Every member agrees to abide by the Society Rules. The rules are printed here for you to read and you may also download a copy in PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read the download – click here to download a copy direct from the Adobe Web site.
DON’T BE A LITTER LOUT BY THROWING IT ALL ABOUT
PLEASE RESPECT THE WATERSIDE AND LEAVE IT AS YOU WOULD WISH TO FIND IT
PLEASE ENSURE YOUR SWIM IS TIDY BEFORE YOU START FISHING AND WHEN YOU LEAVE
TAKE ALL LITTER HOME
DO NOT LEAVE RUBBISH IN THE CAR PARKING AREA.
THANK YOU.
Title
| 1 | This friendly Angling Society is to be known as “Bath Road Piscatorial Society”. | |
Objectives
| 2 | The object of the Society is to encourage fair angling, to promote sportsmanlike conduct and to provide fishing for its members when possible.. | |
Administration
| 3.1 | The Society shall be managed by a ‘Management Committee’ of Officers and Committee, elected annually and consisting of, Chairman, Hon Secretary, Treasurer and a Committee of five. A President shall also be elected annually along with two Trustees. | |
| 3.2 | The Officers and Committee shall elect from amongst themselves the following:Head Bailiff and deputies | |
| 3.3 | (a) The Committee shall have the power to co-opt. (b) All fishery regulations shall be prescribed solely by the ‘Management Committee’. |
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| 3.4 | The Secretary shall keep the minutes of meetings in suitable books and shall be responsible for all correspondence of the Society. | |
| 3.5 | The Trustees, the Officers of the Society and any member of the ‘Management Committee’ so authorised by the Committee, shall not incur any personal liability for any duties properly carried out on behalf of the Society and any Officer so acting shall be entitled to be indemnified from the Society’s assets. | |
| 3.6 | The Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) shall take place on the third Thursday in June each year, at the Society’s Headquarters at 8pm. | |
| 3.7 | A Special General Meeting may be held at any time that the Management Committee shall determine and the Management Committee shall call a Special General Meeting upon receipt of a requisition in writing of any 30 members for a purpose stated in the requisition and, upon receipt of such a requisition. Unless they shall determine the purpose to be frivolous, the Committee shall call the meeting within 40 days of the receipt of the requisition by the Secretary. | |
| 3.8 | General meetings shall be held at the Society’s Headquarters, on the third Thursday of each month, except December, at the ‘Stanwell Village Hall’, 13 High Street, Stanwell, Staines. TW19 7JR. | |
| 3.9 | Committee meetings by arrangement. | |
| 3.10 | All members shall abide by the Rules of the Society. The Rules as laid down on the Society’s website are the rules of the Society and shall supersede all previous rules. | |
| 3.11 | (a) No alterations shall be made to the Society’s Rules except by a majority vote at an A.G.M. or Special General Meeting convened specifically for that purpose only. (b) Any Proposed alteration or addition to the Rules must reach the Secretary 30 days prior to the A.G.M. |
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| 3.12 | (a) Two Officers and three other committee members shall constitute a quorum at any officially convened Management Committee meeting. (b) Two Officers and eight members shall constitute a quorum at any officially convened general meeting. (c) Two Officers, three other committee members and ten other members shall constitute a quorum at an officially convened A.G.M or Special General Meeting. |
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Finance
| 4.1 | The annual subscription, entrance fees and existing affiliation fees and any other levies shall be determined by the Management Committee | |
| 4.2 | The Treasurer shall keep accounts, which shall be audited at the end of each financial year by two lay auditors, to be elected from the members annually. | |
| 4.3 | All funds will be held in HSBC Bank Account. With no less than two signatories required at any time. | |
Membership
| 5.1 | (a) New members applications shall be made individually to the Hon. Secretary in writing and shall be approved by the general members. If refused the reason shall be stated. (b) Members names and residence shall be recorded by the Secretary in a book kept for that purpose but nothing shall prevent a member exercising his/her rights under the Data Protection Act. (c) Junior membership shall be restricted to one hundred. |
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| 5.2 | All members shall be issued with a membership pass and rule book. The membership pass to be signed by the Secretary and bear a recent passport photo of holder of same name. If lost the membership pass will be replaced at a cost of 10% of the appropriate membership fee. | |
