 | Since the advent of commercial fisheries in the late 1980's membership of angling clubs has been in decline, with many disappearing altogether. But |
today, a band of smaller clubs are proving that if you get the foundations right, members will come.
Shrewsbury Anglers Club is a brilliant example of this. Just three years after being formed, it has more than 250 members and, while the chance to fish for double-figure barbel, 7lb chub and monster perch are an obvious draw for new members, Shrewsbury secretary Chris Wood reckons it's the club's proactive approach that is the main reason for their success. He said: "The club was created by four anglers meeting in a pub. Initially, it was just a social club, because they had no access to a fishery.
Six months later I came on board and we began to pick up waters. Our only goal initially was to bring realistically-priced fishing back to the community. Were known as the 'friendly club', and a place where we all share our love of fishing!' The use of social media has played a big part in the dub's fortunes and has been central to attracting younger members. Chris added: "We're highly active on social media. We advertise fishing days for our members - such as the pike angling trip we ran recently to the Fens.
We've also gained access to a pond to help coach the juniors, and 'dads and lads' matches have proved a big success. We've worked hard on improving our facilities too, with new fishing platforms and wheelchair-friendly pathways having been installed. "Juniors are integral to our dub, and anyone under 16 can fish for free with an existing member. There's such a positive feel among the lads, and we feel like a proper dub, not just a fishing organisation. We've actually had to close the membership this year -we've had so many people try to join! We don't want to risk losing the personal feel by continually expanding!'
John Williams, secretary of Birmingham AA which, although once much larger, remains a thriving concern, with 10,000 members. "You need good people running the club, good fishing opportunities on your books, and someone to drive the whole thing forward," he says. "If you have a good infrastructure, your members will be happy, and they'll encourage their mates to join!
Six months later I came on board and we began to pick up waters. Our only goal initially was to bring realistically-priced fishing back to the community. Were known as the 'friendly club', and a place where we all share our love of fishing!' The use of social media has played a big part in the dub's fortunes and has been central to attracting younger members. Chris added: "We're highly active on social media. We advertise fishing days for our members - such as the pike angling trip we ran recently to the Fens.
We've also gained access to a pond to help coach the juniors, and 'dads and lads' matches have proved a big success. We've worked hard on improving our facilities too, with new fishing platforms and wheelchair-friendly pathways having been installed. "Juniors are integral to our dub, and anyone under 16 can fish for free with an existing member. There's such a positive feel among the lads, and we feel like a proper dub, not just a fishing organisation. We've actually had to close the membership this year -we've had so many people try to join! We don't want to risk losing the personal feel by continually expanding!'
John Williams, secretary of Birmingham AA which, although once much larger, remains a thriving concern, with 10,000 members. "You need good people running the club, good fishing opportunities on your books, and someone to drive the whole thing forward," he says. "If you have a good infrastructure, your members will be happy, and they'll encourage their mates to join!
Source: Angling Times
RSS Feed
