Reports from Bury St Edmunds Angling Association waters are becoming more positive

The new membership year for Bury St Edmunds Angling Association started on April 1 and initial feedback on catches from matches, pleasure anglers and specimen carp angling has been disappointing.

However, reports have been pleasing over the last couple of weeks, especially for carp and bream catches. Even so, there has been no reports of any of the tench – stocked in October 2020 – coming out of Barrow Lake or Water Lane Reservoir.

This may be due to the relatively low air temperature this spring with typical overnight lows of 7C. It is not unusual for tench to start feeding confidently – in still waters – as late as early June, so hopefully the tench are still there and will feature in Bury AA members catches very soon.

A report sent to me from Bury AA member Chris Oakley is very encouraging: “I have recently rejoined the Bury Angling Association after taking a break from the club of about 10 years to fish on local syndicate waters.

“With family and work commitments I have gone back to joining Bury AA this season as I just don’t have the time now for long carp sessions. I mainly fish short evening sessions and the Bury AA waters tick the box perfectly for this type of fishing.

“On a recent trip to Barrow Lake on Sunday, May 22, I caught four carp and one bream, the biggest carp being 10lbs all on the method feeder.

“My father-in-law Fred Turner, who has just started fishing at 77, fished the waggler but unfortunately did not get a bite. He did, however, have a good session at the club’s Badwell Ash Lake, catching nine fish a mixture of carp, roach and rudd a few weeks earlier on his first go at fishing with me and he is now very much hooked on the sport.”

Another Bury AA member – Ashley Moore – recently reported an 18-fish catch (mostly bream), totalling 54lb plus what he described as a bonus carp, from Middle Reservoir. All caught on feeder and double dead maggots.

Bream have featured in leading match weights at both Barrow Lake and Middle Reservoir in the last couple of months. The most effective method to entice the bream on these two waters appears to currently be method feeder and hook bait of double red dead maggots. However, cage, maggot and open ended feeders have also produced good results.

In a session at Barrow Lake towards the end of May, Chris Locke reported catching four bream, two perch and two carp all on feeder and red maggot.

If feeder fishing isn’t your bag then there have been very good results catching carp in bags up to 50lb employing float fishing via rod and line and pole at the club’s Badwell Ash Lake.

Roach have not really featured in catches at Barrow and Middle Reservoir since the new membership year started but carp and bream are certainly now feeding well.

Also club secretary David Plampin and Oakley both report catching good nets of rudd up to 12oz at Badwell Ash and the tench may yet appear at Barrow and Water Lane very soon.

The specimen carp anglers have also reported promising results at Middle Reservoir over the last couple of weeks, including Mark Sturgeon, 25lb 2oz Mirror, Dan Brewster 18lb common, Ian Beales 16lb 3oz common, Phil Southgate 16lb 7oz and 19lb 1oz common, Tony Twopeaks Clayton 21lb 8oz common and Simon Price 17lb 8oz common.

The result from the most recent Bury AA Veteran’s match at Middle Reservoir: First was Bob Bonney 20lb (6 bream) from peg 1, second was Bob Martin 16lb 8oz (including a carp of 16lb 4oz) peg 11 and third went to Andy walker 10lb (4 bream, tip and red maggot) peg 4.

Bob Bonney was also runner-up in the veterans’ match at Barrow Lake last Thursday with Dave Tobin in third place. The match was won by Rob Parnell, who weighed in 13lb 7oz. Carp and bream dominated the catches again.

To enter Bury AA club and veterans’ matches contact the club’s match secretary Keith Smith on 07804 101067. For details of match dates and venues visit their website.

Bury St Edmunds Angling Association memberships are available from Tackle Up in Bury, Hooked in Newmarket and Just Fishin in Sudbury.