Week ending 1st January 2012

Nothing reported

Week ending 25th December 2011

With few anglers on Shefford & District AA waters during the festive season, it is an opportunity to reflect on the catches during 2011 from the club’s waters. The Airman catfish started to feed in mid-March and barely a week went by without a specimen over 40lb being reported. Tommy Williams was the first to break the 50lb barrier in July, before Phillip White had a tremendous run of big fish culminating in a new club record catfish of 54lb 8oz caught in October, before the catfish finally went into hibernation in mid-November. Broom River continues to live up to its reputation as a premier perch fishery with fish over 4lb regularly featuring in catch reports and Mike Baldwin currently holds the club perch record with a magnificent specimen of 4lb 11oz caught in November. Willington Lake started the year off in fine form with Willy Woodfield landing what is believed to be a club record bream of 11lb 12oz in early April, when a number of good carp and tench also featured in catches, but then the weed took hold and made the fishing a challenge throughout the summer months. Broom Lake produced a string of tench over the 9lb mark during the early summer and float anglers have enjoyed good bags of silver fish. Carp to just below 30lb have been reported from all our major stillwaters, which have also received further stockings of carp during the autumn. Chub have proven reliable feeders throughout the year with all our major river venues producing chub over 6lb, with Pavenham providing specimens over 7lb. Further downstream on the Ouse, Little Paxton has the potential to throw up specimens from a wide variety of species with barbel into double figures, pike over 20lb and zander being just a few of the species members can target at this fishery.
Shefford & District A. A. ‘half-year’ books are available from our usual outlets and are valid for fishing through to 15th June 2012 (the river close season will apply after 14th March, but our stillwaters will remain open). Prices are Adult £35, Concessionary £25, Spouse £20 & Junior £10. The next round of the pike series will take place at Broom Lake on Sunday 8th January 2012 and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am.

Week ending 18th December 2011

Once again there have been very few reports this week with members reluctant to venture out in the cold and sometimes rainy conditions. The track around Broom Lake is now closed as some sections had started to cut up, so vehicles will now need to be left in the car park. Anglers heading for the annual ‘Fur & Feather’ at Lammas Meadow section of the Ouse were hopeful that the midweek rain would have the river up and coloured, conditions that usually switch on the resident bream shoals. However, after the long walk to the river they were greeted by a river that was hardly flowing with only a slight tinge of colour, so most knew it was going to be a struggle to catch. Neil Bygrave ran out the comfortable winner with two bream for a respectable 12lb 2oz, with his biggest fish weighing 6lb 4oz. David Baker also caught two bream but his were of a smaller stamp totalling 5lb 2oz for second place. Everyone else blanked although a few bites were missed. The next round of the pike series will take place at Broom Lake on Sunday 8th January 2012 and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am.
Looking for a last minute Christmas present for an angler? Shefford & District A. A. ‘half-year’ books are available from our usual outlets and are valid for fishing from 25th December 2011 right through to 15th June 2012 (the river close season will apply after 14th March, but our stillwaters will remain open). Prices are Adult £35, Concessionary £25, Spouse £20 & Junior £10. Please note that night fishing at The Airman and Willington Lake requires an optional Night Permit (there is no part year discount on Night Permits).

Week ending 11th December 2011

There have been very few reports from our venues this week with relatively few anglers on the bank. There was an excellent turn out of ten anglers at The Airman for the latest round of the pike series. Although conditions appeared quite favourable, there was relatively little activity with only two pike caught during the match. Damion Tummah won with a pike of 9lb 8oz whilst Bryan Lancaster was second with a fish of 8lb 1oz. The annual ‘Fur & Feather’ will be held this Sunday 18th December on the Lammas Meadow section of the Ouse which is noted for its bream fishing, please contact Kevin Williams (07595 585899) for further details.
Shefford & District A. A. ‘half-year’ books are available from our usual outlets and will be valid for fishing from 25th December 2011 through to 15th June 2012 (the river close season will apply after 14th March, but our stillwaters will remain open). Prices are Adult £35, Concessionary £25, Spouse £20 & Junior £10. Please note that night fishing at The Airman and Willington Lake requires an optional Night Permit (there is no part year discount on Night Permits).

Week ending 4th December 2011

The recent cold weather and the lack of significant rainfall has affected sport on the our river venues. Mick Baldwin became a weekly Drennan Cup winner in one of the national angling newspapers for his recent club record 4lb 11oz perch, and this has ensured plenty of anglers are fishing the Broom River section of the Ivel in search of the specimen perch. However, the biggest perch reported recently was a 3lb 8oz stripey caught by Mick Burr. The pike fishing has been more reliable with several anglers reporting multiple catches on small deadbaits, although the larger pike are proving elusive. Meanwhile Alan Lawrence has continued his excellent season by landing a pristine chub of 6lb 1oz taken on cheese paste just after dark from the River Flit (Ivel Navigation) in the Shefford/Clifton area. Some sections of this narrow part of the river are rarely fished but can offer some excellent chub fishing during the winter months.
The carp fishing at The Airman has been slow in recent weeks. Simon Tisbury was delighted to end a run of blanks with a nice looking mirror of 18lb 4oz that took his bait just as he was beginning to pack up. The next round of the pike series will be held at this venue this Sunday 11th December and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am. The final match of the year will be the annual ‘Fur & Feather’ held on the Lammas Meadow section of the Ouse on Sunday 18th December, please contact Kevin Williams (07595 585899) for further details.
Shefford & District A. A. will be offering ‘half-year’ membership to encourage new members to join the club and sample the waters we have to offer. ‘Half-year’ books will be available from our usual outlets from mid December and will be valid for fishing from 25th December 2011 through to 15th June 2012 (the river close season will apply after 14th March, but our stillwaters will remain open). Prices are Adult £35, Concessionary £25, Spouse £20 & Junior £10. Please note that night fishing at the Airman Pit and Willington Lake requires an optional Night Permit (there is no part year discount on Night Permits).

Week ending 27th November 2011

There have been plenty of members fishing the Broom River section of the Ivel suggesting the river is still fishing well, but very few have reported their catches. Kevin Williams enjoyed an excellent day when he fished under overcast conditions landing a decent chub, three specimen perch of 3lb 8oz, 3lb 2oz and 2lb 3oz, as well as a number of roach and dace to 8oz. However, Kevin’s return visits under bright sunny conditions found the fish far more elusive. Indeed the lack of rain is affecting all the river venues at the moment with many fish reluctant to feed during daylight due to the gin clear water conditions. Hopefully the rains will eventually come to colour up the water and wash away the debris from the dying weed. The lack of rainfall also means several stillwaters are still well below normal levels.
The pike are currently proving elusive at The Airman with only the odd small fish being caught, which is in stark contrast to earlier in the year when a number of upper doubles and 20s were caught by anglers targeting the catfish. The next round of the pike series will be held at this venue on Sunday 11th December and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am. Willington Lake is currently proving the most reliable pike water with fish to low doubles taken during the week. At Broom Lake the pike are concentrated in the areas where the silver fish have shoaled up and multiple catches of small pike have been taken on small dead baits. Anglers fishing for the silver fish are having to fine down their rigs to keep the bites coming and floating leaves sometimes hamper presentation, but reasonable nets are still being taken by those anglers able to locate the fish.
A number of work parties have been held in recent weeks to maintain the club’s fisheries including Broom Lake, The Airman, Stanford Pit and Little Paxton. Volunteers at the latest work party held at Little Paxton opened up a number of overgrown swims downstream of the weir pool adjacent to the allotments. Any member wishing to help out with work parties should contact the Fisheries Officer Andy Knight (07904 302920), the more volunteers we have the more work we can do to improve the waters.
Finally, we have just received details of the IPA Christmas Match which is being held this Saturday 3rd December. The draw will be held at Beeston Weir at 8.15am with the match being fished on the King’s Arms controlled section of the Ivel. For further details please contact Mike Clarke on 07941 855405.

Week ending 20th November 2011

In last week’s report news had just broken that the Shefford & District AA perch record had been broken by a magnificent 4lb 11oz specimen caught by Mick Baldwin from the Broom River section of the Ivel. We now have photographs of the distinctive specimen perch and several witnesses to the weighing of the fish. The recent reports of specimen perch and roach from this venue have attracted more anglers onto the bank. Neil Bygrave found his lobworm bait attracted plenty of attention, but all six of his bites resulted in small pike to 6lb rather than his intended quarry the perch. Further upstream in the Shefford area Bob Izzard has been having some success during short evening sessions taking chub to just under 4lb again lobworm being his favoured bait, and other anglers have reported catching some good roach and dace from this area on float fished maggot.
The relatively mild conditions have maintained the water temperatures at the Airman Pit, which has kept the catfish on the feed. Craig Lancaster landed a 43lb 12oz catfish, as well as carp of 18lb 8oz and 14lb on LT Baits salmino boilies during a mid-week overnight session. Pike have been providing some good sport for anglers fishing Willington Lake where Colin Goddard managed 5 pike in one day topped by fish of 10lb 4oz and 8lb 7oz.
With many anglers currently targeting pike we would remind members to carefully read their rule books. Whilst the club allows live baiting, unused live baits must be returned to the water from which they were taken and not taken for use as dead baits. Fish for use as dead baits must be sea fish or commercially frozen dead baits. Despite their ferocious appearance pike are quite fragile and deep hooking should be avoided by striking as early as possible. Members should only target pike if they are familiar with the club rules and have the tools and equipment to safely land, handle and unhook pike.

Week ending 13th November 2011

The specimen perch along the Shefford & District AA controlled Broom River sections of the Ivel have once again grabbed the headlines. The IPA Teams of 6 match was fished along this section on Sunday and several specimens over 3lb were caught, including a 3lb 1oz perch caught by SDAA member Brian Webster, which made up most of his 3lb 11oz total for joint third place in the match. The rest of the SDAA team struggled in the bright conditions and ended up seventh (and last) in the team event, which attracted over 40 anglers. Monday saw a change to overcast conditions and Mick Baldwin broke the current club record with a superb specimen perch of 4lb 11oz. Mick also landed a small common carp of around 7lb. Brian Barrett returned to the Ivel Navigation below Clifton and caught plenty of small chub and 4-6oz roach before he hooked and lost a large chub that completely destroyed his swim. Chub have started to show around Clifton Road Bridge including the odd fish over 5lb.
Nikki Bangert recently decided to buy a night permit to fish with her husband at the Airman Pit and on her first night landed a 32lb catfish at 4am followed by another catfish of 25lb four hours later. Nikki’s next trip resulted in a nice common carp of 17lb 8oz. Ashley Irvine reported a 15lb common and a nice perch of 3lb. Craig Lancaster has also proved the catfish are still feeding with a 33lb 12oz specimen and a smaller catfish of 10lb, as well as two carp. Meanwhile Craig’s son Jack has been enjoying some pike action with 4 fish over 7lb topped by a new personal best of 11lb 6oz. A reminder that the next leg of the predator series will take place at the Airman Pit on Sunday 20th November when the target species will be pike, contact Kevin Williams (07595 585899) for further details.
As reported last week, the silver fish at Broom Lake are beginning to shoal up tightly in their usual winter quarters. This was confirmed by a trial netting of part of the lake conducted by the Environment Agency. Their first sweep with the net produced two specimen tench and relatively few silver fish. However, the next sweep along adjacent pegs produced over 500lb of fish comprised mainly of roach along with rudd, perch and a few skimmer bream, as well as 15 pike and a 20lb common carp. Scale samples have been taken to determine the growth rates of the roach, which averaged just over an ounce with some fish to just under a pound. Paul Allum took new member Mark Pateman to teach him how to catch pike and Mark was rewarded with three good pike on deadbaits. Several carp over 20lb have been caught in recent weeks but most people are just catching odd fish rather than multiple captures. We now have a photograph of Russel Cossey’s 29lb 4oz carp reported last week, although it looks very much like a common carp it had much lighter colouring especially along the top of its head suggesting it is a ‘ghost’ carp.
Once again we have to remind members to take a careful note of the rules printed in their membership books. When fishing with two rods the distance between the butts of the rods must not exceed two metres, anglers have been found fishing two rods in two separate swims, which is totally unacceptable. To ensure the wellbeing of our fish, anglers must always be in possession of an assembled landing net whilst fishing; if you want to try a different area make sure you take your landing net and unhooking mat with you, and in the case of pike anglers also carry specialist unhooking tools at all times.

