Bath Road Piscatorial Society - Rule Book

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 by clicking here.

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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

TAKE ALL LITTER HOME

DO NOT LEAVE RUBBISH IN THE CAR PARKING AREA.

THANK YOU.

 

1. This friendly Angling Society is to be known as “Bath Road Piscatorial Society”.

Objects

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, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Competition Secretary, Vice Chairman and Committee of seven. A President and Vice-President shall also be elected annually along with two Trustees.

3.2 The Officers and Committee shall elect from amongst themselves the following: Publicity Manager, Lakes Manager, Rivers Manager, Social Secretary, Minute Secretary, Open Match Secretary and Head Bailiff.

3.3 (a) The Committee shall have the power to co-opt.
(b) All fishery regulations shall be prescribed solely by the ‘Management Committee’.

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 February 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 ‘Wheatsheaf’, Stanwell.

3.9 Committee meetings by arrangement.

3.10 All members shall abide by the Rules of the Society. The Rules as laid down in
the Rule book 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.

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 eleven members shall constitute a quorum at any officially convened general meeting.
(c) Two Officers, three other committee members and fifteen other members shall constitute a quorum at an officially convened A.G.M or Special General Meeting.

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 In addition to the current level of subscription, a levy of £10.00 per year shall be imposed. This levy shall be refunded to any member in full on their participation in
2 organised working parties. The attending member shall have his name and membership number recorded by the working party organiser and the records shall
be forwarded to the Society’s Secretary at the earliest opportunity. O.A.P’s, Ladies and Juniors are exempt from this levy.

4.3 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.

4.4 The funds held from time to time at the HSBC Bank, in the HSBC Market account, are to be applied for the following defined purposes only and not for general expenses. The defined purposes shall be:
(a), The acquisition of Freehold or Leasehold property and fishing rights.
Withdrawal of the said funds may only be effected with the consent of the two Trustees elected from time to time by the Society. However if seventy-five percent of the membership of the Society agree, the funds may be applied for purposes other than the above, this shall apply in exceptional circumstances only.

4.5 Any member supplying information to the Management Committee which results in the Society obtaining the Angling Rights (5 year lease or freehold) of a water, shall be awarded £1,000. This sum to be awarded immediately following the acquisition of the Rights.

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.

5.2. Any member attaining the age of 65 years will be granted honorary membership providing that he/she has been a member for three consecutive years as a Senior Citizen. Any new member who is over 65 shall pay half the entrance fee, followed by the annual subscription for Senior Citizens for 5 years to qualify for this privilege.

5.3. All members shall be issued with a membership pass and rule book. The membership pass to be sign 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 Government appointed Regional Water Authority.

6.2 On the Society’s fisheries, where a close season is in force for Coarse and Pike fishing, it shall be from 15th March to 15th June inclusive.

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 A landing net must be assembled and used only as an auxiliary to rod and line.
6.6 Where keepnets are permitted they must conform to Regional Water Authority regulations.

6.7 The use an unhooking mat/form of protection to be used for Carp, Barbel and all other species above 4lb.

6.8 No fish to be removed from the Society’s fisheries. All fish must be returned unharmed to the water including Pike.

6.9 A single hook only may be used per rod for taking all fish with the exception of
Pike, where snap tackle with a maximum of two trebles may be used.

6.10 Steel strand traces must be used, when live or dead baiting or when spinning/lure fishing on Society fisheries

6.11 The use of stainless steel hooks is prohibited on Society fisheries.

6.12 Barbless hooks only are permitted to be used on Society Fisheries except where fishery regulations expressly permit otherwise.(Microbarb hooks are permitted in official Society Matches only)

6.13 (a) Members must only use the official entrance to the Society’s waters and must keep within the Society boundaries.
(b) Members must not leave any gate unfastened, permit 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). Anyone fishing Society waters and being found to have Glass bottles or
rubbish in their swim, shall be fined a minimum of £10.00 for the first offence and any subsequent offence to result in suspension from the society.
(e) Members are responsible for the cleanliness of the swim they are fishing.
Any member leaving litter (including discarded line) on Society fisheries shall be banned
from the Society for a minimum of one year.
(f) Any member witnessing another member leaving litter must report the
incident to the committee, who will take the appropriate action.

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 are allowed on the fisheries.

6.15 (a) Night fishing on Society fisheries is strictly members only. Night fishing
being defined as 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise.
(b) Junior members between the ages of 12 and 16 must be accompanied by an
Adult member when night fishing.

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.

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.