Luton Angling Club - Weekly News Reports

Luton Angling Club - Weekly News, Information and Catch Report Roundup - Week Ending 31st August 2025

Here is all the news information and catch report round up for Luton Angling Club, for the week ending 31st August 2025

🏞️ North House Lake

Steven Barber landed a stunning Mirror, possibly one of the 2021 stockies showing excellent progress.

Steven Barber - North House Lake

Nathan Porter had his first fish from the lake last Sunday night — a beautiful 21lb Mirror.

Nathan Porter - North House Lake

After three determined 24-hour sessions at North House Lake that yielded no results, Martin Scholes refused to be discouraged. On his fourth visit, he managed a 5lb Tench. For his fifth outing, Martin opted for a 48-hour session. The evening brought his first carp to the bank: a 23lb 7oz mirror. The following day remained quiet, but as dusk settled once more, he was rewarded with a 24lb 12oz Common.

The night passed uneventfully, but morning brought a brief run that didn’t materialize. Undeterred, Martin recast and was soon into a 13lb 5oz mirror. Then, to cap off the session perfectly, he landed a personal best—a stunning 29lb 9oz Mirror.

Martin Scholes - North House Lake

Martin Scholes - North House Lake

🏞️ Beckerings Reservoir

Nicholas Dunnett had a productive night on Peg 8, fishing out to the middle with a Ronnie rig setup. Using Mainline sweetcorn dumbbell wafters and RG Baits Red Sea Squid Wafter (Pink Edition), he landed carp between 18lb and 22lb, plus a few bream around 10lb.

Nicholas Dunnett - Beckerings Bream

Nicholas Dunnett - Beckerings

Paul Burton reported two cracking Commons from a couple of recent sessions, clean 16lb 5oz Common on a pop-up over particle and a distinctive 23lb 8oz Common, nicknamed One Pec due to a missing pectoral fin, this was caught on a wafter over particle.

Paul Burton - Beckerings

Paul Burton - Beckerings

Damon Smith fished the reservoir on Tuesday night, he had a mirror of 12lb 8oz and a fully scaled mirror at 23lb 4oz and a Common 17lb. All were caught on Skerkro bait and tackle to method tactics 6 rod lengths out.

Damon Smith - Beckerings

🏞️ Biddenham River Ouse

Fishing at Biddenham on Saturday, Neville Hunt had some lovely Roach on corn

He also shared a photo taken at first light on the 10th of August, looking across the field from the walkway between the car park and the river. A gentle reminder we’re never far from the edge of urban life, yet at times, it feels a world away.

Neville Hunt - Biddenham

🏞️ Wednesday Match Report - 27th August – Oaks Lake, Wold Farm

It was one of those days this week!

Only eight anglers fished at Wold Farm, with many regulars away on holiday, attending hospital appointments, or tied up with family duties. We met at the fishery, and several of us enjoyed breakfast in the café before conducting the draw and heading to our pegs on Oaks Lake.

The weather was overcast as we set up, and with no rain in the forecast, many left umbrellas and waterproofs at home or in the car — a decision some would later regret! The lake had a lovely colour despite being at least 18” down due to the dry spell, with large flowering lily pads adding character to most swims. Fish were seen topping as we prepared for the off, and all went smoothly until around 2:15pm — just 45 minutes from the end — when heavy drizzle arrived, followed by a squally wind and a sharp 10-minute downpour. Those without umbrella's or waterproofs got thoroughly soaked.

A cautionary tale followed the final whistle: Andy Frankum, waiting for the scales, stood up from his box (still with umbrella attached), and while packing away, a strong gust of wind upended the box off his platform and into the lake. It was swiftly retrieved — minus a few contents — but fortunately, his phone survived and still worked after drying out!

Dennis Hunt fished a small method feeder at around 20 metres, tight to a large lily pad, and caught from the off. He used a banded 4mm Robin Red pellet on the hook with fishery betaine green groundbait, loose feeding 4mm fishery pellet against the pad. Despite losing several fish that bolted into the lilies, Dennis landed 10 carp for 42lb 8oz, securing 1st place.

