Plough Angling Club Minutes

Meeting: 19^th August 2025

In Attendance and Apologies

Present: L Teale; J Blackwell; D Dance; T Warncken; C Judkins; J Rolf; N Ponting; R Stone

Apologies:  A Earl; B Sutton

Minutes:  L Teale

Actions from Previous Meeting

• The BBQ and Presentation Evening took place at the RBL Sports & Social Club on 19 July 2025. A raffle raised £115 for the Club’s funds, with raffle prizes donated by those present. Thank you to Sue and Carl at the RBL for hosting this event.
• The Sea Fishing dates for next year have been provided by the boat Skipper and the details are available on our website (under the Events Page).
• Our Chairman has offered some tuition at Newbridge: ‘My Way with Hemp’. If there is sufficient interest, this will be sometime in September. Email the Chairman if you would be interested.

Club Welfare Officer’s Report

• Our Club Welfare Officer is Richard Stone (mob. 07551 031857; rstone0311@yahoo.com.)
• The Club’s welfare policy is available on our website (www.ploughangling.org.uk/safeguarding/)
• No issues were reported this past month.
• Refresher training is currently being offered by the Angling Trust.

Sea Secretary’s Report

• The next trip will be the annual 3 Day Festival, sailing from Weymouth on 15^th September 2025.
• Contact Chris Judkins if you would like to be involved in the Sea Fishing Group.

Match Secretary’s Report

• Two matches have been fished since the last meeting. Full results are published on our website.
• The fourth leg of the Plough Angler of the Year Trophy took place at Buscot Park on Sunday 3^rd August, with 9 Members attending. The match was won by Matt Cramp with 31lb 6oz, including a 13lb 8oz mirror carp. In second place was Danny Dance with 26lb 8oz, and third place was Phil Mansbridge with 23lb 4oz, including a 13lb 8oz common carp. In total, 6 carp were landed.
• The Colin Rice Trophy was fished at Plough Pond on Sunday 17^th August, with 12 Members attending. The match was won by Danny Dance with 7lb 7oz of roach and rudd from the favoured Peg 11. In second place was Nick Ponting with 2lb 14 from Peg 4, and third place was Ray Rolfe with 2lb 1oz  from Peg 7.
• It was noted that Matt Cramp has achieved a perfect 100 points from the first four PAY matches.
• The next match is the second leg of the Gerald Sedgewick trophy at Plough Pond on Sunday 31^st August. The draw will take place at 07:00, fish 08:00 – 13:00.
• The Match Group would like to again thank Stephanie Warncken for baking cakes for us. These provide a welcome distraction to the post-match banter/bragging.

Treasurer’s Report

• Refer to printed minutes.
• There are no outstanding invoices to be paid.

Vice Chairman’s Report

• Plough Pond Update:

Thanks & tree work

Huge thanks to Jim, Leslie, Barry and Sonny for tackling the fallen tree at peg 19. Tree removal is tough—especially in the water—so for any future work parties involving tree work, we’d prefer at least five members: some in the boat, some in the water and the rest on the bank.

Match result

Match Secretary Danny Dance won the most recent match with a bag of quality roach, topping 7 lb. A substantial number of perch were also caught—both species are once again a positive sign of a healthy, thriving ecosystem.

Fish loss & wildlife

Unfortunately, a dead Tench from the new stocking was found on the bank by peg 12. From a visual inspection, it’s believed to have been taken by a heron due to puncture wounds. Herons remain active on the pond and enjoy the abundance of fish. On a positive note, the Tench appeared to have put on weight since the stocking earlier in the year, so we hope the others are thriving.

Bank work & weed

All pegs have now been strimmed and the grass cut. Surface duckweed has receded, though submerged columns remain—currently providing cover for fry and juvenile fish.

Overhead trees & access

Some pegs are being affected by overhead growth, limiting rod-and-line fishing. These trees will be pruned or removed to improve access and visibility. In particular, trees around pegs 1 and 20 will be taken down to allow more light into the water, helping to break down silt. This work is scheduled for early in the new year, once the pond has reopened and the trees are bare of leaves.

Lease, grants & planting

The landowner has signed the lease agreement. We’ll now progress the grant application for new plants and coir rolls, and plan/schedule work parties. The vice chairman will inspect and review the three proof-of-concept planted coir rolls.

• Pond Stocking: I’ve spoken to Tom at Priory Fishery. Currently, there are no large Tench available for sale. However, we have received a quote for delivery in late February 2026.

The initial stocking of larger bream appears to have been a success. The pond still has plenty of capacity, so further introductions pose no risk of overcrowding. It remains to be seen whether the newly introduced bream will shoal with existing ones or form separate groups.

The carp being considered are third-year fish grown slowly in an overstocked environment to produce strong, slow-growing specimens between 2–5lbs. These will help diversify the species mix, in line with the pond’s mission as a mixed fishery.

• WhatsApp Group: A new WhatsApp group has been created for the Club. This will enable quicker and more efficient communication regarding catches, match updates, and any other matters of interest. If you would like to join, please contact the Vice Chairman at the number shown on your permit.

Chairman’s Report

• A Fishing Rights Agreement for Plough Pond was signed by the Landowner; Chairman and Treasurer on 17^th August 2025. The Agreement will run for 5 years, with an option to extend for a further 3 years.  This Agreement is essential for us to progress our AIF grant application. Subsequent to this meeting, a copy of the Agreement was emailed to the Angling Trust. Our grant application has now passed the initial criteria and a meeting will now be arranged with Jake Davoile, who is the Fishery Management Advisor for our area.
• Water quality testing at Newbridge is continuing as part of our role in the national study of rivers by the Angling Trust (WQMN). A measurement taken on 20^th August 2025 gave a reportable level of Phosphate at 1.01 ppm. This was duly reported to the EA.
• Water quality testing at Plough Pond on 17^th August 2025 gave nitrate; nitrite; phosphate and ammonia as undetected (0 ppm). Dissolved oxygen was found to be in the range 77 to 150%.Volunteer Bailiff Service: Two members have completed their online training (T Warncken, L Teale). We now have access to the Angling Trust’s VBS database, which allows us to record our patrols and report incidents directly to the Environment Agency and police if necessary. Further information from the Angling Trust can be found here: Volunteer Bailiff Service Application.
• Newbridge: An incident occurred on 9^th August 2025, resulting in the death of one of the Ewes. The pedestrian gate from the river to our parking area had been left unchained, allowing a dog to access the field. Members have been reminded by email to ensure that they close and lock the pedestrian gate behind them and lock it if they find it unlocked. An incident occurred around 16^th August 2025, resulting in damage to the sheep fence. A white VW Transporter was observed to break the fence. The vehicle was parked close to the gate between fields 1 and 2. Members are reminded to park only in the designated area.

New Actions

• Pegs 15 and 19 at Plough Pond require further tree pruning to make them fishable by rod and line.
• 58 crayfish have been removed from Plough Pond so far this season.
• The possibility of a feeder only match at Newbridge was discussed and will be looked at.
• A proposal will be presented by the Chairman at the AGM to enable Members to bring a guest to Plough Pond to fish free of charge. A seconder will be required to progress.

The meeting ended at 8:50pm.

The next meeting will take place at the RBL Sports & Social Club in Hanney at 19:30 on Tuesday 16^th September 2025. All welcome.