Plough Angling Club Annual General Meeting
2nd February 2025
Attending: D Dance; L Teale; C Judkins; R Stone; J Pike; J Rolfe; J Blackwell; I Franks; Terry Warncken; G Cramp; M Cramp; B Sutton
Apologies: V D’Souza; N Ponting; P Mansbridge
- Minutes of 2024 Annual General Meeting (L Teale)
There were no matters arising from the 2024 minutes.
It was agreed that the minutes from the last AGM were an accurate reflection of the meeting (proposed by R Stone, seconded by C Judkins).
- Sea Anglers’ Report (C Judkins)
Both wreck trips and the inshore fishing trips produced plenty of fish, such as: pollock; conger eel; rays; black bream and bass.
The highlight of the season was the three-day trip out of Dartmouth, which after a slow start on the Monday, improved markedly. With live bait aplenty, between 20 and 25 bass were taken on both Tuesday and Wednesday, along with catches of plaice from the Sandbanks.
A single trip was cancelled this year owing to bad weather in October.
There is a concern with the actions of DEFRA (Department for Food and Rural Affairs), that their current ban on the commercial fishing of certain species will be similarly applied to rod and line fishing for these species. Cod, black bream and pollock are in their sights. There has yet been no discussion with angling groups, but we are concerned and will keep a close watch. Potentially, it could be catastrophic for our sea anglers.
- Match Secretary’s Report (D Dance)
The Match Secretary reported that a total of 17 matches had been fished since the last AGM, with an additional 6 matches either postponed or cancelled owing to storms and flooding.
Weather and river conditions permitting, the following matches are still to be fished to close out the current match calendar:
PAY7 has been re-scheduled for Sunday 9 February at Newbridge.
PAY8 has been re-scheduled for Sunday 23 February at Newbridge.
Ron Foster Memorial on Sunday 2 March at Newbridge.
The Christmas Shield was cancelled for poor river conditions. Similarly, the second leg of the Team Match was not fished.
Current standings in the Plough Angler of the Year trophy, with 2 matches still to be fished are:
Matthew Cramp: 143 points
Danny Dance: 139 points.
The match fund currently stands at £288.50, with no outgoings outstanding. The cost of trophy engraving will come from the match fund.
All match results can be found on our website (Match Results – www.ploughangling.org.uk). The Match Calendar is also available on the website (Upcoming Events – www.ploughangling.org.uk).
Please return all trophies by the April meeting at the very latest.
The Match Secretary is concerned with the numbers of our members who fish our matches. The highest attendance this season was at Buscot Park, with 12 members participating. Any thoughts from our general membership on how we might increase participation would be welcomed by the Match Secretary.
- Club Welfare Officer’s Report (R Stone)
A condition of our Club’s insurance policy with the Angling Trust is that we appointed a Club Welfare Officer to safeguard all our members and ensure a safe and inclusive environment.
There have been no safeguarding issues reported to date.
Our Welfare Officer has been in contact with the Angling Trust’s safeguarding team to establish himself as a point of contact.
Our safeguarding policy and documentation are available on our website (Safeguarding – www.ploughangling.org.uk).
For information, the Angling Trust offers a free, 3-hour online training course, providing essential safeguarding knowledge for angling organisations in supporting children and adults, delivered by their Designated Safeguarding Lead. The course is targeted at Welfare Officers and Club Committee Members.
- Treasurer’s Report (J Blackwell)
Refer to the printed minutes.
The balance of the grant received from the Environment Agency Fisheries Improvement Fund was spent in February 2024.
Leslie Teale was added as a signatory to the Nat West account.
The accounts were checked, opening and closing balances verified by those present (proposed by D Dance and seconded by J Rolfe).
- Vice–Chairman’s Report (T Warncken)
The Vice Chairman is in contact with Priory Fisheries for the supply of fish for the Plough Pond. This company was suggested by our EA Fisheries Officer. We intend to build a relationship with Priory Fisheries to take fish annually for Plough Pond.
Delivery of the fish is now scheduled for March 2025 and consequently the Pond will remain closed until 1st April 2025.
The three pre-planted Coir Rolls supplied by A.G.A. Group are doing well. Each roll is pre-planted with twelve Carex Riparia. We hope this trial will provide proof of concept and strengthen our case for a future grant application to continue this work. A report on the work carried out is available on our website (https://www.ploughangling.org.uk/plough-pond-development-update/).
We will be continuing our planting at Plough Pond in the margins and felling dead and overhanging trees on the island. Work parties will be scheduled in March, with all members welcome.
- Chairman’s Report (L Teale)
Membership and Communication
Membership of the Club is as follows:
| 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | |
| Adult: | 89 | 102 | 78 | 63 |
| Sea: | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Junior: | 6 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
| Total: | 102 | 120 | 94 | 76 |
I routinely contact 60 of the 68 Adult Members by email.
To remain financially viable, the Club needs around 55 adult members.
The reasons why Members fail to renew their membership are many and varied. Specifically for our Club, poor results at Plough Pond and difficult access owing to the poor state of the track, have no doubt contributed to the decline. At Newbridge, installation of the fencing along the Thames Path close to the Pegs in Fields 1 and 2, and the difficulty in car parking during the winter months, has deterred some Members.