Week ending 6th November 2011

The Shefford & District AA controlled sections of the Ivel and Ivel Navigation are showing some consistent form now that the weed has started to die back and the flows have increased following recent rainfall. Several perch over 4lb have been reported from the Broom River section in recent weeks and Colin Smith recorded a new personal best with a perch of 4lb 3oz with other fish of 1lb 15oz and 1lb. All Colin’s perch were caught on lobworm, which also attracted the attention of numerous pike throughout the day, he also had a pike attack his smaller perch as it was being landed. Meanwhile Colin’s fishing partner Alan Thomas targeted the pike with small deadbaits and landed a couple of decent pike. David Hawkes caught a nice perch of 2lb 5oz but also found the pike were homing in on his lobworms and managed to land 3 pike. Brian Barrett decided to try a rarely fished section of the Ivel Navigation below Clifton. Brian opted to fish a small swimfeeder and had a “fish a chuck” for 3h, taking a succession of small chub and netter roach before crayfish invaded his swim. The whole section of Broom River down to Jordans Mill will be closed on Sunday 13th November for the IPA ‘Teams of Six’ match.
The second round of the pike series was fished at Willington Lake where the five anglers found most of the summer weed has now died off making bait presentation far easier. The match was won by Bryan Lancaster with 3 pike to 6lb 14oz for a total weight of 14lb 3oz. Kevin Williams landed a single pike of 11lb 2oz for second place, and Dave Baker took third place with two 5lb pike totalling 10lb 6oz. The next leg of the predator series will take place at the Airman Pit on Sunday 20th November when the target species will be pike, contact Kevin Williams (07595 585899) for further details.
The silver fish at Broom Lake are beginning to shoal up in their usual winter quarters with anglers locating the shoals still enjoying some good bags on the float. The pike also home in on the silver fish shoals and Paul Allum managed some pike around the 7-8lb mark on deadbaits fished close to the bank. Junior angler Heyden Coplestone has caught a number of specimens from the lake in recent months and added to his tally with a pristine common carp of 20lb. A 29lb 4oz ghost carp was caught by Russell Cossey who was fishing as a guest with his father Paul, and this is believed to be the largest fish officially reported from the lake. Russell was fishing in open water and when the carp was hooked it headed off towards the island margins when everything suddenly went solid and it became apparent the fish was snagged in other lines. Fortunately a work party had been going on and the Fisheries Officer Andy Knight was able to go out in a boat and free the fish from several lines that were hanging from a tree. Once free, Russell was able to safely land and unhook the fish, which was in absolutely perfect condition. Whilst out in the boat Andy took the opportunity to retrieve 6 spods, numerous lengths of line and terminal tackle that were all hanging from the island trees. If anglers insist on fishing tight to the island trees they should learn to cast accurately and use the line clips on the spools to avoid overcasting. Lost tackle is a hazard to all wildlife and can cause snags that result in hooked fish becoming tethered. We have also noted a worrying increase in the amount of litter left around the lake and adjoining stretches of river, particularly cans and bottles of beer and cider. If the culprits are found to be members they can expect to be banned from the club.

Week ending 30th October 2011

Gareth Teakle decided the Airman Pit was the ideal venue to spend a few nights fishing with his sons over the half term break. After little action at the beginning of their session, they decided to move to the other end of the lake where they had seen some fish activity. This move saw a dramatic change of fortunes with a succession of fish coming to the net. The session was topped by Gareth landing a magnificent 29lb 1oz mirror after a heavy plodding fight. They also managed numerous other carp that were all in excellent condition, which included a 16lb 4oz mirror for Patrick. As well as the carp they landed pike to 12lb , tench to 4lb and younger son Louie also managed to catch some lovely roach to over 1lb.
Colin Goddard enjoyed some pike action at Willington Lake landing three good pike including a double figure fish during a short session. This bodes well for the second round of the pike series on Sunday 6th November and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am. The pike series has the added incentive of a £100 prize for the biggest pike caught in excess of 20lb during the series.
Anglers are still enjoying good sport with silver fish at Broom Lake with some people managing double figure bags of roach, rudd and perch with skimmers showing in some areas of the lake. This week Broom Lake has received a consignment of 56 mirror carp ranging from 4lb-7lb from AJS Fisheries. Meanwhile the Airman Pit received 10 mirror carp between 7lb-10lb and Willington Lake a further 21 mirror carp from 6lb-10lb. These AJS Fisheries carp have a wide variety of scale patterns with no two fish looking the same, which should make future identification very easy. This represents a major investment by the club that will hopefully result in some of the most sought after specimen carp in future seasons.
The Broom River section of the Ivel has been in excellent form in recent weeks with good nets of roach and dace coming from many areas. The large perch are also beginning to show in greater numbers with Mick Cole landing three cracking perch of 3lb 1oz, 3lb 2oz and 4lb 2oz in the last two hours of an afternoon session. Large roach are also being caught in certain areas with the biggest fish only feeding as darkness falls. This whole section of river will be closed on Sunday 13th November for the IPA ‘Teams of Six’ match.
Kevin Williams returned to the Ouse at Pavenham and enjoyed some success with the barbel, landing three to 9lb during a two night session. He also landed several specimen chub to 6lb as well as numerous smaller chub and a tench. Hopefully as the weed dies off and flow increases during the coming months the river fishing should get even better.
Finally, the club recently held a General Members Meeting, which allowed the members to air their views on all aspects of the club . There were wide ranging discussions about several fisheries and potential rule changes. Some contentious topics revealed a wide range of opinions amongst the members, e.g. the use of leadcore as a leader material and night fishing at Broom Lake. All the points raised by members have been captured and will be discussed further by the committee.

The Environment Agency will be visiting Broom Lake on Wednesday 9th November to conduct some trial nettings in order to assess the lake’s silver fish population and growth rates. They may also reposition some of the fish refuges that have become detached from their anchors. The lake will remain open to fishing and anglers should fish the southern end of the lake (pegs 12-36) to minimise any disruption to their fishing.

Week ending 23rd October 2011

Once again it was business as usual at the Airman Pit with carp and catfish the main quarry for anglers. Phillip White has dominated the catfish reports in recent months and his latest trip yielded another 41lb specimen. Incredibly Phillip has now landed a catfish over 40lb on each of his last five fishing trips to the Airman Pit, which is unprecedented within SDAA and probably on any club water in the UK. Craig Lancaster again targeted the carp using LT Baits salmino boilies and landed a 25lb 5oz mirror. Other notable fish included a 20lb pike and late season tench still feeding in the relatively mild conditions. Due to the continuing drought conditions the water level remains several feet below the front of the swims, so please take extra care when landing fish or returning them to the water.
Alan Lawrence targeted the Ouse at Pavenham for the specimen chub. Alan managed to tempt five chub on cheese paste with all his bites coming just into dark. His best fish weighed 6lb 5oz, with other specimens of 5lb 7oz and 5lb 3oz.
Willington Lake will be closed on Sunday 6th November for the second round of the pike series and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am. The pike series has the added incentive of a £100 prize for the biggest pike caught in excess of 20lb during the series.
The colder months will also see fishery maintenance work taking place at several waters. Venues will usually remain open to members, although those areas where maintenance work is actually taking place will be closed. Anyone wanting to take part in these work parties should contact the Fisheries Officer Andy Knight for further information (07904 302920).

If you're entering Broom River IPA Teams of 6 match on the 13th Nov. please contact Kevin Williams so he knows how many are entering (07595 585899)

Week ending 16th October 2011

The Airman Pit has again continued its run of consistent form during the last week. The lake catfish record has been broken no less than four times this summer and it came as no surprise that Phillip White has improved his own current record with the capture of 54lb 8oz specimen at the weekend. With water temperatures set to fall in coming weeks, Phillip knew this was the ideal time to target the catfish as they would be feed heavily ahead of their hibernation. Meanwhile Craig Lancaster targeted the resident carp and landed four good carp topped by a 21lb 6oz mirror, all caught on LT Baits salmino boilies. The deep water of the Airman provides a stable environment during the winter and carp can be expected to feed throughout the winter months, unlike many shallower lakes. With the catfish activity about to slow down, predator anglers will be switching their attention to the resident pike that have already gone to over 20lb during the summer months.
All the river stretches are in desperate need of rain to raise water levels and flow rates, although the lack of summer floods should ensure good survival rates for this year’s fry that should benefit catches in future years. The recent bright conditions coupled with gin clear water have led to a noticeable downturn in catches on Broom River with only a few reports of modest sized perch and chub being caught by those targeting the larger specimens. It was a similar story in the latest round of the predator series fished on the Ouse at Pavenham where chub were the target species but the larger specimens failed to show. The match was won by Nick Williams with a single chub of 2lb 3oz, Nigel Gilbert was second with 1lb 7oz and Lez Reed third with 1lb 2oz. However, there were plenty of small dace and roach caught by those fishing with small baits and Ron Holmes landed a 2lb tench, a species that was once much more common in this stretch of the river.
A final reminder that the General Members Meeting will be held at Shefford Town Memorial Hall on Thursday 27th October at 8pm. All members are invited to attend and give their thoughts and ideas as to how the club can improve. There will be a brief update by the committee on what is occurring in the club, but this is a meeting where the committee wants to hear the views of the members.

Week ending 9th October 2011

Phillip White has continued his fantastic run of form at the Airman Pit when he landed a 40lb 8oz catfish to bring his tally for the season to five catfish over 40lb, with two fish over 50lb that include the lake record. During his latest session Phillip also landed catfish of 14lb and 29lb 14oz. With water temperatures still high the catfish are likely to continue feeding as they pack on weight ahead of their winter hibernation. Ashley Irvine managed a 21lb 12oz common carp and a nice perch of 2lb 5oz.
The first leg of the pike series was held at Broom Lake and saw all anglers catch at least one pike although the average size was rather low. Series organiser Bryan Lancaster ran out the narrow winner with 3 pike to 8lb 1oz for a total of 12lb 3oz, just ahead of Nigel Gilbert who also landed 3 pike for a total of 11lb 12oz. Third place went to Kevin Williams who had three small pike for a total of 7lb 8oz. Most unusual catch was a 14lb common carp that took a liking to one of Bryan Lancaster’s sprat deadbaits.
This weekend will see the next leg of the predator series held at Pavenham on Sunday 16th October where chub will be the target species. Details of the match can be obtained from Kevin Williams (07595 585899). Finally, members are reminded that a General Members Meeting will be held at Shefford Town Memorial Hall on Thursday 27th October at 8pm. This meeting is an ideal opportunity for members to highlight issues and concerns regarding anything to do with the club. The meeting is quite informal and members can be assured that all items raised will be considered further by the committee.

