09

Its Tails-Up for Colin the Worm!

Some spectacular catches of fish have again been made by anglers fishing at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. Colin ‘the worm’ Burge had silver fish spawning in his swim and the activity stimulated carp into feeding. Colin’s Tails-Up boily was picked up by one of the lake’s most sought after residents, a mirror carp named ‘Moon Scale’, which he successfully landed weighing a hefty 38lbs. He was able to get the same swim on the following day and caught another big carp of 20lb 5oz and a tench of 6lb 1oz . Steve Slater of Innovate Baits caught an even bigger carp, Cluster, weighing 39lbs 4oz to add to his formidable number of captures. It was not only carp that were making the headlines for dozens of monster tench were banked too. Neil Sampson caught a cracker weighing 9lb 8oz and Mike Lomas reported catching three tench all over 9lbs plus a 10lb 3oz bream. Mick Usher had a six tench haul with fish weighing up to 8lb 2oz on his first visit to the lake this year. Anthony Pearson enjoyed a haul of five carp weighing up to 29lbs and John Murphy caught his first ever 30lb carp when he landed a 30lb 4oz mirror fishing in the factory bay. Fraser Hayden was pleased with his 7lb 11oz tench caught from another part of the lake. Other anglers reported multiple catches of tench up to the 8lb mark but, as yet, no doubles. Winston Pogmore fished the margins using worms as bait and from the off was catching perch after perch until he practically ran out of bait.

There have been some great catches of carp at New Road Lake with several 20 plus mirrors and commons caught and several big bream to over 11lbs. No reports have been received from McGregor Lake apart from Nigel Platt who has continued catching the stocked mirror carp and silver fish float-fishing in the margins. A few spaces remain unclaimed for nighht fishing permits at this fast developing venue

This week, the Association will be stocking a further 100 carp into the Links Pool at Wyboston and another 440 smaller carp into McGregor Lake to maintain the great sport being enjoyed by anglers fishing these venues

A few anglers have been reported using selfish tactics recently which, if repeated, will result in disciplinary action being taken against the offenders, namely, -

1. trying to reserve swims by placing tackle in them whilst fishing elsewhere;

2. driving at excessive speeds around the lakes;

3. casting into unoccupied swims and then moaning at anglers who later turn up to fish them;

4. allowing bait boats to cross into other anglers’ swims; and

5. trying to night fish without a permit.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

:: 02.05.09

Carp and tench galore!

Lawrie Bowden of Ouse Valley Specialist Angling had a great catch whilst fishing overnight at Gingerbread Lake landing mirror carp weighing 26lb 2oz and 25lb 6oz plus a bonus common carp around 14lbs before returning to open his shop. Lawrie was fishing a swim in the factory bay from which Simon Carr of Walker’s Pitch had taken a cracking tench of over 8lbs during the previous night. Steve Slater of Innovate Baits also found success fishing in the factory bay. He spotted some movement close to the bank and cast a bait to a small clear patch beneath an overhanging tree and within a short while it was taken by a 26lb carp that Steve was able to land. He fished on to catch another huge tench weighing 9lbs. Mark Bailey chose a quiet swim at the end of two-bar bay from which he caught five good-sized tench activity but was concerned that he might have spooked any carp in the vicinity. However, he decided to persevere and soon afterwards a magnificent common carp weighing 28lbs 5oz picked up his bait. Jon Course has been having great success using Innovate Baits’ Squid 2-T boilies catching carp of 30lb 14oz, 27lbs, 27lb 4oz and 22lb 2oz in recent visits. Paul Saunders returned to the same swim from where he had caught his first 30 the week before and followed it up by the capture of another big carp, this time a 27lb 7oz mirror carp.

Big bream and carp were being caught daily at New Road Lake with successful anglers often getting multiple bags once they have found the fish. Sport at McGregor Lake remains good too with plenty of action from carp, bream and hybrids. Richard Griffin enjoyed a four carp haul with fish to over 8lbs and then capped it by catching a whopping 8lb 11oz tench.

:: 25.04.09

Sometimes dreams really do come true!

The recent hot spell has brought with it a transformation in fortunes for anglers fishing on BHAA’s still waters. Paul Saunders was fishing at Gingerbread Lake when he spotted a group of big carp topping close to some Norfolk reeds but his only fish on the day was a nicely conditioned tench of about 4lbs. Paul remarked that his aim was one day to catch a carp over 30lbs and returned undaunted to the same swim two days later to resume his quest. Early in the afternoon, he struck into a run on his Tails-up boily bait and new immediately that he had connected with one of the lake’s big boys. Eventually, the fish was landed and recognized as being the mirror carp called ‘Cluster’ which weighed 38lb 8oz and was in super condition. Needless to say, Paul was ecstatic to have realized his dream and cannot wait to add to his tally. Steve Sewell was another angler to crack the 30lb barrier landing another beautiful mirror weighing 31lbs 4oz. In the early part of the week, nearly 100 big carp were spotted around the lake to scotch the scare stories being circulated that there were no more than 20 carp left! It was not only carp that were being caught at the lake as tench and bream were turning up in anglers’ nets too. Alan Wilkie caught two tench to 6lb 9oz and bream weighing 9lb 6oz and 11lbs. Alan was using 10ml boilies to tempt the fish into feeding. Other anglers reported catching tench to 7lb 8oz whilst fishing in the factory bay area.

A similar transformation has taken place at New Road Lake with some great catches of bream and carp being reported. John Murphy achieved a personal best when he landed a 12lb bream to add to an 8lb 10oz fish caught earlier in the day. Mick Usher’s latest visit resulted in him catching 5 carp to double figures and two bream to 11lbs. Alan Wilkie had previously caught three bream all over 10lbs, the best weighing 11lbs. Dave Bettles caught a 20lb pike on his latest visit to the lake.

Martin Crouch, the club’s fisheries officer, caught 26 carp in a day whilst fishing at McGregor Lake to produce a total weight in access of 100lbs. Martin used expander pellet fished in shallow water to tempt the fish. Also, members fishing this lake will see that the working party has provided some walk-through gaps in the fencing to improve access to swims and, at the same time, enabling them to park their cars on the firm track

Reports of carp over 20lbs being spotted in the Links Pool keep being received but, for some reason, anglers seem reluctant to fish for them. This little-fished water undoubtedly holds some surprises for anglers prepared to put the time in on it.

Finally, a plea for help from Steve Martin (01767 683216) whose little girl left two Nintendo DS games at McGregor Lake when she accompanied her dad. If anyone has found them, could they please contact Steve to arrange their return.

:: 19.04.09

Two double-figure bream in a day!

Ron Griffin joined BHAA in the depths of winter and, by his own admission, found the going tough but now the lakes are heating up he is experiencing some tremendous sport. This week saw Ron fishing at McGregor Lake where he caught several mirror carp and two colossal bream weighing 10lb 1oz and 11lb 2oz. The lake now provides some fantastic fishing for several different species and where practically every method can catch, a testament to the considerable investment in stocking that has been carried out by the club in recent years.

Robert Livock thought that he had landed his first 20lb plus pike at New Road Lake but, as he was about to weigh it, it regurgitated a sizable jack pike. Robert weighed the fish and his scales showed it to be 19lb 7oz, so near but so far! During the week, the club carried out a test netting on this lake and was astounded by the number of double-figured bream that were caught as well as the expected carp to over 20lbs. All the specimen fish were promptly returned to the water unharmed. Anglers fishing the lake also enjoyed some fantastic sport with these big bream and carp.

Gingerbread Lake has proven a difficult nut to crack in recent weeks but all that changed during the past week with some super catches. A member fishing on a dead bait in the factory bay caught a beautifully conditioned 23lb pike. Dynamite baits developer, Kevin Wilkinson, opened his account on his return to the water with a 32lb 8oz mirror carp and his brother, Paul, was desperately unlucky to lose a mid-thirty at the net. Paul said that he saw the fish which was a very dark coloured specimen which made it difficult to identify as being a common or a mirror. However, he did land three nice tench, the best weighing 8lbs. Steve Slater of Innovate Baits also made his first trip to the lake for some time and was rewarded by the capture of a 30lb 4oz mirror carp.

Night permit holders for both the Eaton Socon and Sandy complexes are reminded that the deadline for automatic renewal will expire at the end of the month. Thereafter, invitations will be extended to persons on the ever-growing waiting list. Similarly, if you want to secure a night permit for the coming season, please e-mail or telephone the membership secretary (see website for details) to avoid disappointment.

:: 12.04.09

Two for the price of one!

Lake regular Nigel Platt had the surprise of his life on his latest visit to BHAA’s popular McGregor Lake. Nigel thought that he had played and netted a good-sized carp but, when he tried to lift his landing net clear of the water, he was in for a shock as there was not one but two fish in his net. He had also netted a pike which must have followed the carp into the net! A new member, Elizabeth Freeman, enjoyed some great sport at the venue too catching, at least, six pike and a couple of carp on her first ever visit. Ron Griffin continued his recent run of success landing two large bream to 9lbs and a couple of mirror carp. Other anglers caught multiple catches of carp up to the 10lb mark.

New Road Lake has proven to be a more difficult water to crack but is now regularly producing carp to high doubles. Fraser Hayden continues to target the big bream that inhabit the water and has finally opened his account for the year with an 8lb 12oz specimen. Fraser used boilies fished over a bed of particles to catch his fish. Please note that both the Sandy lakes will be closed on the 15th and 16th of April to enable nettings of the lakes to be carried out.

Reports are filtering through of some more big carp from the club’s Gingerbread Lake with an upper 20 and a low 30 gracing the bank. Earlier in the week, there was just the odd tench showing but the milder weather seems to be finally waking the fish from their winter slumber. Members are reminded that working parties will be taking place at the lake and Links Pool on 18th and 19th April to improve several swims and repair the track. Any members who can help out will be welcome. There will be no fishing allowed whilst the work is going on.

The club was saddened to hear of the recent death of Hubert Ecott who was a keen match angler and committee member of the former Biggleswade Angling Club for many years. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

:: 05.04.09

Boilies – the new pike bait!

Yet another 20lb pike has been caught accidentally on boilies making this a now regular event on BHAA waters. This time it was a 20lb 2oz specimen caught from the Sandy lakes complex. The warmer weather suddenly brought carp on the feed at both New Road and McGregor lakes with a spate of catches reported including several mid-doubles. Also, some good-sized specimen bream have featured in anglers’ catches on McGregor Lake.

Over the past year, Sean Wright has accompanied Mark Ryder decided to fish at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where he has witnessed his friend Mark catch several carp over the thirty pound mark but with little to show for his own efforts. Sean’s patience was finally rewarded by his capture of a cracking 36lb mirror carp, a fish that has not seen the bank too often in recent years. The fish is thought to have put on a staggering 7lb in weight since last caught and becomes another member of a growing band of upper 30s in the lake. Despite Sean’s success though, the lake continues to fish really hard with few anglers wetting their nets.

During April, a test netting will be carried out at McGregor Lake so that the club is able to assess how the various species of fish are faring and a second netting will take place at New Road Lake when it is hoped to transfer any small fish caught into McGregor Lake. The respective lakes will be closed to fishing whilst the nettings take place and notices will be placed at the site to keep members informed. Also, more information will be provided on the club’s official website.

:: 29.03.09

Cut-tail caught at new highest weight

Mark Ryder decided to fish towards a bed of Norfolk reeds on his latest visit to BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake but his first cast fell short of where he wanted it to be. After a quick re-cast, he settled down for a session but, within a couple of minutes, his alarm sounded a run. He struck and soon realized that he was playing a heavy fish. It turned out to be one of the lake’s most sought after fish, a common carp known as ‘Cut-tail’ that tipped the scales at 33lbs, a new heaviest weight for the fish. The fish was quickly returned to the water to fight another day. Carp have been more active in recent days but the temporary return to colder weather has again adversely affected sport. Pike were feeding actively at the far end of the lake with several jacks being caught in quick succession.

The club held its AGM last week at Biggleswade Rugby Club where members were informed of its intention to re-stock the Links Pool with sizeable carp to improve the fishing. It was not feasible to stock with other species because of the constant threat of cormorant depredation in the locality. The only increases to subscription rates for the coming season will be Family and Adult permits that will rise by a modest £5 per year. It was made possible to achieve this through the steady growth in membership that has occurred over recent years. It was hoped that as many members as possible will make the effort to attend working parties at both the Eaton Socon and Sandy complexes in April to improve swims and access. The dates of the working parties are shown on this year’s membership books.

:: 22.03.09

Spring has finally sprung!

Reports of some super end of season catches from BHAA’s river stretches have been received. Fraser Hayden fished on the River Ivel above Langford Mill from where he caught a 4lb 8oz chub and then visited the Priory Farm stretch of the River Ouse at Harrold where he caught bream weighing 6lb 5oz, 6lb 8oz and 7lb 4oz. Another angler to visit this venue was Dennis Smith but it was tench that Dennis found to be feeding. He took fish weighing 6lb 8oz, 5lb 4oz and 4lb 3oz for a memorable end to the season. Meanwhile, Neil Sampson was trying his luck just upstream at Manor Farm, Lavendon where he too found tench on the feed catching two specimens, one weighing well over 5lbs. Also, Neil caught a lovely 2lb 15oz perch which no matter how he shook his scales would not move over the magical 3lb mark!

Alan Wilkie fished at Gingerbread Lake where he experienced numerous bites on his mini boily pop-up bait. Finally, he had a slow take which he struck into and, for a minute, thought he had hooked the bottom as he rod bent double. Alan was using only 6lb b.s. line but after carefully playing the fish was ‘gob smacked’ to see a monstrous pike at the other end of his line. The fish was netted and weighing showed it to be a recently-spawned 22lb 2oz specimen. On a later visit, Alan again experienced plenty of bites and was pleased to land an early season tench around the 5lb mark. Other anglers fishing the venue caught the odd tench too, a sure sign that the lake was becoming to come to lfe again. One of the first big carp of the season was caught weighing an impressive 28lbs by a member fishing from the road bank.

The two Sandy lakes were fishing well too with multiple catches of fish reported. Richard Griffin targeted McGregor Lake and was pleased to catch 3 carp in the 6-7lb bracket, 2 bream both weighing over 7lbs and a beautiful tench. There has been plenty of carp activity at New Road Lake too with several fish up to mid-doubles being landed during the week from different parts of the lake.

