Southdown Angling Association
Members of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal
SPRING NEWSLETTER 2016
Several years ago, before the credit crunch, we approached the Environment Agency to do something about the silting up of the Wallers Haven at Boreham Street, which had resulted in the first field & parts of the second becoming unfishable. Then along came the financial crisis, EA funding was severely cut & it didn’t seem that anything could be done to improve the situation.
However, it seems that we hadn’t been forgotten & thanks to some funding from the sale of rod licences, during the month of February the river has now been dredged to remove the silt that has built up over the years. Gone are the days when dredging meant a complete clean out of the water leaving the banks devastated with a 45 degree slope & no safe access for anglers. Instead we have now got fishing swims sympathetically created every 20 yards or so, with much of the existing bank side vegetation between the pegs left undisturbed to the benefit of the wildlife & the fish. It remains to be seen what effect this work will have on the fishing. Last year, despite the state of the river, this stretch of the Haven fished really well, so let’s hope it will now be even better.
Our sincere thanks are due to the Environment Agency staff & contractors who have carried out this work. We often hear anglers complaining about the EA, saying "what do we get for our licence money." This project should show all the moaners that some of the money does indeed get ploughed back into angling to improve the fishing for all to enjoy.
Although the weather over the winter has been mild, it’s been a very wet & as a result, since well before Christmas, the Cuckmere has been in spate for most of the time & even now, with the ground so waterlogged, the slightest rain seems to push it up & over the banks. Needless to say we haven’t had any reports of fish being caught & what affect the prolonged high water levels & flow will have had on the fishing this coming season we shall have to wait & see. However the Wallers around Iron Bridge has been fishable throughout the winter, producing good sport for the match guys & it is nice to see the larger bream showing up in catches again after an absence of a few years.
Membership, numbers last year were very similar to the previous two years, with subscription income likewise & we have managed to hold the rents we have to pay to levels we can afford. As a result, by continuing with the water sharing arrangements with other clubs, we do not anticipate any need to relinquish the fishing on any our current venues & subscription rates will remain the same as in 2015.
Thank you to all of you who have provided an e-mail address & who will have received this newsletter electronically. Well over 60% of our membership now receive communications this way & with standard second class postage now costing 53p, it does save us considerable expense & effort during the year, as well as enabling us to keep you up to date with the latest news & developments.
If you haven’t registered an address with us, but would be quite happy to receive information this way, simply send an e-mail to: secretary.saa@gmail.com, with “Newsletter” as the subject & you will be included for the future & if you change your e-mail address, please don’t forget to let us know.
Membership Renewals. Your 2016 Membership Form is enclosed with this newsletter (attached if received via e-mail) for you to renew your membership for a further year. We hope that you will do so, as we feel that Southdown AA membership offers real value for money in the variety & quality of the waters we control. As usual, you can renew in person at the Polegate Angling Centre in Eastbourne, Anglers Den in Pevensey Bay, Anglers Cabin in Hailsham, or by post & now also via our website. If renewing by post, please include a self addressed & stamped C5 envelope for the return of your membership pack, complete the form as necessary & forward with your remittance, to: S.A.A. Membership, C/O Polegate Angling Centre, Unit 7, Birch Industrial Estate, Eastbourne, BN23 6PH. If you have access to internet facilities, please also include an e-mail address. The 2016 membership books should be available around the middle of April in readiness for the start of our membership year on the 1st May.
Annual General Meeting 11th February 2016. 24 members attended the meeting at the Eastbourne Fishermans Club, where Treasurer Grenville Weston presented the accounts for the past year. There was again a slight surplus over the year, a good sign, indicating that the Association were now in reasonable health & giving some cushion for the future. The accounts had been scrutinized by member Richard Sherlock & were duly approved by the meeting.
Secretary Mike Richardson presented a written report & thanked all the Officers & Committee for their efforts over the past year.
