Displaying items by tag: anglers

All the organisations participating in the creation of the Angling Trust have now undertaken the necessary constitutional steps to wind up their existing operations and form the Angling Trust on 5 January 2009.

The National Federation of Anglers (NFA) held an Extraordinary General Meeting at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham on Saturday 6 December to approve the dissolution of the NFA and the transfer of its assets and staff to the Angling Trust. The meeting was attended both by individual and club members who voted 30 to 2 for the resolution.

The National Federation of Sea Anglers (NFSA) held an EGM at Buckfastleigh in Devon on Saturday 6th December at which the membership approved the proposals to allow the winding up of the NFSA and the transfer of its assets to Angling Trust. Including proxy votes, the membership supported the 3 proposals by a margin of 418 to1, 418 to 1 and 412 to 8 respectively.

The Anglers’ Conservation Association (ACA) held its EGM in Birmingham on Monday 8 December and agreed to change its name to Fish Legal and to become a part of the Angling Trust with a proxy vote of 1,484 in favour to 67 against the change.

The National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives (NAFAC) and the Specialist Anglers Alliance (SAA) had both approved the merger with their respective memberships earlier in the year and therefore there are now no constitutional reasons for the merger not to go ahead as planned at the start of 2009.

All the organisations are now writing to their existing individual, club, riparian and fishery owner members with information about the benefits on offer from the Angling Trust. These include free public liability insurance for individual members, along with the innovative Fish For Free scheme which can earn Angling Trust members more than the cost of their subscription in cashback on fishing tackle and the annual rod licence. For angling clubs and riparian and fishery owners, there is a new discounted insurance package on offer which will offer savings of hundreds of pounds on existing cover.

Terry Fell, Chairman of the NFA commented,
“This is a very historic occasion both for the NFA and the sport of angling as a whole. The NFA has been in existence since 1903 and has a wealth of history; however the board believes that now is the right time to bring together all of angling’s assets and create one Governing Body for the sport. There is a huge wealth of expertise and experience in the Angling Trust and we are all looking forward to working with the other parties involved. The success of the Angling Trust will rely upon the support of the angling community and I would urge anyone who has an interest in the sport to join up and support The Voice of Angling: the Angling Trust.”

Richard Ferré, Chairman of the NFSA said,
“The NFSA is proud to be a part of the formation of the Angling Trust. Sea anglers share an interest in many issues with their freshwater counterparts and we will be much stronger if we pool our resources. The new Angling Trust will build on the work we have undertaken for many years, lobbying for greater protection for marine fish stocks and running national and international competitions on and off shore.”

Stephen Marsh-Smith, Chairman of the ACA said,
“The ACA’s unrivalled record of taking polluters and others to task will be continued by the Angling Trust under a new brand: Fish Legal. All clubs, fisheries and riparian owners in England should join the Angling Trust and Fish Legal to benefit from this unique legal protection. Now that we are one organisation, we will be able to link the legal work with proactive campaigns to change policy and practice and to stop damage to fisheries happening in the first place.”

Mike Heylin, Secretary of SAA said,
“We have finally achieved the dream of a united front for angling with Angling Trust. Now we have to do the hard work of delivering for the nation’s anglers and the fisheries they enjoy. I urge all anglers to join as soon as they can. It takes money to defend angling from national as well as European policymakers.”

Martin Read, Executive Chairman of NAFAC said,
“It has been a long time coming, but now the talking is over its time for action.”

Trevor Johnson, Chairman of Milton Keynes Angling Association, commented,
“One body – speaking with one voice for England’s anglers – is now the only way forward if our sport is to survive and prosper. But let no-one think that it is all done and dusted...that all we have to do now is go fishing. If this is going to work anglers have to put their hands in their pockets and give Angling Trust their support – whether they fish for bass off Cornwall, carp in Milton Keynes or trout in a northern beck. Old rivalries and narrow interests are going to have to be put aside and everyone, at all levels, must work for the common good of our sport. That will not be easy for some...but it has to done.”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of Angling Trust commented,
“the Angling Trust will not only continue the work of all these bodies, but it will also do much more. We will now be able to represent all anglers much more efficiently and effectively. All the staff of the organisations involved are working flat out to make sure that everything is in place for the launch in January. We all hope that every angler’s New Year resolution will be to join the Angling Trust.”

Source: www.nfadirect.com

The NFA has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Dulley Ceilings and Partitions Ltd who will sponsor the National Championship for Anglers with Disabilities. The DCP Ltd sponsorship will also enable the championship to become one of the country’s leading disability competitions.

The sponsorship deal only recently finalised will allow DCP Ltd full naming rights of the competition, with the event now being called ‘DCP Ltd National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities’.

The sponsorship brings forward a new era for anglers with disabilities and provides competing teams with the opportunity not only to fish at the highest level but also to receive significant prize money with a prize fund of almost £4,000.