Unfortunately, reports have been received of foreign anglers illegally fishing on the River Ivel at the weekend but Environment Agency bailiffs have been alerted to hopefully bring this activity to an end.

:: 15.03.09

Pike on pre-spawning feeding spree

The end of the season for river fishing ended in a whimper for many anglers with again far from ideal conditions. Kevin Webb braved a cool northerly wind on his last trip to the River Ivel at BHAA’s Sandy Lakes complex where he fished all day for a handful of bites but his perseverance paid off as he caught chub of 3 and 4lbs.

Winston Pogmore decided to target pike at a BHAA still water using ledgered dead baits and only a single hook. He had a pick-up almost immediately and was soon landing a plump 13lb 8oz fish. Less than an hour later, he hooked a much larger fish that turned out to be a superbly-conditioned 22lb 4oz specimen. He fished on and caught yet another double, this time a 10lb 12oz pike. He eagerly returned to the same swim the next day where he caught the same 10lb 12oz pike a further two times in the same day and each time it fought furiously!

Carp in the Sandy Lakes complex seemed to have finally woken up with reports of numerous fish being taken to low 20s from both lakes. Also, anglers who targeted the little-fished Links Pool reporting spotting dark shapes moving about in the water as carp became more active.

One of our club members, Alan Wilkie, reported losing his favourite catapult whilst fishing at Church Meadow, Tempsford and, despite returning later to carry out a thorough search of the area, was still unable to find it. If anyone has picked it up, he would appreciate its return which can be arranged if the finder contacts the Membership Secretary.

:: 08.03.09

Big carp starting to feed again at Sandy

Two blank sessions earlier in the week did not put John Murphy off from having another try for carp on BHAA’s Sandy Lakes complex. John sensed the day would be different when he immediately spotted some swirls from big fish close to the bank where he was fishing. After introducing a couple of dozen freebies, he cast his boily and corn hook bait on to a small gravel bar some 30 metres from the bank. His bite alarm eventually sounded a run and he struck into a heavy fish which took a while to subdue. Little did John know that the fish had become entangled in someone else’s broken line which he was also able to retrieve. The fish turned out to be a super 23lb 8oz mirror carp and a season’s best for him. Martin Knibbs caught two carp from the same venue, a 16lb 12oz common and an 11lb mirror. Other anglers reported catching numbers of smaller carp to low doubles as the lakes started to heat up. Pike were active on McGregor Lake too with several anglers catching good-sized fish in the 8-10lb range. There were no reports of carp activity at Gingerbread Lake although one carp was taken from the lake during the previous week so it looks as though the fish are finally starting to stir from their winter slumber.

:: 01.03.09

Small fish betray huge pike’s location

Simon Pask arrived at an undisclosed BHAA water at daybreak and looked for signs of fish movement. He spotted some small fish breaking the surface and he was sure that there would be some pike nearby. It was not long before his deadbaits were receiving attention and he went on to catch three double-figured pike weighed 10lbs, 14lb 8oz and a magnificent 24lb specimen. All the fish were in super condition and would be soon ready for spawning.

Another angler to find big pike in a feeding mood was Biggleswade’s David Hughes who targeted McGregor Lake from where he tempted a super 22lb specimen again using a deadbait. Other anglers reported catching pike to low doubles during the past week. Carp were becoming increasingly active too with anglers landing several of the mirror carp stocked by the club in the previous spring.

Martin Knibbs put in a two night session on another undisclosed BHAA water from which a solitary run produced a superb 16lb fully-scaled mirror carp. Martin said that his fish still had a couple of leeches attached showing that it must have been lying dormant for some time.

Chub fishing on the River Ivel behind the Sandy Lakes complex has been a little disappointing so far this season with mainly mediocre fish around the 3lb bracket being the norm. A BHAA member, however, caught a nicely conditioned 4lb 12oz specimen.

:: 22.02.09

Pike anglers enjoy success

Simon Pask fished the two-bar bay area at Gingerbread Lake and found pike to be in a feeding mood. Using dead baits, Simon caught fish weighing 12lbs, 9lbs and 12lbs. All the fish were returned unharmed to fight another day

Two days after the latest ice over, John Murphy decided to target pike at BHAA’s McGregor Lake using roach dead baits supplied by Walker’s Pitch (www.walkerspitch.co.uk). John fished them at long range and had no fewer than seven takes during the day and landed three pike all around the 9-10lb mark. Anglers fishing for carp found bites still hard to come by although by the end of the week a couple of small mirrors were landed.

After a blank session after carp, Anthony Pogmore decided to fish the River Ivel near McGregor Lake for chub but found the river still carrying a lot of melt water. He chose a swim from where he usually enjoys some good sport but had to fish for over an hour before getting a bite. His first fish was a chub of about 3lbs which took three lobworms, a bait they seem to like. He was beginning to think that was the end of sport for the day when his rod was yanked round and his clutch immediately started screaming on his reel. The fish turned out to be a modest 4lb 4oz chub but was in prime condition and gave him a really hard scrap. Alan Wilkie visited the club’s stretch on the Ivel near Langford Mill and decided to try for perch. He fished at the entrance to a small feeder stream from where he started to catch some small roach and dace on single maggot. His float dipped again and the strike met with a solid resistance. After carefully playing the fish, Alan slipped his net under a nice 4lb 9oz chub with his size 20 hook neatly embedded in its mouth.

:: 15.02.09

Chub and snow do mix!

The few anglers who ventured out this past week either found the lakes frozen over or flooded making fishing virtually impossible. Martin Crouch managed to get a couple of days’ fishing in on the rivers following heavy a heavy snowfall. A trip to BHAA’s popular Manor Farm stretch of the River Ouse at Lavendon was rewarded by the capture of a 5lb chub which fell to boily paste. He later tried his luck closer to home fishing the McGregor Lake stretch of the Ivel at Sandy and this time was able to tempt a 4lb 8oz chub into feeding on his ledgered paste

Prospects look a little brighter in the coming week with milder weather but it is likely it will take most of the week to get rid of melted snow and rain from the rivers. Also, the water levels in the lakes may make if difficult to fish many swims.

:: 08.02.09

Heavy snow finally brings the curtain down

Heavy snow accompanied by plunging temperatures meant that few anglers were prepared to venture out as the lakes froze and the rivers started to carry melt water. However, a few hardy anglers managed to fish at McGregor Lake prior to the snowfall and found pike again to be in a feeding mood. Robert Livock fished on the railway bank and caught a 9lb 8oz pike during a short visit. However, an angler fishing from the island landed, at least, three fish to low doubles. The lakes have since completely frozen over and received a hefty covering of snow meaning that it is only likely to be the rivers that might offer the possibility of some sport in the coming week.

:: 30.01.09

It don’t get any easier!

For much of the week, conditions for river fishing have been far from ideal with heavy rain raising flow levels followed by bright cold weather which seems to put the fish off feeding. Kevin Webb decided to try his luck on the River Ivel near McGregor Lake pinning his faith in a boily paste that had served him well on a variety of different waters. He opted to fish a known chub holding swim and, with perseverance, it was not too long before he had a couple of nice sized chub in his net. Thereafter, the swim died so he decided to move to another favourite swim of his but could not get any bites. Later in the day, he returned to his original swim where a single bite yielded his best fish of the day, a chub around the 4lb mark. Earlier in the year, Anthony Pogmore had been tipped off about a swim where several big chub had been spotted that had proven difficult to tempt so finally he decided to have a go for them himself. He opted to fish with triple lobworms that he hoped would provide an irresistible meal for any big boys that might be feeding. Almost immediately his rod was pulled round with a violent bite but the fish turned out to be a modest 2lb chub. A second cast produced a similar reaction and this time a 3lb chub was the culprit. He hooked another chub on his third cast, a heavier fish which managed to get free en route to the net. That turned out to be the last action of the day despite fishing on for several hours. Anthony is planning another visit when conditions get a little easier as the swim looked to be a natural holding spot for those bigger specimens

Walker’s Pitch proprietor, Simon Carr has been enjoying some good sport with perch to well over 2lbs fishing a BHAA controlled stretch of the river using lobworms as bait. However, on his latest trip he found that marauding pike had taken a liking to them hooking several fish in quick succession.

Anglers fishing for carp at New Road Lake and Gingerbread Lake reported no action during the week and no sign of fish movement.

Someone has been circulating rumours that the club is planning to remove the larger carp from New Road Lake to restock Gingerbread Lake. Please note that this information is false as the club has no such plans moreover New Road Lake is being developed as a specimen lake in its own right holding both quality carp and double-figured bream

:: 25.01.09

Pike and chub twice, please!

Despite another week of freezing temperatures and partially frozen water, pike were beginning to show at BHAA’s McGregor Lake. Robert Livock turned up to find only a handful of swims free of ice but persevered to catch an 8lb 8oz pike. Earlier in the week, Fraser Hayden topped this with a 9lb 8oz fish in difficult conditions with a 25mph wind to contend with too. Another member landed two sizeable pike in a brief morning session fishing off the island. Several anglers tried for carp but with no success, the cold conditions putting them completely off the feed

Fraser Hayden fished on the River Ivel at Sandy and stayed well into the dark to tempt a cracking 5lb 10oz specimen. Fraser caught the fish using a home made boily and 4lb b.s. line.

Mark Pateman and his son Ryan decided to try their luck on the River Ouse at Manor Farm, Lavendon. Mark caught a 4lb chub on ledgered cheese paste but Ryan was desperately unlucky to lose a much larger specimen close to the net.

Don’t forget to send your reports of any good catches made from club waters to Anthony.pogmore@ntlworld.com so that we can keep fellow members informed of how our waters are fishing.

:: 20.01.09

The ice covering BHAA’s lakes has finally thawed but the cold water has served to all but kill off sport. Anglers fishing McGregor Lake at Sandy reported no action in the early part of the week with static indicators. However, Martin Knibbs made a return trip a few days later and caught a single carp and lost another during the day. Martin said that these were the only signs of action throughout the day. It was a similar story at New Road Lake where even pike were showing no interest in feeding. It was not only the lakes that were fishing poorly as anglers who tried their luck on the River Ivel found the melt water had put fish completely off feeding.

The Environment Agency will be carrying out silting removal operations downstream of High Romper bridge on the River Ivel at Tempsford to as far as the right-angle bend. The work is planned to last up to a fortnight and may impact on fishing on Tempsford Estate waters below this point.

:: 13.01.09

Scarface is caught!

James Lees and his two fishing companions joined Biggleswade & Hitchin AA on the first day of the New Year after reading reports of fish captures in the club’s website. They enjoy their pike fishing so followed advice on where to fish given to them by the club’s membership secretary and decided to give the Dead River stretch of the River Ivel at Sandy a try. James got off to a cracking start landing a 12lb 15oz pike and even managed to catch the same fish a second time later on in the day James has nicknamed the fish ‘Big Al’ after Al Pacino as it had an easily recognizable scar on its side! One of his friends, James Wilson caught an 8lb pike during the same session to get them off to a great start in what were freezing conditions.

Reports of big fish captures from the club’s Manor Farm stretch of the River Ouse at Lavendon have been received with chub being landed to 6lb 5oz along with several others weighing well over 5lbs. This stretch was recently featured in ‘Anglers Mail’ where columnist Ian Welch caught a 6lb 4oz chub as a guest of club chairman, Neil Sampson. Most of the fish caught have come from well known chub swims but the anglers have had to fish through blank sessions to catch them.

:: 04.01.09

Chub provide a bit of seasonal cheer

The recent freezing overnight temperatures and ice covered lakes meant that rivers presented the only viable option for most anglers to fish. Mike Hames was desperate to wet a line before the end of the old year and persuaded his friend Anthony Pogmore to accompany him. Mike chose a swim on the River Ivel near New Road Bridge where he managed to tempt a 3lb 2oz chub to take his cheese paste with his only bite of the day. Anthony opted for one of his favourite swims behind McGregor Lake where he has enjoyed past success. He fished for nearly an hour without a knock and was beginning to think that, perhaps, he should have stayed at home when his rod top was pulled round by a confident bite. The fish turned out to be a 4lb 12oz chub which should have weighed a pound heavier if it had been in prime condition. Soon afterwards, a second bite provided a 3lb chub and, thereafter, throughout the day he continued to have bite after bite. He went on to catch three more chub, the best weighing 4lb 4oz. He returned to the same swim for his first trip of the New Year but could only manage a single bite and a 3lb chub. All his fish fell to offerings of triple lobworms which seemed to appeal to the fish’s greedy nature. Robert Livock switched his attention to chub fishing too but found bites hard to come by catching only a solitary 3lb chub.

During the day the ice melted briefly from part of McGregor Lake, enough for some stalwarts to do a few hours pike fishing. They managed to get a take from a single-figured pike on an otherwise miserable day. It was more a day for spotting rare birds with egrets, barn owls, woodcock, sparrow hawks and buzzards all seen by the more observant anglers.

By the way, a few night fishing permits are still available for New Road Lake, McGregor Lake and Links Pool for the current season ending in June. These venues will remain open throughout the close season providing the opportunity for some great carp fishing with fish to 30lbs, specimen bream well into double-figures and other species. Anyone interested should apply to the Membership Secretary to secure a place. Please note that preference will be given to existing night permit holders for next season at both the Sandy Lakes and Gingerbread Lake venues.

:: 29.12.08

Late Xmas presents from McGregor Lake!

Milder weather had raised the water temperature in McGregor Lake to a lofty 46 degrees Celsius, positively balmy for the time of year. Carp were again feeding actively with Kevin Webb catching an 8 fish haul in a little over 4 hours. Mick Usher fished overnight and also enjoyed an 8 fish catch of stockies. John Murphy fished tight against one of the islands to catch 5 mirrors and Robert Livock caught the same number ledgering well out into the lake. Robert was pleased to have a 9lb 4oz fully-scaled mirror included in his catch. Anthony Pogmore blanked on Monday but returned to the same swim the following day to catch an 11lb 8oz fully-scaled mirror carp, a spectacular looking fish.

Winston Pogmore continued his quest for a big chub from the Tempsford Estate waters but has found them to be elusive targets this year. On his latest visits, Winston has caught a 3lb 14oz chub from School Meadow, another 3lb 14oz chub from Campers Meadow, a 3lb 15oz fish from Sawmills Pool and a 3lb 12oz fish from Church Meadow. His fish were caught on either lobworms or ledgered bread crust.

