Angling club beats local council in legal battle
SOUTH Wales angling club has won £39,000 in damages and legal costs after winning a seven-year battle against its local council. Rhymney and District AS launched the case after its Deri Lake was drained, without warning, by Caerphilly County Borough Council back in April 2013.
“The council came to de-silt the lake. It didn’t warn the club, and it opened an outlet pipe through which fish were sucked until there was only 6ins of water remaining,” said Andrew Kelton, the club’s legal representative.
An image of how the lake was left by the council
Club members who turned up the next day were greeted by a scene of devastation, with most of the fish they had stocked just a few years earlier either dead or struggling in what little water remained.
“When the club asked the council for compensation, it claimed that Rhymney had no proof of the fish being lost, and this remained its position for seven years,” Andrew added.
Club Secretary Jesse Pugh measuring the depth
Reflecting on the final outcome of the case, heard at Cardiff County Court, the club’s honorary secretary Jesse Pugh said:
“It’s a massive boost and will set us up for 10 years or more. I’m just worried they’ll put my council tax up after we beat them!”
Rhymney Lake in normal conditions
Post-lockdown rod licence sales soaring - where should the money go?
THE ENVIRONMENT Agency has been handed the chance to tackle some of the biggest issues facing fishing after receiving millions of pounds in extra income.
In the four weeks following the lifting of lockdown restrictions on May 13, more than 335,000 rod licences were sold, a 230 per cent rise in less than two months and 200,000 more than were sold in the corresponding period last year.
In the four weeks following the lifting of lockdown restrictions on May 13, more than 335,000 rod licences were sold
Newcomers to the sport accounted for the majority of the spike in sales, but there is nothing particularly new about the major issues facing angling. Anglers have been crying out for authorities to address growing problems with issues such as water quality and predation, but they aren’t the only problems and now a debate has begun on how the extra cash should best be spent.
The EA will obviously have its work cut out trying to please everyone, so we asked fishery owners, club officials and some of angling’s unsung heroes to tell us where they think the money should go.
Chris Wood, Shrewsbury Angling Club Secretary
SPEND IT ON: Improving river fishing
“The money should be put back into rivers and supporting angling clubs. There are several ways to do this, but the most important is by making fisheries safer. By this I mean building platforms along stretches to make river fishing comfortable and accessible. Clambering down steep banks and cutting your way through a jungle isn’t for everyone, particularly when so many of us are used to sitting by a manicured commercial where you can park next to your peg.
“River fishing’s popularity is on the rise – our club is completely full, with a 300-angler waiting list – so we need to make our rivers accessible to all. By building more platforms you get more bums on the bank so you can police a stretch more easily, as anglers can report anything dodgy.”
We need to make our rivers accessible to all
Mark Barrow ,underwater cameraman for Beneath British Waters
SPEND IT ON: Tackling the major polluters
“The key area to address is the amount of pollution that goes into our rivers, particularly sewage. I’ve been diving and filming in rivers for 30 years and in the past, I’d film shoals of grayling that were 300-strong. Nowadays in the same areas I find small pockets of 15 or so fish at best.
“I’m sure that all the pollution that enters our rivers is having a negative impact and there needs to be a combined effort between the EA, water companies and all other forces to tackle the problem. There are other issues, of course, but sorting the rivers themselves should be the primary objective.
“I’d like to add that the EA gets a lot of stick, but it does some fantastic work. Its people on the ground are just as frustrated and passionate about all this as we are. The problems may be at the top.”
Do the EA need to take a harder stance on polluters?
Bryan Dray, Wellingborough & District Nene AC Youth Coach
SPEND IT ON: More coaching facilities for juniors and newcomers
“It should be spent on funding grassroots level coaching. We’ve seen a phenomenal number of juniors and newcomers get into fishing this year and we need to keep them interested in angling.
“We’ve got 300 juniors in our club, and our coaching sessions have been key in getting these guys interested. The problem is having the funds to keep it all going.
“It’s been so busy that I’ve pretty much had to give up my day job. We’re also in need of more tackle for the kids to use, as well as a van to transport it.
“If we can continue supporting young anglers and keep encouraging more to the sport, we’ll be able to keep fishing on a healthy grounding for generations to come.”
