General Rules
1. The club will be known as the “Plough Angling Club”. The headquarters are at Hanney RBL Sports & Social Club. The meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month. This day may change due to bank holidays.
2. The AGM will be on a Sunday in February each year when possible.
3. Membership fees are due by the 1st of April each year. The cost of permits and the maximum number of members can only be reviewed each year at the AGM. A member’s failure to renew in the specified time will mean the membership will be deemed as lapsed and thus returned to the waiting list.
4. Membership cards should be carried at all fishing club waters. These should be produced on request from the landowner, his agent or another member of the Plough AC. As a member, you are a bailiff of the club and should ask to see the membership card of people you do not recognise.
5. Anglers will be responsible for the tidiness of the area /swim around their peg. All litter should be removed on completion of fishing whether it is yours or not.
6. All anglers must hold a valid EA rod licence and comply with EA rules including close seasons etc.
7. Specimen fish landed whilst pleasure fishing, within a 20-mile radius of the Clubs HQ are eligible for inclusion in the club record list. The catch must be witnessed and weighed by another club member (or photographic evidence must be supplied with a witness’s name and address if not a club member). All information; weight, time, date, location and witness’s details should be forwarded to the club record secretary.
8. Hook lengths must be of a breaking strain less than the main line and used at all times.
9. The committee has the right to expel any member wilfully breaking any of the club rules contained within this document.
10. An annual audit will be completed each year of the club finances by individuals other than the Club Treasurer.
11. For Match Fishing, anglers must use three keepnets. For Pleasure Fishing, keepnets are optional. However, if keepnets are used, the following rules must be adhered to for fish welfare:
Keepnet 1: Small silver fish under 2lb,
Keepnet 2: Large silver fish of 2lb and over,
Keepnet 3: Small carp under 8lb. A carp-safe keepnet must be used.
12. All anglers must carry an appropriate Landing Net at all times. A Landing Net of at least 24” must be used when landing carp. Smaller Landing Nets may be used for silver fish and other small species, provided the net is large enough to land the fish safely. Anglers must use a Landing Net suitable for the size and species of fish being caught to ensure fish welfare at all times.
13. The Officers of the Club will determine the annual subscription pricing structure. Members will have an opportunity to vote for or against at the AGM.
Club Waters: Thames at Newbridge Farm
The Club rents the Fishing Rights from the Landowner for the three fields upstream from the bridge on the left-hand bank only. The Club remains under ongoing scrutiny and Club Members should be aware that the Fishing Rights can be removed at any time.
1. Members are expected to be respectful to the Landowner; Farmer and those working on the farm.
2. No access through Newbridge Farm for Club’s vehicles and parking on farm property is not allowed.
3. Car parks are available either opposite The Maybush pub (What3Words: schematic.appendix.stubbed), or behind the Rose Revived pub (What3Words: spreading.gems.final).
4. Day tickets are available for sale on the bank. These can only be issued to those holding a valid EA Rod License. Abbreviated Rules are printed on the Day Ticket.
5. The Club can rent out this Club Water to other angling clubs on an agreed limited basis. Bookings are shown on our website. An Officer of the Plough AC will be present at the start and finish times of the booking to provide guidance to the visiting club and report any issues. The visiting Club is expected to follow our Club rules.
6 .All gates on the Thames Path to be closed.
7. All bankside litter is to be removed from your vicinity and taken home with you.
8. Do not climb over the fences or gates.
Any Member who is seen to be disregarding these rules may be asked to leave the Club.
Club Waters: Plough Pond
1. Draws at the Plough Lake will take place at the edge of the farmer’s field prior to crossing the bridge. Anglers must not cross the bridge with tackle before the draw.
2. Guest tickets must be purchased in advance by a full member. The guest must be accompanied by said member at all times.
3. Guests at matches are only allowed when pegs are available.
4. Barbless hooks to be used at all times for hooks larger than size 16; for smaller hooks (16 to 26) micro-barbed patterns are allowed as of 1 April 2023.
5. Rule removed (superseded).
6. Ground bait use limited to 1 kilo of dry ground bait.
7. The pond will be closed from the beginning of November to the first week in February for shooting.
8. Dawn to dusk fishing times only, No night fishing.
9. No unauthorised cutting of trees etc.
10. All fish to be returned to the water (except pike, these to be relocated, please consult a committee member).
11. Used approved parking and access routes at all times.
12. Dogs allowed but must be kept on a lead at all times.
13. No camping or open fires
14. Minimum landing net size is now 24 inches.
Match Fishing Rules
1. A £1 fee will be charged in addition to peg and pool fees for Plough organized matches. This fee will go towards running costs.
2. The match draw will take place promptly one hour before fishing starts. Matches will normally be of 5 hours’ duration, unless otherwise stated.
3. The match must be a pegged down competition. Pegs, preferably twenty yards apart and not less than fifteen yards, must be staked out and numbered prior to fishing. These distances only apply to river matches. All pegs used under normal conditions must be of a state to give competitors a practicable and reasonable chance to fish their swim.
