BILLERICAY & DISTRICT
ANGLING CLUB
Serving anglers in Essex for 65 years
Serving anglers in Essex for 65 years
------ GENERAL BYLAWS ------
1. Any person fishing on a Club fishery must be in possession of the current Environment Agency rod licence, which permits a maximum of two or three rods to be used by members at any one time. Note: two rods allowed unless governed by fishery rules allowing one rod only or an additional rod for night ticket holders only as specified on the Barleylands and Laundry venue pages. Associate and Junior members may use one rod only.
2. All enclosed waters will be closed from 1st April until 30th April inclusive. All RIVERS will be closed from 15th March until 15th June inclusive.
3. With the exception of official BDAC matches keepnets are banned on all fisheries. Keep nets shall be of a minimum depth of six feet with a main ring diameter not less than eighteen inches and shall be of knotless material
4. Under no circumstances shall specimen fish from the Club waters be retained in keep nets of whatsoever size but must be returned to the water as quickly as possible after weighing and/or photographing. By specimen fish it is meant bream over 5lbs, carp over 8lbs, tench over 5lbs, roach and rudd over 2lbs.
5. All members shall at all times honour the Country Code, all gates to be closed, all crops to be avoided, all wildlife to be undisturbed, other people’s property respected and trees undamaged.
6. You must only fish from properly constructed swims where provided and must not damage bankside vegetation
7. The use of hand held or head mounted torches with dry cell batteries are allowed on club fisheries. Wet cell batteries e.g. car batteries are not allowed.
8. Any person found fishing on a Club water with litter in or around their swim will be held responsible for that litter. Any person not removing such litter will be reported to the Committee and may in any event be asked to leave the fishery.
9. All types of portable radio, compact disc, tape cassette players (except those used with headphones) & all televisions are barred from all Club fisheries and on all Club events. All noise to be kept to a minimum on, around or approaching any Club fishery. For example please keep volumes down in cars while waiting for fisheries to open.
10. No firearms, catapults, etc. shall be permitted on Club waters with the exception of recognised bait propellants.
11. Except where indicated in the Club handbook, all cars must be parked in the official car park where one is provided and all gates to fisheries to be locked after entry and exit. Under no circumstances may cars be parked on roads adjacent to fisheries.
12. Groundbait may be used in moderation on all Club waters where the Riparian Owners do not object.
13. All members are expected to act as bailiffs and challenge politely every person on Club fisheries not known to them. When a member challenges another person he shall first produce his own membership card and then request to see the other person’s membership card. Any member challenged by another member or an official bailiff shall produce his membership card and if requested by a bailiff also his Environment Agency rod licence.
14. Any signs of misconduct, or pollution must be reported to the Fishery Officer and/or General Secretary immediately.
15. Any member called upon for assistance by an official bailiff shall render, if capable, same immediately.
16. Unless by prior permission of the Committee no person other than a Club member, no matter what the age or relationship, if any, to the member shall be allowed on any Club fishery, whether they fish or not. Non-members may drop off or pick up Club members from the car parks if required but must leave immediately. A member who cannot produce a valid membership certificate will be deemed a “non-member”.
17. No member shall introduce any fish of any species whatsoever into any Club water nor may fish be moved from one fishery to another or from one water within a fishery to another except under Committee instructions.
18. All fish must be returned to the Club water from which they were caught or taken, unless written permission to remove, keep or cull fish has been given by the Management Committee.
19. No unauthorised fires to be lit on any Club fishery. Proper cooking appliances are allowed but must be constantly monitored. For the sake of safety no barbecues are allowed.
20. No swimming on or at any Club fishery.
21. Sweetcorn, luncheon meat or any other form of canned bait must not be taken to the waterside in the container in which it was purchased e.g. tin can, glass etc.
22. No prebaiting is allowed prior to a fishing session on any Club water.
23. No bait of any variety is to be deposited in the water or on the banks after a fishing session. Please take surplus bait away.
24. All members are required to fish their designated swim i.e. not too close to the next designated swim and not over half way towards the opposite bank.
25. No member shall fish deliberately in any reed bed/lilies or towards spawning fish on any Club water.
26. No member is to be allowed on any Club fishery during an official closed period except at the discretion of the Management Committee.
