Chris Boughton's angling column: Ian Andrews nets the cash at popular Hinderclay Lakes competition
Local match angler Ian Andrews won the Hinderclay Champions League final for 2022 recently at the fishery and collected the top prize of £500.
The Champions League is open to all anglers who compete in matches at Hinderclay Lakes over the previous 12 months.
In terms of how it works, basically if you win a 20 peg match you get 20 points down to one point for last. The top 18 points scorers for the year fish a match over three lakes and the top three from each lake in that match go into the final on William Lake the following week.
Owner Stuart Platt puts up a £500 cash prize for the overall winner with second and third places receiving the pools money for the finals day, so it’s a long haul but well worth winning.
In the final this year Ian secured the £500 cash prize for first place with seven carp totalling 66lb 15oz from peg 18. He caught three carp on method feeder and four on the pole fishing into some reeds.
Another Hinderclay regular in Stewart Paine finished runner-up with a catch of carp and bream weighing 43lb from peg 16 using a combination of pole and tip. Gary Bull, who also knows the fishery well, came third with 33lb 6oz from peg 24.
Ian is definitely on good form at Hinderclay. Following his Champions League win on the Sunday he took part in the Hinderclay Autumn Festival the following day and won the first day outright as well for another good pick up! This time he weighed in 70lb from peg 18 on Spring Lake with six carp and four bream on method feeder.
The festival at Hinderclay also includes the Terry Fish Memorial Trophy. Terry passed away on the first day of a festival at Hinderclay and another local match angler, Phil Alexander, always brings a bottle of gin to raise a glass to him as they were good friends.
Hinderclay is a day ticket fishery and also holds open matches on most Thursdays and Sundays. To enter matches contact the owner Stuart Platt on 07787 521851.
The Bury St Edmunds Angling Association Veterans’ series of weekly matches concluded at the end of September for 2022 with a disappointing match at Barrow Lake. The attendance was much lower than usual and the stay-aways missed nothing. Andy Walker will be pleased, however, with his winning catch of 30lb 6oz with Dave Tobin the only other angler to weigh-in (10lb 4oz).
This year’s winner of the Ron Hubbard Trophy, fished for on a points basis over all the Bury AA Veteran’s matches since the beginning of April, is Grant Humphreys with 390 points. Rob Parnell, last year’s champion, was the runner-up with 368 and Bob Martin came third with 342.
There will be separate Bury AA Veterans and members Christmas matches in December, weather permitting. Dates and venues to be confirmed. Contact the club’s match secretary Keith Smith for any match information on 07804 101067.
Bury St Edmunds Angling Association treasurer Steve Bull asked me to remind local anglers that for those wishing to join the club for the period October 1 through to March 31, 2023 the fee is now half the annual rate: Adults £37.50, OAP and Disabled £30.00 and Juniors £12.50. The association have four lakes: in Barrow, Middle Reservoir, Water Lane Reservoir and a lake at Badwell Ash. Further details can be found on their website: burystedmundsangling.org
Please note that the club no longer has the fishing rights to any stretch of the River Little Ouse.
Memberships can be obtained from Tackle Up in Bury, Hooked Tackle in Newmarket and Just Fishin in Sudbury.