Week ending 2nd October 2011

It was business as usual for Phillip White at the Shefford & District AA controlled Airman Pit where he added another 40lb catfish to his impressive list of specimens from the lake. This was his fourth catfish over 40lb this season, with two fish over 50lb. Unlike recent catfish captures, Phillip’s latest specimen was caught during the middle of a baking hot afternoon.
Meanwhile Broom Lake has seen several ‘graduates’ from the Shefford & District AA Coaching Course return as club members to practice their angling skills and they have been rewarded with plenty of silver fish, dominated by perch. The carp have been proving somewhat elusive during the recent hot weather with no obvious feeding pattern. However, junior Thomas Tisbury enjoyed success on his very first trip to the lake with a new personal best carp in the shape of a 16lb 2oz common. Broom Lake will be closed on Sunday 9th October for the first of six matches in the pike series and any member wanting to fish should contact the organiser Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819), or just turn up in time for the draw at 8.30am. The pike series will involve two matches on each of our major stillwaters and as an added incentive a £100 prize will be given for the biggest pike caught in excess of 20lb during the series.
All the river venues are in desperate need of some rain to increase the flow although Broom River and the Stanford Canal are still providing consistent sport for silver fish for those float fishing. Kevin Williams decided to try the Ouse at Pavenham and was rewarded with a 6lb 6oz chub taken on a lobworm. Kevin was sneaking in some practice ahead of the predator match to be held at Pavenham on Sunday 16th October when chub will be the target species, and details of the match can be obtained from Kevin (07595 585899). Pavenham produced several chub over 6lb last season topped by a superb 7lb 2oz specimen and hopefully some of these will feature during this year’s match.

Week ending 25th September 2011

Saturday saw the grand finale to this year’s Shefford & District AA Coaching Course, when 19 participants attended an introductory carp session at Broom Lake. A number of varied activities over the course of the morning gave the participants the opportunity to learn how to tie their own carp rigs correctly, handle fish safely, improve their casting ability, play larger fish and mix groundbait; skills which will hopefully provide a sound base from which they will be able to develop their angling ability in the future and put more fish on the bank. A presentation by Chris Hornsby of Enterprise Tackle during lunch gave an insight into how the artificial bait production came about, together with an understanding of how the many varied artificial baits produced by Enterprise could be presented. This proved not only interesting for the trainees but also the more experienced coaches and other anglers in attendance who all had the opportunity to ask questions at the end. Thanks go to Chris for taking the time out to come along to the carp day and also for his sponsorship of the 6 session course along with Andy Davis of Andy’s Angling Centre who provided all of the bait used over the course duration. The afternoon saw the group free to fish as they wanted, while under the supervision of the coaches, with their recently acquired waggler, carp and whip fishing skills put into practice once again. While the carp were reluctant to feed, for those employing silver fish tactics, results were greatly improved with many roach, rudd and good perch to over a pound falling to maggot tactics along with a bream or two. The session concluded with the graduates of this year’s course each receiving a medal and Graduate Card. With the sound grounding in the angling skills they have gained over the recent weeks, we hope that this will see them fishing competently and safely in the future. We will be looking to run a similar course next year and any members wanting to join the Coaching Team should contact Neil Bygrave (07980 33860) for further details.
Following the completion of the Coaching Course a number of the club’s active volunteers were rewarded with a rare opportunity to night fish Broom Lake. True to form the carp started to feed as the light started to fade with Andy Knight taking two carp in quick succession. Bryan Lancaster topped the catches with five carp between 13lb and 17lb 14oz, and three bream between 5lb and 8lb. Other notable catches were 3 carp to 19lb 5oz by Ashley Irvine and Nigel Gilbert’s 3 carp of 16lb 12oz, 17lb 6oz and 17lb 10oz. Most of the other anglers managed to catch at least one carp, topped by a 19lb 10oz specimen landed by Neil Bygrave. During the week a number of carp had been caught, including a 19lb 5oz common landed by Basil Moulding. The silver fish continued to feed with perch dominating catches on float fished maggots.
The catfish at the Airman Pit are still feeding well as they pack on weight before their winter hibernation. Alan Colclough started the week with a new personal best catfish of 39lb 10oz and another catfish of 20lb, as well as a beautiful late season tench. Saturday night saw the club record for catfish broken for the third time this season when Phillip White continued his fantastic run of form by landing a superb specimen of 53lb 9oz. The current warm spell will keep the water temperatures up and the catfish should continue to feed for several more weeks.

Week ending 18th September 2011

The cooler and windier conditions have led to improved catches at Broom Lake with anglers finding the carp now willing to feed throughout the day, and several members enjoyed multiple bags of double figure carp. Dave Albon reported the best fish of the week in the shape of a 22lb 2oz common carp. Anglers targeting the silver fish on float tactics are still enjoying success although there is a noticeable drop off in activity during bright and calm conditions. The final session of the SDAA Coaching Course will take place on Broom Lake on Saturday 24th September when the participants will receive an introduction to carp fishing. Please note the whole river side of the lake will be out of bounds to other members on this date.
Many of the river venues are still suffering from low flows and are heavily weeded. However, there are plenty of fishable pegs on the Broom River section of the Ivel and it is still producing good bags of roach and dace to float tactics.
The committee has banned the use of ‘lip grippers’ on all SDAA waters with immediate effect. Although these tools are commercially available, they must not be used as an aid to landing a fish as they are likely to cause damage to their jaws. All members must be in possession of an assembled landing net whilst fishing for any species.

Week ending 11th September 2011

The change to autumnal weather appears to have triggered some feeding activity on our stillwaters as the fish in try to pack on weight before the water temperatures start to drop. Richard Knight and Andy Knight enjoyed a very productive midweek session at the Airman Pit with Richard landing catfish of 35lb, 30lb and 26lb as well as 4 carp to 17lb, meanwhile Andy landed a total of 7 carp to 22lb 5oz. Phillip White is still enjoying success with the catfish landing another pair of specimen of 35lb 8oz and 23lb 10oz. Ashley Irvine also enjoyed some action in the shape of an 18lb catfish and 23lb 5oz mirror carp. Andy Knight returned for a short stalking session and was rewarded with a 20lb 8oz common.
Broom Lake always fishes best when there is a good wind blowing and plenty of ‘tow’ on the water and the carp have proved far more obliging this week. Paul Andrews had a superb looking mirror carp of 22lb, Basil Moulding a 19lb 8oz common and Andy Knight landed an 18lb 9oz scale perfect common.
We would like to remind members that we will not tolerate anyone leaving rubbish so please make sure you take it all away with you. Every angler must have an assembled landing net with them whilst fishing on SDAA waters, and those targeting larger species should also have a unhooking mat.
It is great sadness we have to report the death of Graham Burns after a short illness, and our thoughts go out to his widow and family. Graham had been a stalwart of Shefford & District A.A. and an active member of the committee for several decades.

Week ending 4th September 2011

With the school summer holidays drawing to an end, junior members have been enjoying some good catches on our fisheries. Gareth Teakle took his two sons to the Airman Pit to fish for the catfish. Initial attempts using livebaits resulted in pike rather than catfish. Young Patrick then decided to loose feed some pellets and fish a boilie over the top. At 11pm Patrick had a screaming run and after a heart stopping 25 minute fight a 30lb 4oz catfish was finally coaxed into the landing net. The fish was too heavy for Patrick to hold alone and needed the assistance of his younger brother Louie to hold the catfish for the picture.
Teenager Hayden Copplestone has spent many days at Broom Lake over the summer catching a number of carp to over 20lb. This week Hayden reported landing a magnificent tench of 9lb 12oz. 11 year old Ryan Andrews landed his first carp from the venue in the shape of a new PB 12lb common, whilst his father Paul managed a 10lb common. Broom Lake is still fishing well for bags of silver fish on light waggler or pole tactics.
Willington Lake is still heavily weeded but the carp can usually be located in the margins where clear patches can easily be located. With so much natural food available the problem is trying to tempt them to take angler’s baits. The larger residents have been evading capture in recent weeks, but several of the carp stocked last November have been caught recently and all have shown excellent growth rates. Hopefully the cooler weather will see the weed start to die back and the carp feeding hard to fatten themselves up before the onset of winter.
A reminder that the next leg of the predator series is an overnight match at Little Paxton starting on Saturday 10th September where all predator species will count (i.e. pike, zander, perch, catfish, chub and eels), details are available from Kevin Williams (07595 585899).

Week ending 28th August 2011

The wet and cool conditions resulted in fewer anglers venturing out onto our fisheries. The Airman Pit continued to provide some action for those targeting the carp with 10 year old Jack Lancaster landing a new personal best 15lb 2oz common carp, whilst fishing with father Craig. Ashley Irvine latest trip included a 20lb 4oz mirror taken on float tactics.
Broom Lake is still fishing well for bags of silver fish on light waggler or pole tactics. The carp are still generally reluctant to feed during the middle of the day, with early morning and evenings being the most productive spells.

The SDAA Coaching Course will be reserving part of the lake on Saturday 3rd September. Work parties will be held on Sunday 4th September and the following two Sundays to make improvements to the track. Anyone wishing to volunteer to help can just turn up on the day. The lake will remain open to fishing.
Both the Broom River and Stanford Canal stretches of river continue to fish well with good mixed bags on float tactics. Chris Mayes spent a few hours trotting through a stick float and managed a bite a cast tacking a steady stream of small roach, dace and gudgeon that also included the odd better stamp of fish. Jim and Karen Easton fished the Ouse at Little Paxton with waggler and maggot and soon had the small fish feeding taking an excellent mixed bag of silver fish.

Week ending 21st August 2011

Phillip White described himself as ‘over the moon’ with the capture of a new club record catfish of 51lb 8oz from the Shefford & District A.A. controlled Airman Pit. Phillip has fished the venue since he was a young lad and this latest catfish smashed his previous personal best of 41lb. It was Phillip’s first visit and first catfish this season and gave him the fight of a lifetime taking nearly 40 minutes to land. Catfish and carp continue to feature in catches, with Ashley Irvine landing a 30lb catfish and 24lb common carp.
Broom Lake saw thirteen anglers turn out for the last leg of the 24h series. The start saw a flurry of spods shooting out across the lake as anglers baited up for the carp. However, the first few hours only saw bream and tench coming to the net with some anglers taking several pounds of silver fish on waggler tactics during this lull in carp activity. Lianne Bullard then stormed into the lead landing a common of 20lb 5oz and another carp of 14lb before her swim died. Carp were then caught from several areas of the lake and the final result showed a close fought contest with Aaron Price taking top spot with 54lb 7oz of carp ahead of Craig Lancaster who weighed 51lb 15oz. Lianne’s two carp secured third place with 34lb 15oz, fourth place was Robin Garford with 26lb 2oz, fifth place was Bryan Lancaster with 23lb 7oz and sixth place was Paul Fowler with 20lb 6oz. Craig Lancaster’s second place and first place from a previous round helped him secure the trophy for overall winner of the 24h series.
Alan Thomas appears to have found a successful method to tempt the barbel from the Ouse at Little Paxton landing three barbel during the week topped by a 10lb 9oz specimen, which is a new personal best. A reminder that the SDAA controlled stretches at Little Paxton are for members only and no day tickets are available, we are also concerned about the amount of rubbish being left along the banks at this venue. The next leg of the predator series is an overnight match at Little Paxton on 10th September where all predator species will count (i.e. pike, zander, perch, catfish, chub and eels), details are available from Kevin Williams (07595 585899).
The Broom River and Stanford Canal stretches are still fishing well with plenty of roach and dace being caught from many areas. Larger baits are helping to pick out some of the better stamp of roach

Week ending 14th August 2011

The latest round of the predator series attracted eight anglers intent on tempting the catfish at the Airman Pit. Although none of the large specimens put in an appearance, six of the competitors caught with Lee Winterbottom winning with a catfish of 16lb 4oz and Wayne Nightingale a close second with a catfish of 15lb 13oz. Neil Bygrave landed his first ever catfish of 8lb 8oz, but also tempted a 19lb 14oz mirror carp on his worm rig that didn’t count in the match. Andy Knight had a successful overnight session at the venue landing five carp to over 15lb.
Alan Thomas has continued his run of barbel from the Ouse at Little Paxton landing a 8lb 12oz specimen from his only bite of the session. Interestingly a local angler stopped for a chat with Alan and showed him a photo of a zander recently caught from the weir pool, which Alan estimated to be well into double figures. The next leg of the predator series is an overnight match at Little Paxton on 10th September where all predator species will count (i.e. pike, zander, perch, catfish, chub and eels), details are available from Kevin Williams (07595 585899).
Kevin Williams spent a day targeting the perch on the Broom River stretch of the river Ivel and landed six perch to 2lb 2oz, before landing a hard fighting specimen of 4lb 2oz. Kevin also landed a number of decent roach during his session.
There have been few reports from Broom Lake, but the silver fish are still providing consistent sport to anglers float fishing on pole or light waggler. The last leg of the 24h match series will be held on the lake this Saturday 20th August, starting with the draw at 7am and the lake reopening for general fishing at 11am on Sunday (details from Andy Knight 07904 302920).
Anyone interested in joining the Shefford & District A.A. Coaching Team should contact our Coaching Coordinator Neil Bygrave for further details (01462 625856). The club can hopefully enrol suitable candidates on the next Level 1 Coaching Course run by the Angling Development Board, which is being held over 2 weekend days in November.

