hi all me and my dad were members of cowpe fly anglers who have a 16 acre reservoir in cowpes near rawtenstall lancashire. in march this year me and my dad were fishing the reservoir i had a exceptional day and caught 75 fish and my dad had 22 and there were other members in the same area who were catching aswell but when we go up we walk round the water twice.then in may they call EGM which we went to they voted for a 25fish limit then you have to go i always thought you join a club you do so to catch fish.so yesterday i recieved a letter saying me and my dad have been kicked out of the club under the rule 5f which reads as follows, The committe has the right to terminate membership of the club or to refuse any application for membership without specifying any reason for doing so.we didnt go up before the committe or any hearing just kicked out by a letter and this rule 5f isnt given to the members when you join the club has any one on the forum heard of anything like this so my advice would be to anyone thinking of joining this club to think again as they do wot they wont rant over now fritzcat

Didn't you think that maybe catching nearly 100 fish in a day from a 16 acre pond might just be seen as excessive? It is certain to inhibit the sport of those unfortunate enough to be on the water the following day.

All clubs have rules, and when anyone joins a club they are given a rule book which explains what those rules are. It is then up to the angler to read those rules and make sure he abides by them. There is always a rule such as you have described which gives the committee the right to refuse, or terminate, membership without explaining why and I agree that this is an anachronism these days. If a committee decides to terminate a membership they should have the balls to do so openly to the person involved with a full explanation as to why they need to take that course of action. Hiding behind a vague rule is cowardly.

Bringing in a rule as a result of an EGM is fine as long as all members are invited to the EGM and that is the only item of business on the Agenda. To then terminate a membership retrospectively on the basis of that rule is wrong and if that is the case then you have grounds for complaint, appeal, and if necessary, recourse to legal action.

I'm not clear if you caught all these fish before or after the AGM meeting?

25 is more than enough for anyone mate. How big is your freezer
Or is this catch and release upto 25 then stop?
Which again, is fair enough in my eyes.

Some places let you catch all day but you stop when you catch your kill limit. I've never seen this over 8 anywhere I've been. Even on huge reservoirs, not just ponds.


I'm sure if you speak to the club sec in a calm manner and listen to what he's saying and understand it, he'll let you back in. As that seems a bit harsh with no warning.

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John Danter

al the fish that we caught were all put back as we dont take any of them and this rule of 25 fish then go were passed at the EGM and as to speaking to the secretery forget it as he is as bad as the chairman and treasurer and they all stick togeather like i said in the thread this rule 5f isnt given to the members when you join you just get the fishing rules cheers fritzcat

My view as a club secretary is that provided that members obey the rules there is no reason to ban them using a rule like the one that you mention. If members abuse the situation but without breaking the rules then the rules need to be changed but nothing that happened prior to the rule change should have any bearing on how members are dealt with subsequently.

If you were allowed to catch and release unlimited numbers of fish then I would have no problem with you catching 100 fish. This was clearly seen by the club as excessive and the rule was introduced limiting members to 25 fish after which they have to stop fishing. Only if you broke this new rule should you have got into trouble.

If your account of the incident has been full and honest I think that the club has been very unfair and has treated you very poorly.

The only time we would consider ejecting a member would be for persistent rule breaking, abuse to riparian owners or their property or behaviour likely to result in the club losing water and before that we would go for a suspension of membership for a limited period.

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Sounds to me like a personality clash as well as rule 5f mate.

If you don't try, you'll never get.
Ask to see them and just listen to what they say.
If they don't allow you back in, or even explain, then either all 3 of them are a holes, or something else bothers them?

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John Danter

Hi', I have had a great deal to do with club work in the past, and served on 6 different angling bodies in our county and area; and I have never heard of a case like yours.
As Bob says, you and your dad should have been given a set of rules, or regulations, plus a copy of the club's constitution, assuming the club was run in the accepted manner. If members were not given membership cards and books of rules, they should certainly have been made aware of the regulations on applying to join the club, or at acceptance of membership. If no mention of rules was made at the outset, then in your club house, or in some place where they would be conspicuous, there should have been a copy of the rules for all to read, as and when they they might need to refresh their memories.
Assuming the committee did not fulfil the requirements that commonsense demand, as outilined above, then they are out of order.
You could ask for written proof of the rule which they claim you have broken, and an explanation why the information was not made public. It sounds as tho' a rule has been introduced in order to get rid of you, judging by what you have written. Before making any accusations or taking legal action for unfair expulsion, be absolutely certain of exactly where you stand.
Again, as Bob says, catching almost 100 fish from a 16-acre lake in one day could be termed excessive. I would go further, and suggest that if you were 'shopped', then you could hardly blame the odd angler for doing it. I wouldn't, but I would certainly tell you, on the day, what I thought was wrong, and why; because you appear to have incurred the wrath of those who do no wrong. Some of the complaints, and I'll bet there were was more than one, may have been made with a genuine concern for conservation in mind. In the long run, nobody should catch that number of game fish on any water and expect nothing to be said or done about it; but you should be given a fair hearing, which would give you the opportunity to have your say. Good luck. TC
PS There is always someone ready to knock you if have an exceptional day.

TC I was thinking would it be a good idea to sit down and write of the grievances in the cold light of day so that tempers do not get stirred and to assure that all the aspects can be covered.I admit that I have no experience in these matters but it seems sensible

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an interesting mix of apathy and panic

Clive M

If I understand it correctly (having spoken with Fritzcat yesterday) an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) was called as a response to Fritzcat's extraordinary success in catching 75 fish in a day. At this meeting a new rule was introduced setting a limit of 25 fish caught (not taken) in a single session. Then, weeks later Fritzcat and his Father were then thrown out of the club by letter without having broken any rules, with no warnings, and no right of appeal.

I understand they will be getting a refund of their memberships but I think they have been treated very shoddily and in an underhand way. I can vouch that Fritzcat and his Father don't take fish, they don't like the taste. Fritzcat's only 'crime' seems to be catching fish too well, his Father's crime is being his Father(!).

Fishing these northern reservoirs, and 16 acres is no 'pond', is not easy but Fritzcat has on occasion cracked the code. He makes no secret of his techniques and has helped me with my own big water tactics. I was hoping to learn more today as he had offered me to fish Cowpes as his guest but that will not now happen.

SharkeyP

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thank you I really don't know what to say!that's terrible!

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an interesting mix of apathy and panic

Clive M