27. No camping (recognised angling shelters, bivouacs, brolly tents are allowed).
28.a. No boats or water craft of any kind or size allowed on Club waters without consent of the Committee.
b.No aerial remote-controlled device (e.g. drone) is to be used on Club waters.
29. No unprepared particle baits to be used as loose feed or bait on any Club fishery.
30. The use of peanuts as a bait or loose feed is banned on all Club fisheries.
31. Unless prior permission is granted by the Committee all new waters (not in handbook) acquired by the Club are CLOSED until an official announcement is made.
32. Anglers can only occupy and/or fish from one swim.
33. Only BARBLESS OR MICRO-BARB hooks to be used on Club stillwaters.
34. No angler should leave their swim unattended for more than three hours in any twenty- four hour period.
35. An unhooking mat is to be used at all times whenever a fish of any size is to be placed on the ground.
36. Pike fishing is only allowed between 1st October and 14th March the following year.
37. Members must not leave their swim with their baited hooks in the fishery unattended. Using a wireless bite alarm receiver is not an acceptable excuse.
38. Junior members must be 10 years of age before they can night fish any BDAC fishery.
ADDITIONAL RULES RELATING TO INDIVIDUAL FISHERIES ARE TO BE FOUND ON: -
a) THE FISHERY AND RULE PAGE FOR EACH FISHERY ON CLUBMATE
b) THE NOTICE BOARDS DISPLAYED AT EACH FISHERY
ANY INFRINGEMENTS OF THE BYLAWS OF THE CLUB SHALL BE DEALT WITH BY THE COMMITTEE AS LAID DOWN UNDER RULES 26 AND 27.
RULES
NAME
1. The name of the Club shall be the BILLERICAY & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB.
OBJECTIVES
2. The objectives of the Club shall be to promote good fellowship among all anglers, to promote lectures and debates, to hold friendly competitions, to cater for all types of anglers, to promote friendship amongst angling clubs, to seek, rent and buy suitable waters for stocking and fishing and do everything in its power to assist in keeping the rivers and waters pure and clean.
OFFICERS
3. The Officers of the Club shall be: - Chairman, Hon. Treasurer and Hon. General Secretary. The Committee shall comprise of the Officers plus Vice-Chairman, Minute Secretary, Membership Secretary, Match Secretary, Junior Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Website Editor, Telephone Helpline Officer and representatives from the Fishery Management, Junior and Finance Sub-committees together with six ordinary members.
MEMBERSHIP
4. Club shall consist of such number of members as the Committee, for the general management of the Club, shall decide at any given time.Ordinary membership shall be open to all persons who have attained the age of 18 years as at 1st April in each year. Senior citizen membership shall be available for persons of state retirement age and over.
5. Junior membership shall be open to all children sponsored by an adult full member, from the date of their 5th birthday until the 1st April following their 15th birthday.
Associate membership shall be open to partners and spouses of existing members.
Except with the consent of the Management Committee or in the case of an event organised by the Junior or Match Secretaries; Junior and Associate members will only be allowed upon Club fisheries or to fish Club waters and attend Club outings and senior competitions if accompanied by the Ordinary member nominated to be responsible for them and in the case of senior competitions the Junior member must have attained the age of 10 years.
Intermediate membership shall be open to all persons from their 15th birthday until 1st April following their 18th birthday or to the age of 22 years, with documented proof of continuous full time education.
Non-Fishing membership shall be available to all persons who have attained the age of 18 years, and shall allow that person only to enter Club waters.
6 All applicants for membership will be required to give their details as per the current application form for inclusion onto the Club’s membership database by the Secretary duly appointed for that purpose.
7. Upon payment of the entrance fee and first subscriptions they will become a member of the Club and be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of that class of membership, and be bound by these rules.
8. Admission to membership will be at the discretion of the Committee.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
9. The entrance fee and annual subscription for the following year shall be determined at a meeting of the Finance Sub-Committee to be held in October annually. The entrance fee shall be payable by all new members over the age of 15 with the exception of Associate and Non-Fishing members.
10. All annual subscriptions (except the first subscription of a new member as provided by rule 7) shall be payable by the 1st April each year.
11. All entrance fees and subscriptions shall be paid to the account of the Club.
12. If any member fails to pay the annual subscription on or before the 30th April after it has become due, that person shall cease to be a member of the Club, but may re apply for membership upon payment of entrance fee and subscription.