Week ending 7th August 2011

Unlike other stillwaters, the water levels in Broom Lake have rapidly risen back to normal levels during the last week. Junior member Ryan Mackay landed his first ever double figured carp of 14lb 2oz, which was caught on sweetcorn just as light was fading. The latest session of the Coaching Course was held last Sunday and on a day which may have been considered too gusty to fish rod and line for the first time, the intrepid coaching group gave a brief introduction into fishing with this method before the participants were allowed to have a go themselves. Whilst the obligatory birdsnests were featured throughout the day, the anglers did a great job of putting into practice what they had been shown, which was amazing as for many this was their first time fishing in this way. Whilst the fish were a little harder to come by than during the previous sessions, fish were taken with perch, roach and rudd coming out all along the section, typified by a nice roach taken by 8 year old William taken on white maggot fished beneath a waggler. As with all of the skills being coached, practice will undoubtedly see these angler of the future improve their abilities. Once again the smiles at the end of the session confirmed that all had enjoyed their time on the bank and with their goodie bag from National Fishing Month and their sample baits kindly donated by Enterprise Tackle, the day was considered a great success. A reminder that the final match of the 24h series will be held at Broom Lake on Saturday 20th August (contact Andy Knight for details on 07904 302920).
Catfish will be the target species for the next round of the predator series that will be at the Airman Pit with the draw at 10am this Saturday 13th August and lasting 24h until noon on Sunday (contact Kevin Williams for details on 07595 585899). Members are reminded that the venue must be vacated by midnight on Friday and will reopen for general fishing at 2pm on Sunday.
Alan Thomas has continued his campaign on the Ouse at Little Paxton that has seen him land a number of different barbel in recent weeks, suggesting a healthy population of this species in this section of the river. This week Alan landed his largest barbel to date in the form of a 9lb 13oz specimen.

Week ending 31st July 2011

Ashley Irvine has continued his good run of form at the Airman Pit landing a catfish of 27lb 8oz and a mirror carp of 22lb 8oz earlier in the week. Unfavourable clear and sunny skies greeted the 14 anglers taking part in the 24h match, but this did not seem to effect Ashley who went on to record a top weight of 63lb 10oz, comprising of two carp to 20lb, a small catfish, a 6lb tench and two bream. Second place went to Robin Garford with a 19lb 8oz catfish, third place was junior Joseph Knight with a 16lb 8oz mirror carp, fourth was Neil Bygrave with 15lb 6oz bag of bream, roach and perch. Fifth place was Andy Knight with a 11lb 7oz common and sixth place was Nigel Gilbert with 6lb 4oz of roach. Young Joseph decided to stay on to fish for another night with his father Andy and Joseph was rewarded with a 12lb 14oz common, 18lb 1oz mirror, 18lb 9oz common and 14lb 11oz mirror with several fish taken on stalking tactics in the margins the following day.
Mark Brookman had a successful trip to Willington Lake landing two double figure carp and 8 tench in the 4-6lb bracket. Mark’s previous trip had resulted in a new personal best 8lb tench. Cormorants have been seen feeding at both Willington Lake and Broom Lake in recent weeks and we request members to report any sightings, as well as try and scare off any birds that land on the lakes. Clapping hands and waving arms is usually enough to persuade the cormorants to move on.
The Ouse at Little Paxton is still in good form with a variety of species showing up in the weir pool. Alan Thomas managed to land barbel to 8lb 6oz, chub to 4lb 4oz and eels to 2lb 5oz in recent visits. There have also been reports of barbel from the stretch at Pavenham although the river here is currently heavily weeded and awkward to fish in many places.
The next predator match will be at the Airman Pit starting on Saturday 13th August lasting 24h with the target species being the catfish (contact Kevin Williams for details on 07595 585899). The final match of the 24h series will be held at Broom Lake on Saturday 20th August (contact Andy Knight for details on 07904 302920).

Week ending 24th July 2011

A final reminder that the next 24h match will be held at the Airman Pit this weekend with the draw at 7am on Saturday 30th July. Anyone wanting to fish should book a place with the match organiser Andy Knight (07904 302920) as only a few places are left. The lake’s carp have been in an obliging mood in recent weeks with many specimens often seen feeding in the shallower margins. Several 20s have been reported recently, including a 25lb 1oz mirror landed by Jeff Olave whilst his son Billy landed a 21lb 4oz specimen. Whilst the carp are often coming from the margins, bream and tench are being caught on baits fished in slightly deeper water.
The second sessions of the Coaching Course held at Broom Lake were attended by 17 anglers where they learned the principles of setting up a whip rig including knot tying, attaching the float and shot. As a result of the day they will now be able to make up their own rigs to suit the conditions and types of fish likely to be encountered. With the theory out of the way, the attendees enjoyed the rest of the session trying to tempt the fish from the lake, where once again the perch, roach and odd rudd proved obliging. The third sessions of the Coaching Course will be held on Sunday 7th August and will see the start of the rod and reel fishing.
The thick weed growth at Willington Lake is still hampering sport with the majority of weed free areas limited to marginal spots that have been cleared with a rake, or by feeding fish. However, this week has seen a number of tench being caught to over 7lb as well as a couple of double figure carp for those anglers willing to persevere.
Both the Broom River and Stanford Canal stretches continue to fish well for mixed bags of roach, dace and perch being taken on float tactics. Meanwhile on the Ouse at Little Paxton several anglers have reported catching barbel mainly in the 5-8lb bracket, although the stretch usually produces some double figure specimens each season.

Week ending 17th July 2011

Several anglers are sneaking in some extra practice ahead of the next 24h match to be held at the Airman Pit on 30th July (match details from Andy Knight on 07904 302920), and the lakes recent form suggests some bumper catches could be on the cards. Ashley Irvine is hoping for a repeat performance of his latest visit during which he landed a range of species including five tench to 7lb, two carp of 22lb and 17lb 8oz, and a 16lb catfish. 24h match organiser, Andy Knight had another successful trip landing six carp topped by fish of 21lb 9oz and 18lb 4oz.
Some anglers are still enjoying success with carp, tench and bream at Broom Lake, whilst others are struggling. The key to success is often trying something different, such as trying some of the less popular swims and trying a range of different baits. The lake is still fishing well for silver fish on the pole or light waggler, and on warmer days it has been possible to get the roach feeding on hemp, which avoids the shoals of ravenous perch. Behind the lake the Broom River stretch of the Ivel is still fishing well with roach, dace and perch being taken on float fished maggot from clear patches amongst the weed.
Alan Thomas visited the Ouse at Pavenham and tried the ‘sink and draw’ method with lobworm on the hook to take 9 perch to 2lb 7oz, which were all in immaculate condition, as well as a small chub. The prolific weed growth limited the number of swims where Alan could use this method. Further downstream weed cutting has recently taken place on the Ouse at Willington, which should make the main river easier to fish. At Little Paxton the swims around the weir pool are still attracting anglers who have enjoyed good mixed bags of small fish on float fished maggots.

Week ending 10th July 2011

Sport at the Airman Pit has definitely improved in recent weeks and fish are responding to a wide variety of methods. Good bags of bream and tench along with roach to over 1lb have been taken by anglers float fishing on the pole or slider. The carp have are now back on the feed following the recent spawning activity with Andy Knight taking six double figure carp to 17lb 3oz and a 5lb 3oz tench during a single overnight stay, although all his fish were caught during daylight hours. Several carp over 20lb have also been reported. However, fish of the week (if not the season) fell to Airman regular Tommy Williams in the shape of a new lake record catfish weighing 51lb 5oz and it is also believed to be the biggest fish ever caught from an SDAA water. Tommy was woken around midnight by a screaming run as the fish powered off down the lake ‘wiping out’ his other rod and the rods of the angler in the next swim, eventually Tommy managed to turn the fish and slowly gain back line. After a titanic struggle the fish was finally landed, weighed and witnessed, but in typical Tommy fashion he was concerned about the catfish’s welfare so it was returned to the lake as quickly as possible rather than pose for any photos. Lee Winterbottom was also delighted to report the capture of a 20lb 4oz pike, which is the largest pike reported from SDAA waters so far this season.
Perch, roach, rudd and skimmers are still being taken on pole or light waggler tactics at Broom Lake. The SDAA "Learn to Fish" Course got under way on Saturday at this venue with the first 20 applicants having their first day of the 6 planned. Over the two 2½hour sessions all the trainees were introduced to whip fishing and a wide range of fundamental skills. All the attendees caught fish and went away smiling and keen to build on their new skills in the sessions to come. Although this year’s Course is fully booked, SDAA are accepting expressions of interest for next year’s events and respondees to coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk or 07767 074064 will be guaranteed first notice when the 2012 programme is published early next year. Carp fishing has remained rather patchy but some anglers have enjoyed multiple catches, with one angler landing a ghost carp of 24lb. A reminder to anyone wanting to fish the Broom Lake Night Fishing events that tickets must be obtained in advance from the Registrar with only ten tickets available for each event, the next dates being Saturday 23rd July and Wednesday 27th July.
The Broom River stretch of the Ivel is still fishing well with roach, dace and perch being taken on float fished maggot. Those fishing larger static baits have managed to land some decent perch, chub and bream but once again anglers have reported being smashed up by larger fish, suspected to be carp.
Finally, the first round of the predator series starts this weekend with a 24h match starting on Saturday 16th July (draw at 7am) at Willington Lake where the target species will be eels. Good sized eels are often caught accidently at the lake whilst fishing for other species so it will be interesting to see how many can be caught intentionally. Further details of the match can be obtained from Kevin Williams (07595 585899).

Week ending 3rd July 2011

We are very proud to announce a further strengthening of our relationship with the Environment Agency, especially in respect of our commitment to developing new and better anglers. The EA continues to support SDAA in its angling participation work with the provision of £2,000 worth of Browning angling equipment to help the club deliver a series of angling events over the next three years. The partnership working of the EA and SDAA will provide opportunities for people from all walks of life to give angling a try and become hooked for life! The next training event, which will also see the first use of the new equipment, is the first day of the new SDAA "Learn to Fish" Course, which begins at Broom Lake on Saturday July 9th and runs through to Saturday September 24th (the Course is now fully booked). The photo shows the SDAA Coaching Group at a recent Taster Day with a small part of the tackle stock provided by the EA.