General Conduct Rules/Regulations
| 6.1 | All members shall be bound by the bye-laws and regulations for the time being in force of the Environment Agency. | |
| 6.2 | On the Society’s fisheries, where a close season is in force for Coarse and Pike fishing, it shall be that in force by the Environment Agency. (Currently from 15th March to 15th June inclusive.) This applies to the river Colne only | |
| 6.3 | All members are required to act as Honorary Bailiffs. | |
| 6.4 | The taking of fish by any means other than Rod and line is strictly prohibited. | |
| 6.5 | All members when fishing Society Waters shall, at all times, have a fully assembled landing net available for use. The landing net shall only be used as an auxiliary to rod and line. The minimum size of landing net to be used by Anglers fishing specifically for carp shall be 42″ and be of a suitable size for all other species. | |
| 6.6 | Where keepnets are permitted they must conform to Environment Agency regulations. No Carp or Barbel are to be retained in keepnets. | |
| 6.7 | All members must carry a suitably sized unhooking mat at all times when fishing the Society’s waters. The use an unhooking mat/form of protection is to be used for Carp, Barbel and all other species above 4lb or that could be considered of specimen size. (i.e. a 2lb roach or perch) | |
| 6.8 | No fish are to be removed from the Society’s fisheries. All fish must be returned unharmed to the water including Pike. No live or dead freshwater fish, spawn or pond plants are to be introduced into any of the Society’s waters. | |
| 6.9 | Only one hook may be used per rod for taking all fish with the exception of Pike, where snap tackle with a maximum of two semi barbless trebles may be used. | |
| 6.10 | Steel strand traces must be used, when live or dead baiting or when spinning/lure fishing on any of the Society’s fisheries. | |
| 6.11 | The use of stainless steel hooks is prohibited on Society fisheries. | |
| 6.12 | Only barbless hooks only are permitted to be used on the Society’s Fisheries except where fishery regulations expressly permit otherwise.(Micro barb hooks are permitted in sizes 16 and smaller) | |
| 6.13 | (a) Members must only use the official entrance to the Society’s waters and must keep within the Society’s boundaries. (b) Members must not leave any gate unfastened, permit any damage to fences, traverse cultivated fields or hay meadows nor leave rubbish of any kind. (c) Glass bottles are banned from Society waters and on all outings. (d) It is the responsibility of any angler, occupying a swim, to ensure that the swim and surrounding area is kept free of litter including the removal of any litter already in the swim on their arrival. Take all litter home. (This includes tea bags and cigarette ends) Any member leaving litter (including discarded line) on Society fisheries shall be banned from the Society for a minimum of one year. (e) Any member witnessing another member leaving litter must report the incident to the committee, who will take the appropriate action. (f) An angler not removing their human waste from any of the Society’s waters will be expelled from the Society. |
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| 6.14 | (a) Members must avoid desecration of the banks, including the digging for worms. (b) No unauthorised fires to be lit and damage to trees and bank-side vegetation is prohibited. (c) All wild life must be protected and no guns, crossbows or weapons of any type are allowed on the fisheries. |
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| 6.15 | (a) Night fishing on the River Colne is strictly members only. Night fishing being defined as 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise. (b) Junior members under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an Adult member when fishing any of the Society’s waters. |
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| 6.16 | Any angler attempting to hold a swim for another angler will be expelled. | |
| 6.17 | (a) Permission can be obtained from the Honary Secretary or a bailiff for a member to be accompanied by a visitor by purchase of a guest day ticket. (Stamped addressed envelope with request if the guest day ticket is to be mailed) (b) A maximum of one guest ticket to be issued to a member for any one date on a given venue with a maximum of six guest tickets per year. (c) No Junior members will be issued with a guest ticket.(Please note that guest tickets for Moor Lane and the Flood Relief Lake at Hithermoor are available for either 12 or 24 hour periods) |
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| 6.18 | (a) Absolutely NO SWIMMING is allowed in any of the Society’s waters. (b) The use of BOATs is restricted to authorised work parties. |
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| 6.19 | Any member entering fish for Carp, Crucian Carp, Pike, Eel and S. Guy Memorial trophies must have the fish witnessed by two members and weighed on a reputable set of dial or digital scales, such scales to be made available for checking, if required. | |
