Previous Club News

Kingstanding Work Parties (Nov 2004 to Jan 2005)

As you may or may not be aware fishing is not just about catching fish. As a club we need to maintain and improve our waters. Over the last few months we have had a number of work parties at Kingstanding pools in an effort to improve your angling experience.

The first phase of work, which has taken place over the last year or so, was to improve the pegs around all three pools. We have made good progress on this and built a number of new pegs and improved the ‘fishability’ of the existing ones.

The second phase of work was to address the Silt problem in the first pool. A stream runs in to the top pool and deposits silt where it enters. The silt had built up and was starting to spread across the pool, at some stage this would become a significant problem. (e.g. The depth would reduce, low oxygen levels, stock levels of fish could suffer)

What we have done here is:

1. Dredge the old silt trap.

2. Create a new Silt Trap/Settlement Pool above the top pool near the car park.

Environment Agency Sponsored Match

On Saturday 11th October 2003 there was a 'Small Fish' match to be held on the River Dove. This match was funded by the environment agency and is part of a fish survey that is currently being undertaken on the River Dove to assess the populations of shoal fish, and hence determine the damage that Cormorants may have caused to the River. The environment agency have been stocking the River with spot dyed fish, all the fish that have been stock have been recorded and each stocking was done with a different marking system. The idea is that if these fish where caught in the match then the Environment Agency should be able to work out the population of fish in the river. If a high enough proportion of spot dyed fish are caught in the match then the Environment are willing to invest in restocking the river.

Raffle's a Fishy Success!

Not many of you would buy a used car from the Chairman but the Committee would like to thank all of you who bought a raffle ticket from the Chairman at the paying in nights. The money raised has been used, as promised, to stock Kingstanding Pools. 1000 Crucian Carp (5-6inch), 500 Tench (7-8inch) and 500 Carp (8-10inch) these will be Stocked in early November.

Work Parties - Kingstanding Pools & Cauldwell Pool

In the last couple of months a lot of work has been done on the pegs at Kingstanding and Cauldwell. We hope that the improved pegs are to you liking and would like to thank those who helped to install them. Special thanks go to Dave Fern and Rob Harper for there efforts.

Access Problems

River Dove - As many of you will know the access for the River Dove at Tutbury via Marston Lane has been closed off by Rail Track. This is P3 on the map that you have in your hand book. There is nothing that we can do about this apart from advise you of the other acces points that are available, these are described in the hand book as P2 and P4 on the Dove Map.

River Trent - Bottom Meadow - Access to the Trent is now restricted to going through the Farm, we will be trying to obtain better access and will keep you informed.

Newsletter for Season 2003/2004

The subscriptions for next year (2004/2005) are unchanged. i.e. subscriptions next year are:Seniors £40, OAP and Intermediates £15, Juniors £5.

We have now purchased and set up the Internet site www.burtonmutual.co.uk. At the time of writing, there is only a little information on it, but we hope to add to it in the near future. We plan to develop it mainly as a way of communicating with you, and hopefully provide another means for you to contact us. A secondary use will be to advertise the club and allow applications through the net. However, we see the site as additional to our traditional methods of communication, the Burton Mail and the tackle shops.

If you looked at your new Year Book first you may have noticed that it has a significantly different content regarding our waters. If you haven’t then have a look, even though it looks very similar at first glance from the outside. Thanks to our Chairman Rob Harper, his son (and Committee member) Lee Harper, and assistant secretary Vic Cass we now have a far more comprehensive description of our waters, the type of fishing available, and maps that show key parking areas.

Branston Water Park: The Model Boat Club have taken over the lease previously held by the Windsurfers. This could have meant that they had preferential access to the whole of the bay. The Windsurfers never really used the bank, except in emergencies, and so agreement has been reached whereby 4 specific areas of bank are designated as launching points where they have priority. Anglers should not use these launching points whenever the Model Boat Club members are there, or move if they ask you to do so, if they want to use them. A large map showing the exact locations will be permanently available in the hut at the Water Park, along with all of our other special information.