Broom Lake is still fishing well with bags of perch, roach and rudd being taken on pole or light waggler tactics. Those targeting the larger species are finding the fish reluctant to feed during the heat of the day. A typical example was Andy Furr who landed a carp, tench and two bream during the first hours of daylight and was struggling for bites by 8am as the carp started to cruise in the surface layers. Bailiffs have had to recover lots of line and rigs from the island margins in recent weeks, including releasing a carp that had become tethered. Please cast carefully and ensure your rigs are constructed so as to prevent leads and excessive lengths of line remaining attached in the event of line breakages. Many of the recovered rigs incorporated leadcore leaders still attached to in excess of 20 yards of mainline.
Ashley Irvine landed the largest reported catfish of the week at the Airman Pit at 36lb 14oz. Robin Garford managed catfish of 24lb and 9lb 5oz as well as three bream. John Wigg targeted the bream and tench and landed 6 tincas and 3 bream on the pole for an estimated total weight of 40lb. With many of the carp cruising the margins, Andy Knight adopted stalking tactics to take several carp from different swims, his best fish being tempted in shallow water just 3 feet from the bank.
Kevin Williams returned to the weir pool on the Ouse at Little Paxton and landed barbel of 6lb and 10lb, losing a much bigger specimen. Kevin also managed a specimen eel of 5lb and a common carp of 15lb. Although heavily weeded in places there are still plenty of clear spots on the Broom River stretch of the Ivel where double figure bags of roach, dace and perch have been taken on float fished maggot. David Hawkes tried for larger fish using ledgered lobworm and managed three perch to 1lb 9oz and a chub of 3lb 4oz, but then hooked into something much larger and after getting it close to his landing net his hooklength parted on a common carp estimated to be at least 20lb.

Week ending 26th June 2011

Fish are still responding to a variety of methods at Broom Lake, with female anglers grabbing this week’s headlines. Vicky Garten was delighted to land a new personal best 6lb female tench and followed this up with a male tench also weighing 6lb just 20 minutes later, whilst husband Jim had to be content with catching small perch. Their guest Jaqui was extremely happy to land a 20lb mirror, which was also a new personal best. Alan Thomas took Bill Blakeman as a guest and they enjoyed a pleasant day with a constant stream of bites on float fished maggots to take a mixed bag of perch, roach and rudd, with Bill also landing a 3lb 15oz tench. Broom Lake will be the venue for the forthcoming SDAA “Learn to Fish” Course starting on Saturday July 9th which runs over 6 weekend days and is designed to teach anglers the basics of stillwater fishing. If you are interested please contact coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk or 07767 074064 or see www.shefforddaa.org.uk for more details. Saturday 9th July will also signal the first in a series of ten night fishing events at Broom Lake, which are restricted to ten anglers per night. Tickets cost £10 and must be obtained in advance, see membership book for details.
Some of the catfish at the Airman Pit have recently spawned, but many have remained on the feed. Wayne Nightingale again landed the biggest catfish of the week at 37lb 8oz. After several blanks, Nikki Bangert was well pleased with her first ever catfish of 13lb and followed this up with a smaller catfish of 8lb 4oz. Meanwhile, 11 year old Ryan Andrews landed his first ever carp in the shape of a nice looking 12lb 4oz mirror. Andy Knight landed two double figure carp and a 6lb tench during a short overnight session. Anglers targeting the roach are having some success with some good bags of redfins to over 1lb reported. On Saturday 2nd July there will be a work party to carry out maintenance work on the ‘Wide Swim’ and ‘Bubblers’. The venue will remain open for fishing and any disturbance will be kept to a minimum.
The weed growth at Willington Lake required most of the 10 anglers fishing the recent 24h match to rake their swims before fishing. A few fish were hooked and lost in the weed, but Craig Lancaster was the only person to land a fish in the shape of a 8lb bream. Plenty of carp have often been seen cruising in the shallow margins only a rod length out, so a quiet stalking approach may be the best method to target these carp at the moment.
Andy Knight decided to try his luck on the Ouse at Pavenham and landed 9 good perch to 2lb 6oz, but could not tempt any of the massive chub he witnessed. A return to one of the Ivel Protection Association waters saw Andy land a 5lb 6oz chub.

Week ending 19th June 2011

Wayne Nightingale is still enjoying a good run of large catfish at the Airman Pit. Wayne has now sent us a photo of his 41lb 4oz catfish reported last week, which was jet black in colour. Wayne then went on to land another 36lb 5oz catfish a few days later. Ashley Irvine managed a good bag of tench landing 6 tincas to 5lb 14oz, a small mirror carp of 8lb and an 8lb pike. Starting on Saturday 2nd July we plan to hold regular monthly work parties at this venue to carry out maintenance work on swims and the banks. The venue will remain open with only those swims being worked on unavailable for fishing.
Weed growth at Willington Lake has been prolific in recent weeks, which has made the fishing more difficult but there have still been a number of good tench and bream landed. If you drag a swim please make sure any fish fry are returned to the water, and leave the weed in the margins so that insects and invertebrates can crawl back into the lake. The 24h match series starts at Willington Lake this Saturday 25th June and further details can be obtained from Andy Knight (07904 302920).
Last Saturday saw another Taster Day held at Broom Lake, with an enthusiastic group of potential new anglers from age 9 to 50+ having a 1-to-1 coaching session with our ADB-qualified coaches. Plenty of fish were caught, with roach, perch and tench proving very obliging for the new recruits, some of whom also learnt about how pike can wreck a swim!! Thankfully the heavy rain held off for most of the day, allowing the trainees to enjoy their session, with a very happy Craig being typical of the pleasure shown at catching fish. Immy enjoyed her session so much that she booked a second one during her first and she was also very pleased to beat her Dad on the day, more proof of the skills of female anglers! The rain returned in time to soak the coaching group as they packed up for the day but it didn’t really dampen another rewarding day for the trainees and the coaches. Most of the participants registered for the forthcoming SDAA “Learn to Fish” Course starting on July 9th and some of the trainees had joined the club before the day was finished. Places for the course are filling up now so if you’re interested please contact coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk or 07767 074064 or see www.shefforddaa.org.uk for more details. Meanwhile anglers targeting the larger species in Broom Lake are still enjoying some good sport with Paul Andrews landing a 5lb 6oz tench and 12lb mirror carp.
We have also received some good reports from the rivers with Kevin Williams landing several good bream from the weir pool at Little Paxton during the night, as well a mixed bag of perch, chub, dace, roach and bleak on the float during the day. His friend also caught his first ever barbel from the weir pool. Andy Knight made his usual first day trip to one of the Ivel Protection Association waters and his tip lunged round after only 20 seconds of his first cast resulting in an 8lb 9oz barbel. Andy went on to land three more barbel weighing 6lb, 8lb 13oz and 7lb 12oz, seven chub to 6lb 3oz and a solitary 10oz perch.

Week ending 12th June 2011

The large catfish at the Airman Pit are still in an obliging mood. Wayne Nightingale landed the largest catfish reported this week at 41lb. Head Bailiff Richard Knight landed a hard fighting 36lb specimen during a single overnight visit, his catch also included four double figure carp and a bream.
Those specifically targeting the tench at Willington Lake have found them rather finky feeders this season, with the biggest bags recently falling to carp anglers who have laid out a large carpet of boilies. The 24h match series starts at Willington Lake on Saturday 25th June and further details can be obtained from Andy Knight (07904 302920).
Meanwhile Broom Lake is responding well to a range of different styles. Pole, whip or light waggler tactics are still working well for mixed bags of silver fish. Plenty of carp are being landed on bottom baits with early morning and the evening being the most productive times, whilst the carp are often found cruising the upper layers during the middle of the day when surface baits or ‘zig rigs’ prove more productive. A number of good tench have also been caught with one angler taking two specimens weighing 7lb 8oz in one session. Another Taster Day session will be held at Broom Lake, places can be reserved on 07767 074064 and cost only £2.50. The venue will also be used for the new SDAA “Learn To Fish” course, which includes a 6-session introduction to stillwater fishing begins on Saturday July 9th with details available on the SDAA website.
Our thanks go to the SDAA volunteers who manned a stall at the recent Shefford Gala, in spite of the rain that persisted all day ironically just a few days after the area had officially been officially declared in drought. Young William Martn-Wren won £25 in the groundbait (bean bag) throwing competition with a total score of 8,000. A reminder that the river fishing season starts on 16th June and we would like to hear about your catches from SDAA stretches of the Ouse and Ivel.

Week ending 5th June 2011

The bailiffs have been alerted to claims that fish are being removed from one of the club’s lakes and transferred to another fishery. The club has been investigating the matter and if the culprits are caught the matter will be referred to the police as an act of theft. Any illegal movements of fish will also be investigated by the Environment Agency. If anyone has further information, or sees any suspicious activity at any of our waters, then please contact an officer of the club immediately. New members are also reminded to read and sign their membership books before starting to fish so that they are aware of all the club rules and any specific fishery rules.
The catfish at the Airman Pit appear to have reverted back to nocturnal feeding. New member Mark Brigginshaw’s first ever visit to the water resulted in a 41lb catfish, which certainly brought a smile to his face. A number of good carp have also been landed during the week, including a 24lb mirror reported by Darren Seeney. In spite of many carp appearing to be in the mood for spawning last Sunday, Ashley Irvine found others feeding hard and landed eight carp during the day with most fish in the 15-18lb bracket. Ashley was also delighted to catch a beautiful looking mirror of only 8lb 5oz, which is from one of our recent stockings. We would encourage other members to weigh and photograph similar carp so that we can monitor the growth rates of these fish, which will hopefully be the future specimens in years to come.
At Willington Lake many species including the tench appear to have spawned and anyone dragging weed from a swim should ensure any fish fry can escape back into the water. Although the tench and bream fishing continues to be patchy, the carp are far more visible making location more straightforward. Alex Mortimore managed two double figure carp during one morning, but the much larger carp are still proving elusive for the venue regulars.
The carp at Broom Lake are responding well for those who have worked out their feeding patterns. Early morning and late evening are the most reliable times to catch them on bottom baits, with the carp often cruising the upper layers during the middle of the day. The near side margins are often the most productive areas provided the anglers are quiet and sit back from the water’s edge. It took Andrew Smart some time to work out how to fish the lake but has enjoyed some reliable sport in recent weeks landing several 20s, including a 22lb 4oz common. Groundbait feeder tactics have accounted for some bags of bream and tench from noted pegs.
Last Saturday the SDAA Coaching Group held another successful Taster Day at Broom Lake. Devised as a way to introduce new people to the sport, or to refresh those who haven’t fished for years, the Day saw plenty of entrants from aged 6 to 62, with both male and females eager to have a go. The weather was obliging and so were the fish, with all the participants catching multiple bags of roach, perch and rudd during their 1-to-1 sessions with our ADB-trained coaches. Several people decided to register their interest in the new SDAA “Learn To Fish” course, a 6-session introduction to stillwater fishing which begins on Saturday July 9th. The picture shows Coach Steve Jepps introducing Jess to the sport. There are still some spaces available for the next Taster Day at Broom on Saturday June 18th. A session costs £2.50 and application forms are available in tackle shops in Shefford, Arlesey and Biggleswade or can be downloaded from www.shefforddaa.org.uk, alternatively places can be reserved on 07767 074064. We will also have a stand at Shefford Gala on Sunday June 12th and booking forms will also be available there. Come and have a go at our fishing game on our specially-constructed lake !!
Finally a reminder that the new 2011/12 Membership Books include a FREE guest ticket to take a guest fishing at the Airman, Broom Lake or Willington Lake on a Wednesday or Saturday between now and July 16th. Guests cannot night fish and the ticket must be completed before the guest starts to fish. SDAA hope that this will encourage members to bring a friend to enjoy our waters and that the guests will then join in their own right.