Andy Frankum, despite the box calamity, took 2nd place. Using his pole, he fed two lines at 2 metres and 7 metres with groundbait laced with casters and sweetcorn. Most fish came on the 7m line, with sweetcorn on the hook. Andy weighed in bream and carp for 36lb 12oz.

Richard Gibbs kept things simple and gave his new 1.5lb test curve 11ft specimen feeder rod a run. His rig was a 40g hybrid feeder loaded with fishery groundbait or 2mm pellet, to a size 14 hook with dead reds. After two and a half hours with nothing in the net, he switched swims near a lily pad and used a banded fishery pellet. He was into fish straight away, including one lump estimated at over 15lb. Richard finished with 7 carp and a 2lb+ bream for 33lb 10oz, taking 3rd place.

Many thanks to all who helped on what turned out to be an eventful day — from retrieving lost boxes to assisting with the weigh-in and carrying keepnets. We all dried out eventually!

Results:

1st Dennis Hunt – 42lb 8oz

2nd Andy Frankum – 36lb 12oz

3rd Richard Gibbs – 33lb 10oz

4th Sean Leatherland – 33lb 1oz

5th Les Burton – 27lb 15oz

6th Simon Foulkes – 26lb 15oz 7

th Malcolm Ogden – 21lb 2oz

DNW: Ray Burton

Next Match: Wednesday 3rd September

Venue:River Ouse at Biddenham

Draw: 8:30am

Fish: 10:00am–3:00pm

£5.00 optional pools + £2.00 Luton peg fee

If you're joining us for the first time, please message us in advance so we can manage the pegging.

Don’t forget your club membership book — you’ll be asked to produce it at your first match.

Wednesday Match at Wold Farm

Wednesday Match at Wold Farm

Our last Let’s fish events of this summer were held on the canal at Slapton this week. The evergreen Roger was on the desk, welcoming and directing the participants to the coaches.

Today’s conditions looked good as it was overcast and a breeze behind. All participants caught fish, some good Roach and Perch and lots of Skimmer Bream).

All those who took part said they enjoyed the experience and the coaches also had a most enjoyable day. Coach Mark Brooks is pictured with the last participants of the day.

📬 That’s all for this week! To feature in future weekly reports and on our social media pages, we’d love to hear from you. 🎣 Whether it’s a cracking catch, a scenic shot, or a match moment from any Luton Angling Club water — please send in your reports and pictures via:

📍 The club website 💬 Our social media pages 📱 Or directly via WhatsApp to 07940 229071

Your contributions help showcase the spirit of the club — and they might just inspire someone’s next session!

Tight Lines until next week!

Dave M
Luton AC

Luton Angling Club - Weekly News, Information and Catch Report Roundup - Bank Holiday edition 25th August 2025

This week’s roundup brings together the latest catch highlights, match results, club news, and important updates. The Bank Holiday weekend along with the fine weather provided a welcome opportunity for members to enjoy extended time on the bank.

River Ouse

Mark North fished one of our water share stretches of the River Ouse at Blunham, He fished using Hemp and Tare at 5m and ended up with 7lb of quality Roach.

Mark North - River Ouse

Mark North - River Ouse

South Lagoon

John Botfield has had a couple of good sessions recently. A lovely 21lb 4oz common along with 85lb of Bream caught from peg 24. He Also fished Peg 2 and had six carp for a total of 69lb 2oz with the biggest being 16lb 2oz along with 15lb 13oz of mixed small fish and 99lb of bream. All Bream and Carp caught using feeder tactics. He used multiple keepnets for the Bream the biggest weigh was 43lb all kept within the 50lb net limit.

John Botfield - 21lb 4oz Common

John Botfield - 21lb 4oz Common

John Botfield - Bream - South Lagoon

BLUE GREEN ALGAE - WARNING TO MEMBERS

The Environment agency recently informed us of the presence of Blue Green Algae on the South Lagoon. These blooms typically appear in late summer after warm, settled weather and can pose serious health risks.

