Farnham Angling Society Rules
The most common breaches of our rules are in relation to litter (byelaw 4.h.), the use of barbed hooks (byelaw 4.b.1 - Hook checks will be carried out by the Head Bailiffs), the lack of an unhooking mat (byelaw 4.b.2), dogs off their leads (byelaw 4.f), fishing beyond the half way point (covered by byelaw 2.a), the use of unsafe rigs (byelaw 4.b.6), the use of BBQs at Lodge Pond or Frensham Great or Small Pond (byelaw 4.o.) and unattended tackle and swims (byelaw 4.q.).
The KHV that was experienced at the Badshot Lea Complex in 2009 has led to FAS providing equipment for use solely at the fishery (byelaw 4.b.3). This has to be complied with, without exception, and no breach of the requirement to use only landing nets, keep nets, weigh slings and unhooking mats that are provided on the site will be tolerated.
To reduce any risk of spreading any types of diseases, please ensure that all of your wet fishing equipment is thoroughly dried between fishing trips, as Members seen arriving with wet gear (byelaw4.b.4), will be asked to leave: this applies to all FAS fisheries.
a. These Bye-laws are issued in accordance with the constitution (see separate booklet) and must be obeyed.
b. Membership for coarse Members will be from 1st April to 30th March in the year following.
a. All Members will at all times when fishing, or visiting, any Society waters, behave in a manner that will not give offence to Riparian owners, other members, or the General Public.
b. The Executive Committee strongly recommend that members follow the Country Code and the National Water Sports Code.
c. In addition to the Society’s Bye-laws they will comply with any Bye-laws imposed on the Society e.g. E.A., National Trust, Forestry Commission.
d. Swims designated as disabled are given priority for disabled members. Members using one of these swims must vacate if requested to by a disabled member who wishes to fish the swim if no other designated swims are available.
e. Members are not permitted to swim or bathe in any Society waters.
f. All alcohol and illegal drugs are banned on all FAS waters.
g. No firearms allowed on any Society venue unless those authorised by the Farnham Angling Society Executive Committee.
a. Coarse Angling Season is from the 16th June to the 14th March inclusive with the exception of stillwaters which is at the owners discretion.
b. Trout Angling Season is 1st April to the 30th September inclusive for Brown Trout, but may be extended for Rainbow Trout. (31st October)
c. Members will be informed if a modified season will apply on any of the Society’s waters.
a. All members will at all times when fishing or visiting the Society’s waters be in possession of a current Membership permit in a complete condition. They will show said permit to any other member, Bailiff or Officer of the Society, and or any Riparian Owner or his agent/ representative upon request.
b. Members may fish with a maximum of two rods at any one time (see Bye-law 4.g.) providing that by doing so they do not occupy more than one swim and in no way inconvenience a fellow member. Where wives avail themselves of the provision of the Constitution para 5.3.b.i, husband and wife may only fish with a maximum of two rods. (one rod each).
b.1 Hooks used must be single only. Size 16’s and smaller(16, 18, 20’s etc) may be barbed. Size 14’s and larger(14, 12, 10’s etc) must be barbless. Pike anglers may use trebles with one bait holding barb. Plugs and Spinners must have all barbs on all hooks crushed so they become barbless (See Bye-law: s.). Trout anglers may use single, barbed flies.
b.1a No two hook systems allowed on any Society waters. Pike anglers may use two trebles on a wire trace, one trace per rod (See Bye-law: s., page 10).
b.2 All Members must be in possession of an unhooking mat of sufficient size and thickness so as to prevent fish from being damaged. Fish are not to be placed directly on the bank, under any circumstances.
b.3 No unhooking mats ,weigh slings landing nets and keepnets To be brought on to or removed from Badshot Lea complex under any Circumstances. Said items will be supplied on site.
b.4 No wet equipment to be brought on to any fishery. unhooking mats, weigh slings landing nets and keepnets must be dry on entering any fas venue.
b.5 No bent hooks.
b.6 No permanently fixed lead larger than 1oz. (28 gram) See Fish Care point 6 (page 17)
c. If using Bite Alarms these will in no way obstruct the bank area and will not present a hazard to other anglers or members of the public.
d. Any bait bans that are imposed will be obeyed.
d.1 Frensham Small Pond, Lodge Pond, Warren Pond, Tarn Pond. All seed, pulses, legumes and nuts with the exception of Hemp, Sweetcorn and cooked maize will be prohibited as Hook and Groundbait.