:: 21.12.08

Huge trio of carp from Gingerbread

Whilst most anglers have hung up their carp rods for the winter, Ralph Williamson has continued putting in his weekly sessions at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake, often finding his bivvy covered in frost overnight. Ralph’s perseverance has paid off for him as he has caught one of the lake’s most sought after fish, Cluster, weighing over 39lbs for the second time this year. Also, Ralph has caught two more big thirties, mirrors weighing 36lbs and 32lbs.

Despite water temperatures being below 40 degrees centigrade, they are having little negative effect on the carp fishing at McGregor Lake. The few anglers that have ventured out during the week have continued to enjoy some great sport at this heavily stocked venue. Top rod was Robert Livock who landed 9 carp on one day and followed up with an 8 fish haul the following day as well as hooking and losing several other fish.

Fraser Hayden has continued his quest to catch a big winter chub from the rivers this winter but often has had to fish well into the dark before getting any bites. In recent visits Fraser has caught 3 chub from the River Ivel at High Romper, Tempsford, the best weighing 3lb 12oz and another three chub from Sandy including a 4lb 12oz specimen. A change of venue swa Fraser fishing the River Ouse at The Jungle, Tempsford, where a single bite produced a super 5lb 2oz specimen. All Fraser’s fish fell to link ledgered home made boilies.

:: 14.12.08

Its cold out there!

Freezing conditions and Xmas shopping demands resulted in few anglers venturing out to fish rivers or lakes. However, a few hardy souls have tried their luck on the River Ivel. Fraser Hayden fished a stretch of the river at New Road, Sandy where he had to stay well into the hours of darkness before some of the bigger fish started to feed. Fraser fished with home made boilies to take three chub to 4lb 12oz and then returned another night to catch a 5lb 2oz specimen. Kevin Webb targeted a favourite swim of his behind New Road Lake from which he caught two chub, the best a superbly conditioned 4lb 15oz specimen. Kevin took both his fish during the day using boily paste but admitted bites were hard to come by. Winston Pogmore and his brother Anthony both caught chub around the 4lb mark from different stretches of the river on lobworms but floating debris made bait presentation difficult.

John Murphy turned up at BHAA’s Sandy Lakes complex but was disappointed to find McGregor Lake almost completely frozen. He found a small piece of open water from where he experienced several good bites throughout the day. The next day Anthony Pogmore decided to try his luck fishing a nearby swim and almost immediately had a drop-back bite on his ledgered pellets. He had to wait until mid-afternoon before a screaming bite alarm heralded another take. This time he connected with one of the lakes cracking little mirror carp weighing between 6-7lb to end the day on a high. The following day both lakes were frozen over to bring sport to a temporary halt.

:: 07.12.08

Last gasp Xmas surprises!

Overnight frosts and a cold northerly wind should have brought the curtain down on the carp fishing at BHAA’s McGregor Lake but the fish had other ideas. Even with the lake partially covered in ice, the carp kept on feeding producing plenty of bites and the odd storming run. Both John Murphy and Robert Livock had five fish catches and most other anglers who fished caught too. It looks as though the only thing that will bring sport to a halt will be if the lake freezes over!

Neil Sampson invited ‘Anglers Mail’ columnist Ian Welch to fish the club’s stretch of the River Ouse at Manor Farm, Lavendon which holds some cracking fish of several species. The anglers decided to target chub but found bites hard to come by as the river was coloured and fast moving. However, their perseverance was rewarded with the capture of two super fish. Ian landed a 6lb 6oz specimen and Neil followed up with a 5lb 14oz fish.

:: 30.11.08

Its business as usual!

Overnight snow followed by a cold week seems to have driven many anglers off the banks but for those who have persevered some great sport has been enjoyed. The carp at BHAA’s McGregor Lake have continued to feed on most days with one angler landing fourteen fish for a near 100lb catch. Multiple catches were the norm with fish averaging between 6lbs and low doubles and they were being caught on a variety of baits including boilies, pellets and maggots. Pike were in a feeding mood too with one angler catching a number of fish to low doubles contand despite the continuing mild conditions.

Few reports have been received of fishing at Gingerbread Lake although anglers have caught pike to 14lbs in the past week.

Mike Hames opted for a day on the River Ivel targeting chub on cheese paste but struggled to get any bites that he caught strike at. He was beginning to think the small knocks were from roach so he decided to reduce the size of his hook baits but, when he eventually connected with a fish, it turned out to be a 4lb 8oz chub. Dave Clark returned to his little fished stretch of the river and caught another super chub, this time a 5lb 1oz specimen to add to his previously caught six pounder. Dave places great faith in feeding and trotting with maggots to tempt his fish.

:: 23.11.08

Winter Warmers!

John Lincoln and his fishing companion, Tony Careless, Have been having some great sport with pike whilst fishing at Gingerbread Lake. John has caught plenty of good-sized pike to 14lbs on dead baits but was gutted to lose a massive fish that ejected his bait as he was about to net it. Tony’s best fish weighed 16lb and was caught in virtual darkness right at the end of the day.

There was still plenty of action to be had at McGregor Lake where carp were still actively feeding. Anthony Pogmore caught seven fish to about 10lbs but was surprised to land a super 19lb 6oz mirror in the presence of club member Colin Burge and bailiff Simon Pask. All his fish were caught using boilies presented on a snowman rig. Another angler to enjoy similar success was John Murphy who caught multiple catches throughout the week including a six fish haul of carp with the best fish weighing 11lb 4oz. It remains to be seen what effect the recent cold snap will have but a return to milder weather could well keep the fish feeding.

Kevin Webb made his first visit of the winter to the River Ivel at Sandy Lakes where he fished for chub using a boily paste that he has found to be very attractive to many fish. Kevin caught two chub weighing 4lbs and 4lb, a good start to his campaign. Mike Hames was less fortunate missing several good bites and suffering from pike grabbing his ledger weights on more than one occasion!

:: 16.11.08

An early Xmas present for Wayne!

Despite the continuing mild conditions, Gingerbread Lake has been proving a hard nut to crack in recent months. The only sign that carp were still active was the odd fish breaking the surface. One angler who was able to taste success though was keen carp angler Wayne Stevenson who has caught fish to over 50lbs in this country. He fished a two night session at the lake using Mainline pop-up boilies as hook baits. His perseverance was rewarded with the capture of a 31lb mirror carp, a real winter stunner. It was a different story with pike as anglers were taking single-figure fish from Deep Bay and the bridge areas of the lake.

Numerous anglers reported catching small carp at McGregor Lake where it was business as usual. The carp were feeding on a variety of baits including maggots, sweetcorn and boilies with the best catches generally falling to anglers prepared to fish into the prevailing wind. Next door at New Road Lake it was a different story again with little or no sign of any feeding fish although several anglers put in fairly lengthy sessions in vain.

:: 09.11.08

Mild weather gets the fish moving again

The recent mild weather has brought carp back on the feed at BHAA’s Sandy Lakes’ complex. An overnight session produced a 15lb mirror carp for a club member who fished on New Road Lake. However, it was McGregor Lake where the carp were really showing and could be seen crashing out in the middle and around the islands. Lake regular John Murphy experienced a hectic day with eight runs and numerous pulls on his lines baited with boilies. John ended the day with four carp for a 20lb combined weight. Earlier in the week, pike were active with fish caught to low doubles on dead baits.

Carp were seen bubbling away at Gingerbread Lake too but they seemed to be preoccupied feeding on bloodworm as no reports of any fish captures have been received.

'The Board has reluctantly decided to suspend the match fishing programme due to the poor attendances at recent matches. It is still hoped to resume match fishing later in the year.'

Anthony Pogmore, Membership Secretary

:: 02.11.08

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out!

Ray Charter ventured out in near arctic conditions to do a bit of lure fishing on the River Ouse at Tempsford. During a stinging hailstorm Ray’s lure was grabbed as he was retrieving it through a large eddy and he had to grapple with both the fish and the awful weather. However, his reward was a superbly-conditioned 21lb 8oz pike which is a new personal best for him. Ray said that he has been enjoying some great sport on the river recently as the previous week he had a double-figure haul of quality dace interlaced with roach and chublets when he fished Anchor Meadow.

A member fishing in the factory bay at Gingerbread Lake had a great day’s sport with pike catching around half a dozen fish to 14lbs. The largest pike so far recorded from the venue in recent weeks is a 19lb fish that was caught from the deep water near the entrance.

Dedicated predator angler Colin Webb was at it again when he caught an 18lb pike whilst fishing at New Road Lake. John Murphy took his grandson Tom for a day’s fishing at McGregor Lake where they have enjoyed some great sport catching carp in recent weeks but John decided that pike would be a better bet after days of hard frosts. The pair had a great day’s sport experiencing several takes on their ledgered dead baits and young Tom was over the moon when he landed a 10lb 4oz specimen together with a smaller jack pike. John even managed to tempt a 5lb mirror carp into feeding when he ledgered a small fruit flavoured boily close to one of the islands.

:: 26.10.08

Cooling temperatures put a dampener on catches

More anglers are venturing on to the rivers as sport begins to slow on the still waters as temperatures start to fall. BHAA member Dave Clark decided to try his luck on a little fished stretch of the River Ivel using float-fished maggots as hook bait. He threw in a handful of maggots before he tackled up and then proceeded to trot his float through the swim. Soon Dave was getting takes at regular intervals and went on to amass a terrific haul of fish that included a 6lb 2oz chub, two perch around 2lb 8oz each and a number of big bream in the 4-5lb bracket.

Sport has declined rapidly on the lakes but one angler, Martin Knibbs continues to buck the trend. Martin fished at New Road Lake where he caught a 14lb mirror carp and a big 9lb 6oz bream on his latest visit. He commented that he had yet to blank on this lake which so far this season had provided him with carp to over 20lbs and bream to 11lbs. Members visiting New Road and McGregor Lakes are advised to exercise extreme caution with car parking as the recent wet weather has made the tracks around the lakes very soft with a risk of vehicles becoming bogged down. Instead, anglers are encouraged to leave their vehicles parked at the side of the gravel road which runs past both lakes.

Two Polish members reported having some good catches of pike from both of the Sandy venues including a 24lb specimen caught from McGregor Lake.

:: 19.10.08

Cluster is still munching those boilies big time!

There have been increased signs of carp feeding activity at Gingerbread Lake with some huge fish seen leaping clear of the water but catching them remains a challenge. Keith Wesley fished for two days without any sign of action but then went on to land carp weighing 15lbs, 25lbs and a magnificent specimen weighing 36lbs. Jonathon Course was the latest angler to catch the much sought after mirror carp named ‘Cluster’ when he landed it weighing 38lb 6oz. The fish fell to an Innovate Squid 2-T bait and has now put on over 3lbs in weight in little over a month.

A few carp continue to be caught at New Road Lake with fish averaging mid-doubles. This lake has fished well in the colder weather in previous years once the fish get their heads down on the bottom searching for food.

Sport at McGregor Lake remains hectic with several anglers reporting multiple catches of hard fighting mirrors and commons. Typical was Fraser Hayden who landed seven carp weighing between 2.5lbs and 7lbs in only a short four hour session. Winston Pogmore landed six carp but had bites throughout the day as the fish played about with his baits. The fish were still responding well to the introduction of plenty of loose feed to keep them interested.

Fraser Hayden got himself far from the Madding crowd by fishing The Jungle stretch of the River Ouse at Tempsford. Fraser fed his swim throughout his session with a combination of breadcrumb and maggots and went on to catch more than six pounds of quality roach in only a few hours. Sport was hectic with a fish a chuck and with individual fish weighing up to 12ozs. All the roach caught were in pristine condition.

:: 13.10.08

Indian summer puts the brakes on catches for another week

The late autumn sunshine has produced ideal conditions for sunbathing but not for catching fish! Only a few carp have been seen actively moving at Gingerbread Lake where a new member missed a screaming run that would have undoubtedly produced one.

A few fish have been caught at New Road Lake where a member caught his third double from the water in a fortnight when he landed a superbly-conditioned 18lb common carp. Carp were seen actively jumping one day but the following day there would be a complete lack of fish movement. All very frustrating!

McGregor Lake remains one of the best waters for catching carp in the locality. A member who was experiencing few bites suddenly had carp on both his lines at the same time but even his sport died immediately afterwards. Anglers who fished alertly throughout the day were still able to pick up the odd fish but this lake was being affected by the prevailing high pressure and sunny conditions too.

Fraser Hayden decided to try his luck on the upper Ivel at Langford Mill and, by patiently trotting a stick float baited with stewed wheat, he managed to tempt a 4lb 7oz chub to feed. Fraser said that he had fished for over two hours before the fish fed despite trickling hemp and wheat regularly into his swim.

:: 03.10.08

Autumn chill cools the action!

Cool north-westerly winds have had a dramatic effect on catches on most of BHAA’s waters. Before the change in weather set in, Derek Munro caught a 25lb+ mirror and an 11lb common carp from the factory bay at Gingerbread Lake. Another club member landed two eels each around the 3lb mark when he ledgered lobworms close to the margins. Other anglers reported catching the odd tench and bream during overnight sessions but the lake’s big carp seem to have shut up shop, if only temporarily. Roach are one of the species than be caught on a regular basis by anglers fishing on either maggots or sweetcorn.

Sport was slow at New Road Lake too with few catches to report. A member fishing in a swim sheltered from the wind caught two nice commons weighing 15lb and 16lb and another member landed two big bream, the best weighing over 10lbs, although his intended quarry were carp.

The venue which continues to buck the trend is McGregor Lake where the recently stocked carp continue to be caught on baits ranging from boilies to worms. One member swim feeding maggots caught bream after bream and finally reverted to using boilies to get away from them. He lwent on to catch a 17lb carp

:: 28.09.08

Nine different 30s caught so far from Gingerbread Lake as Cluster goes on a feeding spree and slips up again!

The number of 30lb+ carp caught from BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake continues to grow with, at least, nine different fish so far this year. In his first season of fishing the lake, Ralph Williamson landed another two big carp including the much sought after ‘Cluster’ weighing 37lb 4oz. The fish had put on over two pounds in weight in little over a month showing that it is really munching its way through anglers’ bait as it fattens itself up for the winter. Ralph was using his own home made boilies as bait to tempt the big girl. Mark Ryder landed a second 32lb linear mirror carp using Innovate Squid 2-T baits and Steve Slater just missed the 30lb barrier when he caught a 29lb 10oz mirror. Other anglers reported catching the odd tench and bream which seem to appear and then disappear for days on end.

