Not much to report this month due to the lockdown, some individual fishing but interesting analysis of 2020-21 membership

Some interesting membership statistics for the 2020-21 season

Analysis of our 2020-21 membership shows some interesting facts. We had eighty nine members for the season and the biggest proportion were concessions, 36 out of the 89 total. Next were Juniors which is good to see as Juniors are the future anglers of the club and some may become interested in running the club in the future. Third was Adult members and lastly five family memberships which represented seventeen members, adults and juniors.

The numbers of members in each category varied considerably between Parish members and Associate members. Parish members are those living within Bishops Waltham, Associate members are those living in surrounding parishes. The numbers of concession members were similar, but there were no Associate Junior members. There were also very few adult Associate members, but there were a similar number of Parish and Associate family members. The focus is on Parish membership as the Parish Council own the lease on the South Pond and the fishing club administer it on behalf of the parish.

The categories of membership are :

Adult: Under 60 and not a Junior

Junior: Anyone still in full time secondary education

Concessions: Over 60 or registered disabled

Family: Members of a family - must include at least one Junior.

There were quite a few new members for the 2020-21 season. As a proportion the most new members were Family members. Adults and Junior members were slightly more renewing members vs. new members and Concessions were mostly renewing members.

Fishing swims may need to be raised in the new season

Following two winters of exceptional rain, many fishing swims have been under water and unfishable during 2020 and now in 2021. The pond has also suffered during the summer from low water levels and excessive weed growth. The answer to all of this may be to raise the level of the sluice outflow by the roundabout to the same height as the sluice outflow in the corner by the Palace. To do this would require all of the fishing swims to be raised so that they were fishable in the winter, and not under water. This potentially has two benefits. It will be possible to fish all of the fishing swims all year round, but more importantly the water level in the pond will be deeper all year. This will have a profound effect on the water. The water level will be higher in the summer and the water will not become as hot. As a result oxygen levels will be higher for the fish and weed growth will not be as extensive.

The problem is that club funds are at a low as last year we had to get weed cutters in to reduce the extensive weed growth. We will therefore need to pursue getting grants to help finance the costs of increasing the height of swims. Labour would be provided by the club but materials, such as sleepers, are expensive.

April and May activities

With the current lockdown all activities, including matches and work parties, are cancelled until further notice. Check our web site www.bwpfc.org.uk for the latest information. Hopefully, now that vaccination is being rolled out, things will begin to return to normal, but probably not until the end of May at the earliest.

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 on the form and on the web site). The membership year runs from mid-June.

Membership is now closed for the 2020-21 season. Membership renewals and applications for the 2021-22 season will be opened in May.

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

Barry Jerome and Cathy Naylor