Constitution and Bye-laws

Some waters have 'venue specific' rules, these rules are displayed on 'our waters' pages.

Any member found in breach of club rules may be expelled from the association at the discretion of the committee.

Alresford Angling Association a Company Limited by Guarantee

Club Rules and Byelaws

NAME:

The name of the club shall be “Alresford Angling Association”

2. OBJECTIVE:

The general objective of the club shall be to provide the facilities of an Angling Club for its members, including the organising and provision of angling,and to promote the interest of Anglers and Angling. Membership will be open to anyone who wishes to join the club. The committee will act to ensure that every member receives equal and fair treatment.

3. TRUSTEES:

3.1 There shall be not less than two nor more than three Trustees of the Club, save that a corporate body may be sole trustee. The Trustees shall be:-

1.Paul Barrell (Chairman), 2. Michael Day (Hon. Secretary) and 3. Ronald Tickner (Hon. Treasurer). The subsequent appointment of trustees shall be by the Committee.

3.2 Trustees shall hold office until death or resignation, or until removed from office by a resolution of the Committee.

3.3 All assets of the Alresford Angling Association Ltd (the club) will be vested in the company.Cash and bank accounts will be controlled by the Hon.Treasurer, all other property and assets, will be controlled by the Trustees to be dealt with by them and as the Committee from time to time by resolution direct.

3.4 The trustees shall be indemnified out of assets of the Club against any risk and expense incurred by them in the pursuance of their office.

4. MEMBERSHIP:

The club shall consist of the following classes of members: -

(1) Junior members

(2) Ordinary Members

(3) Honorary Members

(4) Non-angling members

(a) Membership in any class may be limited by the committee subject to confirmation at the next Annual General Meeting.

(b) Admission to all classes of membership shall be by election of the committee who may refuse any membership application without stating a reason.

(c) Junior Members will be under 12 on the 1st day of June in the membership year.

(d) Honorary Members may be elected at any General Meeting of the club for such period as the meeting shall determine upon a two thirds majority vote of members present and voting.

(e) Non-angling members are an accompaniment to groups 1,2 and 3 and are affected by all the club's rules.Only persons contained in the above list,or Who have been invited by a Committee member, are permitted onto Alresford Angling Association's sites.Other categories are not covered by the club's liability and are deemed as not permitted and required to leave.

5. SUBSCRIPTIONS:

The Annual subscription payable by members shall be such a sum as the Committee shall recommend from time to time and put to the vote at General Meetings. It shall be payable on election to membership and thereafter annually at the commencement of each season. (Season 1st June until 31st May). Any person not renewing their subscription by the 30th June in that season will be deemed to be a lapsed member and will require to be re-elected to membership.

6. EXPULSION:

(a) The committee shall expel from the club any member for conduct which in their opinions are injurious or tends to be injurious to the interests of the club, or its objectives, or its members or angling.

(b) Before expelling a member, the committee shall enquire into the members behaviour and the member shall be given a reasonable opportunity to defend himself, either in writing to the Hon. Secretary or appearing in person before the committee as he shall elect. The committee’s power to expel shall be on a two thirds majority of those present and voting

7. MANAGEMENT:

The management of the club shall be invested in the Committee (Except as otherwise provided in these rules).

8. OFFICERS:

Chairman, Honorary Secretary, and Honorary Treasurer shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting of the club after being proposed and seconded and indicating their consent and shall be ex-officio members of the committee.

9. COMMITTEE:

(a) The Committee shall consist of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and not less than four or more than eight Ordinary Members elected at the Annual General Meeting.

(b) The Committee shall have the power to co-opt up to two members, and at their discretion invite any persons whether members or not,to attend any meeting.

(c) The Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy on the committee and any member so appointed shall retire at the next Annual General Meeting but shall be eligible for re-election.

(d) The Committee shall meet in at least two months of the year, plus any further meetings deemed necessary to examine the accounts and arrange the affairs of the club and minutes shall be taken at every meeting.

(e) Any new proposal for election on to the committee must have been a club member for a continuous period of at least 3 years, with the option for the committee to vote to override this in the event of needing to co-opt a new member quickly as a replacement.

10. AMMENDMENTS TO RULES AND BYLAWS:

(a) The by-laws are set out in Appendix 1 to these rules and any by-laws made under para (b) of these rules shall be binding upon the members until repealed by the committee or by resolution of the general meeting, subject to any amendment made under para (b) of this rule.