We have and will continue to put in place measures to reduce predation by cormorants at Plough Pond (as reported by our Vice Chairman). In addition, we intend to re-stock the Pond each winter/spring. We will continue to monitor match weights and rely on Members to report their catches. We will continue our dialogue with the Landowner to improve access to the Pond. Hopefully, our ongoing efforts will be reflected in a stable and increased membership in future seasons.
Our monthly meetings, held on the third Tuesday of each month, are attended by a core group of 8 to 10 Members, with all the Club’s Officers normally present. Members receive agendas and meeting minutes by email.
Angling Trust and Environment Agency Contact
Plough Angling Club is an active Member Club of the Angling Trust. The Angling Trust holds regular virtual forums online and I attend these whenever possible.
In July 2023, the Club was awarded a Fisheries Improvement Grant of £1,500 from the Environment Agency, to make improvements to the footbridge and Peg refurbishment at Plough Pond. The construction was completed in March 2024 and the final report was forwarded to Stuart Manwaring, Fisheries Technical Specialist, at the Environment Agency.
We are awaiting release of the next round of the AIF – Predation funding from the Angling Trust. The Club intends to submit a proposal to undertake further cormorant prevention measures at Plough Pond. We will be removing several trees from the island and installing marginal planting around the island to act as fish refuges. Terry has reported on the work we have already carried out as proof of concept, and we hope this will strengthen our case to receive a substantial grant.
We support the Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) administered by the Angling Trust. We monitor our stretch of The Thames at Newbridge, and the results are loaded into a national database. We often find phosphate levels above the reportable level of 0.303ppm. When this occurs, the Club is diligent in reporting this to our Fisheries Officer (Stuart Keable) at the Environment Agency, who in turn informs Dominic Slade at the EA.
Thank You
The Plough Angling Club continues to benefit from a group of very enthusiastic and likeable members. It has been and continues to be a privilege for me to be involved in the running of our Club.
This Club could not continue to operate without the selfless efforts of a few dedicated Members. In particular: the Officers of the Club; Work Party attendees and those core Members who turn up to our monthly meetings.
I would personally like to thank the following in particular:
Gary Cramp and Richard Stone, who at short notice took over as Secretary and Club Welfare Officer, respectively.
Terry Warncken, who in his role as Vice Chairman, has provided fresh ideas and determination to improve our Plough Pond fishery. We must also thank Terry for his hard work in producing and launching our new website.
Jon Blackwell, Danny Dance, Chris Judkins and Nick Ponting have again been invaluable to the smooth running of our Club.
Adam Fell-Matthews, our Bailiff at Newbridge Farm, who by all accounts works diligently for our Club, benefitting us by £155 this season in Day Ticket sales and peg fees.
Sue and Karl here at the RBL, who continue to support and accommodate us (and provided us with an exceptional Christmas lunch this year).
- Election of Officers
Except for Gary Cramp, who will stand down after this meeting, all other Officers agreed to continue in their posts; all were re-elected (proposed by B Sutton, seconded by J Rolfe).
Club Officials for 2025/2026 season:
L Teale – Chairman
J Blackwell – Treasurer
Vacant – Club Secretary
T Warncken – Vice Chairman
R Stone – Club Welfare Officer
D Dance – Match Secretary
C Judkins – Sea Fishing Secretary
The Club Secretary position is an important one for the smooth running of our Club. If any Members would on reflection like to be considered for this position, then please contact the Chairman.
- Proposals
The Club’s Officers propose to keep the Membership Subscriptions for all categories of membership at the 2024/25 levels. Proposed by J Blackwell and seconded by D Dance. This proposal was agreed by all members present.
Proposal to remove Rule 12 from the General Rules. Rule 12 currently enables elected Club Officials to be offered a free permit each year. To date, one elected Club Official has exercised this option on one occasion. It is felt that Elected Club Officials should not be exempt from membership subscriptions. Proposed by N Ponting and seconded by L Teale. The proposal was agreed, voting was as follows: 8 Members for; 2 Members against and 1 Member abstained.
- Any Other Business
Jim Pike raised the issue of reed beds encroaching several Pegs in Field 3 at Newbridge. The Match Secretary added that moored boats, and with Pegs 1, 10, 14 and 18 unfishable, Pegs in Field 3 might be required for certain matches. Currently, there are only 5 fishable swims in Field 3. The Chairman agreed to contact our Fisheries Officer at the Environment Agency to see if they could possibly assist us in the cutting of reed beds and overhanging branches. It was felt that this isn’t an activity to be undertaken on a Work Party as it would involve working from boats.
Jon Blackwell wanted to thank the Chairman for all his hard work over the last six years.
Please note that the next meeting will take place at the RBL Sports & Social Club on Tuesday 18th February 2025, starting at 7:30pm. At this meeting, existing members will be able to renew their permit for the 2025/26 season. Please note any payments need to be in cash, cheques will not be accepted.
The meeting ended at 21:35.
The next Annual General Meeting will be held at the RBL Sports & Social Club, Mill Orchard, East Hanney, OX12 0JH, on Sunday 1st February 2026 starting at 19:30.
Leave a Reply