WIMBORNE & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014
Welcome to the Spring Newsletter, we hope this
will keep you in touch with what has been
happening in the Club.
Last year was a very busy and challenging year,
not helped by unforeseen circumstances and of
course the weather, as you will read later.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at the
A.G.M. on the 25th of March 2014 and finally we
wish everyone a great years fishing.
Another, a container was sourced for
Winterborne Zelston but on delivery the driver
refused to cross the access bridge, a quick
decision was made to move the container to
Kingsbridge where it will stay for now maybe
permanently. Thanks to Dan and Paul for giving
their time and helping make it possible to get the
container into Kingsbridge.
Enjoy the Newsletter!
The dam starting to slip at Crooked Willows and a
possible problem with Wellington lake, etc, etc. A
difficult time but hey ho.
ROB DOYLE
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY REPORT 2013
What can I say about 2013, probably “glad that’s
over”.
Hello, as 2013 comes to a close and the cold dark
nights are upon us most anglers will probably put
there fishing tackle away until the spring arrives
but not me. The fishing to be had through the
winter can be very rewarding if you go on the
right days with the conditions in your favour. The
pike fishing is now under way and with the 30lb+
pike in Longham Reservoir and the several pike
swimming around in Canford Ponds and on the
Dorset Stour then this is well worth a try. The
carp fishing shouldn’t be ignored either as I have
had some special fish through the winter period.
The silverfish are also a target with most of the
club fisheries holding a good head of these. Apart
from trying to pick the better days weather wise
the other important thing to make sure that you
have the correct clothing. When I started out
fishing many years ago I learnt this the hard way.
I can remember times when I went with thin
jackets, no gloves or hat and no hot drink to
warm me up, and not being able to tie a knot or
put bait on because you are too cold is just no
fun, so wrap up and get on the bank and you
could be rewarded with a winter clonker!
The amount of work carried out in the
background by the committee has been greater
than many a long year. The challenges were
varied and at times extremely tense and time
consuming but here we are in 2014 looking
forward to a better year, hopefully.
As an idea of some of the challenges, we were
excluded from Triangle Lake for a couple of
months due to the activities of a few teenagers
who decided to use the area in the evenings for
riding their motor cycles. They were caught on
camera and challenged by Wilkes’ foreman only
for him to be met with abuse. They were seen
entering the premises with a club key and this
was the reason we were excluded. We managed
to catch them trying to gain entry another
evening, removed the key and made sure they
could not get in again. This was not enough and
the owners still wanted us excluded. After
numerous long meetings we managed to get
controlled access onto the fishery but we have
been informed that the lease will not be renewed
when it comes to renewal in 18 months time. In
the meantime to gain access you will require a
separate key from the head bailiff as we have to
maintain a list of all who have access. This also
means one youngster has been excluded
permanently from WDAC for losing a fishery by
their actions.
On the membership front the club has has a
steady year with membership around the same
as last year, so with the economy being as hard
as it has been over the last few years then the
club is holding its own and hopefully next year
we might see an increase in membership which
WIMBORNE & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014
all helps the club go forward in building a better
club.
For 2014 when renewing your membership you
will receive stick in pages to validate your current
membership book. The page numbers will be at
the bottom of the pages provided so please peel
off the back of the pages and stick over the top of
the same page number in your current
membership book. There is not a lot of change,
apart from the MICRO barbed hook rule. Micro
barbed hooks are permitted on WDAC waters,
however this will not account for all fisheries in
your membership book. Longham Lakes and
Crooked Willow run on their own fishery rules so
please read these to see where you stand with
barbed/barbless hooks. This rule does not mean
that you can’t use barbless if you wish.
Also to confirm that membership fees will be
going up in June 2014. This will be £5.00 across
the board for all members except Juniors which
will be going up by £3.00. This is due to the rising
costs of fisheries and other costs to the club.
Well I hope you have had a good year on the
bank, and like I have said above, get out there
this winter and you might be in for a treat!
Tight Lines
Dan Jenner - Membership Secretary
GAME SECRETARIES REPORT
Thankfully 2013 has proved to be less time
consuming than previous years, we now seem to
be on top of the blanket weed in Zelston with no
treatment or dragging of weed required during
the year. Yet again the summer meant a drop in
levels which made the weed appear worse than it
actually was. The lake was definitely challenging
but remained fishable throughout. The timber
supporting the grating on the outlet was replaced
whilst the level was down and this proved to be a
prudent move with the volume of water since
Christmas. The Christmas match turned out wet
and windy (surprise) with a number of anglers
defeated by the weather, preferring the comfort
of the lodge. None of the really big fish showed
but an Arctic Char of 4lb 11oz was caught by A.
Doyle. Gareth Evans was the eventual winner on
the day. The meal provided by the Botany Bay
was excellent and well received. Best fish of the
year and a fishery record but not quite a club
record was a stonking rainbow of 15lbs 2oz
caught by Mike Gibbon (10oz short of the club
record). Well done Mike.
Rawlsbury is proving to be very well supported
with a high percentage of the summer anglers
preferring the seclusion and scenery there. The
matches were well attended with the largest fish
of the year going to Gareth Evans. (12lb 4oz). The
match series was won by Mike Slater but it was a
close fought thing. The only drawback was Sandy
suffered poor levels and after a number of
attempts to secure the monk it was thought
sorted but the level still dropped. This will be
monitored and if necessary we will work with the
owner to repair the situation. This may mean
Sandy being out of action for an unknown length
of time, this will be posted on the web site and
notice board as and when. Some more Brown
Trout will be put in Viners this year to top up the
stock.
Due to all the above time could not be given to
sorting the river Crane this will now be a priority
for 2014, we will try and make this happen this
year.
