A day ticket coarse fishery in West Suffolk that offers something for all anglers, whether they are interested in specimen, carp, match or general coarse fishing, is Hinderclay Lakes.

Chris Boughton

Angling in West Suffolk

By Chris Boughton

A day ticket coarse fishery in West Suffolk that offers something for all anglers, whether they are interested in specimen, carp, match or general coarse fishing, is Hinderclay Lakes. These waters lie in the upper Little Ouse valley near Rickinghall and were dug to provide peat for the horticultural industry. There are five fishable lakes with about ninety five well spaced, comfortable pegs to choose from and there is also another lake nearing completion. With the good quality soil on the floodplain the lakes have matured rapidly, with masses of reeds and bullrushes lining the banks. There is also plenty of car parking and a toilet. As with all commercial fisheries there are some rules to be observed but nothing too onerous and there is no need to take your nets as the fishery provides them. A local angler contacted me to report that on a visit to Hinderclay last week he caught 14 crucian carp up to 2lb each, three tench, with the largest weighing over 5lbs, and several small carp. His four-hour session resulted in over 35lbs of fish, all caught at just six metres out by a reed bed on Spring Lake in the spring sunshine.

The Heron Angling Club fished their first match of the year on Sunday for The Vinten Challenge Cup, also on Spring Lake, and last year's winner James Boughton had a terrible start. In the first few minutes a carp of around 20lb, took his bait but as he went to put it in his landing net the top two sections of his carbon fibre pole snapped, always a sickening sound, and the carp escaped. But he recovered well and retained the cup with an impressive mixed catch of 22lb10oz. Although very few big carp showed up, overall, catches were good and Steve Jerrold was a close second with 21lb 8oz, followed by Mike Stavely with 19lb in third place. Crucian carp and skimmer bream dominated the match but there was also a mirror carp of 13lb caught and a few quality roach and perch.

For Bury Angling Association's latest Veterans match, on Middle Reservoir, conditions were near perfect but results were poor. Brian Baxter made it two wins in his last three matches with just one carp for 11lb 6oz. Second was Chris Boughton with two bream for 4lb 14oz and Malcolm Spear was third with one bream for 4lb. The association's next club match, the Pageant Cup, which is open to all members, was also scheduled for Middle Reservoir on Sunday May 10, but this has now been moved to Barrow Lake on the same date. Entry is via booking-in sheets at Tackle Up, St Johns Street, Bury St Edmunds, from one week before the match, or call match secretary Keith Smith via the association's website. Details of all association matches and results can be found on the website, where you can also access their forum to chat about angling in West Suffolk.

If you would like your local angling stories or match results included in this article then please email them to: westsuffolkangling@live.co.uk