The Championship is made up of eight regional teams who will have the chance to compete for the top team prize of £1,500. It’s not only the winning team that will receive financial rewards as the second placed team will also receive £1,000 and the third placed team £500.

Individual anglers competing will also see the rewards of DCP Ltd’s sponsorship as the first placed angler will receive £500; second placed, £200 and third place will receive £100.

The involvement of DCP Ltd will not only help raise the profile of angling with disabilities but also increase the level of interest in disability sport as a whole. The sponsorship will encourage top anglers to fish the competition, providing the ideal platform for the England team manager to select the finest anglers this country has to offer from to compete in the World Championships.

DCP Ltd will also be looking to support existing programmes such as the Creating Positive Images for People with Disabilities (PIPs) scheme, which supports the training of people with disabilities to become Level One and Level Two angling coaches. These coaches will also then be encouraged to work at a local level with DCP Ltd’s preferred charity ‘The Children’s Trust’, introducing them to the benefits of the sport.

The deal was signed with the NFA but will transfer to the new Angling Trust which will be launched in January 2009. Marketing and Communications Manager for the NFA, Tom Goldspink commented, “DCP Ltd’s sponsorship of the Championship is a hugely significant contribution to the development of angling for the disabled. It will help raise the profile of elite angling for the disabled and hopefully attract the best anglers in England to the competition.”

Chris Dulley, Managing Director of DCP Ltd, said, “As a successful company, DCP have for many years supported children with disabilities at The Children’s Trust in Tadworth, Surrey. We feel that by taking the opportunity to sponsor the National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities, we are not only promoting the sport, but encouraging disabled children and adults to enjoy the many benefits of angling. This seems a natural progression of our existing charity work and we are proud to be associated with the NFA’s National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities and in the New Year are very excited to start working with The Angling Trust.”

Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd is looking forward to raising the profile of angling for people with disabilities, commenting, “This sponsorship is a great achievement for the sport of angling. The Angling Trust is looking forward to working with DCP Ltd and ensuring that their generous support will deliver success on a national and international level. We will be looking to build on this positive step to demonstrate one of angling’s great strengths: that it is accessible to everyone”.

Source: National Federation of Anglers

Environment Agency delivers a stocking packed with 1,250 barbel to the Thames River. Christmas has come early on the River Thames this year as the Environment Agency delivered a stocking packed with 1,250 barbel to the Thames River last week.

The batch of 18-month-old fish was released in three areas along the river as part of an Environment Agency project to give the declining barbel population a boost.

The fish have been marked with a small orange spot in the translucent skin adjacent to the eye. The marks will help the Environment Agency keep track of how the population is developing in the coming years.

Anglers are being asked to do their bit by reporting any catches of barbel which have the distinctive orange spots. Working closely with local anglers the Environment Agency will be able to build a more complete picture of the fish’s movements and survival rates.

Environment Agency fisheries officer Lizzie Rhymes said: “Our aim is to see these barbel flourish in areas of the Thames where numbers have declined. When the fish reach maturity, we hope they will spawn successfully and continue to boost barbel populations.

“The stocking is part of the Upper Thames Barbel Project, which we started in 2005. The project identified areas of the Upper Thames where barbel populations are threatened. We have also begun a programme of habitat restoration to improve and create new spawning grounds. Stocking juvenile barbell in the river is designed to complement this work.”

Barbel, which can live up to 25 years, indicate high quality river habitat. However, the species faces many pressures which threaten populations in the River Thames. These pressures include a lack of suitable spawning grounds, and an inability to reach important habitats as a result of impoundments.

To spawn, barbel require shallow gravel areas with fast flows. Hatching larvae use still shallow bays to feed and avoid predators. As juveniles grow, they use faster flows on shallow gravels. These habitats are required if larvae are to survive their first critical winter. In rivers without suitable spawning grounds nearby, adult barbel will migrate over 30 km to spawn.

The fish have been bred at the Environment Agency fish farm at Calverton, near Nottingham, which produced half a million fish last year. They were released on Thursday, 4 December, between Buscot and Newbridge. This follows on from last year’s stocking programme which targeted the upper reaches of the River Thames between Hannington Bridge and Cricklade.

Lizzie Rhymes added: “We plan to monitor these barbel during our annual fisheries monitoring programme. However, we are also asking all anglers fishing the River Thames to look out for these marks. If anyone is lucky enough to catch a barbel, and it is marked, we would like to hear about it.”

“We carry out more than 500 fish stocking transfers every year. Other stocking programmes this winter will be taking place on the river Cherwell, Great Brook, Enbourne, and Thame. Species due to be stocked into these rivers include: chub, dace, roach and bream.”

If you catch a barbel, please contact Chris Bell on 01491 828358.