HONORARY MEMBERS
13. The Committee may invite, as honorary members, any person who has given outstanding service to angling or the furtherance of the objectives of the Club. Members may propose any names in writing to the Hon. General Secretary. Honorary members are not required to pay any entrance fee or subscription.
14.(a) Honorary members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of membership except that they shall not be qualified to be Officers or members of the Committee or to vote as members or to claim any share of the property of the Club upon its dissolution.
(b) Honorary Life Members shall be entitled to all benefits and privileges of ordinary membership.
RESIGNATION OF MEMBERSHIP
15. Any member wishing to withdraw from the Club may do so upon forwarding to the General Secretary a written resignation but his resignation shall not be effective until all debts to the Club, including subscriptions are discharged.
GATE KEYS
16. All gate keys remain the property of the Club and must be returned on relinquishing membership.
MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB
17. The management of the Club shall be the responsibility of the Committee, all of whom including Officers shall be elected at the A.G.M., shall retire annually and be eligible for re-election. The President shall be an ex-officio member of the Commitee
18. The Committee shall meet at least once in every month to examine the accounts and arrange the affairs of the Club. Minutes shall be taken of all the proceedings of the Committee, and shall be open to the inspection of any member of the Club upon application to the Hon. General Secretary. Five (5) members of the Committee shall form a quorum.
POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE
19. The Committee shall have the power to appoint a member to fill any casual vacancy on the Committee until the next A.G.M.
20. The President shall be elected by the Committee, and shall hold office until death or resignation, unless removed from office by a resolution of the Committee.
21. The Committee may from time to time appoint from among their members such sub-committees as deemed necessary or expedient and may delegate to them such powers and duties the Committee may determine. Such sub-committees will periodically report their proceedings to the Committee, and will conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the Committee.
22. The Committee may from time to time make, repeal and amend all Bylaws that do not impact on these rules, as it thinks expedient for the internal management and well being of the Club. All Bylaws made by the Committee under this rule shall be binding upon members until repealed by the Committee, or set aside by a resolution of an A.G.M. of the Club.
23. The Committee shall have power to spend such sums as it considers appropriate in connection with the purchase of stock fish or the acquisition of fisheries by licence, lease purchase or any other manner and the management of Club Waters and the purchase of essential equipment.
24. The Committee shall be empowered to borrow for the purpose of the Club by way of loans from its bankers such sums as it considers appropriate under its powers in rule 23. The trustees shall at the discretion of the Committee make dispositions of the Club’s property or by part thereof and enter into such agreements in relation thereto as the Committee may deem proper for giving security for such loans and interest thereon.
25 Five (5) members of the Committee shall form a quorum except as follows: under Rules 23 and 24, where the amount to be expended and/or borrowed shall exceed £5000, the quorum shall be (10) members of the Committee, and such motions shall only be passed on two-thirds majority.
COMMITTEE POWERS OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION
26. The Committee has the power to either suspend or to ultimately expel any member who offends against the rules or Bylaws of the Club or whose conduct is, in the opinion of the Committee, contrary to the interests of the Club or injurious to its reputation and render them unfit for membership of the Club. Before any such member is expelled the Hon. General Secretary shall give him 7 days written notice to attend a meeting of the Committee which notice shall contain particulars of the complaints made against them. No member shall be expelled without first having the opportunity of appearing before the Committee and answering the complaints made against them or unless at least two-thirds of the Committee then present vote in favour of their expulsion.
27. A suspended member shall, if they so desire, be heard in answer to the complaint. At the discretion of the Committee a reasonable adjournment shall be granted to enable them to prepare their At the adjourned hearing, the suspended member shall be subject to a majority vote and the decision of the Committee shall be final and conclusive.
28. Any person shall, on being expelled from the Club by the Committee, forfeit all right to and claim upon the Club and its property and funds.