e. Members may not take to the waters any radio, cassette player or other form of musical instrument.
f. Members may take dogs unless precluded by the terms of a lease or other local Bye-laws as in para 2.c. All dogs will at all times be kept on a lead and are not allowed to interfere with other members sport, or the general public. Owners must remove any fouling.
g. From 1st May to 30th September, Members are advised that they may only use one rod or pole at a time on Badshot Lea Small Pond.
h. Members will not leave litter or discard hooks, nylon or other line, or shot on or in Society waters/banks. Members will be responsible for the tidiness/cleanliness of any peg/swim they may be fishing.
i. All Members will have their own landing net whilst fishing. Landing nets may not be shared between Members under any circumstances.
j. With the exception of Carp (not including Crucians), Catfish, Pike, and Barbel, fish may be retained in knotless keepnets of a minimum length of 8 feet and minimum diameter of 18 inches. No fish may be retained by any other method, including sacks, tubes stringers etc. However, members should seek to minimise the time that the fish are so retained and in no circumstances will this exceed 6 hours. Officially appointed Bailiffs and Officers of the Society have the authority to order the release of fish from keepnets when, in period of hot weather or other adverse circumstances they consider retention would be harmful. In exceptional circumstances they may ban the use of keepnets but this will normally be done on the authority of the Executive Committee.
j.1 Officially appointed Bailiffs and Officers of the Society have the authority to inspect keepnets and prohibit the use of any they consider unsuitable.
j.2 Badshot Lea Big and Small Ponds only. No Carp to be held in any type of keepnet or sack except during matches. On the Small Pond, during matches, two keepnets will be required of which one must have a carp bottom.
k. Certain minor (temporary)adjustments to paragraphs (i.) and (j.) above may be authorized for certain Society matches at the discretion of the Match Secretary or officially appointed Match Organiser. Any such adjustments will apply to that match only and will cease to apply at the end of said match.
l. Members will not use a gaff of any sort to assist in the taking of any fish on Society waters.
m. Umbrellas and Stormsides may be used all season, bivouacs are permitted from 1st October until the end of the season on Frensham Great Pond and Frensham Small Pond only. n. The use of fishing shelters is permitted on all waters, except when prohibited by a local Bye-Law. A fishing shelter can be an umbrella or bivvy which is green or brown in colour and fits into the swim without obstructing paths or causing nuisance to other Members.
o. Members are prohibited from lighting fires on any of the Society’s waters. Primus/Cooking Stoves may be used, but at Lodge Pond may only be used with the prior consent of the Head Forester. BBQs of any kind are not permitted at Lodge Pond, Frensham Great Pond and Frensham Small Pond.
p. Members must not cause damage to bankside vegetation and trees.
q. Irrespective of the length of stay, no member may leave tackle in the water unattended. Furthermore no member may leave his/ her swim unattended for longer than 15 minutes.
r. Junior members are not allowed to fish at night, between 1 hour
after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, unless accompanied by a Senior
Member/Parent or Guardian. Senior Member must occupy the same or
adjacent swim, a Guardian or Parent must occupy the same swim. The
Senior Member/Parent or Guardian must accompany and be responsible
for the Junior Member at all times. The emergency phone number/s in the
Handbook will be rung and the person will be told (required) to come and
collect the Junior Member if they are not complying with this Bye-law.
s. PIKE and PREDATOR FISHING. To protect Pike, Perch & Catfish in Society Waters, a number of special Bye-laws have been drawn up to cover Pike and Perch fishing. These are:
i Only Members, Exchange Members and Guests who are in possession of a special ‘PIKE FISHING PERMIT’ will be allowed to fish for Pike in Farnham Angling Society waters. These permits will be available free of charge to all members who attend a Pike ‘Teach- In’ and satisfy Society Officials that they are in possession of the minimum of suitable equipment to fish for and handle Pike when caught. Suitable equipment will be as detailed in the Bye-laws below. Dates and venues of the Pike ‘Teach-In’ will be available from any Society Official or printed in the Handbook.
ii Suitable equipment will include:-
a. Main line having a breaking strain of 15lb must be used.
b. Traces made of Nylon covered wire, unless stainless steel, are forbidden. These must be a minimum length of 24in (60cm) and not less than 25lb breaking strain must be used.
c. Large knotless landing net with a minimum of 36in. long arms.
d. Large unhooking mat.
e. 12in long artery forceps.