Source: www.environment-agency.gov.uk

November 2008

The ACA has secured a settlement for one of its commercial fishery members. After terse negotiations, insurers have paid out £3,500 to compensate Cuttle Mill Fishery in the Midlands for the damage they suffered following pollution with milk over the Christmas period back in 2006. The milk, which spilt from a tanker in a nearby haulage yard, entered the fishery via a feeder stream. The oxygen levels in the receiving water fell dangerously low and, despite the best efforts of the fishery owner to limit the damage using bunding and aerators, large specimen carp and a number of roach were lost. The timing could not have been worse for the fishery which had to close at what is usually one of its busiest times of year with anglers hoping to escape for a peaceful days fishing over the festive season.

In Wales, the ACA continues to fight for damages on behalf of the Islwyn & District Anglers following the devastating chemical pollution of the River Sirhowy, in Gwent, by a private company situated on the banks. The ACA has now issued a claim in court. In May 2007, whilst decommissioning a chemical treatment plant, the company emptied treated effluent onto the floor of the treatment plant building which subsequently found its way into a surface water drain that discharges into the Sirhowy. Despite being successfully prosecuted by Environment Agency Wales for breaches of the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 the company is determined to defend the ACA civil claim in court.

In Leicestershire we are representing the Gopsall Fishing Club after illegal in-river dredging on the River Sence. It is thought that the dredging destroyed spawning grounds and also altered the river width due to the excavation of the river bank which affects the river flow. The Environment Agency decided not to prosecute for the offence, even though those responsible were forewarned that any damage caused as a result of their works could result in criminal prosecution.

In further Scottish news, the ACA has been forced to refer another case to the Scottish Information Commissioner following the Scottish Government's refusal to release fish farm inspection reports relating to rainbow trout farming operations in Loch Lochy. The Scottish Information Commissioner will decide whether the Scottish Government is justified in withholding dive reports, mortality reports, grid plans and a containment audit report that relates to recent escapes of rainbow trout into the loch. The ACA represents the Lochaber District Salmon Fishery Board in this matter after escapes of farmed fish into the Lochy system from the floating cage farm operated by Kames Fish Farming Ltd.

Other news...

The ACA will be holding an EGM on Monday 8 December in Birmingham to vote on a resolution for the ACA to take part in the unification of angling and conservation organisations. There is much more information about these plans in the autumn update which will be arrive with all members this week and on the temporary web site for the Angling Trust: www.anglingunity.co.uk

If you can't make the EGM, please complete the proxy voting form included with the mailout in the postage paid envelope. You could send back your raffle books at the same time...

Thames21, a charity working in the London area, is organising a free training day for anyone wanting to organise river clean-ups at Fishmongers' Hall on Monday 24 November. Please go to www.thames21.org.uk for more information.

The Artist Richard Bramble is donating 10% of profits to the ACA from members' orders of his new Brown or Rainbow Trout porcelain 30cm dinner plates at £35 each, which are from a set of Trout and Grayling designs available on plates, mats, boards and clocks by the artist. When ordering, either by telephone 01935 815236 or online at www.richardbramble.co.uk Just mention 'ACA' for the donation to go through.

Finally, Hugh Miles is hosting a 'sort of world premiere' in Dorset of his new series of films "Catching the Impossible", with stars Bernard Cribbins and Martin Bowler present, but with red maggots instead of the red carpet. All proceeds go to the ACA and the Wimborne Angling Club. The films will be screened on Tuesday 25 November and Tuesday 2 December at the Barrington Theatre in the centre of Ferndown, near Bournemouth. Tickets are just £5 from: Bob Simmons, 1 Cuthburga Rd. Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 1LH Tel: 01202 889283 Please make cheques payable to Wild Wise Ltd. and enclose an SA

Source: Anglers Conservation Association

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Golden Balls Carp & Match Charity Fundraiser for Cancer Research UK.

Now if you haven’t heard of the Golden Boll**** charity fund raiser, please take the time to read this article as it will no doubt fill you with inspiration and warmth especially when most things in the world at the moment seem to all doom and gloom.

After last years outstanding achievement in raising just under 21k, the guys and girls behind this incredible event made sure that they didn’t loose any momentum and quickly set up a committee in order to get the best organization and support they could for all involved.

The event was to be held at the magnificent Hawkhurst Fisheries Kent over the weekend of the 27th/28th of September with a slightly different format to last year’s event

This years event included four separate matches two Match competitions a Junior Match Competition and one 24hr Carp Match, bringing together some of the best anglers out there of all ages some as young as 10 years old.

I don’t know of any other kind of charity event that brings the world of Match Angling and Carp Angling together for one joint goal in mind - to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK.