The other main issue this year is that of OVERBAITING – particularly at Caldwell and Kingstanding. We have only received one letter of complaint, however many committee members received similar verbal complaints. The issues have been fully discussed by the committee, the Specimen Group, and a small working party. The committee’s final decision was that it was reluctant to introduce new rules that would be difficult to bailiff, and would highlight the issue to members in this letter. Although there is no specific rule against this practice, the committee believe that it is unnecessary for good fishing, and poses dangers to the long-term viability of the waters. Members are therefore asked to desist from excessive overbaiting. If any bailiffs or members see any further instances, please take details of who is involved and report them to the main committee, who will take action.

We are aware of, and unhappy with, the vehicular access to the car parks on the downstream section at Cuttle Brook. We have had a number of discussions with the landlord’s agent who understands the problem and is trying to get a long-term agreement with the tenant farmer. We will continue to press as hard as we can to secure a permanent simple and safe access.

The work on the access at Monks Bridge is still not started, but we are informed that it will still be done.

We successfully prosecuted 2 people this year for fishing at Branston. Despite the high cost of prosecutions we will always proceed when we are advised we have a reasonable expectation of success.The Environment Agency are continuing to put in a lot of time, effort and cash by restocking the River Dove with small fish, then attending matches to see what has been caught. As reported at the last two AGMs and last year’s newsletter, fishing for small fish has continued to be dire. The Environment Agency has stocked the river again this year with small fish, and hope to continue stockings in an effort to rectify the situation. HOWEVER, they will only be able to continue IF we give feedback on the results. If the Agency conclude either that stocking is not working, and or that no one fishes the river any more, their efforts may well cease. After last year’s request for feedback, hardly anyone bothered to report back. So come on, let’s have some feedback this year: contact the secretary or anyone on the committee, Alan Dawes or a local tackle shop - preferably IN WRITING.

The “flood defence” work at Hatton has been completed. The fisheries officers of the E.A. hope that the gently sloping banks generated will provide “nursery areas” for fry.

The secretary has continued to make enquiries about Meadow Lane unfortunately still without success. We will keep trying to recover this water.

Night permits will again be issued for Branston Water Park. The maximum limit is still 100. If more than 100 members apply, permits will be allocated strictly based on length of membership. There is also a minimum requirement of one year’s membership. The cost remains the same at £25. Applications, cheques, SAE etc. must be received before 16th June each year. After that date thy will be available on a first come first served basis until all 100 have been sold. (The one year requirement still applies). 78 were issued last year.

Match fishing. One match is allowed per weekend day, per month, per water on all waters except Densy Meadows and Branston Water Park. A limited number of midweek matches are also allowed. ALL of these can be found on your match list. The Trent & Mersey Canal is regularly used for outside bookings via Burton Angling Supplies. For details see Friday’s edition of Burton Daily Mail.

Midweek both the Canal and Kingstanding Lakes may be used for teaching a small number of juniors.

It has been noted for a number of seasons that a lot of members just ‘drop out’ - particularly those who have only just joined. Last season the Committee decided to write to all who had not paid their subscriptions, asking them to complete a survey of why they did not rejoin, and also giving them the option of making any comments they wished. For this information they were given the chance of rejoining without paying the rejoining fee, and entry into a draw that gave a year’s free membership. There were 77 replies and 30 rejoined.

We thank all those who took the trouble to reply. We believe we gained a significant amount of very useful information, both of general relevance, and some relevant to just a particular individual. In summary most who rejoined had just forgotten; of those who did not rejoin many complained about poor fishing (particularly on the River Dove) and others cited the problems and closure of Branston. The other main reasons for not rejoining were that of illness or work commitments. We have already made some changes based on the replies, e.g. the better descriptions in the Year Book for those who were unable to easily find our waters, and/or know where to find specific species. We hope that the internet site will improve communication, hopefully both ways.

It should be noted that the behaviour of other members was cited by some as a reason for not rejoining. Members are asked to be polite and understanding to other members (and the general public for that matter) at all times.

Please make sure that you do not leave any litter at any water and take care not to fish near power cables.

The Committee wish you all a very good year!