Trophies presented at the AGM, membership for the new season now open

Trophies presented at the AGM

The AGM was well attended and many members took advantage of the opportunity to renew their membership for the 2016-17 season before the meeting started. Chips, gala pie and a good selection of cheeses all helped the meeting along. After the AGM business, cups and trophies were presented to the 2015-16 season winners by Club president Barry Jerome. Roger Pilling had an especially good season, winning five of the trophies.

Roger Pilling receiving the Match Series Cup	Chris Shepherd receiving the Associate Cup
Paul Goodhew receiving the Carp Only match trophy	Roger Pilling receiving the Evening Match Series trophy
Roger Pilling receiving the Heaviest Match Weight Cup
Andy Weavil receiving the specimen Bream trophy	Paul Moriarty (the Prof) receiving the Harry Bussey (predatory fish) trophy

Membership now open for 2016-17 season

The membership renewal session prior to the AGM on Friday 22nd April opened the membership for the new 2016-17 season. Subscriptions are being kept the same for the third year running. Details are given below on renewing or joining the club. New membership forms for the 2016-17 season are available for download from our website.

Rod Langthorne won the Points Only match

The final match of the 2015-16 season was the Points Only match. The object is catch as many fish as possible as each fish, regardless of size, earns the angler one point. Seven of the regular anglers were at the 9:00am draw but many swims were found to be flooded and unfishable as the debris brought down in the stream had piled up against the grills stopping water leaving through the outflow. Six of seven swims were dry for those anglers without legs on their box or wellies on their feet to fish in comfort. The only wet swim drawn was by Rod Langthorne who with raised legs on his box fished in the dry and went onto win the match. Being the final match of the season, names were also drawn for the Pairs Trophy, and with odd numbers the angler without a partner would have his final tally doubled.

Most anglers opted for maggot and either the waggler, pole or whip. Floats were set just off the bottom or mid depth, targeting small silvers such as Roach, Rudd and skimmer Bream. Loose balls of ground bait were used to attract the fish and hopefully keep them interested.

Rod Langthorne, Paul Moriarty (aka the "Prof") and Paul Collins drew the North bank in the sunshine whilst Andy Weavil, Roger Pilling, Chris Shepherd and Steve Edge drew the colder South bank. Things started well on the North bank and from the off Paul started catching skimmers whilst the prof started small with roach. Rod Langthorne fishing on peg 3 the other side of the tree could be seen catching small fish but no one knew how many. Looking across the pond to the colder South bank it was clear from the lack of fish being caught that the North bank was better.

After three hours the match finished and the count started. Rod on peg 3 managed to land 125 small fish and set the target for everyone else. The prof was next with 88 Roach, Perch and skimmers. Paul Collins managed 55 fish, mainly skimmers, a few larger Roach and a Carp. On the South bank it was clear how everyone had struggled. Andy was first up with 9 tiny roach. Roger on peg 17 used both bread punch and maggot and landed 34 small Roach. Chris Shepherd and Steve Edge landed 8 and 10 fish respectively.

Rod and Paul won the Pairs match

As for the Pairs match, Rod Langthorne and Paul Collins won on the day with 180 fish. Second were Steve Edge and the "Prof" with 98 and third was Roger Pilling and Chris Shepherd with 42. Andy Weavil was the odd man out and despite having his tally doubled only managed 36.

June and July activities

Work parties will be held some weekends during early June to get everything ready for the new season. The first match will be an Evening Match on Saturday 18th June, draw at 5pm, fishing 5:30-8:30pm. There are several matches in July with a particular focus on junior members. There will be four junior matches each on a Friday evening on 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th July. The draw for each match will be at 5:30pm, fishing 6:00-8:00pm. A bar-b-que will follow the match on 29th July. Prizes will be awarded on the night. Other July competitions are the continuation of the Evening Matches which on Saturday evenings on 2nd, 16th and 30th July. The first two will be the same draw and fishing times as for the June match. The match on 30th will be half an hour earlier, draw at 4:30pm, fishing 5:00-8:00pm.

The new version of the Match Calendar for the 2016-2017 season can be downloaded from the web site.

Joining the Club

If you are interested in joining the club please contact our membership secretary Cathy Naylor on 07934-895513, or our chairman Roland Palmer (after 6pm) on 01489-894063 for an application form. Alternatively, applications can be made by downloading a membership form from the website and sending, with an SAE, to our membership secretary (details above and on the web site). The membership year runs from mid-June.

Membership is open to anyone who lives in Bishops Waltham, plus a number of Associate membership places (for those living outside the Parish). Priority is given to Parish membership (especially juniors), but anyone living outside of the Parish wishing to join should contact Cathy for an Associate Membership space.

It is rare for anglers not to catch fish at the pond, which makes it ideal both for more experienced anglers and for youngsters starting out. As a mixed fishery, with fish like carp, roach, rudd, bream, perch and the odd eel - there is something for everyone. There are carp to 10lb plus, many between 6lb and 8lb, lots of roach, bream and also perch over 1lb. If you love your fishing and don’t want to travel far then join us - your local club. Its always nice to see new anglers on the bank and hopefully we will also see you at the matches.

Club web site

For more information about the club and its activities, the club's web site can be found at:

www.bwpfc.org.uk

Paul Collins and Barry Jerome