It would be a good time to familiarize yourselves with the Bylaws as we tend to forget some of them
Additional Carp Handling Bylaw
Damage, especially mouth damage, is a serious problem, especially with large carp being caught on a regular basis. It can occur either from a snagged fish or unintentionally during the transfer from water to mat. Anglers can reduce this problem by following these simple rules.
If you are fishing Quarry, Whyke or Churchyard you must have a landing net with a minimum of 36-inch arms and a high-sided unhooking mat capable of holding a 40lb plus carp and an approximate length of 42 inches.
When fishing near snags, stay by your rods and lock up and ensure your rods can not be dragged from your rests. Don’t let the fish get to the snag in the first place. If a fish does get into snags, do not pull for a break. Hold steady but not excessive pressure for a few minutes if this fails slacken your line and wait for the fish to move and tighten up. You may have to repeat this a few times before the fish frees itself.
If possible, unhook your capture before lifting it from the water. This is not always possible if the fish is still relatively lively.
Before lifting, always ensure that your hook and lead are not snagged in the mesh and the lead is in the bottom of the net. Ensure the fins are flat to the carp’s body. Your mainline must be slack and the bail arm open before attempting to lift a carp from the water to the unhooking mat.
(Absolute best practice, but not compulsory, is to cut the hook link or mainline above the lead (or leader if using one. This ensures that no pressure can be applied to the fish’s mouth during the lifting from water to mat.)
Always collapse your net. Don’t roll the net around the arms if the mainline is still attached, as this will tighten the line to the fish. If possible, always transfer the netted fish into a recovery sling before lifting from the water and ensure all fins are flat to the body of the fish.
Ensure weighing, fish care, and photography equipment is ready to use before lifting the fish from the water. Do not leave the fish alone once it’s out of the water. Have ample water available to keep the fish wet and abide by Bylaw 21 regarding time out of the water and Bylaw 23.for retention after capture.
Avoid the carp hitting the edges of cradles, net arms, etc. As this can cause irreparable damage, especially to their tail section.
Moving a fish beyond the level area behind the swim for photos is not acceptable. Always keep the fish above the mat and as low as possible when taking photographs.
Always fish care treat the hook hold and any other damage before returning the fish to the water.
Newsletter for Winter 2025
Dear Members,
Welcome to the Winter newsletter with best wishes to you all for the upcoming Christmas period. It is hoped that you have all enjoyed the season so far and that you will continue to do so over the coming months.
AGM
The date of the 2026 AGM is scheduled for Tuesday 24th February 2026. The Fishbourne Centre, in Blackboy Lane, Fishbourne will again be the venue for this event as it has historically catered well for both the number of attendees and in providing ample free car parking and a bar facility for refreshments for those who wish to avail themselves. The start time for the AGM will as usual be 7.30 pm, with members asked not to arrive before 7.00 pm to allow time for the room to be duly set up, and the event is open to all Full Members but not Associate Members who, as laid out in the terms of your Membership, are not entitled to attend an AGM or vote on any items on the Agenda, but can at any point in time during the course of the year send in any suggestions they may have which will be fully discussed by the members of the Committee at their monthly meetings. As an incentive to attend the 2026 AGM and as it proved popular last year, there will again be a draw done at the end of the event for a free membership for the 2026 season.Any full member wishing to put forward a proposal for the 2026 AGM must do so in writing to myself, by either email to cdassec@gmail.com or post to my home address as outlined in your Membership Book. All proposals must be received by Monday 27th January 2026 and any member submitting a proposal must then attend the AGM in person if it is to be fully discussed and voted on by the members present on the night. A full AGM agenda will be made available to all members via post with the 2026 renewal form on the reverse and as previously notified, this will be the final paper offering and all future newsletters and renewal forms will need to be accessed either via the group Facebook Page or the CDA Website.
Now to other matters of potential interest to some or all of you: –
Pike Teach-In
Another very successful event took place in early October. Organised by Steve Jones and Christine Luffman this year. Attendance numbers were again high, and feedback from attendees was very positive with everyone having both an enjoyable and informative day with the added bonus that the sun shone throughout and several of the clubs younger members met up at the event and were planning a day on the complex together afterwards.
Ongoing Site Maintenance
The Committee wish to extend they’re thanks to you all for your understanding on the need to close the complex for 5 consecutive days in November so that some much needed maintenance work could be carried out safely and without the need to ask anglers to vacate swims and to avoid any health and safety issues for all members. With no close season it is often difficult to do any major maintenance on site without some disruption although the vast majority of work is always undertaken during the closure for spawning if possible. The 5 day closure was deemed essential to get things on site back under control to hopefully make your angling experience better as a result.