Small carp in the 4-7lb range were still being caught in numbers at McGregor Lake together with some big bream ranging from 7-9lbs. This cloudy water in this lake seems to affect the fishes’ behaviour as they continue to feed even in bright conditions which generally kill off sport at other venues.

:: 21.09.08

More 30s from Gingerbread and a new lake record is set at McGregor Lake

Two more 30lb+ carp have been caught from BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake making it five different 30s since the lake reopened. Mark Ryder landed a 32lb 4oz mirror carp fishing in the factory bay and Steve Slater caught a 31lb specimen using Innovate Squid 2-T baits.There has been a host of big carp caught recently with lake regular Tony Foster landing a 28lb 10oz mirror, Darren Davidson a 25lb mirror, Mike Smith a super 28lb 12oz common and a 26lb mirror and Ralph Williamson landing, at least, three 20s up to 28lb. Alan Wilkie is very much an all round angler constantly seeking out specimens of different species. Alan was pleased to catch a 7lb 9oz tench from the lake to set a new pb as well as a 19lb 7oz common carp. Both fish were caught using Destiny Baits’ boilies. Alan had previously targeted The Riddy stretch of the River Ivel where he caught a 5lb 4oz chub followed by a 2lb 2oz perch to complete a memorable week. Dave Holland float fished sweetcorn and did not have a bite until 10am but then the roach moved in and Dave said that it was a fish a chuck throughout the day. The roach were in splendid condition averaging from 6-12oz.

Although New Road Lake is the club’s main specimen lake at Sandy, it was McGregor Lake that has made the headlines this week. Pete Briscoe has broken the lake record with a superbly conditioned 20lb 12oz mirror carp caught on punched luncheon meat together with a couple of 7lb stockies. Big bream are being caught too as well as the plentiful smaller mirror and common carp. The bream caught were up to 10lbs.stochas become increasingly popular in recent weeks as anglers experience or witness the great sport that the lake has to offer. The recently stocked carp are being regularly caught up to 5lbs with the prospect of some much heavier fish. Big bream are also being caught up to 10lbs as well as several other species at this heavily stocked venue.

:: 14.09.08

Huge leather landed by Anthony Pearson

More big carp have caught by members fishing at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake with all the fish appearing to be in super condition. Anthony Pearson again heads the list with a rarely caught 36lb leather carp not recognized by some of the lake’s regulars. Steve Slater landed another biggie, this time a 27lb 10oz mirror carp. Both anglers were using Innovate Squid 2-T baits. Mark Ryder from Daventry continues to catch, his latest capture being a 20lb common carp caught on Kream Krunch baits. Mark Bailey from Haddenham fished a two night session and ended up with another 20lb common carp plus numerous good-sized tench. Mark never weighed the tench as they were not his intended target fish. Alan Wilkie from Stotfold fished through continuous heavy drizzle to land six tench up to 6lbs using mini boilies as bait. It is not only carp and tench that are taking the plaudits though as other species have been showing in numbers. Anglers float-fishing have reported great sport from quality roach and rudd plus skimmers and hybrids from many swims around the lake. These fish seem to have increased in numbers despite constant depredation by cormorants over recent years. Another angler called it a day when he was plagued with big eels whilst fishing on luncheon meat in the deeper water.

Glowing reports have been filtering back from anglers fishing on another of the club’s big fish venues, New Road Lake, where carp to over 20lbs are being caught from different parts of the lake along with bream to double figures. Ray Wijka from Biggleswade landed a near fully-scaled mirror weighing 15lb 10oz and John Murphy was at it again catching another 15 pounder. Adam Savage of Walker’s Pitch caught, at least, two carp weighing up to 16lb but was gutted to lose a real big boy at the net.

McGregor Lake has become increasingly popular in recent weeks as anglers experience or witness the great sport that the lake has to offer. The recently stocked carp are being regularly caught up to 5lbs with the prospect of some much heavier fish. Big bream are also being caught up to 10lbs as well as several other species at this heavily stocked venue.

:: 06.09.08

Gingerbread’s big boys get on the munch!

:: 31.08.08

Three Personal Bests In One Day!

Darren Callum had struggled to catch any really big pike since resuming his fishing career but decided to join Biggleswade & Hitchin AA after reading frequent reports of big fish captures from its waters. He turned up at New Road Lake for a short session but was mortified to find that he had left his landing net top at home. Nevertheless, he decided to have a few casts using a surface lure and, before long, he saw it gently taken by a big pike. Darren played the fish into the margins so that he could lift it from the water and was over the moon when he realized he had broken his p.b. with a 14lb 9oz specimen. He slipped the fish back and shortly moved round to a nearby swim. He could not see where his lure had landed and thought for a minute that it had snagged but, no, it was another big pike that had grabbed it. Darren skilfully managed to land the fish and this time he had shattered his p.b. yet again with a 18lb 2oz specimen. Both fish were in super condition and were returned to the water unharmed. Lou Gilhart from Therfield was the latest angler to catch one of the big carp when he landed a 22lb mirror carp using a running lead. Specimen bream were in a feeding mood too with several specimens over 9lbs being landed during the week.

Winston Pogmore decided on a change of bait when he fished at McGregor Lake and opted to give luncheon meat a try. Within a short time of fishing, he struck at a slow run and hooked into a good fish that was taking line from. Unfortunately, the hook came out and the fish was lost. Later in the day, he had another good take and hooked into what he thought would be one of the lake’s numerous carp but was surprised to find that it was a 3lb 6oz perch that had taken his bait. The fish was a new p.b. for Winston and demonstrates the quality of fish that inhabit this new lake.

:: 24.08.08

Cockles were the bait chosen by Neil Sampson to try to tempt one of the big tench at Gingerbread Lake but they proved to be irresistible to another species. Neil was over the moon when he banked a huge 5lb 4oz eel from this difficult water. Bailiff Graham Bradley chose a swim in a quiet bay well away from other anglers and was rewarded for his choice by the capture of a 31lb mirror carp, his first carp from the lake this year. Tony Foster got into the action too catching a 20lb specimen on floaters. Dave Holland was well pleased to find both roach and rudd actively feeding catching a number of each on float-fished sweetcorn. Dave said that all his fish were in super condition.

Yet another 20lb plus carp has been caught from strong>New Road Lake which is on fire at the moment. On this occasion, it was Mr Savage, Adam of Walker’s Pitch’s father. John Murphy cannot get enough of fishing the lake and has hooked and lost some big carp during the week. However, he did manage to land a 14lb mirror and a personal best 11lb bream fishing on boilies over a bed of pellets.

Carp have been feeding well at McGregor Lake too where anglers fishing into the wind and baiting heavily could expect sport throughout the day. The carp stocked by the club earlier in the year are already piling the weight on with fish around the 4-5lb mark becoming the norm.

Alan Wilkie decided to get far from the madding crowd and, instead, fished the River Ivel on The Riddy stretch at Sandy. Alan trotted down some floating dog biscuits to tempt a 5lb 4oz chub.

:: 16.08.08

New member Mark Ryder from Daventry followed up his capture of a 9lb tench with a super 29lb mirror carp fishing in the factory bay at Gingerbread Lake. Another 29lb mirror was caught by 80 year old Sid Dunne from Bedford whilst fishing in the carpet swim at the far end of the lake. There were fears that some of the lake’s really big carp may have been lost among the recent spate of fish losses but Anthony Pogmore was able to allay many of these fears when he landed one of the lake’s biggest residents, the mirror carp known as Cluster. It was mid afternoon before the big fish picked up Anthony’s snowman rig boilies and it gave him one hell of a battle for more than twenty minutes. Eventually, the fish was netted and tipped the scales at 35lb, breaking Anthony’s p.b. by 8oz. It was in pristine condition and was quickly returned to the water to fight another day. Anthony Pearson landed a 17lb common carp and was unlucky to lose a couple more carp during his session. Steve Slater found that the lake’s tench had taken a liking to his baits landing several good-sized specimens up to 7lb plus a big eel around the 4lb mark. Also, Steve was unlucky to lose a big carp estimated to weigh over thirty pounds when it slipped the hook as he was about to net it Dave Holland found both quality roach and rudd feeding on his float-fished sweetcorn with the latter taking the bait high in the water and the roach feeding on the bottom. Despite the aforementioned catches, the lake is proving a hard nut to crack for many anglers with few signs of feeding activity.

Earlier in the week, Anthony Pogmore fished at New Road Lake where a single run at midday produced a fully-scaled mirror carp weighing 14lb 8oz. The scale pattern was so dense that the fish could have been easily mistaken for a ghost common. Again, the successful method was a snowman rig designed to keep the bait clear of detritus that covers much of the lake’s bottom at present. Other anglers found bream were responding well to heavy groundbaiting with bites coming promptly whenever loose feed was introduced.

:: 09.08.08

Fishing has resumed again at Gingerbread Lake and, despite the recent fish losses, there were plenty of carp seen actively feeding around the lake but few anglers were fishing for them. A new member, Mark Ryder, who made the trip from his home in Daventry was well pleased to catch a super 9lb tench carrying on the recent run of specimens. John Lincoln caught bream to over 6lbs float-fishing from the road bank and Dave Holland caught plenty of roach and rudd up to the 1lb mark.

Carp were still plentiful at McGregor Lake with sweetcorn fished over a bed of pellets accounting for a number of fish. Anglers reported spotting an enormous pike rolling on the surface which bodes well for the winter months when many anglers target the species.

Two more double figured bream were landed by Mike Hames and Lewis Feneley fishing at New Road Lake where the sport seems to improve from week to week. There have been plenty of signs of feeding activity with big carp crashing out and clouds of feeding bubbles spotted. Anthony Pearson fished the lake for two nights using Innovate Squid 2T baits. His first night produced 5 mirror carp to 11lbs but on his second visit he landed mirrors weighing 23lb 8oz and 22lbs plus a 13lb 2oz common. Alan Wilkie spotted some feeder bubbles and cast his line baited with maggots towards them and, within half an hour, he caught a 12lb 7oz common.

:: 02.08.08

Plenty of carp were being caught on a variety of different methods by anglers fishing at McGregor Lake but most fish were being taken close to the margins. Again, anglers prepared to bait heavily were catching consistently throughout the day. Winston Pogmore

Paul Wilkie accompanied his father, Alan, on an overnight session at New Road Lake where the two anglers spotted plenty of carp activity. Paul went on to catch a 26lb 12oz common carp setting a new lake record for the sub-species. Alan had to settle for numbers landing four mirror carp, the best weighing 15lb 2oz. Another angler from Sandy caught a 21lb common carp on the same day fishing at the opposite end of the lake. All the fish caught were in superb condition with the lake well on track to soon become another big carp venue. However, carp are not the only fish to be sought after as big bream abound in the lake and a 9lb 8oz specimen was caught too.

:: 28.7.08

Method feeder tactics have been doing the business for one angler fishing at McGregor Lake where he has caught carp to 19lb 12oz plus some big tench and bream. He said that he found the early mornings to be the most productive times for catching.

Anthony Pogmore was disappointed to land a 9lb 8oz bream on his latest visit to New Road Lake as he was convinced it was another double. The fish again fell to method feeder tactics with baits cast close to the margins. Alan Wilkie landed two more big bream weighing 8lb 12oz and 9lb 12oz and both anglers thought they had hooked small carp as the fish fought hard. An overnight session for another angler produced a super 4lb eel. A new member from Luton enjoyed almost non-stop action throughout the day float-fishing from small roach, bream and perch

Fraser Hayden has been trying to locate some of the big ‘whiskers’ that are known to inhabit the River Ouse at Tempsford. On a recent trip to School Meadow he caught a 4lb 6oz chub and big bream weighing 5lb 13oz and 6lb 4oz but his search for the elusive barbel continues undaunted.

:: 20.07.08

Some big bream have been caught from the island swims at McGregor Lake with specimens to
10lbs reported. Catches of the lake’s small carp have dropped off recently probably attributable to anglers not introducing sufficient feed to lure them away from their natural diet of bloodworm. Anglers using maggots were catching plenty of small roach, rudd and skimmers fishing the swims adjacent to the long island.

Membership Secretary, Anthony Pogmore, achieved a milestone when he caught a personal best bream weighing 10lb 2oz whilst fishing at New Road Lake. It was his first double-figured bream despite catching numerous specimens over the 9lb mark. He used method feeder tactics after introducing half a dozen balls of groundbait laced with sweetcorn. The fish was his only bite of the day taking his bait at 1pm in the afternoon. He returned to the same swim a couple of days later to find fish bubbling away. Within two hours of fishing, he landed an 8lb 8oz specimen using the same tactics. The carp in this lake were proving difficult to catch despite the odd fish being spotted leaping throughout the day indicating that they too were feeding on the lake’s natural food supplies.

Bailiffs patrolling Gingerbread Lake have witnessed signs of intense feeding activity which bodes well for when the lake re-opens its doors in little over a week’s time.

Alan Wilkie was fishing the River Ouse at Tempsford for perch when he spotted a good-sized carp swimming in the margins. He cast out a couple of floating dog biscuits towards the fish which were readily accepted and Alan was soon admiring a long lean 18lb mirror carp. Several anglers fishing the School Meadow stretch have reported hooking and losing very large fish on a variety of baits and catfish are thought to be the culprits. Incidentally, a seal has been spotted in the river in the area as far up the river as Kempston. What’s next – Polar Bears?

:: 11.07.08

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It was not the recently stocked carp that were showing at BHAA’s McGregor Lake but pike that continue to feed voraciously after spawning. Winston Pogmore went spinning for predators around the lake after bottom fishing for other species produced little action. Within a couple of hours, he hooked and landed around a dozen pike as well as losing a much heavier specimen. Later in the week, Alan Wilkie caught one of the first of the newly stocked carp and lost a big bream in the same session.

Mick Day returned to New Road Lake where he caught another two pike including a 16lb 2oz fish. Another angler reportedly caught 4 carp including a 20lb mirror, one of the fish stocked into the lake in the last three years.