This year’s match competitions were organised by the one and only Tetly and I might add a number of the Musketeers Angling boys too. With a vast mix of talent on display the nets were quickly wet and the numbers of fish being landed from all over the lake soon started to stack up. There seemed to be more of an element of banter in this year’s match it soon became apparent that the anglers were in a three way battle for the medals and the rest not to mention any names found more time for verbal exchanges regarding each others angling ability, nether the less day one turned out to be a very exciting match indeed.

Here’s how day one panned out on the Match Lake

• 1st Mark Greenway 136-14
• 2nd Keith Pelling 134-00
• 3rd Darren Chaston 129-04

Now attention turned to the carp boys and girls including a newly wed couple spending their honey moon raising money for the cause (hats off to them). For those of you that are not familiar with the Golden Boll***** rules regarding the draw, it’s very simple who ever raises the most cash gets the honours, a fair deal if you ask me!. The match was held on all three lakes, the Main Lake, the Dove Lake and the Specimen Lake.

Really if you think you can raise a shed load of money get in touch with the team and put your case forward for next years match you never know you might walk away with the coveted Golden Boll**** trophy and of course the most important thing knowing you did a very great thing in supporting the event.

Well after last year the match anglers embarrassing the carp anglers it was time to get even, the bait was ready the traps were set the hooter had gone and what would happen, you could of heard a pin drop not a buzzer or a liner nothing. Once again the smiles from the match boys told a telling tale, the carp anglers set in for the long wait as the heat and the high pressure put pay to the carps feeding habits.

Although the fishing wasn’t as highly contested as the match guys it still went right up to the wire with Karen Dyer (newly wed) leading at one point with 18.4oz Until the Dutch destroyer Edwin Werters landed a whacker of 26.6 from the Specimen Lake, last years winner and match organizer Frank Wheeler couldn’t add to his total of 16.40z, and that’s how it remained. A valiant effort from the anglers that took part in the match and a remarkable amount of money rose to add to the total.

By now the total had started to tot up quite nicely, especially as Wendy and the girls had the set up camp in the front car park tempting passers by with raffle tickets tom bola and of course the magnificent hog roast, still the pressure was on to top last years total, would we do it?

Carp Match Results

• 1st Edwin Werters – 26.6
• 2nd Karen Dyer – 18.4
• 3rd Frank Wheeler – 16.4

A Massive thank you to all the following guys for organising the junior match which saw some cracking fish landed, Tetly, Martin Wombell, Lee Reed, Dave Sage, Keith Pelling and Steve Kelly. The juniors played their part with enthusiasm and determination no matter how small some of the fish were they all counted, check out these pics from juniors match

Sunday Match Junior Winners

• 1st Kieran Sage - 17.04oz
• 2nd Ben Goldsmith – 12.7oz
• 3rd Kieran Finn – 12.04oz

Sunday Match ADULT Angler results

• 1st Peter Allen - 195.08oz
• 2nd Nick Allen – 177.08oz
• 3rd Darren Law – 160.04oz

Well done to all the match Guys!

As all the match and carp anglers gathered around the Marquee in the presence of Cancer research reps Joyce, Nurses venue owner Tony Wilkinson, Barry Cale addressed the eager crowd and so to the part everyone was waiting for, the total, what would it be?

But before we get to the total, we still had the auction to take place up stood Simon with his cheeky grin to auction off some very exciting items indeed to help push the funds as high as possible, notably a rather fetching set of ladies camouflaged undies with Golden Balls logo.

So back to the total, would we reach the dizzy heights of last year, the honours were left to Tony Wilkinson nerves were jangling as he said nothing and scratched his “well I honestly didn’t think you would reach last years efforts but I am glad to say that you all have done an amazing job and you have raised ...

£21,500

What an amazing effort from all involved, a quite outstanding achievement yet again.

Speaking to Barry moments after he told me that again it hadn’t quite sunk in how much they had actually raised.He was so proud to be involved in this event and how much depended in the help of every single person that had been involved in any way, the army of Golden Balls camo t-shirted fundraisers had blown him away with their efforts.

Barry, Wendy his family and the committee would like to thank anyone who played a part in helping to raise this staggering amount. Tony Wilkinson who provided an excellent venue and support from the outset, Justin at the Fresh Water Informer for all the press, and Cancer Research UK for their help in running the smooth admin. Every single angler that took part in the competition and the marshal’s that gave up their time that all deserve praise for their efforts!

Personally I would like to congratulate everyone on organising a unique and heart warming event where the angling community came together for a great cause, helping to find a cure or at least aid the suffering of others battling with this disease.

Where would we be with out our sponsors, your support is such an important part of what we are trying to achieve.

This is with out doubt the one of the largest charity angling fund raisers on the calendar and I am asking all major manufactures, Shops and corporate companies to get in touch with us and commit to supporting us in any way you can, if you think you can help in any way please drop me a mail to arron@carpbible.com

Well done to every one and good luck for next year.