Risks to Humans Include:

- Eye irritation, skin rashes, joint/muscle pain

- Gastroenteritis, pneumonia, liver damage

- In rare cases, neurological conditions

Anglers – Please Take Precautions:

- Never put wet lines or tackle in your mouth

- Wash hands thoroughly before eating and after fishing

- Cover cuts/grazes with waterproof plasters

The algae can also affect the dissolved oxygen levels in the lake, often with low oxygen over night and high oxygen during the day. So please keep an eye out for fish in distress.

More info on Blue Green Algae can be found here

Environment Agency - Blue Green Algae Leaflet

Blue Green Algae at South Lagoon

Blue Green Algae at South Lagoon

North House Lake

We have had a few reports from North House this week. During a 48hr session fishing Wednesday and Thursday night, Kyle Thompson Parkinson had a Common of 22lb.

Kyle Thompson Parkinson - NHL Common

Kyle Thompson Parkinson - NHL Common

Kyle's dad Paul had a Common and also a Bream which was a surprise after the one toner it gave him on his bite alarm.

Paul Parkinson - North House Common

Paul Parkinson - North House Bream

Rod Gladston's session produced two commons one mid afternoon and one early morning. Both weighing around 16lb.

Rod Gladston - North House Common

Rod Gladston - North House Common

Paul Trew had a 22lb Mirror.

Paul Trew - 22lb North House Mirror

Tommy Fisher had one of the 2021 stockies at 14lb, This fish (Stockie 15) was just over 8lb when it was stocked back in October 2021.

Tommy Fisher - 14lb Mirror

Stockie 15 in October 2021 at the time of stocking.

Bailiffs Andy Smith and Barry Emery continue their maintenance work at North House Lake, This week removing snags from peg 8. Some substantial branches were removed from underwater. They would like to thank Club member John Gibson for kindly helping them in getting the branches out of the lake.

Work at North House Lake

Work at North House Lake

Beckerings Reservoir

Richard Boulter had a short but productive session at Beckerings on Thursday evening. He had three Commons in the 20s and another at 18lb.

Richard Boulter - Beckerings

Richard Boulter - Beckerings

MATCH REPORT - Wednesday 20th August – River Ouse, Wyboston

On a Wednesday morning that exhibited the traits of early autumn, 14 of us met at Wyboston to fish a drawn pairs match to introduce a bit of fun this week. We had originally intended to fish both the Lagoon and the river, but due to reports of algae in the Lagoon, we all opted to fish the river.

The day started cloudy and overcast, with a trace of dampness in the air, the initial temperature being 13°C. The river had some flow but little colour. We did our pairs draw and draw for swims, then set off to find swims and set up ready for the off.

The winning pair comprised Richard Gibbs and Andy Frankum. Richard said he set up two whips with totally different end rigs—one with a 2grm float set just off bottom at around 7ft, the other a 4 x 14 bleak rig to fish around 18 to 24ins deep. He caught consistently on the heavy rig for the first two hours but had to alternate between swims at 5, 7.5 and 9 metres, constantly feeding hemp, tares and maggot. Surprisingly, he had hardly any bleak. Most of his fish were small dace, roach and rudd up to 4–5oz. When the swims went quiet, he switched to the light rig set at 18 to 24ins and caught mostly rudd. After three hours and to the end of the match, it was a case of continually switching lines, methods, and hookbait to find bites and fish. Richard caught on single and double red or white maggot to a size 20 hook, ending with 6lb 2oz 8drm. Partner Andy, who opted to fish loose-fed hemp and casters between 7 and 9 metres, fished caster or fluoro maggot on the hook to take 3lb 5oz—giving the winning pair (F) a combined weight of 9lb 7oz 8drm.

Second pair was Dennis Hunt and Richard Darbon, with Richard taking his fish on a waggler. He said he was constantly changing baits between corn, caster and maggots, and fishing at different distances from 6 to about 20 metres to keep the bites coming, finishing with 2lb 14oz. Dennis chose to fish a whip at 8 metres, feeding maggot and hemp, with maggot on the hook taking a mixed bag of small rudd, chublets and bleak. Dennis had fish taken by one of the resident pike on three occasions, which put a significant bend in his whip and resulted in a broken hooklength each time! He ended 1oz behind Richard with 2lb 13oz, giving the second pair (D) a total weight of 5lb 11oz.