TRUSTEES OF THE CLUB
29. There shall be four (4) Trustees of the Club who shall be ex officio members of the Committee. The first Trustees shall be appointed by the Committee and the property of the Club (other than cash which shall be under the control of the Treasurer) shall be vested in them to be dealt with by them as the Committee shall from time to time be directed by resolution, (of which an entry in the Minute Book shall be conclusive evidence). The Trustees shall be indemnified against risk and expense out of Club property. The Trustees shall hold office until death or resignation or until removed from office by a resolution of the Committee who may for any reason which may seem sufficient to a majority of them present and voting at any meeting, remove any Trustee or any Trustees from the office of Trustee. If by reason of such death, resignation or removal it shall appear necessary to the Committee that a new Trustee or Trustees be appointed or if the Committee shall deem it expedient to appoint an additional Trustee or additional Trustees the Committee shall by resolution nominate the person or persons to be appointed the new Trustee or Trustees. For the purpose of giving effect to such nomination the President is hereby nominated as the person to appoint new Trustees of the Club within the meaning of Section 36 of the Trustees Act 1925 and he shall by deed duly appoint the person or persons so nominated by the Committee as the new Trustee or Trustees of the Club and provisions of the Trustees Act 1925 shall apply to any such appointment. Any statement of fact in any such deed of appointment shall be in favour of a person dealing bona fide and for value with the Club or the Committee be conclusive evidence of the fact so stated.
GENERAL MEETING - CONVENING AND CONDUCT
30. The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in March or April each year upon a date and at a time to be fixed by the Committee for the following purposes:
(a) To receive from the Committee a report, balance sheet and statement of accounts for the preceding financial year, and an estimate of the receipts and expenditure for the current financial year.
(b) To fill the vacancies in the Committee and to elect auditors for the ensuing year.
(c) To decide on any resolution which may be fully submitted at the meeting as herein after provided under Rule 31.
31. Any full member wishing to propose any resolution at the A.G.M shall give notice in writing to the Hon. General Secretary by 31st January before the date of such a meeting. Any such resolution must be seconded by another full member. Any proposals from the floor to amend the detail of a resolution will only be accepted at the discretion of the Chairman.
32. The Committee may at any time for any special purpose call an Extra Ordinary General Meeting, and they shall also do so upon the request in writing of five per cent of the Voting members stating the purpose for which the meeting is required.
33. Fourteen days at least before the A.G.M. or any Extra Ordinary General Meeting, a notice of such meeting and of the business to be transacted shall be provided to every ordinary member, and no other business other than that which notice has been given shall be considered at such meeting. The report, balance sheet, statement of accounts and estimate shall be made available at the A.G.M.
34. At all A.G.Ms and E.G.Ms of the Club the Chairman, or in his absence a member selected by the Committee, shall preside. Every ordinary member present shall be entitled to one vote upon every motion, and in the case of equal votes for & against, the Chairman will have a second or casting vote. Voting shall be by a show of current membership card. The Committee shall be empowered, if it thinks fit, to make regulations to enable members unable to be present to vote by written proxy.
35. The quorum at all General Meetings shall not be less than twenty-five (25) ordinary members.
FINANCIAL YEAR
36. The financial year of the Club shall end on the 31st day of December in any year, to which day the accounts of the Club shall be balanced.
AUDITORS
37. At the Annual General Meeting independent auditors shall be elected to serve for the ensuing year. The auditors shall audit the accounts of the Club not less than fourteen days before the A.G.M. The Committee has the power to appoint a replacement auditor should the post become vacant.
PAYMENTS TO MEMBERS FOR SERVICE RENDERED
38. No member shall, except for professional services at the request of the Committee, receive any profit, salary, or emoluments from the funds or transactions of the Club.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
39. Every member of the Club must notify a change of address to the Membership Secretary. All notices posted to the last notified address shall be considered as having been duly given on the day following the date of posting.
INTERPRETATION, AMENDMENT AND ADDITION TO THESE RULES
40. The Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of these rules and of any Bylaws and regulations made there The decision of the Committee upon any question of interpretation or upon any matter affecting the Club and not provided for by these rules or by the Bylaws and regulations made there under, shall be final and binding on the members.
41. These rules may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual or Extra Ordinary General Meetings, provided that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless it be carried by a majority of at least ten (10) of the voting members attending.
DISSOLUTION OF THE CLUB
42. If at any General Meeting a resolution for the dissolution of the Club shall be passed by a majority of the members present and such resolution shall at an Extra Ordinary General Meeting held not less than one month thereafter at which not less than half the members shall be present be confirmed by a resolution passed by a majority of two-thirds of the members voting thereon, the Committee shall thereupon, or at such future date as shall be specified in such resolution proceed to realise the property of the Club and after the discharge of all liabilities shall divide the same equally among all full members and thereafter the Club shall be dissolved.
