AGM held on 27th April, Siltex has been applied to reduce the silt and increase water depth in the South Pond

AGM and Trophy presentation

The AGM reflected on the previous season and looked forward with plans for the coming season. The members of the committee were re-elected, with one change. Andy Weavil takes over as Match Secretary and Paul Collins will act as Assistant Match Secretary as Paul is not able to get to as many matches now. There is a vacancy for a senior bailiff. The membership voted to increase subscriptions by £2 across all categories of membership to take account of increasing costs. This is the first increase for five years. The joining fee was also set at a fixed £10 for all new members to make administration easier. Junior membership is just £15 with no joining fee to encourage juniors to join and enjoy the fishing on the South Pond. There are not many activities which can be enjoyed for a year for £15. Once the AGM business had completed Paul Collins, retiring Match Secretary, presented the cups and trophies which had been won during the 2017-18 season.

Siltex was applied to reduce the silt in the South Pond

The club has purchased eighty 25kg bags of Siltex (a very porous form of calcium carbonate) to tackle the silt in the South Pond. Following analysis by the Environment Agency (EA) it was shown that there is a lot of loose silt in the South Pond which is suitable for treating with Siltex. The Siltex creates an environment which encourages bacteria to multiply which break down the silt, resulting in a greater pond depth again. The Siltex was applied during April using the boat to get an even distribution across the whole of the pond. We now have to wait and see if it has the desired effect.

Looking forward to the new season

We look forward to next season's competitions. In the mean time, we intend to work on swims and create artificial islands, generally tidy up, construct dead hedging around the pond's land boundary and attempt to increase water depth. All before matches commence for 2018-19. We hope, too, that some re-stocking will occur soon and that fishing will improve for the summer.

June & July activities

The matches will not start again until July, but the pond is open for individual fishing. There are three evening matches in July on the 7th, 21st and 28th July. They are Saturday evening matches with a draw for swims at 5pm and fishing from 5:30pm-8:30pm.

Joining the Club

If you are interested in joining the club please contact our membership secretary Cathy Naylor on 07934-895513 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 place.

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

Steve Edge and Barry Jerome