Name

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1. The Club is called the Taw Fishing Club.

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Membership​

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2. Membership shall consist of:

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• Full Members. Joining fee of £100 plus an annual subscription of £100.  Full Members must be residents of the County of Devon.

• Country Members.  Joining fee of £100 plus an annual subscription of £200.  Applies to Members not resident in the County of Devon.

• Emeritus Members.  An annual subscription of £50.  Limited to 10 days or part days fishing per season.  Emeritus membership is solely by invitation of the Committee and is only available to existing full members.

• Junior Members (Up to age 20 years) - Free fishing but all under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

• Honorary.  Honorary and Honorary Life members may be elected by an Annual General Meeting. They will not be asked to pay a subscription.

• The Committee has the exceptional discretion to offer a new member applicant a work-based payment as an alternative for the joining fee and/or the annual fee of the Club.

    

3. The number of Full and Country Members is limited to a total of 50.

 

4. The club’s waters and associated habitats are maintained and managed under the direction of the River Warden who will arrange Bank Half-Days during the year for members to contribute to this essential work.  Full members are expected to attend at least 4 bank half days each year.  Country and Emeritus members are expected to attend at least two bank half days.

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5. New Full or County Members are deemed to be ‘on probation’ for the first two years of their membership and the Committee reserves the right at its absolute discretion to cancel their membership during this period.

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6. Membership categories, numbers, joining and subscription fees are reviewed each year and set by the AGM.

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Management

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7. The business of the Club shall be conducted by:

• The Annual General Meeting.

• A Special General Meeting.

• The Committee.

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8. Annual General Meeting.  The Annual General Meeting shall be held after the end of each season to:

• Receive the accounts for the past year and budget for the coming year.

• Elect the Officers and Committee and confirm the Trustees.

• Transact any other business.

• The quorum shall be six members.

 

9. Special General Meeting.  A Special General Meeting may be called at seven days’ notice at any time by the Chairman or the Hon Secretary at the request of three or more members. The quorum shall be six members.

 

10. Committee.  The Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Club and not less than two members duly elected at the Annual General Meeting.  The Committee will have the power to co-opt other members. The quorum shall be three members.

 

Subscriptions

11. Subscriptions are due to be paid on the 2nd January and members are asked to pay by electronic transfer to: The Taw Fishing Club, Sort Code 54-21-14, A/C No 24456802.

 

12. If a member has not paid his subscription by the 1st March, the Hon Secretary is empowered to accept a new member in his place.  The case of the defaulting member shall be dealt with by the Committee.

13. Tickets

• Each member under Rule 2 will receive one non-transferable member’s ticket for their own use.  In addition, three daily tickets will be issued to all except Junior members.  The member is responsible for signing and dating any daily ticket he may give away and will be responsible for the person using it.

• Fishing tickets and Rod Licences must be shown by anglers on demand of any member of the Club who produces his own ticket, and also, if required, be shown to the Water Bailiff and owners or tenants of land or their agents.

• Holders of Club fishing tickets are required to purchase an Environment Agency Rod Licence.

• Landowners, who give fishing rights to the Club, shall be entitled to one non-transferable season ticket for their own use

 

Financial Responsibility

 

14. Members of the Club are collectively responsible for the debts of the Club.  Should any member resign, his responsibility will cease six months after the date of his formal resignation, and he will not be responsible for any contracts executed after his resignation.  The liability of members is not to exceed £5 per head unless expressly sanctioned at a General Meeting.

 

15. No member shall have any claim on the funds of the Club.

 

General Fishing Rules

 

16. The season is from 15 March to 30 September.

 

17. The Club waters are illustrated in annotated maps provided to members. They are also available on the Club’s website. 

 

18.    No bait is to be used for Trout, Sea Trout or Salmon except artificial fly.  Spinners may not be used at any time.

 

19. The club strongly encourages a ‘catch & return’ policy, and for non-member guests ‘catch and return’ is mandatory.  In any event, no more than two fish may be killed by each member per season, and all fish under nine inches (23 cm) are to be returned.

 

20. Anglers are requested to return all fish gently into the water.  On no account should fish be dropped or thrown into the river, as such treatment generally kills them.  The use of knotless mesh landing nets and barbless/de-barbed hooks is mandatory.

 

21. Members may fish for Salmon or Sea Trout provided they hold an Environment Agency Rod Licence for migratory fish.  Catch limits for Salmon and Sea Trout, which are to be observed by members, are set out in Environment Agency Bye-Laws.  Again, the Club strongly recommends a catch and return policy.

 

22. Members are not to sell or otherwise dispose of their fish for profit.

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23. Members are to ensure that gates are secured behind them.

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• Members approaching the river and observing another member already fishing are required to move downstream for a distance of at least two pools from the fishing member. That is, the newly arriving member should not start fishing until he/she reaches a third pool’s distance from the person already fishing. If moving downstream is not possible, this separation should be a minimum of 200 metres between the two persons. 

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24. Any complaints of unfair fishing, unsportsmanlike conduct or any other matter must be sent to the Hon Secretary, who shall if necessary call a special meeting of the committee.

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25. The committee may, in its absolute discretion, cancel any ticket if it is satisfied that the owner has contravened any rule of the Club, any provision of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act or Environment Agency Bye-Laws.

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26. In order to assist the Committee and the Environment Agency in monitoring fish populations, members are to return to the Hon Secretary by 31 October their member’s ticket completed to show fish caught/killed during the season.  The return is to include any fish caught by persons using members’ guest tickets.  (Note Rule 10 above)

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ALTERATION OF RULES

 

27. These rules may be altered from time to time at a General Meeting.  Notice of any proposed alteration must be forwarded to the Hon Secretary fourteen days before the meeting, if it is an Annual General Meeting, and notice of the proposal must be given to members by the Hon Secretary seven days before the meeting.

 

APPLICATION OF THE RULES

 

28. A copy of these rules shall be issued to each member, receipt of which shall be considered as an agreement by the member to be bound thereby.  The rules will also be available on the club’s website: www.tawfishingclub.org

26 March 2021