Fishery Rules

The rules that apply to fishing on all of the ponds at Ravenfield Park are listed below.
These rules have been produced mainly with the aim of protecting the fishery, the surrounding environment and the nature within the site. Please observe the rules as failure to do so will result in loss of membership.
Please note that these rules do not necessarily apply on Kilnhurst and District Angling Alliance waters.
A copy of these rules is available on request.

GENERAL RULES

1. Membership is open to anyone and we are committed to the fair treatment of all anglers with no discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or social class as per Club rules.
2. Any member is allowed to bring one juvenile (family or friend under 16 years old to fish, free of charge.) This does not apply to the Carp pond.
3. Anglers are also allowed to bring a guest to fish. While the number of different guests is not limited, each individual guest is limited to no more than two visits. There is a cost of £10/guest/visit. To do this members must obtain a guest ticket for a specific date from the office at the appropriate cost before fishing. Each member will be held responsible for their guests behaviour.
4. Juveniles under 16yrs must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
5. All anglers must be in possession of a current Environment Agency Licence.
6. A member’s permit and licence must be produced on request by another member or bailiff. No permit or licence means NO FISHING.
7. All members may act as occasional bailiffs.
8. Any signs of pollution must be reported to: –

o    The Environment Agency on freephone 0800 807060

o    The club office on 01709 363788 or a member of the committee.

8. Anglers must fish at the designated pegs, but not between them, to allow bank side vegetation to grow. Unauthorised cuttings of banks and vegetation is prohibited.
9. No tins are allowed on the bank.
10. Unauthorised sailing of boats, swimming, shooting, camping, horse riding and lighting fires are all prohibited. Responsible use of Camping stoves and Kelly Kettles is allowed.
11. Noise must be kept to a minimum – no loud radios.
12. Dogs must be kept under control and must not enter the water. Dogs must not be allowed to defecate anywhere on the pond banks.
13. Cars must be parked in the designated car parks, not on the banks and must allow access by other vehicles.
14. A Ravenfield permit must not be transferred or loaned to any other person. Any person attempting to gain admission by false pretences will be liable to prosecution.
15. Gates must be kept locked at all times, when not in use. .
16. NO FISH TO BE REMOVED FROM, OR BE ADDED TO, ANY POND WITHOUT AUTHORISATION.
17. NO UNAUTHORISED NIGHT FISHING
18. Anglers must not leave litter. All litter to be removed from pegs after fishing.
19. Drinking alcohol and taking ANY CONTROLLED DRUG i.e. Cannabis or Spice or any derivative substance is not allowed.
20. Matches may only be organised and run by committee members or previously nominated and approved personnel.
21. Members are encouraged to take part in at least one work party each year.
22. No Member shall subject any club official to any verbal, insulting, threatening words or behaviour or display any writing on any social media or make any other visible representation that is deemed by the committee to be abusive, insulting, threatening or misleading.
23. Members are encouraged to send in photographs of their catches or be photographed by the committee for the sole use of promoting the club. The club reserves the right to retain and use these images as they see fit for the benefit of the club,

ANGLING RULES

1. Members can only fish with one rod, unless they have a two rod permit for the silver fish ponds or a multirod permit for fishing on the specimen carp pond. Single rod members can apply to the committee for a two rod or multirod permit at any time.
2. Anglers using two or more rods must do so in their allocated swim.
3. At no time should a rod be left in the water unattended. The use of bite alarms constitutes ‘attended’ but the angler must remain within 3m of his tackle, or nominate an attendee. Using a remote receiver does not constitute being in charge of unattended rods.
4. Anglers using three rods must act in a responsible manner and not inconvenience others; Fishing in the specimen carp pond is restricted to carp only. Anglers must use minimum line strength of 11 pounds. Anglers should not fish for other species. All members wishing to fish the specimen carp pond must be in possession of a multirod permit.
5. An angler’s tackle must not encroach beyond halfway between himself and the anglers on either side. In addition, if there is an angler directly opposite on the far bank, the angler should not fish beyond halfway.
6. Anyone fishing for carp on the Carp Pond must use a landing net of 36-inch min. diameter.
7. Fixed lead rigs are not allowed. Rigs must be constructed in such a way as to incorporate a lead clip system or similar which releases the lead and the beads on helicopter rigs must be able to slide from the leaders in the event of a breakage, unnecessary use of heavy leads or long lengths of lead core, i.e. 1m max, is not acceptable.
8. Feeders must be free running and not looped or fixed with shot/stops.
9. Anglers fishing Burcliff Pond are restricted to the North East Bank.
10. Keep nets can be used but no fish shall be kept in them for longer than 6 hours.
11. No more than 30lbs of fish should be kept in one net. A second net must be used for weights above this.
12. Carp may be kept in approved sacks for a short period only, to allow weighing and photographic equipment to be prepared.
13. Bloodworm and joker are not allowed.
14. Barbed hooks or hooks with nipped barbs are not permitted on any pond. Hooks must be barbless.
15. Unhooking mats must be used for all fish on the specimen carp pond.
16. From time to time, the committee may authorise certain practices outside of these rules for the benefit of the fishery. In such cases, written authority should be carried.
17. Two Persons only per Bivvy. One Bivvy per permit. BIVVIES ARE NOT ALLOWED ON PONDS OTHER THAN THE CARP POND
18. Braid must not be used as a main line on the Carp Pond.
19. Anglers fishing for carp (other than crucian) must have and use a ‘carp care kit’
20. Anyone catching a carp in the Carp Pond must supply a photograph of the fish with details of its weight to the contact address on the web site. This is for management purposes only to evaluate the potential of individual fish.
21. Any multirod angler fishing the silver fish ponds may only use two rods.
22. Fishing the far bank of the Bridge Pond is prohibited with the exception of the first four pegs.