The warmer weather has greatly improved sport at Gingerbread Lake where big fish of several species have been caught. Nick’the Greek’ Page has had multiple bags of tench weighing between 7 and 8lbs whilst his intended quarry, carp, have proven to be more elusive for him. Large bream in the 9-10lb bracket have been landed by several anglers fishing in the factory bay which also has accounted for a number of sizeable carp to over 20lbs. Big carp are now moving all around the lake with individual specimens landed nudging 30lbs. Sport is likely to continue to improve as water temperatures rise throughout the week.

Water bailiffs have reported catching a number of anglers fishing illegally on the rivers in the closed season. This seems to be a growing trend with the offending anglers trying to claim ignorance of the law. The Environment Agency will prosecute any anglers who they catch breaking closed season regulations.

:: 20.04.08

Absolutely stunning is the only way to describe the super carp stocked into McGregor Lake by Biggleswade & Hitchin AA. Over 800 plump fish were obtained from top fish supplier David Rance of Sport Leisure Fisheries Ltd with mostly fully-scaled and heavily scaled mirrors all supplied in superb condition. David’s assistant said that the fish were capable of exceeding 10lbs within their first year and should rapidly transform the lake into one of the premier carp waters in the area. There is more good news in that there are still a few vacancies available for night permits on the Sandy Lakes complex which includes McGregor Lake for 2008/09. Anyone wishing to obtain a permit should contact the membership secretary on 01767 223147. Mick Day turned up for a day’s fishing as the carp were being introduced into the lake but mistakenly thought that the vehicles were anglers fishing the venue so opted to fish the adjacent New Road Lake instead. For Mick it ended as a red letter day as he went on to catch a new personal best pike weighing 20lbs and followed that with another stunning fish weighing 16lb 8oz on ledgered sprats. Needless to say he is now a convert to the club recognizing the quality fishing that is on offer for all species. Keen pike angler Colin Webb was another angler to catch one of the big boys that inhabit this intimate lake when he caught a 19lb specimen whilst lure fishing.

Pike are not the exclusive preserve of New Road Lake though for down at Gingerbread Lake they seem to have developed a liking for boilies. Derek Munro is the latest angler to experience this phenomenon when he landed a 20lb specimen which picked up his fish meal boily. Derek said that he had caught big pike on boilies from the lake earlier in the season. The cold conditions have kept sport from other species to a very low level though with just the odd carp, tench and bream being caught. However, despite the cold, the odd large carp has been spotted crashing out towards the end of the week and the prospect of milder conditions is likely to trigger a feeding frenzy in the coming weeks.

:: 13.04.08

Despite the cool conditions tench were continuing to show at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where Mark Thurley landed a 7lb specimen along with a 14lb mirror carp. Tony Foster followed up his success of last week with two more cracking carp, mirrors weighing 29lb 12oz and 26lb. Polish members Slawek Figura and Michal Tyborczy just cannot stop catching pike even when they do not want to! After catching plenty of pike to over 20lbs from McGregor Lake, they decided to try their luck at Gingerbread Lake but ended up catching a super 24lb pike on maggots!

The club’s two lakes at Sandy were closed for fishing on Sunday to allow essential works to be undertaken. More than a dozen new permanent swims have been created along the length of the long island at McGregor Lake opening up a side of the lake which was previously difficult to reach.

:: 06.04.08

A magnificent trio of fish was caught by Tony Foster on his first visit of the year to BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. During the week, Tony had introduced a small number of free offerings into several swims prior to his session. He caught his target species in the form of a 25lb 12oz common carp and followed that up with a 7lb tench. Later in his session, he missed a couple of slow bites on his boily hook bait. Eventually he struck into the culprit which he assumed to be another big carp but was surprised to land a whopping pike weighing 24lb 12oz neatly hooked in the corner of its mouth. Tony openly admits that he is no pike angler but still photographed the specimen for posterity. Nick Page started his session fishing the popular dugout swim but found he was getting ‘plagued’ by takes from early season tench so decided a move to deep bay was needed. It proved to be a wise decision as he went on to catch a 23lb mirror carp whilst another angler, Mick Usher, landed a mid double fishing in the adjacent swim.

The carp in New Road Lake have finally started to show with six fish all into double figures being caught. Alan Wilkie was one of the successful anglers landing a 12lb 12oz common carp and an 11lb 10oz fully-scaled mirror carp. Reports of another big pike, this time a 22lb specimen were also received.

Carp were beginning to show in McGregor Lake too where the odd fish has been spotted cruising the service but it has been pike that continue to be most active. Several jacks have been caught during the week taking both dead baits and worms.

:: 16.03.08

The final day of the season brought a few anglers out on to the river banks in search of a last gasp specimen to end what has been a frustrating year for many anglers. Anthony Pogmore managed to fish for a few hours on the River Ivel behind New Road Lake where, after a long wait, he caught a 4lb 7oz chub on a cocktail of worms and cheese paste. He was joined by his fishing companion, Kevin Webb, who opted to fish on boilie paste that had worked well for him on previous visits. Kevin landed two chub, both over 4lbs, before his bites dried up in the bright conditions. Winston Pogmore could not get a single bite fishing on the River Ouse at Tempsford and, eventually, moved upstream to the River Ivel on his favourite stretch at High Romper. It took him several moves of swim before he finally found a couple of feeding fish in a part of the river he had previously shunned. Using cheese paste as bait with only a small shot to provide weight, he caught chub weighing 4lb 7oz and 5lb 7oz, the latter being his second largest fish from this stretch

Reports of another big pike from BHAA’s McGregor Lake have been received. This time it was a 21lb specimen caught by two Polish members of the club. The angling club is planning a big surprise for members fishing this water in the next few weeks but they will have to wait for the development to happen.

Several reports of carp catches from Gingerbread Lake have been reported including a great 6 fish haul by Steve Lilly. All of Steve’s fish were caught during the day time. He had taken over a swim vacated by Nick (the Greek) Page who had earlier taken a 17lb fish and lost a much bigger one. Alan Grimsey caught another big carp whilst fishing in atrocious weather that weighed well over 20lbs but the exact weight is not yet known. The torrential rain over the weekend is likely to see the lake become flooded again but the flood defences are in place to minimise any fish losses.

:: 09.03.08

Fraser Hayden managed to fish for a couple of hours on a BHAA controlled stretch of the River Ivel at Langford. He fed his swim with mashed bread and some high protein cheese paste and was soon catching a steady stream of roach on bread crust. Despite loosing two good fish due to hook pulls, Fraser went on to take chub weighing 3lb14oz, 4lb 2oz and 4lb 13oz and packed up with the fish still feeding.

Big pike were still actively feeding at McGregor Lake where Colin Webb followed up his recently caught 23 pounder with another cracking fish, an 18lb specimen. Stephen Harper regularly makes the long journey from Bushey to fish with his father Ian on the Sandy Lakes complex. The previous week he was gutted to lose a big pike that snapped his new trace but his latest catches have more than made up for his disappointment. Stephen caught two big pike weighing 15lb 12oz and 20lbs adding to the growing reputation of the lake as a predator water.

News of a four carp haul from Gingerbread Lake has been reported with fish caught to upper 20s. The continuing cold conditions though has made the carp action slow for most anglers.

:: 02.03.08

The unsettled weather conditions again made sport very patchy throughout the daylight hours with bites coming few and far between. Anthony Pogmore chose to fish at Sawmills Pool on the River Ivel to gain some shelter from a strong wind that was blowing. He managed to catch a 3lb 6oz chub within the first hour but for the rest of the day suffered bite offs from pike that seemed to be active in the pool. The next day the wind abated and he visited the river behind New Road Lake but again sport was very slow. After an hour he hooked into a 4lb plus chub that managed to transfer the hook to some bankside vegetation. Despite a move of swim he struggled to get any more bites so decided to return to his original swim for the last few hours of the day. He managed to miss one suicidal bite but a couple of casts later landed a well conditioned 4lb 10oz chub. His brother Winston fished on High Romper catching three chub to 3lb 4oz but similarly struggled for bites. His next visit was spent on the River Ouse at Tempsford where he caught a nice chub weighing 4lb 10oz. Earlier in the day, he cast a roach deadbait into a large eddy which was soon picked up by a fish. He struck but nearly had his rod yanked out of his grasp by a very powerful fish which he suspects may have been a catfish. Unfortunately, the fish managed to snag his line on tubers in the middle of the river and was lost. Fraser Hayden fished a short session in School Meadow at Tempsford where a single bite produced a 4lb chub for him.

BHAA’s match team came fourth in the Bedford Winter League match fished on the River Ouse at Biddenham despite being a man short. The top individual weight of 31lb 15oz was caught by a Vauxhall AC member, Adrian Parrott, and consisted of 9 chub. Tony Gray came second with 18lbs and BHAA’s Andy Tomlinson was third with 11lb 11oz of perch and small chub. Andy commented that all the Biggleswade boys were placed in their respective sections on an otherwise difficult day when several competitors failed to weigh in. The Winter League was won by Vauxhall AC with Adrian Parrott emerging as the top individual. On Sunday, BHAA’s match men will be fishing a match against Ampthill AC away at Stoke Goldington on the Upper Ouse. Participants are asked to meet in the lay-by on the A603 outside Canvin International at 7.30am.

:: 24.02.08

:: 17.02.08

:: 10.02.08

:: 27.1.08

Pike continue to feature at BHAA’s Sandy Lakes fishery where AlanWilkie caught an 18lb specimen at New Road Lake and another angler landed a 15lb fish from McGregor Lake. There was still little or no sign of carp activity on either lake despite the milder conditions.

After flooding earlier in the week, the River Ivel started to fine down and a few of the winter stalwarts decided to wet a line. Winston Pogmore returned to the High Romper stretch at Tempsford but struggled for bites for a long time. Eventually, he found some fish feeding and went on to catch five chub, the best weighing 5lb1oz. Most, if not all, his fish fell to ledgered cheese paste. Later in the day, he was joined by Fraser Hayden who caught a 4lb 13oz chub on luncheon meat. Fraser had stacks of bites throughout the day but could not connect with them. He suspected that roach could be the culprits. Anthony Pogmore and Kevin Webb chose a little fished stretch of the river at Sandy but could only manage to catch a brace of chub each although both had fish well over 4lbs.

The inter club fixture between BHAA and Letchworth & District AC held on the club’s Dead River stretch of the River Ivel at Sandy turned out to be a comfortable win for the visitors with Letchworth anglers occupying the first three places. Malcolm Theakston caught the top weight of 9lb 3oz; Steve McSweeney came second with 8lb 2oz and Dennis Smith was third with 6lb 7oz (including a huge 2lb 12oz perch). Letchworth won the match catching 30lb 1oz to BHAA’s 13lb 0oz 8dr. However, the Biggleswade club participants used the match as the second leg of the Ivel Shield and the President’s Cup. Reg Lilly won the President’s Cup with a total weight of 4lb 4oz. On Sunday, the club will be participating in a Winter League fixture on the River Ouse at Bromham. The draw will be held in the Royal Oak PH at Kempston where the landlord will be serving cooked breakfasts from 7am.

:: 21.1.08

Few anglers have ventured out this week with the rivers in constant spate and many of the swims around the lakes flooded or waterlogged but the conditions were still not bad enough to deter Mark Everitt and his partner. Jude. The pair fished at BHAA’s McGregor Lake at Sandy and it was Jude who was get the surprise capture of the day, a huge 21lb 8oz pike that Mark described as ‘a beast of a fish’. Most of the pike anglers tend to target nearby New Road Lake but it has been known for some time that McGregor holds some big specimens too, as Jude has proven.

The planned super cup match at Harrold had to be postponed but Biggleswade & Hitchin AA’s match anglers hope to get back into action on Sunday with an inter club fixture against Letchworth & District AC. The match will be held on the club’s popular Dead River stretch of the River Ivel at Sandy provided the river has returned to some degree of normality but, if not, an alternative venue has been earmarked close by.

:: 06.01.08

There was a good turnout for the practice match held on BHAA’s stretch of the River Ouse at Priory Farm, Harrold with several anglers from other clubs boosting the numbers fishing. Although conditions were far from ideal with very low water temperatures, some super catches were weighed in. Paul Mason won the match with four bream and a roach for a total weight of 27lb 13oz. Paul’s catch included a whopping bream weighing 8lb 12oz. In second place was another BHAA angler, Dennis Smith, who weighed in 21lb 7oz made up of three bream and three roach. Third was a Milton Keynes angler, P Hamilton, who caught three bream and two roach for a total of 18lb 10oz. Another double-figure weight was recorded by a second Milton Keynes angler, S Pauly, who weighed in 13lb 12oz, his catch included a 4lb 5oz chub. On Sunday, a second practice match will be held at Harrold subject to the condition of the river vis a vis flooding.

Martin Crouch has been having some great sport with chub fishing the River Ivel behind the club’s Sandy Lakes complex catching specimens weighing up to 5lb 9oz. However, by the end of the week, low water temperatures had all but killed off sport. Martin used feeder tactics to encourage the fish to feed. Meanwhile, Fraser Hayden fished the Pylon Meadow stretch of the River Ouse at Tempsford where he landed three chub to over 4lbs despite having to contend with a strong current.

:: 31.12.08

It has been yet another week of inactivity reported by the few remaining anglers still trying to catch carp at Gingerbread Lake and New Road Lake, Sandy where the fish steadfastly refused to feed despite reasonable conditions. Pike were beginning to show though with some single-figured fish taken from the deeper water areas of the lakes.

Anthony Pogmore decided to fish the stretch of the River Ivel behind BHAA’s Sandy Lakes and was pleasantly surprised to find the river in top condition with a good flow and little debris coming down. On only his second cast of the day, he noticed his rod top trembling and, at first, thought that it might be from a crayfish. However, his fears were soon allayed when he struck and was soon landing a superbly conditioned 2lb 8oz perch. He should have caught a second but the fish decided to bite when he had a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other! Later in the day, he lost a pike on spun lobworms and landed a decent chub after casting close to some overhanging vegetation. Fraser Hayden caught a 4lb 10oz chub from the same stretch but had to fish well into the dark before getting a bite.

Anglers turning up to fish the Bedford Winter League match at the Mill Pool and Dead River stretches of the River Ivel at Sandy were greeted by heavy rain and strong winds that persisted for much of the day. During the match, two anglers had to retrieve their umbrellas which had been blown into the river by the force of the wind. Despite these setbacks, several anglers were able to weigh-in some creditable catches with a top weight of 6lb 15oz and 5lb 13oz for second place. The match was won by Vauxhall AC with 22pts. In second place, were Kempston Liberals with 19pts and in third place there was a tie between Marston GP and Parson’s Barn who earned 17pts apiece. The hosts, Biggleswade & Hitchin AA, managed to accrue 16pts. On Sunday, the club will be fishing the second leg of the Ivel Cup at the same venue.