We’ve seen a phenomenal number of juniors and newcomers get into fishing this year and we need to keep them interested in angling
Kevin Clark, Founder of The Angling Initiative project
SPEND IT ON: Policing our waters better
“I’d love to see the extra money spent on better policing for our rivers. Take my local River Wye for example. It suffers badly from poaching, like many waterways, but it also suffers from other so-called water users doing what they like, with little fear of prosecution.
“In recent years the river has been plagued by high levels of phosphates entering the river from neighbouring farmlands, causing terrible algal blooms, which have a detrimental impact on the water quality.
“There’s also an issue with the amount of water from the river being used for irrigation purposes from various interests along the Wye valley, which the river can’t support. It’s caused some of the lowest water levels I’ve seen in decades, and the fishing has suffered as a result.
“The EA needs to contact the local farmers, make them aware of the problems being caused, and start to do something about it. I’m sure many other rivers are suffering a similar fate...”
May waterways suffer badly from poaching
Top club provides blueprint to keep newcomers hooked
THERE has been a huge influx of newcomers to angling since lockdown restrictions were lifted back in mid-May.
Rod licence sales surged as a mix of youngsters, first-timers and people coming back to the sport chose angling as the perfect way to engage with nature and enjoy being outdoors. The question now on the lips of many within the industry is, how can we continue to attract new faces, and then keep them interested for life?
One club to the forefront of fostering this new generation of anglers is Yorkshire’s Hull and District AA, which has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
Back in 2011 the club was in decline, with fewer than 1,000 members. Fast-forward nine years and memberships have doubled and are continuing on an upward curve, with many joining in the past few months.
Hull and District AA has been a real success story in terms of bringing youngsters into the sport
Hull DAA’s fishery officer Derek Pye revealed how, first and foremost, the remarkable turnaround has come from putting fishing at the very heart of the local community, which has arguably never been so important as it is in these troubled times.
“It all started 10 years ago when, after reading that the average age of anglers was 47, we decided we had to do something to encourage new faces into the sport.
“We started organising a few pike fishing days with the Pike Anglers Club, and from these taster sessions things have snowballed to the point where last year it taught 935 kids across 70 sessions on HDAA waters.”
It all started with a few pike days. Hull and District AA now hold events every week all year
Creating local facilities
Derek believes giving its members access to good quality, local fishing venues has been another key element of the club’s success.
He said:
“We are seen to be very proactive by the people of Hull. Back in 2014 we refurbished Oakroad Pond in the centre of Hull and still run coaching sessions there today. This led to us restoring another pond, and with help from the local social club and the Angling Trust we transformed it into a beautiful fishery and now sometimes have close to 100 kids there learning how to fish.
“We run three sessions a week across the city, which makes fishing accessible to everyone. I contact local youth projects and get them to send kids over for our sessions, and we now have an established youth network in Hull, funded by the council.
“The only entry fee, so to speak, is good behaviour – young people often miss out if they have to pay.
“The sessions are hugely popular. The kids go home, tell their friends and the message spreads. But it’s not just the youngsters – our taster sessions are a family experience too.
“Everyone is welcome. We get people who haven’t fished for years turn up for a refresher course and what’s been really encouraging is the growth we’ve seen in young female anglers. We had 199 girls attend our coaching sessions last year, a 60 per cent increase on the year before.”
Hull and District AA have seen a 60% increase in female anglers at sessions this year
Variety is key
Offering a variety of different fishing styles and tactics is another important element of attracting newcomers and maintaining their interest long-term.
Derek said:
“As well as our normal taster sessions, we also run a carp school, where students can camp out overnight on our waters. The families come along too, and we have barbecues. It’s just another totally different experience for many people, and they seem to love it.
“This year we’ve also set up a women’s carp group, and they get together and organise their own sessions on our lakes.
“And because our taster sessions are geared around the whole calendar year, in the winter we run predator days where they try lure fishing and deadbaiting. Occasionally we even catch one!”
The club has set up a women’s carp group so female anglers can organise night fishing sessions
Help from within
Having a willing band of coaches is central to the club’s success, and recruitment in this respect has not been an issue, Derek said.
“What started as just four blokes coaching has now turned into a team of 30 qualified coaches ranging in age from 16 to 75, each with a Level 1 or Level 2 coaching certification.”
