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Christchurch Angling Club

Stephen Crowhurst

Stephen Crowhurst

Senior Member
Hi guys,
Just wanted to get some opinions really. I’ve been a Ringwood DAA member for about 10 years now. Neither of my local rivers are bankers, there are fish to be caught but those fish require work, I think that’s fair to say. Last couple of years I’ve been more focused on my Barbel and have been trying to learn two stretches of the Avon better. However with low stock density’s location is everything, and you cannot catch what’s a mile upstream. So I’m considering joining a second club, now obviously I can’t fish two places at once and that’s what’s put me off, paying £170 a year to fish somewhere you aren’t potentially fishing seems silly. I do not know, having never been a member of CAC what opportunities that may bring, other than obviously more places to search. From what I understand CAC lost their Crown Jewels and I’m unlikely to get access to that fishery before I’m 50. (I’m 34 :D)

The question is like to pose, is, is it worth me having both memberships and proactively searching a wilder field or am I better off being focused as assuming you may find fish on a different fishery is greener grass thinking? Realistically I only fish about 1 6 hour trip a week, I often walk the bank more though.
 
I have just given up my CAC book because of lack of choice on the river Avon. Winkton always busy. I am limited with distance from parking. Sopley overated. Ringwood limited space. I have a Ringwood book and a syndicate ticket so am more than suited for Barbel swims. Have you done much fishing on the Stour? Ringwood ticket is worth it for Stour alone without the Avon fisheries. Have you thought about the Charford farm syndicate formerly Hale park?. Good Avon fishing Stephen.
 
Cheers Graham, I don’t know anything about Charford Farm, I will have a look at it.
I never see anyone at the bottom end of Ringwood Fishery.
I used to fish the Stour a lot but I’ve felt over the last 5/6 years the Avon a more suitable Barbel fishery. Throop is often very busy and the other parts appear to be devoid of Barbel?
 
I would agree that Winkton can get a bit busy but this is restricted to the upper part of the fishery and are mostly Roach fishermen.
The lower fishery is mostly deserted though, with a shorter walk to the river. Some great looking Barbel swims too.
I've never seen an angler above the stile upstream from the cables across the river on the upper and there must be getting on for a mile of water looking like one long Barbel swim. Pretty sure I read on here a while back someone had done well there.
Don't give up on Winkton it has enormous potential.
I fish it for the Salmon, which any member can, with the appropriate license.
It's great having the entire fishery to yourself in the coarse close season.
 
Paul Collins said:
I would agree that Winkton can get a bit busy but this is restricted to the upper part of the fishery and are mostly Roach fishermen.
The lower fishery is mostly deserted though, with a shorter walk to the river. Some great looking Barbel swims too.
I've never seen an angler above the stile upstream from the cables across the river on the upper and there must be getting on for a mile of water looking like one long Barbel swim. Pretty sure I read on here a while back someone had done well there.
Don't give up on Winkton it has enormous potential.
I fish it for the Salmon, which any member can, with the appropriate license.
It's great having the entire fishery to yourself in the coarse close season.
Click to expand...
Membership a bit over priced just for a chance of a Barbel at Winkton.
 
Just for the record, I will confirm that I was Secretary of CAC for one year during the negations over the Somerley lease renewal. I resigned because of personal differences with certain other Committee members who were driving the club into the ground.

Now, I will comment on CAC. I gave up membership after I resigned (having been a member since the late 1970s) but was fortunate enough to get into the Somerley syndicate when that was established. I have had no involvement with CAC since then but all I can say is that it is not the club it was and bears no comparison to Ringwood in terms of its management. This is reflected in the respective memberships with Ringwood currently having around 2000 whereas Christchurch is probably only half that. Historically, Christchurch was always the bigger club, with peak membership of perhaps 2500 to 3000, but that was in the days before the loss of the Royalty and Christchurch Harbour/the lower Stour (both now Ringwood waters) and the ‘jewel in the crown’, Somerley, which was the main reason why the club had so many members.