:: 07.12.07

BHAA member Fraser Hayden caught fish from four different stretches of the River Ivel during the week including four chub over 4lbs, the best weighing 4lb 10oz and an 11lb 1oz mirror carp. The river conditions are still from ideal making Fraser’s catches even more noteworthy.

Twenty anglers turned up to fish in the inter club match between Ampthill AC and their Biggleswade and Hitchin AA hosts. The match was fished at the popular Mill Pool and Dead River stretches of the River Ivel at Sandy and it turned out to be a great event. Everyone who fished weighed in with over 90lb of fish caught in total. At least, one angler caught over 100 fish during the 5-hour match and A Denton (Ampthill AC) landed a whopping perch weighing 2lb 15oz too. The match was won by the visitors with their top 7 weights totaling 44lb 2oz to Biggleswade & Hitchin’s combined weight of 31lb 13oz. The individual winner was N Rose (Ampthill AC) who weighed in 11lb 1oz with Biggy’s Reg Lilly coming second with 7lb 4oz and D Pearson third with 6lb 12oz. On Sunday, the club will be hosting the Bedford Winter League at the same venue when 6 teams of 6 will pit their skills against one another. The draw will be held in the Bell public house situated opposite Sandy railway station where cooked breakfasts will be available so don’t be late!

:: 25.11.07

Alan Davies kicked off his winter pike fishing with a nice pair of doubles caught from Gingerbread Lake. Alan caught pike weighing 14lb and 10lb from an area of the lake where he knows that much larger specimens are present and still to be caught. A change of venue for Alan took him to Pylon Meadow at Tempsford on the River Ouse from where he enjoyed another great day’s sport but this time with another species. Alan caught four zander, the best weighing over 7lbs and is keen to have another crack at this prolific predator stretch.

Fourteen hardy match anglers braved bitterly cold conditions to fish the inter club match between Biggleswade & Hitchin and Queen’s Works from Bedford. Biggleswade were the hosts on their popular Mill Pool and Dead River stretches of the River Ivel at Sandy. It was an extremely close fought match with the top four weights of each club being only ounces apart. Queen’s Works won the competition with a combined weight of 17lb 13oz to Biggleswade’s 17lb 1oz. The top individual weight was caught by S. Cooper (Queen’s Works) with 9lb 6oz of roach and dace with the second and third places both occupied by Biggleswade anglers. George Ball was second with 6lb 5oz and Reg Lilly came third with 5lb 9oz. On Sunday, the match section will be hosting a match against Ampthill AC at the same venue with the hope that some forecast mid week rain will further improve the sport.

:: October Rust

Paul James spotted a group of carp in the pump house bay during a walk around Gingerbread Lake and decided to make them his next target. He was even more enthused when he spotted a much larger fish swimming amongst them. A single run announced a take on his boily hook bait and Paul knew almost immediately that he had hooked the big one. Eventually, the fish was subdued and Paul was able to net an old acquaintance, a mirror carp nicknamed ‘Moon Scale’ weighing a hefty 35lb 8oz. Derek Munro landed another of the lake’s most sought after fish, the cut-tail common, weighing 28lbs and went on to land a huge mirror weighing 33lbs. Tony Foster was another angler to favour the road bank where he enjoyed a cracking session landing carp weighing 11lbs, 18lbs, 23lbs and 29lbs to add to his impressive tally of fish. Simon Carr of Walker’s Pitch fish overnight in torrential rain but had to venture out from his shelter to strike a run. After a good fight and a soaking, Simon landed a 19lb mirror carp on one of his shop’s home made boilies.

Fraser Hayden found the River Ouse and the lower Ivel in spate after torrential rain during the week. He decided to try his luck well upstream where he found the BHAA-controlled stretch of the River Ivel above Langford Mill fishable. He was rewarded with the capture of three chub, the best weighing an impressive 5lb 7oz and another of 4lb 12oz. Club President, Bill Chisholm reported having some good bags of quality roach from the same venue fishing only a few hundred yards from his home.

A flooded river put paid to the planned match at Lavendon. Better conditions are hoped for at this Sunday’s match being held on the Dead River stretch of the Ivel at Sandy. The prize being fished for is the Ball Cup and the draw will be held at 8.30am on the bankside.

:: A load of carp

Big carp were actively feeding throughout the week at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake with some fantastic catches reported from nearly all parts of the lake. Dave Bryant was one of the first to taste success when he caught a whopping 30lb 1oz mirror carp whilst fishing in two-bar bay. Nick ‘the Greek’ Page chose the prolific dugout swim from where he landed no fewer than three carp over 20lbs having one fish on whilst another was still in his landing net. Nick’s fish weighed 24lb 8oz, 25lb 8oz and 25lb 4oz. He returned later in the week to take another huge carp, this time a 30lb mirror carp. Martin Crouch fished an overnight session in the little fished fence swim in the factory bay landing a 20lb mirror carp. Alan Grimsey targeted the jetty swim opposite the road bank from which he landed two carp weighing 24lb and 30lb 1oz. His fishing companion, Paul James, was another angler to experience success fishing the dugout swim when he landed a cracking 33lb mirror carp late in the afternoon after experiencing little action throughout the previous night. The next morning he hooked a beast of a fish that he was unlucky to lose but said it felt even heavier than the fish he had landed. Anthony Pogmore tried out some new hooks whilst fishing in the factory bay but was gutted to lose a fish when the hook gape was opened out. Undeterred, he returned to the same swim the next day with a change of hook and in the early afternoon connected with another big carp. The fish managed to weed itself but Anthony was able to get both the weed bed and the fish into his landing net. The weight was such that he could not lift the net out of the water and had to spend a couple of minutes clearing the weed. At last he was able to weigh the fish which turned out to be a secretive fish nicknamed the ‘Cluster clone’ and weighed 34lb 8oz, a new personal best for him and the biggest fish landed for several weeks. Most anglers were enjoying success by using only boilies as freebies whilst the spod merchants tended to be plagued by big bream! However, the most unusual catch of the week was reserved for Walker’s Pitch proprietor, Simon Carr. He struck into a fish when his alarm sounded that weeded him at first. He was soon able to gain line on the ‘fish’. Imagine his surprise when he saw a large eel coming towards him partially in the jaws of a double-figured pike with the rest of the eel wrapped around the pike’s body. His mate, Bob Kitchener, managed to land the pair and both fish were returned to the water relatively unharmed.

This week’s match was held on The Drift when the club hosted Ampthill AC. Biggleswade & Hitchin’s Reg Lilly was the individual winner with two Ampthill anglers, S Wills and G Large, occupying the next two places. The host club narrowly won the match on a day when bites were hard to come by and the roach shoals had all but disappeared. On Sunday, the club will be hosting a match against Letchworth AC at the popular Manor Farm, Lavendon stretch on the upper Ouse.

:: Fish And Chips

Peter Wesley finally managed to free himself of work commitments but a couple of fishless days did little to boost his confidence on his return to BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. His luck was to change though when he moved to a popular swim in the factory bay where he first caught a whopping bream that he returned to the water without weighing. He recast his boily hook bait together with about 50 freebies and it was not long before he experienced another take. After a gentle tussle with the fish, Peter slipped his net under a 33lb 4oz mirror carp, his best ever carp from the lake so far. Two more anglers broke the thirty barrier - Dave Bryant with a 31lb mirror caught from deep bay and Tony Foster with a 30lb 2oz mirror from the factory bay. Multiple catches were enjoyed by a number of other anglers too with Nick ‘the Greek’ Page landing two carp around the 20lb mark, Mark Thurley catching no fewer than four despite losing two others (several of Mark’s fish exceeded 20lbs0, and Simon Carr who caught three carp all over 20lbs. Simon’s fish included a 21lb common and a 24lb+ mirror carp. Bob Fairey caught a 26lb 13oz common carp fishing from the entrance promontory and Alan Grimsey landed a 25lb mirror carp whilst fishing an adjacent swim. Tench, bream, rudd and roach were also featuring in anglers’ catches particularly when fishing close to the margins on maggots, sweetcorn or worms.

Mike Hames fished at McGregor Lake and was soon getting plenty of bites from bream on worm and maggot cocktail but was gutted to lose a big perch at the net which he estimated to be around the 3lb mark. Another angler to suffer a similar fate was Andy Tomlinson when fishing the Manor Farm stretch of the River Ouse at Lavendon. Andy hooked a huge perch only to lose it at the net. Kevin Webb fished from the north bank at New Road Lake to gain some shelter from a cool northerly wind that was blowing hard but he was surprised to see fish crashing out into the teeth of the wind on the opposite side of the lake. It appeared that three anglers had fished there over the weekend and the fish had finally decided to feed on their free offerings after they had all gone home! However, just when Kevin thought he had made a poor choice of swim, a double-figure mirror carp snapped up his boily hook bait.

Unfortunately, this week’s match against Ampthill AC had to be cancelled but will be rescheduled for later in the year. On Sunday, a club match is to be held on The Drift at Eaton Socon with the draw at 8.30am.

:: Here fishy fishy!

A last few hours fishing the prolific dugout swim was enough for ‘Jess’ to catch a 26lb mirror carp after an otherwise fishless session at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. Stuart Hiams fished his favourite swim at the mouth of the channel from where he caught three carp including a 24lb mirror. Paul James just cannot stop catching taking three more carp during his latest session including the cut-tail common weighing 26lb 6oz and a 19lb 2oz linear mirror. The weights of the fish are still low after recent spawning but are beginning to improve as the fish start to feed more avidly. Roach, rudd and skimmers were also starting to show being caught on both maggots and sweetcorn.

Some big bream and good-sized carp up to mid doubles have been taken from McGregor Lake in recent visits as the fish start to pick up anglers’ baits at long last. The lake is alive with fish but has proven to be a difficult nut to crack for many anglers. Most anglers visiting New Road Lake have witnessed many of the lake’s carp sun bathing in the weed beds and showing little interest in feeding. A few of the lake’s double-figure bream continue to show though including specimens up to the 12lb mark.

Peter Henegan caught the top weight of fish in the inter club match fished on Pylon Meadow at Tempsford when Letchworth AC were the visiting club. Peter landed 11lb 13oz that included a 3lb chub but this was not enough to prevent Letchworth from gaining a comfortable win with a total weight of 31lb 1oz to Biggleswade & Hitchin’s 17lb 13oz. Other notable weights were 11lb 6oz by Ken Kendall and 9lb 4oz by Dennis Holliday fishing for Letchworth. On Sunday, there will be a club match fished at Manor Farm, Lavendon.

:: Autumnal Fun!

Tony Foster continued his good successful run of catches from BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake with a three fish haul during a recent session. Tony’s fish were mirror carp weighing 27lb and 21lb plus a 13lb common, one of the fish that has grown from spawn in the lake. Tony was fishing one of his favourite swims along the road bank that receives little attention from other anglers. Paul James was pleased to get among the fish again too landing common carp of 22lb 14ox and 11lb fishing in two-bar bay. The odd bream and tench keeps turning up in catches but, at present, the fish still seem to be reluctant to get their heads down.

Ray Charter was fishing a club stretch at Tempsford when a good-sized dace was grabbed by a massive perch. Ray tried to land the fish but the enormous specimen spat the dace to evade capture. The dace was still alive if a little the worse for its experience. Alan Wilkie was luckier when he fished the Anchor Meadow stretch at Tempsford specifically for perch using bleak as live bait. A cast to the far bank brought an instant take that turned out to be a 2lb 14oz specimen.

The Pairs Match fished at The Drift on the River Ouse at Eaton Socon was won by Peter Henegan and Steve Green. Peter caught the top individual weight on the day with a total of 5lb 13oz well clear of Andy Tomlinson and Reg Lilly whose combined weights could not meet Peter’s. On Sunday, an inter club match will be held on Pylon Meadow
at Tempsford when Letchworth AC will be their opponents. The Biggy boys are hoping to reverse the outcome of the previous contest between the two clubs when Letchworth came out as comfortable winners. The draw will be held in the Anchor Hotel’s car park at 8am.

:: All is still busy!

Sport was slow at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake in the early part of last week as result of cool northerly winds but Colin Burge was still able to get some action. Colin chose a sheltered swim in the factory bay that had been unfishable for some time previously owing to dense weed. The weed had thinned and so he decided to fish with boilies and PVA bags of freebies cast amongst the remaining weed beds. He had three runs and managed to land a 14lb carp on one day and then returned to catch a 19lb 7oz mirror on his next visit. Anthony Pogmore found conditions to his liking and decided to cast close to some overhanging trees on the opposite bank where he had seen the odd fish crash out on a previous visit. He had four screaming runs in five hours but only managed to connect with a single fish, a pristine 12lb 8oz common carp. Two more thirties were reported caught over the weekend with Steve Lilly catching a 32lb+ carp from the factory bay and Lee Salisbury another 30lb fish from the dugout swim. Graham Bradley fished the bridge bay from where he caught a 20lb mirror and saw loads of fish clustered close to the remaining weed. Steve Slater reported catching tench and bream fishing a popular swim in the factory bay but had no action from carp.

Weights were low at the club match fished on the upstream section of The Drift at Eaton Socon where bright conditions and heavy boat traffic spoilt the day. Reg Lilly won the match with 2lb 14oz and Steve Green was second with 1lb 8oz. On Sunday, a match will be held at Manor Farm, Lavendon on the River Ouse where the conditions should be more conducive to fishing.