“Each year we take some of the keenest older kids and put them through the courses. We now have 12 young coaches, four of who are female.”
Having qualified angling coaches has been key to the club’s success
Funding and partnerships
All the good work Hull DAA has done obviously comes at a cost, but Derek revealed that funding is available for organisations keen to follow in the club’s footsteps.
“I would urge any club wanting to follow our model to be active in chasing funding. Our sessions last year cost around £25,000 to run and we received most of that in grants,” he said.
“We work with everyone, from the local council to the Angling Trust and Sport England, and we’ve even received funding from mental health charity Headstart. If we can show fishing as a vehicle for positive change in the community, then people are more than happy to contribute. We also regularly receive donated kit from local anglers or club members. We store this and when we have youngsters showing promise, we pass it on. After all, they are the next generation of anglers.”
The kit used at coaching sessions is either donated by local anglers or purchased through grants
The Kev Green Award
Each year Hull DAA gives The Kev Green Award to the youngster who shows the most promise. This is something close to the hearts of us all here at Angling Times, as Kevin worked for the title for many years before passing away in 2013.
Last week the award was presented to the latest winner, Eloise Beetham, by Hull DAA’s Brian Skoyles.
Brian said:
“Eloise is a deserved winner and is now one of our coaches too. Kev was a good friend of mine and supported junior angling tremendously, so it was very appropriate when the club decided to name the trophy after him.”
Eloise Beetham, the winner of this year’s Kev Green Award - massive well done from all at AT
The great club book boom!
MANY OF Britain’s fishing clubs have postponed memberships until 2021 after becoming full to capacity following the post-lockdown surge in angling participation.
The news demonstrates just how popular the sport has become since restrictions were lifted in mid-May, and reflects the Environment Agency’s latest report which highlighted a 17 per cent rise in rod licence sales compared to last year.
One club that’s just sold the last of its 2020 memberships is Northamptonshire’s Vauxhall AC.
Head bailiff Dave Binge tells us:
“Usually we have 700 to 800 annual members, but this year we’ve exceeded 1,000.
“We could have sold a lot more too, but with the current rules on social distancing in place we had to put a cap on our sales so we could keep all of our members safe.
“The extra income has been incredibly beneficial to the club and will contribute to maintaining and stocking our fisheries.”
Sales of club books have soared since lockdown
Despite some anglers missing out on memberships for certain clubs this year, many associations are continuing to provide day tickets for the same waters.
Newark and District Piscatorial Federation (NDPF) is still offering memberships to anglers living within an eight-mile radius of Newark, although those living outside that area must now wait until May 1 of next year before they can submit an application.
According to club bailiff Alfie Naylor, though, there are still plenty of free pegs for day-ticket anglers to enjoy.
“Like the annual memberships, our day-ticket sales have also increased this year and have more or less doubled compared to 2019,” he says.
“However, we’re fortunate at NDPF to have a large selection of River Trent venues that provide plenty of space for anglers.
“Although we have seen an influx in anglers buying a day ticket, our stretches just never get close to being full or too busy.”
Clubs on the River Trent have been particularly popular
Sport England has come to the rescue - Rob Hughes
AT last some good news for angling, and in particular angling clubs and organisations.
Sport England has put together an emergency fund of 20 million quid to help out sports clubs and community projects that are having problems as a result of the lockdown.
Angling clubs qualify for this too and it helps with things like rent, insurance and utility bills. There, are of course, certain criteria that have to be met, but that goes for anyone applying. Far too often angling clubs either don’t know, or find out too late, about these things and miss the boat. That’s not the case at the moment. The money is there in the bank waiting to be spent, and grants of between £300 and £10,000 can be applied for.
There’s been a rise in the number of clubs and community venues that are potentially in trouble, especially those with small memberships. Rents and renewals are often due in the old closed season – now – and cash is king when there are bills to pay. If they lose waters through lack of funds they’ll get poached relentlessly and there will only be pieces to pick up once we’re through all this.
If you can, please support your club by joining. For those of you reading this who sit on club committees, now’s the time to get applying for those funds.
Full information on how to apply can be found in the Community Emergency Fund section on Sport England’s website.