At that time, the club was in a mess financially, with a significant bank overdraft. The loss of Somerley saw a mass exodus of the river anglers who were only members because of that water, leaving the club with depleted revenues and that large overdraft. The solution was to sell Breach Pond (now also a Ringwood venue), which cleared the overdraft and put cash in the bank. I have no knowledge of the current finances but the fact that you are paying a similar membership fee now for CAC, with considerably less water than Ringwood, is evidence of the fact that rising rents etc are keeping the finances under pressure.

If you had to choose just one club, it would have to be Ringwood. That is not to say that CAC don,t have some excellent waters (Winkton on the Avon and Manor Farm on the Stour along with Spinnaker Lake), but their portfolio just does not stack up against that of Ringwood, which is a much better run club.

Obviously, If you can afford both and think that you will get value for money out of both memberships, then it will give you a much broader spread of waters to choose from. However, having been a Ringwood member since the late 1960s, through thick and thin (and there were some difficult times along the way), I can vouch for the fact that having so many waters to choose from does not improve your fishing. In fact, it probably makes it worse. Better to focus on one venue and really get to know it than wander around never really getting to know any of the venues well enough to get the most out of them.

Bit of a diatribe, but hope that helps!


Dave
 
I was a CAC member for 30+ years up until the 1990's which is when my job took me and my family to London and abroad. Local angling politics was (and is) always a case of ebb & flow and, at times, not a very pleasant thing to observe. Poor management and too many individuals with their own agendas on all sides. I returned to Dorset 5 years ago and re-joined RDAA for their Stour fisheries albeit mainly for the chub potential rather than barbel (I still had access to the upper Loddon and other rivers for my barbel fix). That lasted for a couple of years but, because of my bias towards the Stour, I found I hardly ever fished any other RDAA venues. I had been a member of both at the same time previously and other local clubs as well but that gave me far too much choice. I've long given up chasing the next PB and just wanted to have a good quality choice on my two favourite rivers to enjoy my fishing. So 3 years ago I re-joined CAC and certainly not regretted it for one minute.

Perversely, I now frequently drive past the Stour to get to Sopley, Winkton and other Avon venues. Being an OAP, I have the distinct advantage of being able to fish midweek.

Upper Winkton has been far too busy but the club have addressed that situation and it is now far more accommodating. I've fished Upper Winkton several times this season (and fly fished it in the close season) and only met a handful of other anglers. It will get busier come winter in the "roach swims" but judging from last winter, it will nothing like the day ticket volumes of the past. I hope the changes instigated by the club remain in place beyond the end of this season. The main river between the two weirs and above is hardly touched (except the 2 or 3 noted swims). I can assure you there are barbel to be observed up there and occasionally find the net. And then there is Lower Winkton!

Sopley Mill Stream and main river are tough fisheries, much under fished, particularly the main river. Some long walks but very worthwhile for the chance of stunning barbel and very big chub.

I can't wait for late autumn and winter on those fisheries.

I've hardly fished CACs Stour venues at all this season. Mainly because of the very typical summer conditions but also because of the huge increase in kayaks, canoes and inflatables from Wimborne down to the harbour that seem to be a feature of this first COVID19 summer. Again, can't wait for later on in the season to fish Manor, Canford and, of course, Throop (for the price of a day ticket) which I have always considered to be my home water since I was 5 years old.

As an aside, CAC do offer various payment options for the annual subscription which might help in your decision making.
 
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Thanks for the input guys. This years been such an odd one, I’ve currently got my other hobby tucked up in the garage and there it will stay till next spring, which has saved me costs like tax and fuel. Now I’m working again I can loosen the strings and I think I will probably take out a CAC membership on the monthly payment scheme, trial it for a year and see how much or little benefit it serves me.
 
Stephen, I forgot to mention that my choices are heavily biased on my preference for float fishing but I think you may know that. I'm certainly not averse to static/stalking barbel and that's my choice for late summer evening sessions. Haven't had too many from the Avon of late but certainly spotted enough on my regular walks to keep the anticipation levels high.
 
Yeah I’ve seen a couple, I’ve just not had the ability to walk the banks as much as usual. Typically when I find them, they’re tight up under snags refusing to break cover.
 
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