:: Anthony scrores one for the Pogmores! ;-)

Carp fishing at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake was back to its brilliant best with a host of great catches during the past week. Tony Foster started the ball rolling when he fished a popular swim along the road bank from which he landed four carp weighing 33lb, 28lb, 25lb 8oz and 13lb. Steve Mole fished in deep bay where he caught a single fish, a scale-perfect 20lb common carp. Jason Howard landed two carp including a 25 pounder fishing overnight along the road bank. Anthony Pogmore chose a swim in the factory bay where he had seen plenty of fish topping. Within an hour of casting out, his double boilie offering was taken and, after a short fight, he slipped his net under a 32lb 8oz mirror carp, a new personal best. Shortly afterwards, he had another run but this time it turned out to be a 7lb bream. A new member had a cracking day’s sport fishing from the wood in the factory bay. He baited his swim heavily with floaters throughout the day, more to keep the ducks and swans preoccupied, and went to land no fewer than 6 big carp. His feat was even the more remarkable as he was fishing over dense weed beds but skillfully managed to keep each fish near the surface and away from the weed. Tony Foster witnessed the activity in the factory bay and decided on another overnight session. This time he caught three carp, two over 25lbs and a 13lb fish. Tony said that he had purposely avoided putting out too many free offerings but instead opted for a small number of sample baits to get the fish interested. Bob Kitchener landed a superbly marked linear mirror weighing 21lb 8oz fishing from the north bank in the factory bay and his fishing companion, Mark Thurley, landed a 19lb fish in the adjacent swim. Mark had caught another carp and had been snagged by another fish on a previous visit.

Alan Wilkie had a 5 fish haul of carp to low doubles fishing at New Road Lake but Wesley Hayden took the honours with a 3 fish haul of carp weighing 10lb, 10lb 8oz and 25lb 2oz. Wesley had chosen a swim close to the island but had to contend with dense marginal weed to land his fish.

The 2nd Ouse Shield match fished on the upstream section of The Drift at Eaton Socon was won by Peter Henegan with 6lb 2oz of mainly quality roach. Reg Lilly came second well behind with 2lb 11oz and Andy Tomlinson was third with 2lb 3oz. On Sunday, a club match will be held at the same venue.

A cock pheasant has developed a liking for angler’s bait at Gingerbread Lake .It is now so tame that it can be practically hand fed making several visits each day to see what is on offer! He will have to keep his wits about him though as a fox is frequently seen patrolling the banks and no doubt sampling the local birdlife.

:: Big'uns Galore!

Sid Dunn, an angler now well into his seventies, broke another personal best when he caught two super carp from BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake. His fish weighed an impressive 24lb 8oz and 30lb 4oz, his first ever carp over the magical 30lb mark, and were both taken during the daytime. Sid was fishing from the road bank and had been going through a bit of a lean spell after catching carp regularly throughout the mild winter months. Paul James landed a nice 19lb carp within a couple of hours of setting up then struggled to get another take from a carp over the next 70 hours or so. Anthony Pogmore chose a popular swim in the factory bay and within five minutes of casting out netted a 7lb tench but his sport petered out after losing a carp when it left his hook in a weed bed. Martin Crouch fished an overnight session in two-bar bay after baiting heavily with ready-made boilies. The carp were soon munching them and Martin went on to hook five fish landing three that weighed 27lb, 21lb and 17lb. Martin noticed that there appeared to be little natural life remaining in the weed so it is likely that the lake will be fertilized during the coming winter to encourage invertebrates.
Mike Hames decided to fish a late afternoon and evening session at McGregor Lake and despite a few knocks was unable to connect with any fish. Mike said that he found this amazing for as the wind dropped the lake surface became a mass of cruising fish, mainly carp, in numbers that beggared belief. According to Mike, their behaviour made the surface seem that the wind was still blowing which it was not.
The match against Letchworth AC fished on their lake at Henlow was won by the host club with 86lb 10oz to Biggleswade & Hitchin’s 65lb 13oz. The top weight of 26lb 8oz was landed by Letchworth angler A Davies but four B&H anglers each recorded double-figure weights. Neil Smith weighed in 15lb 15oz, Peter Henegan – 15lb 6oz, Peter Currell Snr – 14lb 2oz and Reg Lilly – 12lb 2oz. On Sunday, a club match is being held on The Drift and will be the second point scoring match towards the Ouse Shield.

Many junior members are fishing unsupervised during the school holidays. Whilst no one wants to derive them of their sport they must follow a few simple rules to avoid the risk of a tragic accident occurring. Never enter the water to retrieve tackle. Lakes, gravel pits and rivers have uneven often deep bottoms, underwater snags and potentially dangerous weed that can drag you under. They are not swimming pools and should not be used such. If you get into difficulties, there may not be an adult on hand to help you to safety. Do not fish alone as a friend will be able to raise the alarm and get help if you should get into difficulties. Finally, do not climb trees at the side of lakes as their branches may not be able to bear your weight increasing the risk of injury.

:: Gingerbread's a busy place

Several big carp have been hooked and lost at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where the fish are often able to gain the sanctuary of the weed beds. Evenings and early mornings seem to be the best time for takes with many of the fish feeding very close to the margins.

The bright conditions have resulted in groups of carp being seen cruising the surface at New Road Lake but once again they have chosen the thickly weeded parts of the lake to perform their antics. Towards the end of the week, more fish were prepared to venture into open water but runs remained few and far between. A report of a 26lb mirror being taken off the surface was received and Kevin Webb managed to catch an 11lb 12oz common carp on an otherwise quiet day.

It is pleasing to report that more anglers are prepared to try their luck on McGregor Lake where the prospect of an unusual capture is ever present. Dave Holland found that the fish liked large pellets and went on to catch a 9lb common carp plus bream of 7lbs and 4lbs. Dave said that he had witnessed a big carp regularly breaking the surface but it remained beyond his casting range.

Alan Wilkie went after the perch in the lower Ivel and Ouse at Tempsford and ended the day with a great catch landing four fish over a pound plus specimens weighing 2lb 14oz and 3lb 4oz.

Match Secretary Andy Tomlinson sampled the fishing on The Drift section of the Ouse ahead of the planned club match and found there to be plenty of good fish in the area catching a 3lb plus tench, bream of 4lb 7oz and 5lb 11oz and some quality roach around the 12oz mark. He thought his luck was really in when he drew a peg in the same area but, after losing a big chub, marauding pike quickly killed off his sport. Peter Henegan won the match with 2lb 5oz of silver fish comfortably beating Neil Smith and Steve Green who fished second and third respectively. Andy thought that the bright conditions and heavy boat traffic both effected sport throughout the day. On Sunday, the match men will be contesting an inter club match away against Letchworth AC on their No2 lake at Henlow. The draw will be held at 7.30am with fishing between 9.00am and 2.00pm.

:: August is approaching and all is busy

Carp continue to show at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where Graham Bradley landed a 25lb 14oz mirror carp whilst fishing on Mistral boilies. Lake regular Paul James caught carp of 19lb and 23lb during a session in two-bar bay. Other anglers were reported to have taken the odd carp too during the week However, excessive weed growth still remains a problem in many swims but hopefully it should soon start to die back.

Some good catches were again reported from New Road Lake over the past week but location is the key to success. Michael Gross caught an 18lb 5oz mirror carp fishing at the river end of the lake during an overnight session but a change of wind direction spoilt his chances of more fish. Alan Wilkie chose a well fished swim that had received plenty of bait and caught fish throughout the day. His catch included a 10lb 10oz bream, a 7lb bream and carp of 11lb 5oz and 9lbs. Also, Alan managed to lose four carp on the trot which would have given him a super catch, if landed. Martin Crouch caught six carp up to low doubles from the same area of the lake earlier in the week. Martin said thqat the carp are definitely munching boilies at present and can be encouraged to feed with a good supply of freebies.

Members are asked to exercise extreme caution when driving vehicles around the lakes as the tracks are saturated with rain water and, in many places, the ground has softened with the risk of vehicles getting stuck. It is safer for anglers to leave their vehicles on solid ground and walk the short distances to swims until the ground dries out.

This week’s match was fished on the downstream section of The Drift on the Great Ouse at Eaton Socon. Conditions were far from ideal with heavily coloured water and a rising river swelled by overnight rain. The match was won by Peter Henegan with 3lb 14oz of roach just out catching Neil Smith who finished with 3lb 1oz of roach. In third place was Reg Lilly who landed a 2lb plus perch to finish with 2lb 12oz. On Sunday, a club match is to held on the upstream section of the Drift with the prospect of the river being in perfect condition if the rain continues to hold off.

:: Où est la mer?

Dense weed beds are still providing a haven for the carp at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake with few reports of any carp being caught although Mark Thurley managed to catch one during an overnight stay.

It was a different story at New Road Lake where both carp and big bream continue to show. Colin Burge continued his good run with a mirror carp of 16lb 6oz plus a good-sized bream. Kevin Webb managed to snatch a few hours fishing before torrential rain all but submerged his swim but not before he landed a double figured carp and a 9lb 8oz bream.

Chris Tribe tackled a club stretch of the River Ouse near Harrold where he caught a massive river tench weighing 7lb 12oz plus two chub weighing up to 4lb 8oz. Needless to say, Chris is keen to get on the bank again to catch some of the big specimen fish that are known to inhabit this stretch.

The club match due to be fished on the River Ouse had to be switched to McGregor Lake owing to the flooded state of the river. Peter Henegan won the match with an impressive weight of 15lb that included a super bream weighing 7lb 14oz. George Ball was second with 3lb 3oz whose catch included a 2lb perch and third was Neil Smith with 3lb 2oz of silver fish. On Sunday, another match is scheduled for The Drift but there is a likelihood that the continuing flood conditions will force another change of venue.

:: It is July Already?

Colin Burge from Keysoe recently celebrated his seventieth birthday but his love of angling remains undiminished. You will still find Colin tackling up at one of BHAA’s waters at the crack of dawn on three days each week throughout much of the year. On Monday he tried his luck at Gingerbread Lake, where the fishing has been far from easy in recent weeks, where he caught a big tench over 8lbs. The following Wednesday saw him down at New Road Lake and, on this occasion, he went on to catch a personal best bream weighing 10lb 7oz plus two of the stocky little mirrors that have been giving anglers some terrific sport. A second visit to the lake on Friday resulted in Colin landing another four carp up to double-figures.

Nick Page managed to catch one of Gingerbread Lake’s bigger residents when he landed a 28lb mirror carp fishing from the entrance point. Nick said that you can see carp galore in the dense weed beds but, at present, they are reluctant to leave the shelter provided. Mo Hoseason took a 22lb fish too fishing from Thorpies Point during an overnight session in the factory bay.

Alan Wilkie fished an early morning session on The Riddy stretch of the River Ivel using free lined baits and went on to catch two double-figured common carp, the best weighing over 11lbs. Anglers wishing to fish this stretch must not attempt to fish at night or to pitch any tents during their stay as it is now a designated nature reserve and any offenders risk prosecution with heavy fines.

Letchworth & District AC comfortably won the match against Biggleswade & Hitchin AA that was fished on their stretch of the River Cam at Clayhive with Letchworth anglers occupying the first three places. Chopped worm proved to be the killer bait on the day. Peter Henegan came fourth with a weight of 4lb 5oz that compared favorably with the winning weight of 6lbs. Match Secretary, Andy Tomlinson, said the result could have been different if he had not lost a big tench at the start of the match after the fish buried itself in a dense weed bed.

:: Busy Summer

:: Gingerbread's Delivering

:: Welcome Summer!

Spawning has finished for the time being at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake but the lake’s big carp have decided to seek the cover of the dense weed beds that now cover much of the lake. A few fish have been caught though including a 20lb 2oz mirror carp by Paul James when he fished from the north bank in the factory bay. Mark Snow was well pleased to catch two carp, the best weighing over 19lbs when he fished in two-bar bay on his first visit to the lake. Winston Pogmore dragged a swim in the channel on the road bank and soon had some fish bubbling in the disturbed bottom. He went on to catch a nice 6lb 12oz tench on worms.

Dennis Smith paid his first visit of the season to fish The Drift stretch of the river behind the lake. Float-fishing about 14ft deep close to the near bank, Dennis had a good day catching plenty of skimmer bream and small chub for a double-figure net of fish. Neil Smith fished the stretch too and caught bream to 5lbs plus roach and skimmers. He was unfortunate to lose a much larger bream though estimated to be in the 7lb bracket.

Plenty of carp continue to be caught at New Road Lake where the stock fish continue to munch boilies. The latest stocking introduced in the snow in February have already increased their body weight by 50% in this rich water. Kevin Webb had a good morning’s sport with them by landing 3 fish including an11lb 4oz heavily scaled mirror carp. Ian Welch visited the lake in search of the big bream that have been showing lately but, in the early part of his visit, had to settle for a number of single-figure carp.

Mikael Tybudizy decided to try his luck on McGregor Lake and had a surprise catch fishing on two grains of multi-coloured sweetcorn, a cracking perch weighing 3lb 3oz. Peter Henegan was another angler to fish the lake but could only manage a modest 5lb bream on his first visit. However, Peter was determined to crack the water and, on his second trip, he caught a whopping 7lb 12oz tench. He used pole fishing tactics to catch both of his fish and is planning some more visits.

It was Peter Henegan again who featured in both of the club’s recent matches. He won the first of the evening matches held on McGregor Lake with a winning catch of 8lbs 3oz that included a 4lb 5oz bream and a 3lb 5oz mirror carp. Peter used pellet as hook bait during the match. Alan Kealy came second with 2lbs 4oz of small silver fish. Peter caught the highest weight by a BHAA angler in the away march against Ampthill AC at Ampthill Reservoir. His catch weight was 22lbs but this was only good enough to secure him fourth place as the home team occupied the first three places with 39lbs 6oz (S Kiteley), 27lbs 11oz (T. Marshall) and 26lbs 11oz (P Scowen). On Thursday, the third

:: Last Weeks News

Continual spawning activity by the lake’s carp and monsoon-like conditions all but killed sport at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake but a few anglers tasted success. Derek Munro landed a 22lb 2oz mirror carp and a number of bream and Paul James caught a 24lb common carp from the point swim plus a big bream. Graham Bradley was well pleased to catch a 22lb mirror carp whilst fishing in the factory bay.

It was a different picture at New Road Lake where both bream and carp were feeding avidly. Kevin Webb broke another personal best when he landed an 11lb 1oz bream and followed this up with another weighing 9lb 8oz plus a small mirror carp. Mike Hames had carp rolling in his swim for much of the day so it was no surprise when he caught an 18lb 12oz mirror plus a smaller fish. Derek Watchorn was well pleased too catching two nice carp and a 6lb bream fishing from the car park swim.

Bream, perch and rudd all featured in anglers’ catches at McGregor Lake with some of the better bream weighing around the 8lb mark. However, despite the lake being heavily stocked with small carp, few of the species are being caught by anglers, a total mystery.