(b) The committee shall from time to time make, repeal or amend all such by-laws as they deem expedient (provided that they shall not be inconsistent with these rules) to take effect unless set aside at a general meeting.

11. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

The Annual General Meeting of the club shall be held between April / May unless circumstances should otherwise decide. In this event, the date nearest to the first week of May shall take precedence. At the A.G.M. the meeting shall receive and consider the accounts and the balance sheet prepared by the Honorary Treasurer; to appoint Officers and fill vacancies on the committee;and to decide on any resolutions put forward by the committee or under rule 10.

12. NOTICES OF GENERAL MEETINGS AND RESOLUTIONS:

(a) Notice of the time and date of every general meeting shall be sent to every member at his last known contact.

(b) Notice of any resolution to be moved at the general meeting unless recommended by the committee shall be submitted to the Honorary Secretary at least twenty-one days prior to the meeting and shall be signed by the proposer and seconded.

(c) Any such resolutions, unless withdrawn, shall be included in the business of the meeting, and notice of it shall be sent to every member at his last address at least ten days before the meeting.

(d) Accidental omission to give notice to, or non-receipt of notice under paras (a) and (b) of this rule shall not invalidate any proceedings of the meeting.

13. PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS:

(a) Six members shall form a quorum at any meeting

(b) At every meeting the Chairman shall take the Chair, or in his absence a member elected by the members themselves shall take the chair. The Chairman and all honorary or ordinary members present shall be entitled to vote, and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

(c) Except as otherwise stated provided by these rules, a majority vote of the ordinary and honorary members present, and voting shall carry any motion or resolution, save that no rule of the club shall be made or repealed or amended on a vote of less than two thirds of the members present and voting.

14. INTERPRETATIONS OF THE RULES:

(a) The committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretations of the club rules and by-laws, and the decision of the committee shall upon question of interpretation, or any other matter affecting the club not provided for by the rules or by-laws shall be final and binding upon the members.

(b)The club rules and by-laws where the context permits, words importing the masculine shall include the feminine, and words importing the singular shall include the plural, and vice versa.

15. DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB

If, at any general meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club is passed by a majority of the Members present and a Special General Meeting held not less than six weeks later (of which not less than four weeks written noti has been given to each member) and the resolution confirmed by a majority of two-thirds of the assembled members, the Club shall dissolve its assets to an agreed benefactor at the clubs discretion.

By-laws applicable to the individual Angler

1. Fishing shall be limited to members of the Alresford Angling Association and to member’s guests who have purchased a “Guest Ticket” in advance of fishing. 2. Limitations:-
2.1 Alresford Pit
• No fishing or access shall be allowed from the South Bank at Alresford Pit.
• 72 hrs is the maximum allowed session and a 3 Rod limit per person.
• Landing Nets and weigh slings to be immersed in the Net wash prior to session start.
• Outside of working hours, 06:30 – 18:00 Mon- Fri and 06:30 – 13:00 Sat, the top gates on the haul road are to be kept locked. Access only from Alresford end.
2.2 Orchard Lakes
• Fishing at Orchard Lakes is permitted ONLY between the hours of 06:00 – 21:00 or dusk whichever is the earlier.
• No lighting of fires or camping is permitted

3. Wading in any of the lakes is not permitted unless covered by a Work Party.

4. All gates to be kept closed after access and egress.

5. Where night fishing is permitted, members under the age of 18 years MUST be accompanied by a Senior AAA member. ID may be requested as proof of age.

6. Fishing is permitted ONLY from specified pegs and these are not to be enlarged by digging out the bank side.

7. No boats/bait boats or Drones shall be permitted on club waters without the consent of the committee.

8. The club shall require all members to carry current proof of membership of Alresford Angling Association and a relevant Environmental Agency licence when fishing. These are to be shown to any other member of the Association,the Landlord, and his agents or to any Environmental Agency bailiff on request.

9. No angler shall leave or approach the waters by any other than the recognised access points. No dogs are permitted at any club waters, unless authorised by the Committee. No guns permitted on any of the clubs’ waters unless authorised.