f. Side cutters able to cut problem hooks when caught in the soft throat tissue or gill rakers.
g. An adequate Carp/Pike weigh sling.
h. A sensitive and effective bite detector system which shows ‘drop back’ as well as runs.
i. No more than two treble hooks may be used on any one trace and they must be semi-barbless or barbless.
j. All plugs and spinners must be barbless as per Bye-law 4.b.1 on page 8.
k. Fishing for Pike with live or dead fish baits is only permitted from the 1st October until the 14th March in any Society water. Plugs and spinners may be used from 1st April until 30th March.
l. When Perch fishing with live or dead baits or lure fishing, a wire trace must be used.
m. No double or treble hooks are permitted on Badshot Lea Big Pond, only one single barbless hook per rod to be used.
t. Members may purchase up to a maximum of two Guest Tickets on any one day. Members must be in posession of their current Handbook when purchasing Guest Tickets. These must be purchased prior to arrival at the fishery from one of the Society’s agents listed in this Handbook. The Guests name will be entered on the Guest Ticket and the Member must accompany and be responsible for his/her guest/s at all times.
u. Parking is generally good on all Society waters. Location of the car parks is described in detail for each water within the map section of this Handbook. At all times, members should park in such a manner as not to cause obstruction, or inconvenience, to Riparian Owners, the General Public or other Members.
v. No bicycles may be ridden around the Badshot Lea Ponds.
w. Competitions run by the Society, either on Society or other waters will be run under N.F.A. Model Match Rules. Any deviation from these rules will be made known to competitors by the Match Secretary or his representative in good time. Waters are closed prior to matches, check details in the Match List.
x. Trout Section rules if differing in any way from the Society’s Bye-laws will be made known to members of the Trout Section by their Secretary after the approval of the Executive Committee.
y. All gate keys and Handbooks either issued or replaced remain the property of the Farnham Angling Society.
z. No boats are allowed except for radio controlled bait boats.
a. No fish, dead or alive, may be removed from any of the Society’s waters for any reason whatsoever other than by, or authorised by, Fishery Management personnel.
a. Juniors under 10 (ten) years of age on the 16th June in the season in question will not be required to pay a Joining Fee or Annual Subscription providing that they only fish the Society’s waters when accompanied by an Senior paid up Member and, if the member is fishing they must both fish in the same swim. They may only fish with one rod each.
Booking night tickets and night fishing rules for: Mill Lane, Tarn, Warren & Frensham Small Ponds
To book a night, call the NIGHT SYSTEM OPERATOR on 07903 250905 between 2.30pm to 6.30pm daily. (No voice mail messages will be accepted)
Mill Lane - No close season.
- Nineteen anglers only per night.
- Twentieth ticket is for bailiff's use only.
- Members can book up to a maximum of three nights at a time.
- Anglers who have fished a 48hr or 72 hr session must remove their tackle from the Mill Lane complex for the subsequent 48/72 hours. Members may extend their session to a maximum of 72 hours, if the tickets are available, and these may be booked after 3.30pm the afternoon following their existing booking.
- Their next nights fishing may be booked after 3.30 the afternoon following their last night.
- Tarn Pond rules 4, 6, 7, 8, 12 & 13 (as shown below), also apply.
Tarn Pond - Close season applies: Closed between 15th March to 15th June.
- Twelve anglers only per night.
- Thirteenth ticket is for bailiff's use only.
- Members can only book one night at a time.
- Members must give their name and permit number at time of booking. They will be given a code number, which they must give to the bailiff on the water if requested.
- Anglers who have fished the previous night must wait until 3:30pm the next day before phoning for another ticket for that night.
- Members wishing to cancel must do so before 4:00pm on the day booked.
- Members trying for a cancellation ticket must not phone before 5:00pm.
- Members may book 28-days in advance, BUT may only hold one night ticket code at any one time.
- The first two nights of the season are drawn, 12-tickets per night. Details of the draw are published in the Spring newsletter.
- Bookings for June 18th onwards may be booked from 20th May.
- Members may book two consecutive nights from 15th October until 14th March.
- Any Member found to be abusing the Night Ticket System will face disciplinary action.
- Night tickets are not available for Guests.
Warren Pond - No close season
- Four anglers only per night.
- Rules are as for Tarn Pond, with the exception of 9 & 10.
Frensham Small Pond - Close season applies: Closed between 15th March to 15th June.
- Ten anglers only per night.
- The first night of the season is to be drawn, 10 tickets per night.