Week ending 29th May 2011

Large catfish are still being caught from Airman Pit. This week it was the turn of Phillip White to smash his previous catfish pb of 28lb, with a hard fighting 41lb specimen. Meanwhile Ashley Irvine targeted the carp but landed a bream and three tench to 5lb, before finally landing an 18lb common. Ashley reported all the fish were in excellent condition and demonstrates the growing number of tench being caught at this venue.
The carp at Broom Lake have again been in a finicky mood with only odd reports of double figure fish being landed. The bream and tench have proved more reliable feeders. However, anglers fishing the float have enjoyed some consistent sport with the roach, rudd and perch, although in some areas of the lake catches are almost totally dominated by voracious shoals of perch. The tench fishing at Willington Lake appears to be improving with a number of tincas caught during the week as well as carp to high double figures.
SDAA are running two Taster Days at Broom Lake this coming Saturday June 4th and again on Saturday June 18th. To reserve places on either of the Taster Days simply call 07767 074064 or email coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk. These are suitable for anyone aged from 8 upwards and include a 45 minute 1 to 1 session on basic fishing with one of our qualified angling coaches at a cost of £2.50. Finally, the latest SDAA annual newsletter is now available from our website.

Anglers in the Hitchin area can now obtain SDAA membership books from Select Fishing on Hitchin Market (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday). The proprietor, Chris Childs, has personal knowledge of SDAA waters and the fishing available, and can provide advice to anyone who needs it. Select Fishing also have information and application forms on the upcoming SDAA Fishing Taster Days & Coaching Course for new anglers.

Week ending 22nd May 2011

Members are still successfully targeting catfish at the Airman Pit. Although anglers are keeping tight lipped about what has been caught, we have reliable reports of two catfish over 40lb landed during the last week, with one catfish weighing 42lb 7oz, which is the biggest we have heard of this year. An increasing number of tench have also been reported by those fishing the margins.
The carp at Broom Lake have been a little more elusive during the last week, spending a lot of time cruising on the surface, which is probably a prelude to them spawning. However, bream and tench have still been feeding and have featured in several catches.
The fishing at Willington Lake is still proving very unpredictable with relatively few tench being caught. Bream and the odd carp have been landed, but the carp appear to be getting ready for spawning as they were seen shoaled up in the shallower areas of the lake during the week. A few anglers have been enjoying some good sport with the pike, with a mobile approach with lures proving the best method.
We would like to thank those members who have attended recent work parties at several of our fisheries. Another work party will be held at Broom Lake on Sunday 29th May from 8.30am to help improve the track around the lake so that it can be kept open for longer periods, anyone wanting to help out can just turn up with a shovel. The lake will remain open for fishing during the work party but please be aware there may be some bank-side disturbance, which we will try and keep to a minimum.
SDAA are running two Taster Days at Broom Lake on June 4th and 18th that are suitable for anyone aged from 8 upwards and include a 45 minute 1 to 1 session on basic fishing with one of our qualified angling coaches at a cost of £2.50. From July to September our coaches will be running the SDAA Angling Coaching Course (in association with Enterprise Tackle) that will take entrants from the first steps in fishing, through whip and rod & line fishing, finishing with an introduction to carp fishing over a total of 6 sessions. The first 5 sessions will each last 2½ hours and cost £5 per session, whilst the final session on carp fishing will last 6 hours and cost £10. Please visit the SDAA website to find out more details along with a brochure and application form, or to reserve places on either the Taster Days or Coaching Course simply call 07767 074064 or email coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk.

Week ending 15th May 2011

Sport at Broom Lake has remained consistent throughout the week with many members catching carp with an increasing number of tench also showing up in catches. Paul Andrews landed a beautifully conditioned common carp of 16lb 8oz. Early morning and evenings are still the most productive times for the carp and those anglers ringing the changes with their baits are having the greatest success. A reminder that the night fishing times printed in the book represent the arrival and departure times for Broom Lake, and any angler found on the lake outside of these times will be reported to the committee. Opportunities to night fish Broom Lake will exist this season with a series of ten night fishing events being organised during July to September, details of the dates and how to obtain tickets can be found in the new club book, or on the website.
Mick Baldwin reported the first good tench haul from Willington Lake this year landing six tench and losing another three. However, the fish have continue to be in a finicky mood as Mick returned a few days later and blanked. Paul Allum and Robin Garford both landed double figure carp, whilst Paul Allum, junior managed a good bream.
Catfish continue to be the primary target for anglers fishing the Airman Pit but not surprisingly catches have slowed down after several weeks of hectic feeding activity. Several double figure catfish were reported, including several over 20lb. Anglers targeting the catfish should ensure they are using tackle that is strong enough to deal with any hooked fish, and have a suitably sized landing net and unhooking mat.
In the next few weeks there will be a number of work parties on our waters. We do not currently plan to close waters during these work parties but there may be some bank-side disturbance, which we will try and keep to a minimum. At Broom Lake there will be a work party this coming Sunday morning from 8.30am to improve the track around the lake, anyone wanting to help out can just turn up with a shovel. Other work on our waters will mainly involve strimming and mowing to help maintain access. Contact the Fisheries Officer or another Officer of the club if you want further details.

Week ending 8th May 2011

James Turvey and Kevin Wilkins once again found the catfish in an obliging mood during their latest 24h session at the Airman Pit although both noted a shift in the feeding patterns this week, catching fish during the night and early mornings. Kevin caught two catfish of 28lb 10oz and 19lb 15oz, and three pike to 16lb. Meanwhile James managed five catfish with the biggest weighing 40lb 15oz, which he recognised as the same catfish that he had caught the previous week at 41lb. The catfish are probably getting ready to spawn as a few catfish have ‘pad marks’ on them and they are being unusually aggressive when landed.
The carp at Broom Lake continue to feed with early morning and the evening being the most productive times. Head Bailiff Richard Knight landed 5 carp in the first four hours of his session with two more landed during the evening for an 83lb haul, with his best fish weighing 18lb. The coaching group had a practice session on Saturday morning ahead of this year’s Taster Days and Coaching sessions. Fishing simple waggler tactics in the margins they all found roach, rudd and perch were all willing to take the bait. Alan Colclough also managed two 4lb+ tench, whilst Yvette Baker caught her first ever pike on double maggot, but also landed another tench in excess of 4lb. Junior member Hayden Copplestone attended last year’s Taster Days and has reported landing two carp over 20lb during the week with mirrors of 21lb 8oz and 23lb 8oz.
Paul Allum (another junior member) enjoyed good success with the tench at Willington Lake landing tincas of 5lb and 6lb 9oz and losing another, on ‘monster fish and atlantic salmon’ boilies made by his father Paul, senior. They were accompanied by Robin Garford who on his first visit to the lake landed a 20lb mirror carp and lost another two to hook pulls, again using Paul, senior’s bait.
New SDAA club books for the 2011/12 season are available from tackle shops and are valid from the date of purchase right through to 15th June 2012. Each membership book contains a free guest ticket that can be used on Wednesdays and Saturdays only during the period 1st June to 16th July 2011 to enable each member to take a guest to any of our lake venues. Following last years' successful events, this summer SDAA are running two more Taster Days on June 4th and 18th. Then, from July to September, we have a brand new course to learn how to fish stillwaters. The SDAA Angling Coaching Course (in association with Enterprise Tackle) will take entrants from the first steps in fishing, through whip and rod & line fishing, finishing with an introduction to carp fishing over a total of 6 sessions. Please visit the SDAA website to find out more details along with a brochure and application form, or to reserve places on the Taster Days and Coaching Course simply call 07767 074064 or email coachingsdaaltd@tiscali.co.uk.

Week ending 1st May 2011

The catfish continue to dominate reports from the Airman Pit with James Turvey again grabbing the headlines. James visited the lake with the intention of targeting the big rudd he had seen cruising the surface layers in recent weeks, but decided to put a ‘sleeper’ rod out for the cats whilst he was setting up his rudd tackle. He landed a 20lb 14oz catfish before he had his other rod set up, followed minutes later by a smaller 7lb 13oz catfish. After finally casting out his float rod, he had his third catfish of 20lb 15oz on his catfish rig. When he landed his fourth catfish of 10lb 8oz, he decided to abandon rudd fishing and out went a second catfish rod. This rod soon saw some action with James landing a personal best catfish of 41lb, followed by two more of 20lb 12oz and 31lb, losing three more to hook pulls. In his last three sessions James has landed an incredible 27 catfish with one at 41lb, three over 30lb, five over 20lb, thirteen between 10lb-20lb and five under 10lb. James’ angling friend Kevin Wilkins managed a 21lb catfish during his latest trip. Phillip White has also been enjoying some action taking 8 catfish to 20lb in a 48h session along with three pike to 12lb, Phillip’s next session then produced a 28lb 5oz catfish and two common carp of 17lb and 13lb 5oz. Peter Motoska landed a 20lb 5oz mirror followed on his next trip with a 22lb 7oz mirror and 10lb 4oz common.
The potential for Broom Lake to produce specimen tench has been evident by recent catches. Graham Bygraves landed an impressive 9lb 2oz tench on method feeder and sweetcorn as well as catching carp of 16lb and 10lb, plus a 6lb 8oz bream. Dave Snell then managed an even bigger tench of 9lb 14oz, which is the best tench reported from the venue in recent seasons and tantalisingly just below the double figure barrier. Several members reported taking multiple bags of carp with Dave Albon again seeing some action with a 15lb common and 10lb mirror, whilst Head Bailiff Richard Knight landed 6 carp to 18lb in a half day session.
Over at Willington Lake the tench fishing has been rather slow with only a few fish being landed. Mike Baldwin managed to land 6 bream to 10lb 10oz on feeder tactics, which also accounted for a 9lb carp.
New club books for the 2011/12 season are being distributed to tackle shops over the next few days and will be valid from the date of purchase right through to 15th June 2012, alternatively they can be obtained by postal application to the Registrar by downloading the application form on the SDAA website. Night Permits are required to night fish the Airman Pit and Willington Lake and these are only available by postal application to the Registrar.

Week ending 24th April 2011

The catfish have responded to the increase in water temperatures at the Airman Pit and have dominated catches with reports of one over 40lb and another two over 35lb being landed within one 48h spell. Robin Garford landed the biggest catfish reported this year with an impressive 41lb 8oz specimen, once again a daylight capture. James Turvey then managed to surpass his 7 fish haul reported last week. Once again James managed to time his overnight visit when the catfish were well and truly on the feed, taking 9 catfish during his first day and then following a quiet night managed to land another 4 catfish the next morning. James’ haul include specimens of 37lb and 35lb 4oz, with his other catfish topped by one at 21lb, two around 7lb and the rest in double figure fish. The total weight of James’ catfish was around 250lb, which is quite an incredible catch.
Many of the carp at Broom Lake were seen basking in the sunshine during the recent mild spell. Whilst a few fish were tempted to take a surface bait, most successful anglers are finding the mornings and evenings the most productive times for bottom baits. Dave Albon managed a 6lb 2oz tench and then on his subsequent visit landed common carp of 21lb 8oz, 15lb 9oz and 11lb 5oz. Jamie Ping fished two short 3 hour evening sessions for a total of 5 carp with biggest weighing 19lb 2oz, and 3 tench up to 5lb 12oz. Silver fish are still responding to those fishing light on the float.
The new club books will be available in tackle shops by 7th May and will be valid from the date of purchase right through to 15th June 2012, alternatively they can be obtained by postal application to the Registrar using the application form on the SDAA website. New books are priced at adults £60, concessionary £40, spouse £30 and junior £15. Night Permits are required to night fish the Airman Pit and Willington Lake and these are priced at £42.50 for adults and £20 for juniors. Juniors aged under 17 have the option of obtaining free ‘Associate Junior Membership’; however, Associate Junior Members can only fish with a single rod when supervised by a member over the age of 18 in the same swim and cannot night fish. Night Permits and Associate Junior Membership are only available by postal application to the Registrar.

