Lee Poultney
Senior Member
I have been having a frustrating debate with BAA secretary, John Williams, recently regarding their antiquated night fishing arrangement.
For those that are unaware, the BAA used to be able to claim they were the largest angling club in the country boasting 70,000 members and huge matches. Now before I continue I want to point out that at £30 per year the association provides excellent value for money and a wide range of venues to fish. However, the club has a ‘cornershop’ mentality that refuses to adapt to the ever changing world of angling. Over the past couple of decades membership has fallen dramatically and a look at their available waters shows their match calendar is tiny in comparison to times gone by.
Currently, night permits are available for a limited number of venues and must be purchased in advance. You can either apply in person at their HQ or submit a postal application which takes several days to turnaround. My circumstances (and I’m sure others) mean that this arrangement is very inflexible. I live about 500m from the River Avon meaning a 90 min round trip to head office is nonsensical. Furthermore their opening hours are 9:30am - 2:00pm Monday to Friday, which does little to help the working person. Add a new a baby/work commitments then it means that I am usually unable to plan a visit in advance to take advantage of the postal system. Quite often it’s a case of thinking I’m in a position to go later/now, usually after work meaning evening sessions are the way to go yet I am unable to obtain a permit to fish after dark.
The crux of the BAA’s argument is that they like to limit the number of anglers on their lakes, particularly Coppice (Carp pool) and he acknowledged that they sell very few night permits on rivers in comparison. I suggested that they could leave the system as it was for stillwaters since it appeared to work but offer a new yearly permit at a higher price that included night fishing on rivers. However, this fell on deaf ears with him claiming they would not know who was fishing where and when to which I replied I think you have very little control on who is fishing your rivers anyway. Furthermore, I tried to point out that there are miles of rivers going unfished and that Barbel anglers make up a large proportion of the people on the rivers currently and perhaps the association should be more accommodating to the needs of this section of its membership or risk losing them. Mr Williams as yet to reply to this since he no doubt thinks there hundreds of anglers lining the banks trotting maggots as it was in 1985 and there’s no problem. I find it so frustrating!
Anyway, enough of me ranting and raving. Do you think it’s a waste of time (I'm sure it is) or do any of you have further suggestions or contacts that could help drag this club into the modern era?
For those that are unaware, the BAA used to be able to claim they were the largest angling club in the country boasting 70,000 members and huge matches. Now before I continue I want to point out that at £30 per year the association provides excellent value for money and a wide range of venues to fish. However, the club has a ‘cornershop’ mentality that refuses to adapt to the ever changing world of angling. Over the past couple of decades membership has fallen dramatically and a look at their available waters shows their match calendar is tiny in comparison to times gone by.
Currently, night permits are available for a limited number of venues and must be purchased in advance. You can either apply in person at their HQ or submit a postal application which takes several days to turnaround. My circumstances (and I’m sure others) mean that this arrangement is very inflexible. I live about 500m from the River Avon meaning a 90 min round trip to head office is nonsensical. Furthermore their opening hours are 9:30am - 2:00pm Monday to Friday, which does little to help the working person. Add a new a baby/work commitments then it means that I am usually unable to plan a visit in advance to take advantage of the postal system. Quite often it’s a case of thinking I’m in a position to go later/now, usually after work meaning evening sessions are the way to go yet I am unable to obtain a permit to fish after dark.
The crux of the BAA’s argument is that they like to limit the number of anglers on their lakes, particularly Coppice (Carp pool) and he acknowledged that they sell very few night permits on rivers in comparison. I suggested that they could leave the system as it was for stillwaters since it appeared to work but offer a new yearly permit at a higher price that included night fishing on rivers. However, this fell on deaf ears with him claiming they would not know who was fishing where and when to which I replied I think you have very little control on who is fishing your rivers anyway. Furthermore, I tried to point out that there are miles of rivers going unfished and that Barbel anglers make up a large proportion of the people on the rivers currently and perhaps the association should be more accommodating to the needs of this section of its membership or risk losing them. Mr Williams as yet to reply to this since he no doubt thinks there hundreds of anglers lining the banks trotting maggots as it was in 1985 and there’s no problem. I find it so frustrating!
Anyway, enough of me ranting and raving. Do you think it’s a waste of time (I'm sure it is) or do any of you have further suggestions or contacts that could help drag this club into the modern era?
