Winter Newsletter & AGM

 Does Angling Club News Letter 2025/26

Chairman’s Report

Firstly, despite all the details of the AGM printed on the back of the membership cards attendance this year was very poor. This is your chance as members to have your say and speak to the committee. I would encourage all members to make the effort to attend.

It’s been a sad year as we have lost some of our members. In January Drew Gould sadly died of a heart attack aged 52. Drew and Chris Kelly have managed the maintenance of Welham Mere and he will be sorely missed.

This year will need to have a small increase of £2.00 in membership fees to cover any increases for rent of the lakes. We have kept the price of membership for Welham the same as last year as we will see a reduction in the rent for this water as we will have paid the landowner for all the otter fencing over the past 5 years.  We have invested a lot of time and effort in the new website this year which allows members to renew their membership and pay using their debit cards, credit cards and PayPal. We would like to encourage members to join in the traditional way by completing a membership form and posting it to the membership secretary with a photo and a SAE envelope you can either send a cheque or pay online by debit card, credit card or PayPal. This is to reduce the admin for the Membership Secretary and the increased costs for the club. I would encourage you to look at the website and the clubs Facebook pages for up-to-date news and details of the match results. The website address is www.doesangling.co.uk.

We have invested a lot of money this year in improving the waters. Tony will talk about this in detail, but I would like to thank him personally for the work on the road at Beeleigh and the roadside platforms he built at Marl Pit. The club could not continue to operate without the help from the committee and some of the dedicated members who give up their time to maintain the lakes for everyone. I would personally like to thank you all. As a club we are always looking for members who can contribute. So, if anyone would like to join the Committee, please let me know. Jon Ready has kindly offered his services as Club Secretary. Jon has been helping with the club’s admin and updating the website so many thanks to him.

                                                Adrian Fisk                                                  

 

Fisheries Managers Report 

Hi everyone, as some or you are aware I am in the process of making good some of the tracks and carparks at the lakes. Thanks to Graham Childs we were able to get several loads of hardcore free of charge which we will put to good use on the track at Beeleigh and to create a hardstanding at Twitty Fee #1. At Marl Pit we have installed new platforms on the roadside swims and at Welham Mere we have put up some temporary platforms to combat changes in the water levels throughout the year. We have received a lot of comments from members about the suitability of these. They have only been installed on a trial basis and will be monitored throughout the year. We have also continued with our programme of stocking at the lakes with silver fish. The vegetation this year never stops growing the trees and grass always needs cutting back. To this end we purchased a second hand sit on mower last summer which has helped. We seem to be seeing a cycle of weather with mild wet winters and hot dry summers which has caused havoc with water levels. In the summer we had to shut Beeleigh top lake for match fishing due to low water levels. In, addition, the recent storms have seen a number of trees blown down which we have had to deal with. I’d like to thank Steve Root, Graham Webber, Graham Childs, Paul Smith, and Adrian Fisk for all their help this year on the lakes. Lastly, a new automated gate has been fitted at Little Baddow Fruit farm. The gate can be opened when entering & leaving the site by putting the combination on your membership card into the key pad and pressing enter (the bottom right button) The gate closes automatically after a few minutes. The lake is only open for fishing between 8.00AM and 8.00 pm

  Tony Shirmer

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 Sunday Match Secretaries Report     

Hi fellow match men another season nearly over and not our best year. The beginning of the year started well but as the season progressed it was not so good. I had to cancel a few matches this year as a result of low attendance however, during the summer months the waters all fished well with good weights being recorded. Weed is still a problem at both Twitty Fee lakes it seems to appear and disappear a few weeks later as it has done in previous years. Low water levels at Beeleigh Top have required us to switch matches to Beeleigh bottom however, the rain over the winter period has seen all the lakes filled up. Matches against Chelmsford ,CAPS and Kelvedon has seen us winning both home and away legs. We will continue to hold matches at Little Baddow Fruit farm when the Interclub Matches are on. So, if you are interested, please feel free to come along. Tight lines.

                        Steve Root

    

Concessionary Match Secretaries Report

The over 60’s match group have continued to meet every Wednesday throughout the year. The catches in general have been good, although as with the Sunday Matches water levels have been an issue. I would like to thank all the members for attending matches in particular Trevor who has helped on match days and stepped up when I could not be there. If you are a new or existing member and fancy fishing matches please come along. It does not matter if you have never fished a match a warm welcome will greet you. I hope you have enjoyed fishing the lakes last year and a big thank you to Tony Shirmer and his helpers for all the work done to keep our waters in such excellent condition.

                        Neil Kennedy

Health & Safety Officer Report

Well, it’s that time of year again, it soon comes around, the summer gear is slowly being put away to make way for the winter thermals. I would like to express my thanks to Chelmsford Safety Supplies for their support of the club and would encourage all members to either look at their website or alternatively visit their shop to see what they have to offer, including our exclusive range of club clothing. On the Health &Safety side of things we are in good shape with the club’s procedures and policies regularly reviewed.When visiting the lakes you will have seen that there has been a thorough maintenance programme carried out throughout the year, with the limited resources we have I think you will agree the lakes are in good shape.

Graham Childs

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