4. Each competitor on drawing their number shall proceed to the corresponding number on the bank and this will be considered their fishing ground where they will fish. The peg must remain in position until the weigh-in is completed.
5. Every competitor must fish from within one metre of either side of designated peg. On flowing water, the competitor may fish in the direction of the flow as far as the next angler. On still waters they may fish as far as half the distance between their peg and the pegs on either side. Where competitors are drawn on opposite banks, the limit of the swim is the line midway between each bank.
6. The competitor will restrict their activities completely to their boundaries; neither their person, fishing tackle, hook bait or ground bait may intrude into their neighbour’s swim. In an extreme situation, e.g. snagged tackle or fish, an angler must seek permission from their neighbour before moving from their designated peg to address the situation.
7. No competitor may move their peg or exchange their peg or draw card with another without the organizer’s official consent.
8. Competitors must retain all fish in keepnets that comply with the relevant EA byelaws. Competitors must take every practicable step to keep their fish alive and, after weighing them, must ensure their careful return to the water. If, for any reason fish are seen to be in distress, a competitor or match official has the right to demand that they be weighed immediately and returned to the water during the course of the match.
9. A competitor shall have in use one rod or pole, one line and one single hook at one time, but may have other rods or poles and tackle assembled for use in position behind them, if possible, providing that no such other tackles are baited.
10. Any bait, subject to local rules, can be used with the exception of live or dead fish, frogs, spinning baits or artificial lures. No bloodworm or jokers are allowed in Plough organised matches.
11. Before the starting signal no competitor must on any account ground-bait or loose feed the swim, but will be allowed to wet a line, plumb the depth, test a float, mix and wet ground bait, clear his or her ground of weed or obstructions and position his or her equipment. A ledger weight or empty feeder may be cast to find depth and distance etc. At no time must the line be left in the water whilst continuing to set up other tackle.
12. Competitors may receive assistance to or from their peg, or both, for themselves or their tackle, or both.
13. All ground-bait and loose feed may be thrown in by hand, or by use of one or two-handed catapults, throwing sticks, swim feeders, bait droppers and bait cups, but no other mechanical means of projecting ground bait is allowed. No bait shall be introduced with a pole cup, bait dropper or feeder that is attached to an extra rod or pole whilst continuing to fish.
14. All hooks must comply with local rules with respect to hook size, barbs and micro-barbs.
15. Braid hook lengths are not allowed.
16. Maximum permitted length of poles is 16 metres.
17. Floating poles are not permitted.
18. Floating baits either hook-bait or feed-bait are not permitted.
19. A competitor must strike, play and land his or her own fish.
20. Keepnets and landing nets must be dry when arriving to fish, as dry nets do not spread disease. Fish must never be handled with cloths or towels.
21. A competitor may wade provided that the water does not extend above his or her knees, unless he or she can touch the bank with fingertips, in which case the water can extend above the knees. When platforms are used in a river, canal or lake the water must not come over the knees when standing in the water.
22. If a competitor leaves their peg at any time they must not leave any baited hook in the water.
23. All fish caught are eligible for weighing, with the exception of game fish, pike and crustaceans.
24. If a steward recommends the disqualification of a competitor their catch will be weighed in just in case the ruling is not upheld.
25. All catches will be weighed to the nearest half-ounce or ten grams and rounded up. A competitor cannot weigh his own fish in.
26. Each competitor will be responsible for ensuring that the correct weight of their catch is recorded correctly, including specimen fish, by the steward.
27. All fish must be weighed at the competitor’s peg. Unless the bank-side terrain renders impossible, no catch shall be carried more than ten yards to the scales. When weighing in, fish must not be rolled down the keepnet.
28. Competitors are responsible for ensuring that their pegs are clear of litter and no competitor may have his or her catch weighed in with litter lying on the banks of his or her swim.
29. All the foregoing rules are subject to the byelaws of the Environment Agency and any local rules applicable to a fishery. The onus is on the competitor to make sure they know the local rules and comply with them.
30. All winners of trophies must sign for them at the time of receipt. All trophies must be returned in the condition they were received in. They must be undamaged and clean. In the case of a team trophy, all members of that team are also obliged under this rule.
31. Pools will be paid out as per the agreed printed table, which stands alone outside this document.
32. At least five members must be present at a match for it to qualify as a Plough Angler of the Year or trophy match.
33. Every angler in a Plough Angler of the Year match must weigh in whatever they have caught, no matter how little has been caught.
34. Guests fishing in the Plough Angler of the Year or trophy matches will participate in the draw as normal, but only qualify for pool money. Points or trophies for that match will be allocated to members as normal.
Sea Angling Rules
1. The Sea Specimen Trophy will be awarded to fish taken on club organised trips only. The Sea Secretary in consultation with the committee will decide on the recipient each year.
2. Club members wishing to enter specimen fish into the club records will need to have the catch weighed and witnessed by another club member. If a club member is unavailable an independent witness will be required. Their name and address should be taken for verification. Where possible pictures should be taken for prosperity.