I read somewhere that at it's peak it was in excess of 70,000.
I would be surprised if today's membership totalled 1/10 of that number.
And how many visiting anglers never buy a card but continue to fish their waters on a regular basis and risk paying for a ticket should the bailiff come round?
And it's not just BAA which suffers this abuse of the system; my own local association, (Telford Anglers Association), is also a victim of this type of abuse.
It makes me sick when I see anglers toting hundreds of pounds worth of gear who are quite open about the fact that they visit several times a year and never buy a ticket because they never see a bailiff.........This is little short of theft and it is also incredibly short sighted.
Without the income from the sale of club books the clubs are forced to reduce their holdings, the first to go are the river venues because they are the least used and the hardest to control. This leaves the water open to syndication by groups of people who are willing to pay for their fishing. And guess who will be the first to complain when the water is lost to a private syndicate?
So, if you are planing a trip to the middle Severn or the Teme this summer then do the right thing and buy a club book, in most cases it will cost you about the same as a pub meal for two without drinks and you will be comfortable in the knowledge that you are helping to protect cheap club fishing for the years too come.
I would be surprised if today's membership totalled 1/10 of that number.
And how many visiting anglers never buy a card but continue to fish their waters on a regular basis and risk paying for a ticket should the bailiff come round?
And it's not just BAA which suffers this abuse of the system; my own local association, (Telford Anglers Association), is also a victim of this type of abuse.
It makes me sick when I see anglers toting hundreds of pounds worth of gear who are quite open about the fact that they visit several times a year and never buy a ticket because they never see a bailiff.........This is little short of theft and it is also incredibly short sighted.
Without the income from the sale of club books the clubs are forced to reduce their holdings, the first to go are the river venues because they are the least used and the hardest to control. This leaves the water open to syndication by groups of people who are willing to pay for their fishing. And guess who will be the first to complain when the water is lost to a private syndicate?
So, if you are planing a trip to the middle Severn or the Teme this summer then do the right thing and buy a club book, in most cases it will cost you about the same as a pub meal for two without drinks and you will be comfortable in the knowledge that you are helping to protect cheap club fishing for the years too come.
if you contact them by iether
phone or e-mail there is no reply, nothing, p**s poor service.
