Rules & Byelaws of the Ogmore Angling Association Ltd from March 2024
1 Rules – General
1.1 The Company shall be called, “The Ogmore Angling Association Limited”.
1.2 The Objects and Procedures of the Company are set out within its Memorandum of Association, a copy of which is available from the Honorary Secretary, email: secretary@ogmoreangling.com
1.3 The running of the Company is the responsibility of the “Council of Management”.
1.4 Members of the Council shall retire at each Annual General Meeting, but will be eligible for re-election.
1.5 Any member of the Association may stand for election to the “Council of Management”. They need to be proposed (in writing) by another Association Member and declare (in writing) their willingness to stand. Both elements of the notification must be left at the registered office of the company, not more than 21 days and not less than 7 days before an Annual General Meeting.
1.6 An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by any member who has written evidence of the support of at least 20 members.
1.7 Any member found to be in breach of company “Rules and Byelaws” may be asked to appear before the “Council of Management”, who shall have the authority by simple majority, to suspend or expel any such member found to be in breach of the aforementioned “Rules and Byelaws”.
1.8 Any member that deliberately brings the company into disrepute, causes monetary loss or loss of company assets or any member associating themselves with such action will be expelled from the company.
1.9 The decision of the “Council of Management” is final on all matters relating to these “Rules and Byelaws” and to any other aspects of managing the Company.
1.10 Company accounts are available to all members on request from the Honorary Secretary.
1.12 Any member reaching the age of 18 years by the 3rd March is required to pay the adult membership fee. Any member reaching the age of 65 by the 3rd March is able to pay the OAP membership fee.
1.13 Membership renewal must be completed by the 1st of March annually. Those members who have failed to renew their membership by this date will be deemed to have left the company and their membership enrolment fee forfeited.
2 Byelaws - General
2.1 Members are responsible for the conduct of themselves and that of their guests or companions whilst fishing by their acts and omissions; whereby the rules and bylaws of the association shall apply equally to all.
2.2 Members must display their membership permit and rod licence in a prominent position about their person when fishing or proceeding to fish.
2.3 It is compulsory that all members and day and weekly ticket holders acquire an appropriate and valid Environment Agency Rod License before fishing and abide by the NRW Byelaws for the current season.
2.4 Anyone fishing waters controlled by the Company must produce their authority to do so upon request of a bailiff, officer of the Company, or any member of the Company who first produces evidence of their membership.
2.5 Any member of the Company, whilst fishing or intending to fish shall at the request of a bailiff or officer of the Company, turn out any basket, bag or pocket.
2.6 Members of the Company must protect wildlife and the property of the landowners. All gates are to be closed after use, no fires to be lit, no litter dropped or fishing line discarded. Members must not walk-through standing crops such as grass or corn etc.
2.7 No member shall take a dog with them whilst fishing company waters.
2.8 No member may fish in one spot for more than 20 minutes, if another member has signalled they are waiting to fish.
2.9 Only members in possession of a Salmon and Migratory Trout License issued by the Environment Agency are allowed to fish throughout the night. Those anglers in possession of a Non-Migratory Trout License must cease fishing one hour after dark and not resume again until one hour before dawn.
2.10 The carrying and use of any gaff or tailer is prohibited.
2.11 A catch return must be returned at the end of each season on the form issued by the Company.
2.12 The digging of bait on land owned by Merthyr-Mawr Estates is prohibited.
3. Restrictions on Angling Methods
3.1 Members together with day or weekly ticket holders may fish with only one Rod and Line at any time.
3.2 All fishing must be carried out with barbless hooks only.
3.3 A landing net must be carried at all times fishing is being undertaken.
3.4 To safeguard fish; any pictures or videos must be taken when the fish is in the net and both the fish and net are in the water.
3.5 To reduce poaching: pictures of catches should not be posted on any platform other than the OAA official Facebook page.
3.6 Any fish caught out of season must be returned to the water without delay. Out of season fish should not be removed from the water (where possible) and should not be retained for photographing or weighing.
3.7Wading on The Ewenny is only permitted between 16th June and 30th September each year.
3.8 Fly Fishing
- Fly fishing is permitted on all company waters during the open season
- The River Ewenny upwards of A48 Bridge is reserved for fly fishing only.
3.9 Spinning
a. Spinning is permitted on all company water (other than 3.7b above) from the 16th June each year. Spinning is allowed below the Swing Bridge and above Water Street Bridge on the River Ogmore from the start of the season.
3.10 Bait Fishing
a. Fishing with natural bait is allowed on all company water during the open season.
b. No worm fishing is allowed for salmon. Fishing for salmon with shrimp and prawn is only allowed between the 1st and the 30th of September.
c. Ground baiting and the use of bread as bait, is only permitted below the confluence of the rivers Ogmore and Ewenny.
d. The use of maggots and ‘Powerbait’ as bait is prohibited on waters controlled by the Company.
4 Restrictions relating to fishing for different species
4.1 General
a. All coloured or unseasonable fish must be returned to the water dead or alive
b. Any fish caught on waters controlled by the Company shall not be sold or exposed for sale.
4.2 Brown Trout
a. The season for Brown Trout is 3rd March to 30th September inclusive
b. The minimum size for which fish can be kept, when measured from the snout to fork of the tail is 10” (254mm)
c. All fish without a blue spot (wild fish) must be returned to the water dead or alive.
d. The maximum number of fish to be taken is two per day.
4.3 Migratory Fish.
a. The association strongly encourage all members to undertake catch and release of all migratory fish throughout the whole season.
b. The season for Salmon and Sea Trout (Sewin) will be 20th March to 17th October inclusive except for worm fishing where the season for sea trout is the 15th April to the 30th September.
c. All salmon must be returned to the river dead or alive.
d. Only members in possession of a Salmon and Migratory Trout License issued by NRW Agency may fish the river Ogmore after 30th September and only to specifically target Salmon or Sea Trout.
e. Sea Trout (Sewin) caught after 31st August must be returned to the water.
f. Sea Trout (Sewin) below 17” (43cm) and above 23.5” (60cm), when measured from the snout to the fork of the tail, must be returned to the river dead or alive
g. A maximum of one Sea Trout (Sewin) may be retained in any seven-day period by season ticket members only. (See a. above, although this is allowed, it is not encouraged.) Day and Week ticket holders must return all migratory fish, at all times and without exception.
4.4 Grayling
- Summer grayling fishing is allowed from the 16th June until the 30th September on both rivers.
- Winter grayling fishing is only permitted on the river Ewenny and is available from 1st October to 14th March by additional permit (to be applied for at the same time as members renew their annual membership).
- Winter Grayling fishing is by fly fishing only.
- Fishing is to be undertaken during the hours of daylight only.
- Winter grayling fishing is reserved for members only and as such, is unavailable to non-members. No winter grayling permits will be issued to any member applying after the 1st of March.
- No grayling is to be killed or kept. Every effort must be made to return the fish to the river unharmed.
END
The Association endorses voluntary catch and release for all wild and migratory fish. Members are reminded that they also need to comply with any Natural Resources Wales Byelaws that are in place.
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