General Bye-laws

 Effective from 6th April 2019

 GENERAL  BYE-LAWS 

  1. Membership :Applications for renewal of Society membership must be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.  All adult members must renew their membership by July 1st, annually, in accordance with the Constitution. 

  1. Permits :  Members must carry their membership book at all times, whilst fishing or visiting any of the Society waters, and must show it when asked for proof of membership by any other member or bailiff.

    To validate their Society permit a member (and partner for joint membership) must insert and sign across  passport photograph / s.

    A non-validated permit will be removed by any bailiff or club official, and disciplinary action taken by the General Committee.

    Note : Junior membership commences from the age of 7. 
  1. Guest Tickets :

  3a Guest tickets are available on all waters unless stated otherwise in the permit. 

  3b Members may only take one guest at a time.

  3c Junior members are not permitted Guest tickets.

  3d Members under the age of eighteen may not take a Senior or Young Adult guest night fishing. 

  3e Guest tickets may be purchased from :-

Apollo Angling Centre at our Marsh Farm Fishery, Milford.

A & R Newsagents, 7 Meadrow, Godalming. GU7 3HJ.

A member holding a Guest Ticket is responsible for the conduct of their guest, and must accompany and fish in close proximity to them.  Any infringement of the rules by a guest will result in the member being subject to disciplinary action, as if he / she had broken the rule. 

  1. Self Care : All members, ticket holders and visitors either fishing, working, or visiting Society waters do so at their own risk. Please also refer to “Safety Guidelines” on Page 6 of this permit. 
  1. Care of Property : Any person lighting fires, leaving gates open, or committing any damage to property, banks, trees, or livestock, will be the subject of disciplinary action. 
  1. Infringement of Bye-laws : Bailiffs have the right to remove a member’s permit if they believe the member has infringed the bye-laws of the Society.  The permit will then be handed to the Hon. Secretary, who will write to the offender returning the permit, requesting that he / she attend the next General Committee meeting, where he / she will have the opportunity to answer the complaint. 
  1. Emergency Bye-laws : The General Committee may need to introduce short term by-laws to meet environmental emergencies, and these may lead to water closures, temporary bait restrictions, etc… Members are reminded to check for temporary notices at the water that they intend to fish. 
  1. Litter : Members must clear up and take home for disposal all loose line, discarded hooks, etc… Any members found with litter in the vicinity of their swim will be considered responsible for it. 
  1. Tins : No tins of bait, open or unopened, are permitted at the waterside. 
  1. Radios, etc : The use of portable radios, or any other instrument likely to cause a disturbance or annoyance to other anglers, is not permitted.
  1. Bait-boats & Drones : The use of Bait-boats and Drones is not permitted except on official society business.
  1.  Dogs : Dogs must be kept on a lead and under strict control.
  1. Alcohol : Members are not permitted to take alcoholic drinks to any Society water, or drink alcohol whilst fishing these waters.
  1. Competitions : When the date, venue and time of a competition has been published in the fixture lists, only competitors are permitted to fish the waters. The waters will be closed two hours before a match and will remain closed until one hour after the stated finish time in the fixture list.
  1. New Junior Members : A new junior member may only fish Society waters after first reading the “ Welcome Letter from the Society “ and the Bye-laws in the G.A.S. Permit, with particular note of the Rules on specific waters.
  1. Junior Member Night Fishing :  Junior members are not permitted to fish during the hours of darkness, unless they are accompanied by a member over the age of eighteen, this member will be responsible for the safety and activities of the Junior member.

Any Junior member fishing through the hours of darkness must have made the arrangement to be accompanied prior to going fishing and must not approach anglers already on the bank-side to accompany them. 

Senior and Young Adult members must be aware that any infringement of Society rules by a Junior member who fishes with them during the hours of darkness, will result in both the Junior and Senior or Young Adult member being considered to have infringed the rules.

(See Johnson’s Lake Bye-law 7 for conditions relating to a Junior fishing with a night permit). 