Third pair (E) was Barry Roper and Graham Stringer. Barry reported problems with unseen weed restricting where he could run his float through the swim, but found a few short runs and fished between them using maggot, catching mainly small roach to bag 2lb 2oz. Graham, framing for the first time, managed 2lb 10oz, giving a total pair weight of 4lb 12oz.

Fourth pair (B) consisted of junior Jack O’Brien and Beckerings Bailiff Mark Sessions. Jack started by balling in groundbait on a line with seven sections of pole, filled with hemp, maggots and chopped corn (later adding chopped worm to the mix), and caught most of his 44 fish on this line throughout the day—mostly bleak and roach. He tried a feeder with groundbait, chopped worm and maggot about three metres from the far bank a few times in the match for a bonus fish, but only caught a few small perch and gudgeon. After a slow spell on both lines, he tried fishing pinkie on the hook on his pole line as a change bait, which helped him catch a few more fish and keep the net ticking over on a hard but enjoyable day. Jack weighed in 2lb 4oz 8drm. Mark had a tough day, contributing a mere 7oz to his partner’s total, promising to do better next time! Pair (B) ended with 2lb 11oz 8drm.

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Results (Pairs)

1st (F) Richard Gibbs & Andy Frankum – 9lb 7oz 8drm

2nd (D) Richard Darbon & Dennis Hunt – 5lb 11oz

3rd (E) Barry Roper & Graham Stringer – 4lb 12oz

4th (B) Jack O’Brien & Mark Sessions – 2lb 11oz 8drm

Individual Results

1st Richard Gibbs – 6lb 2oz 8drm

2nd Andy Frankum – 3lb 5oz

3rd Richard Darbon – 2lb 14oz

4th Dennis Hunt – 2lb 13oz

5th Graham Stringer – 2lb 10oz

6th Jack O’Brien – 2lb 4oz 8drm

7th (Joint) Colin Holmes & Barry Roper – 2lb 2oz

9th Sam Rose – 1lb

10th Tony Hickmott – 15oz

11th Terry Vickers – 10oz

12th Mark Sessions – 7oz

13th Ray Burton – 2oz

DNW: Simon Foulkes

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Unfortunately, we didn’t get many pictures this week as we were too busy working out the pairs results! As usual, thanks to all who helped with the admin and weigh-in.

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Next Match: Wednesday 27th August – Oaks Lake, Wold Farm Poddington

Draw at the venue: 8.30am

Fish: 10.00am – 3.00pm

£5.00 optional pools + £2.00 Luton pegging fee

All attending must book day tickets individually for Oaks Lake in advance via the Wold Farm Fishery website.

New to the matches?

Please message us before attending so we know you're coming—this helps us manage the pegging. Bring your club membership book with you, as it must be shown on your first appearance.

River Ouse at Wyboston

Let's Fish Events

If you’ve ever wanted to try fishing but didn’t know where to begin, come along to our Let’s Fish! events owhich are being held regularly during the summer holidays.

We are hosting several sessions in various locations and other clubs are running their own events all around the country. Our coaches will show you the ropes and help you catch your very first fish - a perfect day out for all ages! Visit https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/fishing/lets-fish to find and book a place on a planned event in your area

Let's Fish Events - Canal and River Trust and Luton AC

Litter

Once again we find ourselves having to deal with Littering! - Club Bailiffs Andy, Barry and their little super star helper Luke spent over 2 hours on Saturday cleaning other people’s rubbish up on South Lagoon, wet wipes, toilet paper, cans, bottles and so on. This issue appears to be getting worse and is totally unacceptable. We will be taking photos of number plates and keeping a log of who was on what swim, with photos of the swim and anyone leaving litter will be named and shamed along with a life time ban please stop doing this it’s not fair on others or the wildlife - This is definitely more of an issue on our Day Ticket waters, and if it continues this could jeopardise the future of Day ticket angling at these waters - TAKE YOUR RUBBISH HOME.

That's us caught up for this week, as always if you catch anything from any of our waters (big or small) we'd love to hear about it. Send in your catch reports and pictures via our social media pages, the club website or directly from your phone via whats app to 07940 229071.

Tight Lines

Dave M

Luton Angling Club