| 6.20 | The Committee may close a water at any time for the purpose of a work party or Society match. Four weeks prior notice shall be given of any such closure except in exceptional circumstances which could affect the safety of members. Notice of such closure shall be posted on the website and at the entrance to the fishery. | |
| 6.21 | Members must allow the inspection of any fish caught when asked by a Committee member or Officer of the Society. | |
| 6.22 | Any member that brings the Society into dispute with any Landlord will be expelled from the Society immediately. | |
| 6.23 | No member shall take up residence on any of the Society’s waters for a period of greater than 72 hours without the specific permission of the Committee. After a stay of more than 72 hours a member shall not return to that same water for an overnight or longer session for a minimum period of 48 hours. Applications for an extended stay shall be made to the Honary Secretary a minimum of two weeks in advance. | |
| 6.24 | Any member bringing the Society into disrepute on any social media website will face disciplinary action by the committee. |
Bank Competition Rules
| 1 | Venues as per fixture list, alternatives at referee’s discretion. | |
| 2 | Starting and finishing times shall be as per fixture list, unless there is a change of venue. | |
| 3 | An angler can wade providing he or she can touch the bank with his /her hand; also with this exception, to position a keepnet and bank stick at the commencement of a match. | |
| 4 | Members must not fish opposite each other on narrow rivers, and must use discretion when moving on the banks so as not to affect the chances of fellow competitors. | |
| 5 | Each member must have his/her own keepnet and landing net. The size of any keepnet must comply with the area water authority byelaw in force at the time. | |
| 6 | A competitor is not allowed to angle within 10 yards of another, without first obtaining the permission of the referee. | |
| 7 | A competitor must show all fish when called upon to do so by the referee. | |
| 8 | One hook only per rod, with the exception of Pike matches where two trebles may be used. | |
| 9 | Competitors are to move off in the same order as their names/numbers are drawn and remain in the first swim for half and hour before changing: this applies to roving matches. When matches are pegged, members may move off after they have drawn their number and had their draw registered by the referee. | |
| 10 | Members arriving late must report to the referee or a Committee member before commencing to fish. Members failing to do so will not be considered as having taken part in the match. | |
| 11 | One rod only to be used on competition venues unless otherwise stated. Spare rods may be assembled. | |
| 12 | All members shall be eligible for Society prizes. | |
| 13 | Weighing-in will take place at pegs/swim nearest to water. Note: where possible weighing-in is normally carried out at pegs, and members should await scales rather than carry fish to weigh-in. | |
| 14 | All angling starts and finishes on the whistle | |
| 15 | a) Any competitor leaving their rod unattended with the tackle in the water will be disqualified. (b) A competitor vacating a swim must remove all tackle from that swim. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. |
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| 16 | Competitors in the knockout competition must weigh-in to qualify for the next round. | |
| 17 | Any objection by a competitor against another competitor must be made to an Official at the time concerned and the alleged offender accordingly. No objection will be accepted after the referee has left the venue. | |
| 18 | The Referee’s decision is final on all matters except disqualification, which may be subject to appeal. Notice of appeal must be given to the Referee at the time of disqualification so that other Officials present can evaluate the situation. | |
| 19 | One point to be awarded to each competitor for every half pound of fish weighed and the extra points go towards the Points Cup. | |
| 20 | No Competitor may ground-bait the swim, wet a line or disturb the water in any way before the starting signal, other than to wet ground-bait, clear his/her swim, fishing ground of weeds or obstructions or to position his/her keepnet(s) or to plumb the depth, without a swimfeeder. | |
| 21 | Pike will not be weighed-in on Society matches (except Pike matches and points for weight not applicable on Pike matches). | |
| 22 | A List of the Society’s trophies and trophy winners will be kept on the notice board at the ‘Wheatsheaf’ or can be obtained from the Match Secretary. A list of the trophy winners will be distributed prior to the annual presentation and social evening. | |