Depending how the year goes we may be looking
at an alternative way to install a container on
Zelston. We have now got a member willing to
look after the banks at Zelston, making access a
little easier.
May I say thank you to all who have supported
the game section whether fishing, matches or
more importantly working, too many to name
but you know who you are.
Rob Doyle, Game Secretary.
WIMBORNE & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014
RAWLSBURY SERIES COMPETITION 2013
It was good to see some new faces as we started out
as a slow an evenly matched first event, with most
competitors bag’s weighing in between 7 & 8lbs. This
soon changed in the next two matches, with nothing
outstanding (it was hard going).
With three matches down it looked like it was
inevitable that one of the past winners were going to
take the trophy! No big fish were caught but plenty of
good size trout tipping the scales.
The fourth match was more entertaining with some
larger bags weighing in.
As we took to the lakes for the final match, we had
fourteen fishing including myself. I had caught quite
quickly with the biggest bag of the competition 12lb
14oz only to be matched oz. for oz. by Mike Hirsh. As
the scales were tipped slowly it emerged that I had in
fact became triumphant with a total bag weighing
28lb 14.5oz but very close behind were past winners
Steve Hemingway and Mike Hirsh.
Results:
Mike Slater – 28lb – 14.5oz
S Hemingway – 26lb – 15oz
M Hirsh – 26lb – 13.5oz
G Moss – 23lb – 0 oz.
R Willis – 21lb – 08oz
Largest fish was awarded to Mike Hirsh 4lb – 15oz.
The end of season match saw Gareth Evans win with
his one and only fish of 12lb 4oz, with Steve
Hemingway and Gary Austin coming in second and
third place. Ian Hayward and myself coming in fourth
and fifth place
To all who braved the weathers and the slow takes,
good food and great company. I thank you and hope
to compete against you soon.
Tight lines Mike Slater.
SHOWTIME!
This year the Spetisbury Country Show ran again
on the 2nd June, it was a bigger event than the
previous one. As ever the club was represented
with the usual stand and casting area. The
gazebo housed the aquarium with pond
creatures and all the poster boards. This time, I
attempted to play a power point slideshow on a
flat screen monitor, but due to the bright
sunshine, the screen was not that visible. A
member of the public did manage to cast the ball
into the bucket at 30 yards and won himself a
year’s membership.
Our regular show guests Wimborne Fly Tiers
were also represented again this year on our
stand and added another activity for the public to
try their hand at. The fly tying was a great
success (especially with the youngsters) as all
those who had a go at tying a fly were able to
keep their creation (a nice memento of their day
and incentive to give fly fishing a go).
Thank you to the organisers of the show for
allowing us to have a free pitch. As a gesture of
good will, the club donated the takings of the
tennis ball casting competition to the charity
supported by the show, the Dorset and Somerset
Air Ambulance.
Dorset County Show 2013 was, for the fourth
year running, a big success. The Saturday was
hot and sunny and as a result, the crowds were
out in force. On the Sunday, the showers did
little to dampen spirits. Interest in the club was
still good, and a number of new members joined
as well as two renewing, at the show. The public
enjoyed the tennis ball challenge (casting a tennis
ball into floating hoops on the show ground lake)
and many took advantage of the free fly casting
tuition. Unfortunately there were no winners of
the 1 year free membership competition this
time round.
Each year the appearance of the stand improves
as we get more practiced at it, last year for
example, a small pond was constructed from
railway sleepers and black plastic sheet, in front
of the gazebos. This was stocked with lilies, iris,
pond weed and goldfish. This year we kept the
stand to the bare minimum, as it was highly likely
that I had to drop everything and go to the
maternity unit at Dorchester Hospital as my wife
WIMBORNE & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014
was due to give birth at any point! Luckily it
didn’t happen for another week.
Inside the marquees, we had the usual display
boards with posters and photos and the glass
aquarium with aquatic life from the show ground
lake. A print out of the slide show featuring the
club was also on display as it was found that the
flat screen monitor at Spetisbury Show was not
clear enough, due to the bright sunlight.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to all of
the guys and girls that helped with setting up,
running the stand and representing the club over
the weekends. It couldn’t be done without you!
We are also grateful to the Dorset County Show
for providing us with the pitch free of charge
again.
2014 Shows
Spetisbury Country Show is not planned for this
year, as it only runs on alternate years but the
Dorset County Show will be on Saturday 6th and
Sunday 7th September. The club will be
represented again and hopefully the stand will be
even bigger and better than ever!
If anyone is interested in helping out on the stand
at either of the shows, we have a limited number
of places available. For more information contact
the committee via the usual email address:
info@wimbornefishingclub.co.uk
Thanks for reading and we hope to see you at the
shows.
PHIL ORR
2014 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL PRICES
Senior membership up until 1st June 2014 = £110
OAP / Disabled membership up until 1st June
2014= £85
Junior aged over 12 to 18 Years up until 1st June
2014= £27
( please note that membership will increase from
1st June 2014 by £5 for senior &OAP/DIS and £3
for JNR’S.)
A REQUEST FOR HELP
The Wimborne and District Angling Club have
vacancies on the Committee for the following
positions:

Club Secretary

Club Treasurer
These positions will be ideal for someone with
the time and interest to be involved with the day
to day running of a very active and friendly club.
It is not necessary to be a fisherman, just to have
good administration and communication skills.
If anyone is interested in either of these positions
please contact Neil Pearson 01202 922514 or Rob
Doyle
NEW WATERS
The Club is always looking for new waters for our
fishermen, if anyone hears of any waters
becoming available please contact Neil Pearson
01202 922514 or Rob Doyle
WORK PARTIES
The Club organises work parties at our waters
throughout the year and members are very
welcome to attend, as help is always appreciated.
Please contact Steve Neale 07899 017248 to help
with coarse waters or Rob Doyle to help with
game waters.