Week ending 17th April 2011

The catfish at the Airman Pit went on a feeding frenzy last Saturday for James Turvey who managed to land no less than 7 catfish in a hectic spell of activity.  Many anglers still believe catfish will only feed at night, but James proved they are equally happy to feed during daylight.  After a quiet night on the lake, James’ swim suddenly burst into life taking a catfish approximately every 30 minutes with all his fish coming off the same rod.  James best specimen weighed 28lb 14oz, four in the mid teens and two around 6-8lb, and he also lost a much bigger fish that shed the hook.  Angling friend Kevin Wilkins copied James’ rig and borrowed some of his ‘secret’ bait and managed to land a large catfish of 35lb 5oz, as well as a couple of pike. 
Meanwhile Broom Lake has continued to fish well for carp, tench and bream.  Ken Sharp managed a 6lb tench and bream of 6lb 15oz, 6lb 10oz and 4lb as well as several smaller ‘skimmers’ on ledger tactics.  A reminder that anyone found night fishing Broom Lake will receive a ban and random night patrols by bailiffs are in operation.  Alan Lawrence has reported an excellent tench of 8lb 12oz and common carp of 23lb 5oz from an undisclosed SDAA water. 
For those wanting to make the most of the bank holidays in April,  Shefford & District A. A.  ‘half year’ books are still available and will remain valid until 15th June 2011 (adults £30, concessionary £20, junior £10).  However, please be aware that the new books should be available in tackle shops around the beginning of May and will be valid from the date of purchase right through to 15th June 2012.  New books will be priced at adults £60, concessionary £40, spouse £30 and junior £15.  Night Permits are required to night fish the Airman Pit and Willington Lake and these will be priced at £42.50 for adults and £20 for juniors.  Juniors aged under 17 will have the option of obtaining free ‘Associate Junior Membership’; however, Associate Junior Members can only fish with a single rod when supervised by a member over the age of 18 in the same swim and cannot night fish.  Night Permits and Associate Junior Membership will only be available by postal application to the Registrar.

Week ending 10th April 2011

With the water temperatures finally breaking through the 10C barrier, the fish at Willington Lake are now beginning to show in good numbers.  Willy Woodfield started the week off by taking four good bream in one night, topped by two double figure specimens of 11lb 12oz and 10lb 5oz.  Alex Mortimore continued his run of good form by landing a number of common carp to 22lb 12oz and tench to 7lb 3oz.  Other anglers have reported catching a number of tench, the best being a 7lb 7oz specimen to a publicity shy member who also landed another tench of 5lb 14oz.  A number of small pike were still being caught on deadbaits or lures.
 
The fishing at Broom Lake appears to have been unaffected by the recent Siltex treatment with good numbers of carp, tench and bream being reported, along with good nets of roach, rudd and perch to float anglers.  The fishing at the Airman Pit has also improved with tench and good sized roach falling to float tactics, but biggest fish of the week went to new member Andrew Bangert whose first fish from the Airman Pit was a new personal best mirror carp of 28lb, taken on a pineapple pop-up and sweetcorn combination. 

Week ending 3rd April 2011

New initiatives to encourage greater family participation in angling were announced at the recent AGM.  These initiatives include free ‘Associate Junior Membership’ available for all juniors aged under 17 happy to share a swim with an adult and using one rod, whilst those wanting to fish their own swim or with two rods can take out standard Junior membership.  ‘Spouse’ membership will enable couples of all ages to make a financial saving when taking out joint membership.  On the coaching front there will be two Taster Days in June, followed by an angling course run over 6 Saturdays that will teach a range of angling skills.  A series of ten night fishing events will be held at Broom Lake during July to September and all members can apply to participate.  Further details and application forms for these initiatives will be available from the club’s website just prior to the new club books going on sale at the beginning of May.  The AGM also included presentations made by club President John Leath to the winners of the specimen fish trophies that went to Andrew Howard (13lb 10oz barbel from Paxton), Mick Baldwin (11lb 4oz bream from Willington), Willy Woodfield (31lb 4oz carp from Willington), Ben Toyer (42lb 8oz catfish from the Airman), James Turvey (6lb 1oz chub from Pavenham and 21lb 6oz pike from Paxton), Nigel Gilbert (4lb 4oz perch from Broom River, which also took the best overall specimen trophy) and Brian Pitcher (8lb 8oz tench from Willington).  On the match front Neil Bygrave was awarded the trophy for the 24h match series, Kevin Williams the predator series, Steve Jepps the pike series, and for the monthly club matches Neil Bygrave was named club champion with Neil Bygrave and Nigel Gilbert taking the honours as pairs champions.
 
Broom Lake was recently closed for two days whilst 5 tonnes of Siltex was applied to combat the silt that has built from years of leaf drop.  A litter pick also revealed an unacceptable amount of litter being left at the fishery, but worst of all was evidence of anglers using the lake as a toilet.  Please take an ‘emergency kit’ with you when you go fishing in case you have an unexpected call of nature, as the committee with have no hesitation in banning anyone found leaving a ‘deposit’ on the banks of our fisheries.  The Siltex has given the water a milky appearance, but this does not harm the fish and will soon settle out.  Indeed John Smith reported taking four good bream the day after the work party had finished.
 
The Airman Pit carp are now proving reliable feeders with Phillip White taking the largest reported fish with a 23lb 8oz mirror carp, caught on LT Baits salmino boilies.  Ashley Irvine reported landing two carp to upper double figures.  It has been more of a struggle for most members fishing Willington Lake with only reports of odd bream and tench feeding.  However, Alex Mortimore managed to land two carp, the biggest being a 23lb common and a 6lb tench.

Week ending 27th March 2011

The warmer weather has started to improve sport across our stillwaters.  Broom Lake is now producing carp, tench and silvers to a variety of methods.  John Wigg is one of several anglers who have been enjoying good nets of roach, rudd and perch on the pole, including several ‘netters’.  One of John’s recent visits produced an elastic stretching tench over 5lb.  Carp and tench have been taken on ledgered bottom baits, with the most productive feeding times being early morning or from late afternoon.  Several anglers have enjoyed multiple captures of carp with both commons and mirrors over 20lb being reported.  Members are reminded the lake will be closed on 31st March and 1st April so that 5 tonnes of Siltex can be applied (any volunteers wanting to help should give Andy Knight a call).   
Further details of the large catfish recently caught at the Airman Pit are now available.  The 40lb 12oz catfish was caught by Wayne Nightingale who was targeting the cats, but he was rather surprised when he hit into the large catfish as the bite was very tentative and he was expecting the culprit to be a bream.  A number of carp have also been landed, with Craig Lancaster taking mirrors of 23lb and 18lb 4oz on LT Baits’ new banana and cinnamon boilies during an overnight session. 
Members fishing Willington Lake have been patiently waiting for the tench and carp to switch on.  Alex Mortimore’s efforts were finally rewarded with the first carp reported this spring in the shape of a 17lb 8oz common, whilst Dave Clark managed the first reported tench with a 5lb 12oz male fish.  Earlier in the week Colin Goddard landed a nice pike of 14lb 8oz on a deadbait.

Week ending 20th March 2011

Members are once again reminded that a close season now applies on all the river venues.  Any angler found fishing on a river before 16th June will be reported to the Environment Agency.  We have now received a photo of the superb 7lb 2oz chub from the Ouse at Pavenham landed by Paul Bray on the last weekend of the river season.  In spite of milder daytime temperatures the water in the stillwaters is still quite cold and the fish are only just starting to become active.  The Airman Pit has thrown up a surprise capture of a 40lb catfish to an angler fishing for carp.  Several anglers have once again been targeting Willington Lake hoping the tench and carp would switch on, but the only catch report came from Willy Woodfield who managed to land two bream of around 9lb.  The recent dry spell has allowed the track around Broom Lake to be reopened, which will hopefully encourage a few more members to visit the venue.
 
A final reminder that the club's Annual General Meeting will take place at the Shefford Town Memorial Hall, on the Hitchin Road on Wednesday 30th March at 8.00pm.

Week ending 13th March 2011

Members are reminded that a close season now applies on all the river venues and the river fishing season will restart on 16th June 2011.  Several members made the most of the last few days of the river season with the best fish reported being a superb 7lb 2oz chub from the Ouse at Pavenham landed by Paul Bray.  Lez Reed also reporting a chub just under 6lb from the same venue, whilst Nigel Gilbert managed a good perch of 3lb 10oz and a chub of the same weight.  Alan Thomas spent the last day of the season on the Ouse at Little Paxton and was frustrated by several tentative bites on cheese paste bait before a 4lb 6oz chub resulted from his first positive bite.  The final match of the season was held on the Jordans Mill length of Broom River and in the bright and still conditions the fish only appeared willing to feed when the gentle breeze placed a ripple on the surface.  Stephen Holmes had a rather unlucky end to the river season  being broken within minutes of the start by a good fish (suspected of being a carp) before having his hook straightened by a second carp estimated to be in double figures.  At the weighed in Ron Holmes took third spot with 14oz, Neil Bygrave second with 2lb 1 oz (which included a 1lb 12oz perch) leaving Nigel Gilbert as the winner with 2lb 11oz (which included a perch of 2lb 5oz).  With the match calendar now concluded, Neil Bygrave is again the Club Champion, with Neil and Nigel Gilbert also retaining the Pairs Championship.  The heaviest match weight taken during the season was Pete Henegan’s 29lb 5oz. 
Attention will now focus on the stillwaters and several anglers have been trying Willington Lake hoping the slightly milder weather would trigger the tench and carp into feeding.  Although neither of these species have yet been reported, Willy Woodfield managed to land two immaculate looking bream of 10lb 6oz and 9lb 6oz whilst other anglers have continued to land pike to low doubles. 
Members are reminded that the club's Annual General Meeting will take place at the usual venue, Shefford Town Memorial Hall, on the Hitchin Road on Wednesday 30th March at 8.00pm.

Week ending 6th March 2011

Many members have been fishing the rivers as the river close season rapidly approaches. The Broom River section of the Ivel has been the most popular venue where Nigel Gilbert found the jack pike were more interested in his lobworms than the specimen perch. However, a switch to float fished maggots brought Nigel a steady stream of roach with odd dace and small perch.  Colin Smith thought he had hooked a monster perch or chub, and was surprised to land a small mirror carp of 5lb 10oz had taken his lobworm bait. The final match of the season will be held on the Jordans Mill length of Broom River on Sunday 13th March (apologies for giving out the wrong date last week), contact Neil Bygrave (07980 533860) for details. 
The carp at the Airman Pit have started to become more active with many seen basking in the margins on sunny days, but they still seem rather reluctant to feed with only odd fish to mid-doubles reported.  It has been a similar story for those targeting the roach with long periods of inactivity suddenly interrupted by a short burst of feeding when several good roach can be landed in quick succession.  
Members are reminded that the club's Annual General Meeting will take place at the usual venue, Shefford Town Memorial Hall, on the Hitchin Road on Wednesday 30th March at 8.00pm.