CLUB LIABILITY
43. Neither the Club or any officer thereof shall be liable to any member or guest of a member for any loss of or damage to any property occurring from whatsoever cause, in or about the Club Headquarters or on any organised Club event; nor for any injury sustained by a member or guest in or about the Club Headquarters or on any organised Club event; the same applying to any Club water.
BDAC GUIDELINES FOR PREDATOR FISHING
1. Pike anglers must use a wire trace at all times, with a minimum breaking strain of 20lbs. The trace length must be no shorter than 18” (45cm)
2. Main line must have a minimum 15lbs (6.8KG) breaking strain.
3. If using a paternoster, a wire trace of at least 3” (7.5cm) longer than the main trace must always be used to prevent the chance of bite-offs. Also, the lead should be attached with a “rotten bottom” of about 6lbs (2.75KG) breaking strain.
4. Avoid trapped leads, leads must be free to fall off in the event of line breakage
5. A landing net of 30” (75cm) mst be carried at all times; a rubberised hook-proof net is preferred.
6. Unhooking equipment must include: cutters capable of cutting through the hooks being used, long forceps or pliers, and an unhooking mat.
7. Anglers should be no further than 10ft (305cm) from their rods, whilst in use, at any time.
N.B. Pike fishing is only allowed between 1st October and 14th March the following year.
LURE FISHING
A wire trace with a minimum length of 15” (37.5cm) and 20lbs (9KG) must be used.
ADVICE ON HANDLING PIKE
Pike will not intend to bite you, as a dog would, but with 300+ razor-sharp teeth in its mouth
great care is required in unhooking them, for the safety of both you and the pike.
It is accepted that pike are quite delicate fish, and that they require careful handling.
Deep hooking can occasionally happen, and all anglers should be able to cope with this.
For advice on this visit the PAC (Pike Anglers Club of GB) website, or see below.
“Gassed-up” pike: don’t release a fish until you know it is in a condition to be released. Rest
It in a landing net, supported upright, until you think it is OK. Be prepared for this to take a considerable time. For more advice on this, visit the PAC website or see below.
Do not hold fish high off the ground, especially when photographing.
There are a group of experienced pike anglers within the Club who are willing to give advice and even show those who want to learn these techniques. Call the Helpline. Do not wait until you are in this situation on the bank, it’s too late then.
PERCH
When live-baiting for perch, a wire trace should be used.
GUEST DAY PASSES .
These are only available for Southminster, Asheldham, Straits Mill (Braintree), Hicks Farm, Field and Swan Lakes, Shalford Lakes and Thoby Wood. To apply
email bdacmembers@gmail.com or phone the Club’s Helpline (giving at least 72 hours notice) to book and ensure that a guest pass is available for a certain date (during busy times their issue may be restricted). The pass will be emailed back, either for printing out or saving to a mobile phone.
Fee: Day passes £10 per guest.
Two day pass at Southminster and Asheldham only (6am on day 1 to 10pm on day 2) £18 per guest.
Payment can only be made by bank transfer to Billericay & District Angling Club sort code 20-37-83 account number 90158224 with the member’s name being the reference.
Rules:
The pass must be taken with the guest on the day.
These passes are non-transferable and non-refundable.
The member must be responsible for the guest adhering to the Club’s bylaws and venue’s rules.
All guests must be accompanied by the full member.
Members are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to consult this information when visiting any water. In the event that emergency services are required at any of these fisheries the nearest post codes and what3words code for each gate are shown on the relative page.
USEFUL TEL. NUMBERS
Environment Agency: Incident Hotline 0800 80 70 60
Essex Police: Chelmsford 01245 491491
Braintree 03003334444
Essex Police Angling Watch (PC Andy Long) 07890 513899
RSPCA 0300 1234 999
Swan Rescue (South Essex Wildlife) 01375 893893
CARS ARE PARKED AT OWNER’S RISK AT CLUB FISHERIES.
NO MEMBER IS TO BE ALLOWED ON ANY CLUB FISHERY DURING AN OFFICIAL CLOSED PERIOD EXCEPT AT THE DISCRETION OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
OBSERVE THE COUNTRY CODE.
CONSULT THE FIXTURE LIST BEFORE VISITING A FISHERY
Wednesday 26 March 2025 at Southminster