chairman's newsletter 2021
Dear member
It has been a long time since my last newsletter, and It’s that time of year again to update you with what has been happening and our future plans.
Due to the COVID restrictions and the lockdown last year we were unable to hold our AGM and unfortunately it will be the same this year as the COVID restrictions still do not allow us to hold public meetings.
There have been no changes to the Committee or officers of the Club since the last AGM.
The committee would however like to change the club’s constitution with the maximum number of paying members being reduced from 150 down to 70 as our waters will not support that number. If you have any objection to this then please let one of the committee members know.
Back in November we received our first delivery of 400 Crucians from the E.A
for Jubilee Lake Unfortunately the cormorants detected their presence and we had to take some very prompt action to deter them. The club added the green netting and hung it over the existing ropes to act as an additional deterrent. I appreciate it does not look particularly attractive but it served a purpose and saved a lot of fish from being eaten. The fish have been feeding confidently which is a good sign and some good catches have been recorded. Please keep these pictures coming as it’s really good for all to see the stamp of fish we have in the water.
We have a working party this Saturday 15th May to remove all the ropes and netting and to do some essential maintenance work. The lake will be closed until mid-afternoon. Anybody who wishes to come along and take part is most welcome as the committee will be there from 9.30 am.
In January we had a consultation with The Angling Trusts Fishery Management advisor Jake Devoile. He gave us lots of useful information and ideas to protect our fishery from the predators. To start we will be installing two fish refuges in the corners between pegs 6-7 & 9-10 they will be installed in the coming weeks, these will be made up of floating islands and a protective netting at the front allowing small fish to find a safe haven behind them.
Our delivery of 200 8-10” Tench for this season was another casualty of the COVID restrictions and our supplier was unable to get to his stock ponds to net them., They remain on order for delivery this winter and are being paid for by some very generous donations from the committee.
I thank them all for their generosity.
We will also be getting another stocking of Crucians from the E.A
Looking ahead to the new season the committee have decided to keep the joining fee the same as last year. We do need to make further improvements but we have also seen a welcome increase in membership which has obviously brought in more funds and we will review the situation again next year.
We are however hoping to be awarded a grant from The Angling Trusts fishery improvement fund to help pay for the Floating islands and other predator deterrents.
I believe I have come to the end of my update this time and so it only remains for me to thank the committee and all the members for continuing to support Stowe Angling Club. As a group we are only small but due to the dedication of a hardy few we now have a club that is once again thriving and attracting members who are catching lots of quality fish. We always welcome comments and suggestions to help improve our waters so if anyone has anything they wish to add please get in touch
I look forward to meeting some of you on the bank or at an AGM hopefully next year when life hopefully returns to normal.
Stay safe.
Best wishes & tight Lines.
Graham