10. NO LITTER shall be left on the banks or in the waters. Any member found doing so will be suspended from the club.

11. No growing crops to be crossed or damaged and no trespass shall be permitted on adjacent lands, neither shall any disturbance to game or landlords’ property be caused. All gates to be left properly fastened.

12. The Association shall be responsible for making good any damage occasioned to the landlord’s property by members of the Association.

13. The Association shall observe any close season as laid down by the Environmental Agency or imposed upon the Association by rental agreements.

14. Nothing must be done which may cause harm to Wildlife by intrusion or pollution. The uses of radios or similar items are not permitted.

15. Vehicles should be parked ONLY in the Associations designated areas and should not in any way obstruct the Landlords property.Disabled badges must be prominently displayed on members’ vehicles. No able-bodied person to use Disabled parking area.

16. Membership shall not be permitted to any person under the age of 16 years without the written consent of their parent or guardian, who will be deemed responsible for their safety and behaviour whilst at club waters. Any child under the age of 12 years must be accompanied by a Senior Club member.

17. The Association will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or personal injury, however caused to any person or article whilst at Association waters or land under the control of the Association.

18. Nominations for the committee and any proposal for the alterations of the Rules of the Association must be given in writing to the Secretary at least 21 days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

19. Care and consideration must be given handling fish at all times.
• Keep Nets - must be of the knotless kind and may ONLY be used during matches and for the retention of specimen fish for weighing purposes.
• Hooks – Barbless and Micro-barb hooks only. No fully Barbed hooks to be used on any of the Clubs’ waters
• Unhooking mats – a Euro size Carp unhooking mat must be used where the potential for catching larger species fish is possible. These to be wetted during hot weather
• Where the potential to catch fish above 10lb a 42” minimum sized landing net must be available
• All fish to be returned to the water.

20. The uses of all nut baits (i.e. Tiger Nuts, Peanuts etc.) are banned on ALL club waters.

21. The Committee reserve the right to close any water, or swim, at any time for the purpose of essential maintenance, Fish welfare or for the purpose of Match Fishing. (Match dates are published prior to fishing year in May/June of each year). Waters may not be used 12hours prior to a match

Pike Rules for Alresford Angling Association

These rules apply to the Arthur Bareham Alresford Lake only:-

Pike fishing will only be allowed between October 15th until March 15th inclusive.These dates will be dependent on weather conditions i.e.,should warm weather carry on into November then the starting date will be moved accordingly.This will apply also to the season end date, should an early Spring arrive.Please check Gate and Newsletter notices.
Dead Baits only to be used.NO LIVEBAITING.
The use of lures can only be used on the Lake during the Pike season.This is to avoid the accidental hooking of Pike while Perch lure fishing.
To avoid deep hooking Pike,freelined static baits are banned.
A minimum line strength of 15lb mono or 40lb braid (the braid breaking strain is to give a minimum thickness of 0.28mm).
Wire traces are to be a minimum of 18" or 46cm long and 30lb breaking strain.
All anglers must be in possession of a suitable sized landing net of 30" dia minimum and preferably a rubberised mesh one."Chinning" or lifting fish from the water without a net is banned,irrespective of size.
Anglers must be in possession of large side cutters,a minimum of 11" long for cutting/removing hooks.An equivalent pair of forceps and an unhooking glove must be to hand.
Dead bait trebles will have one micro-barbed hook to retain the dead bait,the other two will be barbless.All lure hooks to be de-barbed.

10.When unhooking use the forceps and hand technique.Lay the Pike on its back,fig A,slip your gloved hand through the gill cover,fig B,(avoiding the gill rakes as these are razor sharp!).Firmly hold the jaw,the mouth can be opened very easily,use long nosed pliers or forceps to remove the hooks,fig C.

11.An adequately sized unhooking mat must be used relative to the fish size and preferably have sides.

12.The use of Pike gags is strictly forbidden.

13.Strike early,do not wait for the Pike to swallow the bait as this will result in a deep hooked fish.

If the hooks are difficult to remove,use strong cutters to cut away hooks and remove the trace.

Remember a deep hooked Pike will soon become a dead Pike if the tackle is not removed!If however

,you cannot see the hooks DO NOT cut the trace. Leave this attached and release the Pike. When the fish is re-caught a more experienced angler may be able to remove the snap tackle.The safety and well being of our fish is of the utmost importance and there is no shame in asking for assistance.