Mike Sherlock & Jonathon Pang were again confirmed as Vice Presidents & the Management team remain as last year, plus two additional volunteers co-opted during the year & were duly elected en bloc. The position of Association Secretary is now in limbo. Mike Richardson had completed three continuous two year terms in office last year & was therefore technically not eligible for re-election, but had agreed to carry on for a further year to give time to find a replacement. So far no one has volunteered their services, so, if you, or any one else you know, might be prepared to take on the post, please get in touch. It could be that the role could be shared between 2 or even 3 persons & any handover of responsibilities would be gradual with “on the job” training.
Sadly, as usual, other than via the retiring Committee, there were no nominations for officers or committee, or motions from members to be considered at the AGM. This is a shame, we shouldn’t rely on the same guys doing the job year after year. We are all getting that bit older & can’t be expected to go on for ever. It would be nice to see some new blood with fresh ideas & enthusiasm involved in the running of our angling club. Should you, or perhaps someone you know, feel that you could contribute & would like to get involved, please have a word & we’ll take it from there.
North Farm Pool, Marle Green. As last year, due to other activities taking place on the site, there will be occasions when this venue is closed to Association members. The closure dates for this year will be shown in your 2016 Membership Booklet, on the website, notices in the local tackle shops, by a notice on site & are also repeated here for your information:
Saturday April 16th & Sunday April 17th. Monday May 30th to Friday June 3rd inclusive. Saturday July 16th & Sunday June 17th. Saturday July 23rd & Sunday July 24th. Saturday September 17th & Sunday September 18th.
Tuesday September 27th to Friday September 30th inclusive. Saturday November 19th & Sunday November 20th.
Change of Match Venue. Please note that as Marle Green will now be closed to fishing on the 17th April, the Club Match originally scheduled for that date will now be fished at Curls Farm.
Social Evening & Prize Giving, Saturday 23 April 2016,
Eastbourne Fishermans Club, Royal Parade, Eastbourne, BN22 7AA.
All members, prospective new members & partners, are cordially invited to this years Prize Giving & Social Evening in the upstairs bar area of the Fishermans Club, commencing at 7:30pm, when the various recipients of our many trophies will be presented with the rewards for their efforts last season. There will be a Raffle, free Buffet, a Quiz & as usual, the opportunity to renew your membership for the year.
While we are extremely grateful to the Afton Hotel in allowing us to hold our social there in the past few years, the one problem has always been finding somewhere to park within reasonable distance of the venue. Indeed, we have heard of people intending to attend, but being unable to find a parking space, turning round & going back home. There is more than adequate parking space adjacent to the Fishermans Club, so there’s no excuse & although last years meeting was reasonably well attended, let’s hope this one is even better with more members coming along. The Fishermans Club is easy to find, being on the seafront, roughly half way between the Pier & Langney Point.
If last year’s do is anything to go by, it should prove to be a very good evening.
The winners of the various trophies are as follows, Chris Copeland having a particularly good year, winning no less than five trophies
Match Results: Aggregate Weight Cup: G Flint 129-11-0 Evening Cup: T Hoad 250 pts
Bill Walder: G Flint 14-6-0 Cuckmere Cup: T White 152 pts
Pole Shield: P Gabbitas 4-8-0 Marsh Shield: C Copeland 182 pts
Roger Weston Memorial: P Newman 22-12-0 Waggler only: C Copeland 151 pts
New Years Challenge: M Faulkner 4-4-0 Percy Baron: C Copeland 198 pts
Southdown Challenge: C Copeland 17-0-0 Xmas Cup: C Copeland 144 pts
Roy Andrews Memorial: S Davey 10-9-0 KO Cup: G Weston
Roger Izzard Memorial: T Hoad 10-3-0
F Glazier Memorial: S Davey 8-2-0
Specimen Fish: Once again, despite our efforts at making the reporting of specimen fish easier, only three members have bothered to submit claims during the year, namely Alan Woods, Chris Copeland & regular twin brother Clive, Alan catching a carp of 18lb 12oz from Curls Farm, Chris a bream of 4lb 6oz, while Clive weighed in with four species, a pike of 21lb 4oz, an eel of 2lb 4oz, a bream of 4lb 5oz & a tench of 6lb 11oz, the latter a new Association record, all from the Wallers Haven. Clive therefore takes the best specimen trophy & once again the trophy for most specimens. We know that there are many more quality fish caught by members which go unrecorded, so come on guys & gals, give Clive a run for his money this coming season, if you catch a worthwhile fish, please submit a specimen form, we would love to hear about it.