  1. Rods : 17(a) A member may not reserve a swim by positioning rods, tackle, etc., in a swim while not fishing.  

                     17(b) Not more than two rods may be used.

                           Note 1 : A “Marker” rod counts as one rod when in use.

                           Note 2 : Juniors may only use one rod at Broadwater.

  1. Hook Safety : Unattended baited hooks or lines must not be left either, in or out of the water.
  1. Hooks : All hooks must be barbless (as manufactured, not crushed barbs), with the following exceptions: 
      • Size 14 and smaller, which may be barbless or micro-barbed.
      • Trebles and hooks used on lures which may be crushed flat.
  1. Hooks & Hair-rigs : One hook only to be used, except for pike fishing, see Bye-law 28d.  All baits to be presented on the hook, except when using hair-rigs, where a maximum length of hair of  2” ( 50mm ) is permitted. 
  1. Weights and Weight Attachment :

21(a)  All weights, from number 6 shot up to 1 ounce, must be lead-free.

21(b) The method of attaching a weight must be such that the weight will break away easily should the line break above the hook link.

  1. Keep-nets :

Note : There are restrictions on the use of keep-nets on Society waters, please check the website  and notices at the waters.

   22(a) Fish may be retained in a knotless keep-net ; the net must have minimum

            dimensions of  2 metres in length and 120cm in circumference.

           See EA National Byelaws.

   22(b) Carp and Pike must not be retained in any keep-net or sack on any of the#

            Society’s waters, except in Society competitions, or in holding-nets sanctioned

            by the General Committee.

   22(c) On still-waters, keep-nets must be emptied at 4 hourly intervals, except

            in Society competitions ; the emptying times shall be at 4am, 8am, 12noon, 4pm,

            8pm, and at midnight.

All fish must to be returned alive to the water. 

  1. Landing & Care of Fish :

   23(a) Members must be in the possession of a landing net, but one landing net may be

             used by two anglers whilst fishing in adjacent swims.

   23(b) The use of unhooking mats and suitable weigh-slings is mandatory when carp or

             pike fishing, the minimum sizes for unhooking mats are :-

i)      Padded Flat Type  ...  80cm x 50cm x 2.5cm thick.

ii)    Cradle Type  ...  75cm x 38cm.

iii)  Corral Type   ...  75cm x 38cm x 2.5cm thick.

It is strongly recommended that unhooking mats are used for all other species of fish on all Society waters. 

  1. Nets, Unhooking-mats & Weigh-slings : To protect our waters against the introduction of KHV and parasitic infections ; all landing-nets, keep-nets, unhooking-mats and weigh-slings must be “bone” dry before they can be used on any Society water.
  1. Bloodworm : The use of bloodworm and joker is prohibited on all Society waters ;  with the exception of Marsh Farm, where it may be used during the period November 1st to March 31st   with the proviso that its use in competitions during these months be at the discretion of the match organisers.
  1. Nut Baits : The use of nuts of any description as bait is prohibited.
  1. Groundbait : Groundbait and loose feed must be used in moderation, with any surplus being taken away, and not emptied into the water or thrown onto the banks.  (Please note Bye-Law 1 for Broadwater Lake)
  1. Breaking of ice to fish, is not permitted on any Society water.
  1. Pike fishing

    29(a)  A minimum of 12lbs breaking strain line should be used.

    29(b) A wire trace must be used, with a minimum length of 18”,    

              and a minimum breaking  strain of 20lbs.

    29(c) When paternostering a wire uptrace should be used.

    29(d)  No more than two treble hooks per trace ;  PVA string, wool, 

                etc. may  be used to retain bait on the barbless hooks.

    29(e) Anglers should be in possession of suitable unhooking

              equipment.  ( i.e. Forceps, wire cutters, etc.. ) and must have an

              unhooking mat and large landing net. 

    29(f) Effective bite indication must be used ( floats, or alarms plus      

              indicators ) such that it shows instantly when a bait is taken.

   29(g) At Wood Lake, Busbridge - Fishing for Pike is permitted only from the

             1st October until the 14th March inclusive.