Reg Lilly won the club’s first match of the season at McGregor Lake with a good winning weight of 10lbs 3oz. It was a close run thing though as Reg was trailing George Ball until well into the match but a 4lb 10oz bream made all the difference. George finished with 7lb 3oz of silver fish and Neil Smith was third with 4lb 5oz. Match Secretary, Andy Tomlinson, was well pleased with the venue with the stocks of silver fish increasing in both size and number. On Sunday, the club’s match men will be fishing away against Ampthill AC at Ampthill Reservoir followed by an evening match on Thursday at McGregor Lake.

:: No News Like Old News

The cool northerly winds brought sport at Gingerbread Lake to an abrupt halt with the exception of some large bream shoals that were feeding up on leftover bait after the anglers had long departed. Tony Foster was one angler who managed to buck the trend by catching a 25lb mirror carp fishing close to some marginal lilies.

Some fantastic sport was enjoyed by Rob Packer and Martin Crouch fishing at New Road Lake. After a slow start and a move of swim, the anglers finally found the fish and Rob went on to catch no fewer than 6 double-figure bream weighing between 10lbs 1oz and 11lbs 4oz plus 2 double-figure carp. Martin caught 3 double-figure bream weighing between 10lbs 2oz and 11lbs 6oz plus another 2 carp, the largest being a 15lb common. This small lake continues to amaze people as a non member walking around it spotted a shoal of more than 30 big bream one of which was well into double figures. Needless to say, he has since joined the club! Small carp were stocked into the lake in May 2006 and these stockies are now being caught averaging well over 10lbs, an astonishing growth rate of around 10lbs in a year.

Biggleswade & Hitchin AA’s match fishing programme kicks off at McGregor Lake on Sunday, 17th June, with the draw taking place at 8.30am and fishing from 10.00-15.00 hours. On Thursday, the 21st of June, there will be an evening match at the same venue with the draw at 17.30hours and fishing from 18.00 to 21.00hours. Finally, on Sunday, the 24th of June, there will be an away match against Ampthill AC to be fished at Ampthill Reservoir with the draw at 07.30hours and fishing between 09.00 and 14.00hours. Anglers wishing to participate in this fixture should contact Andy Tomlinson, Match Secretary, before the previous Sunday as spaces will be limited.

:: Summer is on its way!

Cliff Walker achieved a personal milestone when he caught his first 30lb plus carp from Gingerbread Lake. Cliff cast behind a bed of Norfolk reeds and at about 6.30am his alarm sounded a run and after a good fight, he was able to slip his landing net under a 31lb 2oz mirror. Chris Tribe paid his first visit of the year to the lake and chose a little fished swim opposite the deep water area of the lake. He was more than pleased with his selection going on to catch a 25lb 10oz mirror carp plus three really big bream. Anthony Pogmore fished the dugout swim but was beginning to think that he had made a wrong decision as he had only had a couple of line bites by early afternoon. His luck was to change though when his double boily offering was picked up and a slow bite registered on his indicator. He struck into the fish which turned out to be an immaculately conditioned 24lb 12oz linear mirror carp. Tench were featuring in anglers’ catches too with one member reporting catching two fish in the 6-7lb bracket. Later in the week, the carp were engaged for several days in a spawning frenzy with their minds on other than feeding.

Kevin Webb chose to fish at New Road Lake and soon started to get bites on his ledgered boilies with several fish seen rolling in his swim. Kevin went on to catch two stocky mirrors plus a good-sized bream. Alan Wilkie fished nearby at McGregor Lake and was rewarded with a real mixed bag of fish. Alan caught a super perch weighing 3lb 2oz, a 6lb 15oz tench and three large bream to 6lb 6oz. Winston Pogmore was well pleased to catch another big tench, a 7lb 2oz specimen plus a good-sized bream at the same venue.

:: A Carp Week

:: McGregor Lake Success

:: Fish Fest

Former club chairman, Peter Currell, achieved an ambition when he landed a magnificent 8lb tench fishing at BHAA’s Gingerbread Lake where the fish continue to feed avidly. Derek Munro landed two carp including a huge 37lb mirror carp, Derek’s second upper 30 from the lake. Steve Lilly caught an impressive trio of carp weighing 20lbs, 23lbs and 32lbs during a weekend session fishing in the channel area. Glen Cooper took carp of 24lbs and 27lbs on floating bread after spotting some big fish milling around close to the surface. Tony Foster caught two carp weighing 13lbs and 21lbs fishing an unfashionable swim on the road bank that he had kept bait trickling into. Anthony Pogmore had an almighty scrap with an upper 20 that he had accidentally foul hooked in the tail. He played the fish for a good ten minutes before the hook came free. Undaunted, on his next visit to the lake he landed a 29lb 4oz leather carp. The irony was that this fish fought little better than a small tench. Steve Bull caught three mid doubles, tench and bream from different parts of the lake. Alan Grimsey said that he thinks that he may have caught one of the lake’s most sought after residents, the cut-tail mirror that had not been seen for several years and was feared dead. The fish now weighs well over 30lbs and has increased in weight by over 50%, a testimony to the water’s richness and the wising up of its residents.

Recently stocked carp and some big bream were feeding well at New Road Lake at Sandy with several anglers reporting multiple catches. Martin Crouch was broken on a snag whilst playing a good carp. However, later in the session his fishing companion, Rob Packer hooked some trailing line attached to it was a 26lb mirror carp and, guess what, Martin’s hook was neatly embedded in its mouth. Martin went on to landed a double-
figured bream and two stockies while Rob took carp to low doubles.

:: Roll On Summer

The continuing summery weather has brought the fish on the feed big time at Gingerbread Lake where the lake’s bream have already begun spawning in earnest. Several anglers have enjoyed multiple catches of big carp with Paul James landing fish weighing 29lb, 26lb and 12lb whilst his fishing companion, Alan Grimsey, took carp of 28lb, 25lb and 24lb. Mark Thurley brought his tally up to three 20s in recent weeks with two more fish weighing 25lb and 21lb. Ted Hartwell fished a short 5-hour session and landed a single fish, a whopping 31lb mirror carp so he went back to Sawston with a smile on his face. Alan Wilkie found a small patch of gravel in the factory bay and spodded out a small amount of loose feed. He went on to catch a 7lb 7oz tench and two bream weighing 7lb 11oz and 7lb 15oz.

New Road Lake at Sandy was temporarily closed for a test netting by the Environment Agency’s fisheries officers where they were hoping to catch some small silver fish. However, they found their nets bulging with large carp to over 28lbs and bream to 13lbs so nobody can have any excuses for not catching!

Robert Livock fished at nearby McGregor Lake where he caught a 2lb 5oz orfe plus bream of 5lbs and 6lbs during a short morning visit. His neighbour, Winston Pogmore, broke another two personal bests by landing another 2lb 5oz orfe and a super tench weighing 8lb 4oz. Also, he caught a 6lb 11oz tench on the same visit.

:: And this weeks news..

:: Old News is still good news!

:: Cat Fishing? - Someone got excited by the notion!

:: The Ides Of March

:: Spring Forward

Alan Wilkie fished another overnight session on BHAA’s New Road Lake, Sandy where he landed no fewer than five carp, the best a 10lb fully-scaled mirror. Alan has caught over 20 carp from this venue in the past season. Other anglers were catching some of the carp recently stocked into the lake as the milder weather has seen an upsurge in feeding activity. Later in the week, Alan decided to try for perch at McGregor Lake which has received little or no angling pressure in recent weeks. However, he was pleasantly surprised when his ledgered lobworms were taken first by a pristine 6lb 1oz tench and then by an 8lb 4oz fully-scaled mirror carp. Both fish scrapped well as Alan was only using 4lb b.s. line.

The River Ivel at Sandy Lakes continues to provide some good sport. Dave Holland took three chub to 4lb 2oz in a brief visit and then returned to catch another weighing 4lb 8oz. All of Dave’s fish were caught on cheese paste. Anthony Pogmore caught three chub to 3lb 8oz and a nice perch weighing 2lbs using his favourite lobworms as bait. His brother, Winston, again targeted the High Romper stretch at Tempsford where he landed three chub, the best weighing 4lb 8oz. His two largest chub were both caught on ledgered cheese paste with mashed up bread being used as loose feed.

Biggleswade & Hitchin AA will be holding its Annual General Meeting at the Biggleswade Rugby Club on Wednesday, 21st March when trophies will be awarded and some important rule changes voted on. It is an exciting time for the club and members are encouraged to attend as it will be an opportunity for them to meet the club’s management board and to discuss future proposals.

:: Big Catches Becoming A Regular Occurrence

Alan Wilkie decided to fish an overnight session on BHAA’s New Road Lake, Sandy as the rivers were practically unfishable and he was well pleased with the results. Alan caught three mirror carp to 12lb 9oz plus a whopping bream weighing 10lb 8oz. On a previous day visit he had landed a smaller bream weighing 5lb 5oz giving him a portent of what was to come. Michael Gross was another angler to fish at this increasingly popular venue where he caught a 17lb 2oz common carp. Kevin Webb landed two single-figured carp from the lake too on popped-up baits and was unlucky to miss a number of violent bites from carp.

Fraser Hayden found the River Ivel at Sandy Lakes to be in spate but, after several moves of swim, he managed to find an eddy with some slacker water. However, for once, he could not get a touch on lobworms but a change of bait to luncheon meat enabled him to catch three chub, the best weighing 3lb 10oz.

Reports received from Gingerbread Lake indicate that big carp are continuing to show with several 20lb+ fish being caught. Members are warned to be very careful though as the venue is waterlogged with many swims under water and unfishable. Swim repairs and major improvements to the track are planned at the lake on the forthcoming working parties in May.

:: Andy Thomlinson Is Triumphant!

Melting snow followed by heavy rain meant that for much of last week the rivers were in flood making fishing less than ideal. The river levels were dropping towards the end of the week so Anthony Pogmore decided to have a day fishing the River Ivel at Sandy Lakes. His first cast produced a confident bite which resulted in a pristine conditioned 4lb 8oz chub but little did he know that was the end of sport for the day for, despite several changes of swims, no more fish showed any interest in feeding. Robert Livock found the lower Ivel to be uninviting so he too decided to fish the same stretch later in the week. This time though the fish were back on the feed and he was able to catch three chub with the best weighing 4lb 14oz. Robert said he found that he had to keep moving swims to get bites but when he did the bites were forthcoming.

This week’s Biggleswade and Hitchin club match was held on the Dead River at Sandy after it was decided that the main river was still carrying too much flow. The match was a closely fought contest with just four ounces separating the first three places. Andy Tomlinson won the match with 6lb 12oz securing him both the Club Championship and the Winter Shield. In second place came George Ball with 6lb 11oz and third was Neil Smith with 6lb 8oz. Neil’s points earned should give him a good chance of securing the runner’s up spot in the club championship with only one other points match remaining. On Sunday, the match anglers will be meeting at the mill pool in Sandy with a view to fishing it and the downstream swims, conditions permitting.

:: New Stock Of Carp!

Martin Crouch fished an overnight session at BHAA’s New Road Lake and was well pleased with the results - a 12lb mirror carp and a whopping 10lb 4oz bream. Hard frosts followed by heavy snow put paid to sport later in the week. However, 50 superbly-conditioned mirror carp were introduced during the week to complete the stocking of this lake. The fish each weighing over 2 kilos were supplied by Fishers Pond and were reputedly one of the best strains of carp available on the market.

The cold conditions made for slow sport on the River Ivel at Sandy Lakes but a gentle bite produced an impressive 5lb 4oz chub for Anthony Pogmore. It was his only strikeable bite after a severe overnight frost. Robert Livock fished at Sawmills Pool where he caught a 5lb 5oz bream and a number of chub to about 4lbs before the bites tapered off. Both anglers used lobworms as bait. Winston Pogmore fished at High Romper where he caught a 3lb 12oz chub on cheese paste on a day when bites were equally hard to come by.

Last week’s match at the Dead River was called off as the river was running bank high and going like a train. However, match organizer, Andy Tomlinson, managed to find some slacker water upstream of Langford Mill where caught a few roach up to 12oz in weight. On Sunday, it is hoped to hold a club match on The Riddy at Sandy. The draw will be held early at 8.15am in case a change of venue is required if adverse river conditions persist.

:: Weekly Update

Cold conditions in the early part of the week killed off sport at BHAA’s New Road Lake but not before Alan Wilkie had managed to catch an 11lb 5oz mirror carp. Alan said that the fish scrapped really well despite the cold conditions.

Anthony Pogmore and Kevin Webb decided to fish the River Ivel behind the Sandy lakes complex and both caught chub to well over 4lbs in difficult conditions with a strong upstream wind blowing and the river still carrying debris from the recent floods. Chub were moving further downstream at High Romper too where Winston Pogmore caught four chub between 3 and 4lbs. Robert Livock caught a cracking 5lb 4oz chub fishing on the School Meadow stretch of the River Ouse at Tempsford as well as several smaller fish.

This week’s club match on the Dead River stretch of the River Ivel was won by Neil Smith with 8lb 3oz of roach. It proved to be an expensive week for the angler though as his victory won him the Ivel Cup overall and he will now have to buy a trophy cabinet to display it! It was a closely fought match fished in less than ideal conditions with the water gin clear and a strong upstream wind blowing. Steve Green came second with 7lb 1oz, third was Reg Lilly with 6lb 15oz, fourth was George Ball with 6lb 8oz and 5lb 12oz could only get Andy Tomlinson fifth place. Several anglers reported bumping big fish thought to be marauding chub but in each case the fish was lost. On Sunday, the match anglers will be fishing in the Super Cup on the Grand Union canal at Bletchley against Ampthill AC and Queen’s Works.

Angling has lost another well-known personality with the death of Alan Brown who for many years ran one of the country’s most progressive and popular fishing tackle shops in Nightingale Road, Hitchin. Alan was a stockist of some of the most advanced fishing tackle of the day including the legendary ‘Hilton’ fibre glass carp roads. In later years, he diversified into supplying clothing for other country sports that he also participated in. He opened a second shop at Priory Marina in Bedford called Countrysports before the closure of his Hitchin outlet.

:: Kevin's at it again!

:: Carp record smashed at New Road Lake and Night fishing arrangements for 2007/8

:: Night Fishing Reviewed

:: Biggleswade Victory over Amptill FC!

:: 32lb Carp Caught