Revised April 2023
General
- The rules shall be periodically reviewed by the elected committee.
- Competitions shall be open to all life, junior and paid up members of the Association.
- All participants must be in possession of a valid permit and Environmental Agency rod licence.
- Bank & Boat matches will be fished to fishery rules, except for additions 7 – 10 below, and any concessions as agreed with the fishery management.
- Match finish & Weigh-in times. Competitors who are late without a reasonable cause shall be deemed to be clean. Blanks must be registered at the weigh-in otherwise the member will be deemed not to have fished, and subsequently be awarded points as per rule 23.
- A £2 trophy fee will be charged for each match for the trophy fund.
Bank Competitions
- Anglers may commence fishing from the match times published in the Newsletter, on Clubmate, on the web site or other promotion. Cease fishing times will be published and or notified and weighing-in must be done at the lodge not later than 30 minutes after the finish time.
- Subject to a dispensation by the fishery management, bank matches will be fished to a 6 fish limit with no fish to be released. All season tickets with a reduced limit (Bronze) will normally be permitted, subject to fishery agreement, to fish to a 6 fish limit. This dispensation does not apply to either Sporting or Starter season permits.
- To ensure as far as practical, an equal opportunity for all competitors for bank matches, the jetties/stones at the Lodge Harbour, Marlow (nr G Marker) and Harts Bluff at Hill Farm will be excluded from all bank competitions.
- Competitors wishing to finish early must have their catch weighed and witnessed by an AWS bailiff or GWFFA member.
Boat Competitions
- Entries for these competitions will be accepted on a first come – first served basis.
- Members must register on Clubmate their intention to fish a boat match a minimum of 7 days prior to the event and cancellations can only be accepted up to 7 days in advance. Payment for the match (half boat cost & £2 match fee) shall be made via Clubmate or cash on the day provided in a sealed envelope with angler’s name clearly displayed. This shall be given to the Club Captain or match organiser when booking in.
- Boat partners will be drawn from the entrants in free draw, however less experienced boat fishing members will be able to notify the captain of their wish to fish with an experienced member and the captain will if required modify the draw to ensure that a suitable partner is provided.
- Special conditions may be granted to junior members.
- In the event of odd numbers the last to book in will be asked to fish alone, unless they are a novice or junior.
- Command of the boat shall alternate each 2 hours, or as mutually agreed.
- Boat matches will be fished to a 4 fish keep limit, then catch & release a further 8 fish with no time bonus; each fish to be deemed to weigh 1.5lbs. This applies to Gold, Silver and Bronze season permits and 8 and 4 fish day tickets. Released fish will be deemed to weigh 1.5lbs and in all cases, the angler’s boat partner to confirm the number released. There is no dispensation for Starter or Sporting season tickets for boat matches.
- Brown Trout, if caught all brown trout must be released immediately. They do not count towards the first four fish caught and killed but once 4 rainbow/blue trout have been killed all brown trout caught and released will count as 1 fish at 1.5lb. This also applies to one caught before the 4 killed fish have been completed, (for clarity if only 3 fish are killed and a brown trout or two are released, they do not count)
- Unless otherwise notified all boat matches will start at 0900. A break for lunch between 1300 – 1400 will be made at the Club Captain’s discretion and boats shall be back at the jetty by 1800 hrs after which the weighing-in will be held at the lodge.
- Fishing will be to fishery rules with the following exceptions:
- trolling & back drifting shall not be allowed.
- The Boils will be out of bounds unless specifically declared in bounds.
- Certain areas may be declared out of bounds by the event organiser, following a stocking.
- The club will book and pay for boats for the competitions, members will need to book their places and pay for the boats via Clubmate, or in cash with the event organiser on the day, members are responsible for having a valid permit to fish as appropriate for the competition.
- Members advising their intention to take part and subsequently failing to turn up will be liable to forfeit boat fees in the event of that boat remaining unused.
Scoring System
- Each competition shall be determined upon the weight of the catch.
- Points will be awarded according to finishing place, 1 point for 1st, 2 for second etc. In the event of there being equal weights, the places will then be determined by number of fish and then, if necessary, by the biggest fish.
- All competitors to weigh-in, blanks must be declared and at least 2 rounds must be fished in each category to qualify for an overall championship place.
- Over the 6 rounds, points from the best 2 bank and best 2 boat results shall be added to arrive at an overall championship place. Places for the bank and boat competition shall be awarded to the best 2 from 3 results in each category.
- Blanks must be registered at the weigh-in and will be awarded points equal to the highest attended match of the overall championship plus one point. If a blank is not registered it will be deemed that the member did not fish and will be awarded points equal to the highest match attendance plus two points.
- In the event of 2 or more anglers accumulating the same points total, the total weight of the 4 scoring rounds shall determine the winner. In the unlikely event of a tie still remaining then from the 4 scoring rounds the greatest number of fish and then the largest fish shall be used, in that order, to determine the winner.
Juniors
- Any participating junior under the age of 14 should ideally fish with a parent or adult nominated by the parent. Alternatively, by agreement with the partner angler, the parent or guardian will be invited to accompany the junior and partner angler in the boat. Juniors age 14 to 17 years inclusive, should be partnered by a willing adult boat partner. In the event that satisfactory arrangements cannot be made in either case the junior may be asked to withdraw from the competition.
- Special guidance applies to the participation of juniors (i.e. those under 18 years of age) details of which will be made available to those anglers accompanying juniors and to the parent or guardian of the child.
Trophies and Prizes
- Club Championship Trophy, ‘The Ship’. The trophy for the overall club champion is awarded to the angler with the best 4 results (2 bank/2 boat) from the six rounds as in paragraph 22.
- Bank Competition Trophy, ‘The Wyndham Davies Cup’. Places shall be awarded to the best 2 from 3 results of the bank competitions.
- Boat Competition Trophy, ‘The Jim Coulam Trophy’. Places shall be awarded to the best 2 from 3 results of the boat competitions.
- Individual prizes. Subject to review by committee, cash prizes will be awarded to first and second places in each round of the championship. Engraved glassware or other prizes are normally provided to the top three places in the overall championship.
- Biggest Basket Trophy. ‘The Fly Fishers Cup’ This will be awarded to the member who has the heaviest weight of fish in any bank or boat match in a club championship season.
- Winter Plate Trophy. This will be awarded to the member who has the heaviest bag of fish on the day.
- Dry Fly Trophy, The Scottie Trophy, awarded to the top angler on the Club Dry fly day at Ravensthorpe.
- Best Rainbow ‘The Leslies Cup’ awarded to the member catching the largest Rainbow across all Anglian Water sites – excluding Ravensthorpe.
- Best Brown – Due to the new rules this can no longer be awarded.
- Best Brace – Due to the new rules this can no longer be awarded.