MATCH RULES

1. Matches are restricted to members only, guests are not allowed to fish.
2. All fish to count excluding Trout, Grayling Salmon
3. No dead fish to be weighed, including eels.
4. Anglers should only fish with one rod and one hook at any time during the match.
5. Other rods may be set up, but hooks not baited.
6. Ground bait can be wetted for use before the match.
7. Marginal weed can be cleared from the swim before the start of the match.
8. Anglers may plumb the depth of the swim with a float, leger or feeder prior to the start of the match
9. The swim cannot be fed before the start of the match.
10. Feeding by pole cup, or feeder, is allowed while fishing.
11. The use of artificial baits, spinning, live-baiting (including re-hooking) is not allowed.
12. The use of bloodworm and joker is not allowed.
13. Any angler leaving his peg during the match must remove his tackle from the water and respect other anglers by keeping clear of them.
14. Assistance with a landing net is allowed, should it be required.
15. Any angler dissatisfied with his peg, must ask the match officials for a re-draw. Having inspected the original peg, the official will give a decision.
16. Any angler hooking a fish on, or before, the whistle, will be given fifteen minutes to land it.
17. If, in a match, the number of competitors catching fish is less that the pools prizes available, any section money that is not won shall be drawn out of a hat. The remaining pools shall be shared proportionately by the successful competitors according to their position in the match e.g. 50%, 33% and 17% for three catchers. If only one angler catches a fish, then he shall take all the pools monies except the remaining section prizes.
18. All competitors are asked to weigh their catches to ensure that points for the Angler of the Year competition are representative and to be photographed with their catch for promotional purposes.
19. Competitors may wade up to knee depth.
20. Complaints against any competitor must be brought to the attention of officials as soon as possible and prior to the official results being announced.
21. Anyone found to be breaking any rules shall be disqualified.
22. All anglers fishing matches will draw from a full drawbag and everyone fishing must commit to helping others to reach whatever peg they draw.

Anyone found breaking these rules will have their membership suspended until the matter is considered by the Committee.
A full copy of the club constitution is available upon request.

MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PUBLISH THEIR CATCHES ON FACEBOOK OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA.

BAILIFFS OBJECTIVES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

1. Bailiffs are officers of The Club and should be treated as such by the membership. They are the club representatives on the bank and will carry Bailiff Cards.
2. They should offer sound and practical advice to members and help create a friendly, responsible club.
3. Abuse of a bailiff by any member will result in instant dismissal unless there are extremely extenuating circumstances and vice versa.
4. They will inspect membership cards on production of their card. Any person without a current membership card will be asked to leave. The membership numbers of those checked should be noted and a list submitted to the Bailiff Coordinator.
5. Bailiffs are authorised to check tackle, including terminal tackle already in the water, to see that it complies with club rules.
6. The bailiff should point out any rule infringement to the member which should rectify the matter. Serious and repeated cases will be reported to the committee for action and the member will be contacted in writing to be advised that they have been reported.
7. Members treating other members and officials with contempt may be suspended pending investigation.
8. The committee has the right to suspend or dismiss any angler who, in the opinion of the committee breaks the rules, or acts in a manner not in keeping with the good name and interests of The Club.

COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES.

Anyone having a complaint or grievance or wanting to respond to an incident can make representation in writing to the chairman and it will be dealt with in the first instance by at least 3 committee members meeting together. An initial response or acknowledgment will normally be made within 2 weeks.

A). Members may apply to have their case heard before three committee members inviting one witness.

B). All members have the right to a hearing before the three committee members and to offer any relevant information.

C). There is one right of appeal to the Charity Trustees and their decision is final and binding on all parties including the committee.

Members found making false accusations and/or statements against any other member may be suspended pending investigation.