Week ending 27th Feb 2011

Pike have continued to be the main target of members fishing Willington Lake and several anglers have taken multiple catches of fish into double figures on deadbaits or whilst lure fishing.  Richard Knight decided to try an overnight session and a run on the stroke of midnight produced a 15lb pike.  Richard’s alarms remained silent until a frantic spell of activity starting at 8am when he landed four pike in 20 minutes (one of 11lb and the other three around 7lb).  Multiple catches of pike are also being reported from Broom Lake from the same areas that are still providing good bags of silver fish to waggler and pole tactics.  There have been few reports from the Airman Pit, but Marc Brinkley managed to tempt a 16lb common carp on a boilie fished in the margins.  
With the ground now saturated, the rivers are rapidly affected by any rainfall with most running high and coloured during the last week.  Pegs with slacker water on the Ouse at Willington have continued to produce chub, roach and dace.  However, the club match on Biggleswade Common found the Ivel rushing through and still rising as rain persisted throughout the match.  Nigel Gilbert was the only angler to catch taking a small perch and 3 minnows for 9½oz from a marginal slack, losing another perch of about 2lb.  The final match of the season will be held on the Jordans Mill length of Broom River on Sunday 6th March, contact Neil Bygrave (07980 533860) for details. 
Finally, a reminder that Shefford & District A. A. ‘half-year’ membership books are still available from our usual outlets and are valid for fishing  through to 15th June 2011 (the river close season will apply after 14th  March, but all our stillwaters will remain open through to 15th June). Prices are Adult £30, Concessionary £20, Couple £50 & Junior £10 (night fishing at the Airman Pit and Willington Lake requires an optional Night Permit).

Week ending 20th Feb 2011

The final leg of the Shefford & District A. A. pike series was held at Willington Lake and it was encouraging to see two junior anglers taking part.  With series leader (and organiser) Bryan Lancaster absent, Kevin Williams and Steve Jepps would have to win the match to tie on points with Bryan.  Chris Perry was first to catch with a fish of 5lb 5oz brought to the scales. Steve Jepps then had a run of 3 fish, his biggest going 8lb exactly.  Junior member Tom Godfrey then got in on the action with a brace of pike weighing 6lb 11oz and 7lb 11oz.  With 20 minutes remaining on the clock, Steve took another pike, which saw his card return a 4 fish bag for an overall winning weight of 28lb 8oz.  Young Tom was second with 14lb 6oz and Chris third with 5lb 5oz.  This result meant Steve and Bryan tied on points, but Steve is the series winner on highest overall weight.  Thanks go to those anglers that attended the pike matches over the winter period, and Bryan is planning to run a similar series again next season.

Perch have been the main target for anglers fishing Broom River with Colin Smith taking several fish to over 2lb during the week on lobworm.  Mick Burr fished the river that had been swollen and coloured by the recent rain, and Mick was rewarded with specimen perch of 3lb and 4lb on successive visits, with jack pike also taking a liking to his lobworm.  Good catches of roach, rudd, perch and the odd skimmer bream continue to be reported from Broom Lake with the fish still shoaled up in their usual winter quarters.  Chub to over 4lb continue to show on the Ouse at Willington and with the water level rising and coloured, catches of roach and dace were taken from pegs along the old lock channel where fish seek shelter from the flow of the main river. 
The next club match is on Biggleswade Common on Sunday 27th February, contact Neil Bygrave (07980 533860) for details.  A final reminder that nominations for all officer and committee positions must be received by the end of February ahead of elections that will take place at the AGM held on 30th March.

Week ending 13th Feb 2011

With only a few weeks left before the river close season, sport is proving patchy on the river venues.  James Turvey elected to try the Ouse at Little Paxton and landed a couple of small chub and a 10oz roach on feeder tactics before bites dried up.  He spotted a big swirl on his feeder line and fortunately he still had his pike gear with him from his last fishing trip, which was quickly assembled.  A deadbait was cast out and before long it was taken by an impressive river pike of 21lb 6oz.  The Ouse at Willington is providing some reliable chub sport with fish to 4lb taken on either lobworms or bread.  Once renowned for its roach fishing, the Horsebridge section of the Ivel Navigation is now running much faster and shallower following the partial bank collapse in 2008 and Bob Izzard decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised when he latched into a 3lb chub.  SDAA provided 3 out of the 8 pairs that contested the annual IPA Pairs fixture fished on the Ivel at Moggerhanger, which despite the river looking very ‘fishy’ turned out to be an absolute grueller.  The SDAA pairing of Neil Bygrave and Nigel Gilbert were ‘runaway’ winners with 22 sticklebacks ahead of a pairing from the host club Abbey Cross who managed a single minnow.
 
The milder weather has seen the carp at the Airman Pit showing increased interest in angler’s baits.  Head Bailiff, Richard Knight managed a total of five carp during a mid-week session with mirrors of 25lb 12oz, 21lb and 15lb, and commons of 14lb and 7lb.  Richard caught his largest carp on a new bait from LT Baits, which also accounted  for carp of 19lb and 18lb 2oz for Craig Lancaster.  At the weekend Marc Brinkley landed a mirror of 25lb and a common of 15lb.  All the carp were reported to be in immaculate condition.  Odd carp have begun to show at Broom Lake, where several anglers continue to enjoy catching mixed nets of roach, rudd and perch.  Pike are still being caught at Willington Lake, and the upturn in water temperatures did tempt a few anglers to try for the tench and carp although no success was reported.
 
The final leg of the pike series will take place on Sunday 20th February at Willington Lake and the next club match is on Biggleswade Common on Sunday 27th February, contact Neil Bygrave (07980 533860) for details.  An early reminder that the AGM will be held on 30th March, all trophies need to be returned by 20th February and the deadline for specimen fish claims is 16th March.  Two new officer positions of ‘Coaching Coordinator’ and ‘Welfare Officer’ are being created.  Nominations for all officer or committee positions must be received by the end of February and elections will take place at the AGM.

Week ending 6th Feb 2011

The milder weather saw an upturn in catches across all waters.  Mark Brookman added to his impressive list of carp over 20lb from the Airman Pit with a mirror of 26lb 7oz taken on a homemade boilie.  Other anglers have been enjoying success at the venue with nets of roach to over a pound on swimfeeder tactics.  Roach, rudd and perch continue to show in good numbers at Broom Lake, and Paul Allum landed four pike into double figures on deadbaits during an afternoon session, missing another three runs.  Bryan Lancaster also found the pike in a feeding mood at a windswept Willington Lake, taking four fish in a single session to 9lb on deadbaits.   
There was also an improvement in catches from river venues.  The last match in the predator series was held on Broom River with perch the target species for the seven anglers who entered.  Whilst most anglers chose to fish a ledgered lobworm to selectively target the larger perch, junior member Hayden Copplestone elected to fish double red maggot on the float.  Hayden had bites from the off and finished with a nice mixed bag of perch, roach and dace for a total weight of 5lb 5oz.  Hayden’s perch weighed 2lb 13oz to give him second place in the predator match, with Nigel Gilbert winning with 3lb 14oz of perch including two fish around 1½lb.  Third place went to Kevin Williams with a single perch of 10½oz.  Overall standings for the 4 match predator series saw Kevin Williams as the outright winner with 18 points, while Robin Garford, Nigel Gilbert and Bryan Lancaster all tied on 10 points in second place.  Elsewhere, Colin Smith and Alan Thomas were surprised to find they had the entire length of the IPA controlled section of Biggleswade Common to themselves and their roving tactics produced a number of chub to over 4lb on cheese paste. 
The IPA pairs match will be held on Sunday 13th February on the Abbey Cross section of the Ivel at Moggerhanger (see club book for contact details for IPA matches).  The final leg of the pike series will then take place on Sunday 20th February at Willington Lake, contact Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819) for details.

Week ending 30th Jan 2011

The return of low temperature appears to have reduced the numbers of anglers venturing out onto our waters.  James Turvey decided to try the Great Ouse at Pavenham and was rewarded with a  chub of 6lb 1oz, which is the largest reported from this stretch this season.  Further downstream six anglers attended the latest club match at Lammas Meadow hoping to find the bream in a feeding mood.  By the end of the match the only fish caught was a pike of 6lb which took a liking to Stephen Holmes’ maggot bait, but unfortunately pike don’t count in club matches.  Several anglers have been targeting the carp and pike on Broom Lake, but the most reliable sport has been from the silver fish that are tightly shoaled at the moment.  Success depends upon first finding the shoals and fishing small baits on small hooks with fine tackle. The next match will be held on Sunday 6th February on Broom River and is the last leg of the predator series with the target species being perch, details available from Neil Bygrave (07980 533860).

Week ending 23rd Jan 2011

Several members have recently enjoyed multiple catches of pike on our stillwaters.  Broom Lake has been producing mainly small pike with Jamie Chalkley landing fish of 6lb and 9lb, whilst another member landed 5 small pike in a day whilst catching plenty of silver fish on float fished maggot.  The pike at the Airman Pit have also been on the feed with one member taking four pike to 12lb from one of the roadside pegs.  However, it proved more of a struggle for the seven anglers who turned up for the club’s predator match on the Sunday with Brian Lancaster landing the only pike of the day at 8lb 2oz.  Members targeting pike should ensure that they have the right tackle and equipment to safely land and unhook pike, as despite their predatory nature they are quite delicate fish.  The occasional small carp has been caught from the stillwaters, but the rivers have been largely devoid of anglers in recent weeks with little to report.  The next club match will be held on Sunday 30th January on the Great Ouse at Lammas Meadow and it is hoped the bream shoals will be in an obliging mood, details available from Neil Bygrave (07980 533860). 
A reminder that Shefford & District A. A. ‘half-year’ membership books are available from our usual outlets and are valid for fishing  through to 15th June 2011 (the river close season will apply after 14th  March, but our stillwaters will remain open through to 15th June). Prices are Adult £30, Concessionary £20, Couple £50 & Junior £10 (night fishing at the Airman Pit and Willington Lake requires an optional Night Permit).

Week ending 16th Jan 2011

The next club match to be held at the Airman Pit on Sunday 23rd January  is part of the predator series, where it is the turn of pike to be the target species.  On Sunday 30th January a club match will be held on the Great Ouse at Lammas Meadow, details for both matches are available from Neil Bygrave (07980 533860).

Week ending 9th Jan 2011

The latest match in the pike series was switched to Broom Lake as the adjacent river was rising rapidly and carrying down lots of rubbish.  Four out of the six anglers managed to catch pike with Bryan Lancaster winning with 3 pike to 6lb 4oz for a total weight of 17lb 4oz, and 3 series points.  Second place was secured by Tony Moir with two pike to 6lb 6oz for a total weight of 10lb 2oz (2 points) and third place taken by Steve Jepps with 3 small pike for a total weight of 6lb 8oz (1 point).  Junior member Tom Godfrey landed a pike of 4lb 4oz for fourth place.  With the best three results counting towards the series trophy the current standings are led by Bryan Lancaster (7 point) with Steve Jepps and Kevin Williams joint second on 5 points.  Earlier in the week anglers had reported catching reasonable numbers of silver fish from the lake, with small perch being the dominant species.  Willington Lake has only just started to thaw but should finally be ice free by the weekend.  Anglers fishing the adjacent stretch of the river have reported catching odd chub, with the old lock channel providing a good fish holding area when the main river is flooded.  The next club match to be held at the Airman Pit on 23rd January  is part of the predator series, where it is the turn of pike to be the target species, details available from Neil Bygrave (07980 533860).

Week ending 2nd Jan 2011

In spite of the rise in temperatures, all stillwaters have remained covered in ice and unfishable, but they will hopefully finally thaw out by this weekend.  Reports from the rivers have been slowly filtering in.  Alan Lawrence landed a magnificent specimen chub of 6lb 2oz from an undisclosed club water just before the arrival of the snow, which is the biggest reported this season.  Whilst the snow was on the ground, Kevin Williams spent an overnight session on the weir pool at Little Paxton and landed three zander on small deadbaits.  Kevin also suffered many dropped runs throughout the night before finally running out of deadbaits.  Kevin has fished Broom River in recent days and landed several perch up to 3lb.  This coming Sunday 9th January will see the next round of the pike series held on the Broom River section of the River Ivel, details available from Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819).