Web Site. Our website at www.southdownaa.co.uk is regularly updated with all the latest news, match reports & information. If you haven’t visited it yet, please take a look & let us know what you think. We feel that in this day & age, an active, current website is an essential tool in promoting the Southdown A.A. & are determined to give regular, up to date, topical information via the site & have included a “Sales & Wants” page for members to advertise any surplus fishing equipment they wish to dispose of, or to possibly acquire some other tackle item that is no longer available. You can now also join or renew your membership of the Association via the Membership page.
This is where you can help. Please send us YOUR news for our features. Your report could be about a recent fishing trip when you enjoyed a fantastic days sport, it may be about the capture of a club record or specimen fish, your success in a recent competition, or you may want to feature a specific club venue or tackle tip. You can also send us pictures of fish you've caught or photos you've taken of our terrific waters, whatever, it's entirely up to you. Please try & get involved by sending us any items you are happy to share with the wider fishing world, by e-mail to: webmaster@southdownaa.co.uk or to the Secretary at; secretary.saa@gmail.com.
Water Maintenance. Every year we arrange work parties at various venues to carry out maintenance to enable anglers to fish in relative safety & comfort. The work is nothing too strenuous, trimming back the undergrowth, clearing the banks, removing the odd branch or two, weed clearing etc. Every year we ask you the members to help, by giving some of your time, but unfortunately, most seasons, we get very little response, with the usual 6 or 7 members, mainly Committee & match fishermen, doing as much as they can, so it would be nice to see some new faces helping out this year. We meet at the venue on a Sunday morning at about 9 am, spend about 3 or 4 hours working & one does as much or as little as one feels able. You don't have to come to every one, just any that you fancy & the time spent is up to you, even an hour helps. It's generally good fun, there's a good deal of "fishing talk" taking place, it enables you to meet other members & maybe even learn something which will help your fishing in the future. If you want your favourite water to be safe & ready to fish this coming season, please try & help if you can. It’s no good complaining if you favorite swim has become overgrown or filled with weed if you haven’t volunteered to help. The more members that turn out the more can be achieved. The dates arranged so far for this year are: 10 April at Cinderford Pond; 24 April at Churchlands, Arlington; 8 May at Curls Farm;
22 May at Iron Bridge downstream & 5 June at Pevensey Haven. All are Sundays & if you can help, please contact our Water Maintenance Manager, Tim Crowdey, telephone 01323 841851, to volunteer your services, or just turn up on the day, armed with suitable tools & clothing.
Padlock Codes. As usual every year, In order to prevent access to all but current bona fide S.A.A. members, the combination is changed on 1st May on all our waters which are secured by padlock, the new code being shown on the front of the 2016 membership booklet. Disabled members & those authorised to drive down to the water at Curls Farm will be advised of the new code for the track gate by separate communication. Please note that vehicles must only be driven around the edge of the field, NOT straight across, you won’t receive any help or sympathy if you get stuck!
Southdown A.A. Management Committee 2016
President: Fred Clews, Vice Presidents: Mike Sherlock, Jonathon Pang.
Treasurer: Grenville Weston, Acting Secretary: Mike Richardson, Match Sec & Trophy Steward: Steve Izzard,
Committee Chairman: Clive Copeland, Water Management: Tim Crowdey, Assistant Secretary: Vacant, Webmaster: Jon Cook,
Committee: Roger May, Peter Gabbitas, Alan Law, Alan Woods & Tom Wood.
The Acting Secretary can be contacted by: telephone: 01435 812854, e-mail: secretary.saa@gmail.com,
Post: Southdown A.A., C/O Polegate Angling Centre, Unit 7, Birch Industrial Estate,
Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6PH.
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