New Site Signage
Many of you will have seen the new signage around the site and it is hoped you will agree that this is a vast improvement on the old signage which had for the most part seen better days. The new signs are designed to give anglers the most important information they need while fishing on any of the lakes but it it still vital to read your Membership Book to familiarize yourself with every rule and bylaw to ensure you are always compliant when using the complex.
Future Information Provision
You have all been made aware that after the AGM agenda for 2026, there will be no further paper newsletters or other information supplied, and everything will be presented on the group Facebook page and website. On occasion you may receive something by email and with 850 members it will be necessary to use a bulk email processing facility. Can you all kindly check your junk emails regularly and if you do receive one from CDAS then please move it into your inbox as this will ensure all future correspondence reaches you successfully. You will only need to do this one time and then any future emails from the club will arrive straight into your in boxes and ensure you do not miss out on any important information if you do not use Facebook or the CDAS website on a regular basis.
Cormorant Licence
It is probably a timely reminder as we head into the colder months that the club do hold a licence to dispatch a number of cormorants every season as they move onto our waters from the coast. Our Fishery Manager and his designated officers are granted the right to carry a firearm to undertake this process when necessary and utilize the services of a dog to collect the bird carcasses as is necessary due to avian flu. This practice is only ever done in a safe and controlled way and to ensure minimum disruption to anglers but if a large number of birds arrive suddenly then on occasion the Fishery Manager will attend site at short notice to address the problem. A full description on this matter is outlined on both the website and the group Facebook page so please familiarize yourself with how and why it is conducted.
All that remains is to thank you for taking the time to read the above, which I hope you found to be informative and useful.
Kind regards
Carole Baker
Secretary
CDAS FACEBOOK TERMS & CONDITIONS
THE CDAS FACEBOOK GROUP IS ONLY OPEN
TO MEMBERS OF CHICHESTER & DISTRICT ANGLING SOCIETY
You will need the following:
A photo of the rear page of your membership book
Your photo name and membership number clearly visible.
(A smart phone would be the best way to take the photo)
TEMPORY REMOVEL
If you are banned from the complex, you will be removed from the group
for the total time the ban is in force.
You will be reinstated at the end of the ban at the discretion of the CDAS Committee.
TERMINATION
If you violate the letter or spirit of the Chichester & District Angling Society Facebook Group,
or otherwise create risk or possible legal exposure for us,
we can remove you from the Chichester & District Angling Society Facebook Group.
We will notify you by email or at the next time you attempt to access the
Chichester & District Angling Society Facebook Group.
You may also remove yourself.
In all such cases, this Statement shall terminate.
PLEASE NOTE: CHICHESTER & DISTRICT ANGLING SOCIETY
Are not in any way responsible or liable for any statements or other comments made by opening an Email
or Facebook account so as to join the Chichester & District Angling Society Facebook Group.
All Facebook Rules/Regulations Apply.
Any other Rules/Regulations enforced in future updates from
Facebook or Chichester & District Angling Society.
PRIVACY POLICY
Chichester & District Angling Society understands the importance of protecting the privacy of all information that we collect by users of our websites and members only subscribers to our newsletters. This Privacy Policy outlines our use and disclosure of the personal information collected by or submitted on your Consent.
By using our site, you consent to our website’s privacy policy.
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We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. We may release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or other’s rights, property, or safety.
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Changes to our Privacy Policy
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.
This policy was last modified. 19/07/2025
Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.
General Data Protection Regulation. Our Statement & Policy with regards to GDPR. As a Society that holds personal data, we are obliged by law to hold this data securely. Personal data must be; • Fairly and Lawfully processed • Processed for limited purposes • Be adequate and relevant and limited to what is necessary • Kept in a way that people cannot be identified from it longer than is required • Ensure appropriate security Membership Forms. These are a printed document completed by the applicant and held by the Membership Secretary and hold the information below; • Member’s Name and Address, DOB, Telephone Number, Email address, Membership Type & Number. • Payment method. Membership forms are kept to assist with preparing the Society’s accounts and act as hard copy to confirm membership details. These forms are held in secure storage for two full years before being destroyed by incineration. Membership Digital Files. These are held on a computer, which is not connected to the internet in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet holds only the following information: • Member’s Name and Address, Telephone Number, Email address, Membership Number. Why this information is held by the Chichester & District Angling Society Member’s Name To address the member correctly Member’s Address To post information including newsletters and renewals Member’s DOB To ensure the correct category of membership is offered Member’s Tel. Number To enable the CDAS to contact the member quickly Membership Number For administration and identification Disclosure We will never disclose the information we hold to any other person or Organisation. The information is held strictly for the use of the Society and its management to maintain its membership accurately. The distribution of this data within the Society is strictly on a need to know basis. If any member or prospective member has any objection to any part of this statement, we would request that they contact the Society through the Secretary whose contact details can be found on our website.
