Salford Friendly Anglers Society
The Worlds Oldest Angling Club - founded 1817
These rules printed in 1904 reflect the fact that Salford Friendly Anglers Society had dropped the financial side of their activities after the banking crisis of the 1890s.
The club continues to run to very simple set rules to this day – we prefer anglers to enjoy fishing in their own style – to use common sense and not be hamstrung by a huge list of pre-determined does and don’ts.
Salford Friendly Anglers Society Rules 1904
Thanks to everyone who voted for Salford Friendly Anglers project in the recent round of funding from the Salford Council Recycle & Reward Scheme
Our project received the most votes – so WE WON £1000 to spend on fish to restock into the Old River..
We will be holding our annual Christmas “fish in” at the Old River in Irlam on Saturday 31st Dec
Our event will start at 8am – and finish when everyone has had enough of the cold/ice/brandy/blanking etc….
Everyone welcome to attend – this is a free event
Most people will be targeting pike – but its just a day to get out doors – have a chat – a brew and meet other club members
27 anglers took part – on a sunshine bathed Salford Quays
Nearly everyone caught fish – with the winner being decided on the total length of fish caught
1st place Steven Wilson 553 cm (18ft 2 inches)
Winner – Steven Wilson 553cm – great bit of fishing
2nd place Matus Strohner 470 cm (15ft 5 inches)
3rd place Cosmin Antonie 420 cm (13ft 9 inches)
4th place Dragos Dumitrescu 283 cm (9 ft 3 inches)
5th place Craig Evans 280 cm (9 ft 2 inches)
6th place Branislav Kosak 197 cm (6ft 6 inches)
7th place Alexander Takacs 194 cm (6ft 4 inches)
7th place Maciej Szuchmilski 194 cm (6ft 4 inches)
9th place Mindaugas Petrikas 187 cm (6ft 2 inches)
10th place Craig Gilbert 180 cm (6 ft ) – awesome thats SIX FEET of fish !! as tall as me in perch – well done Craig !!
10th place Gregorz Pawlak 180 cm (6ft )
A great effort from everyone concerned – and a great social event both before and after the competition
Many thanks to our event sponsors www.favorite-fishing.com
I will add more photos below as people send them in to me
pre match
pre match
pre match – discussing tactics
getting ready
ready for the off
IMPORTANT UPDATE – THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF KHV AT SALFORD QUAYS – BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT AND REPORT ANY FISH WHICH YOU MIGHT CONSIDER TO BE IN DISTRESS
Four club members have walked the entire circumference of the Quays this morning (two groups of two). Conditions were perfect for fish spotting.
There are no signs of any fish in distress – there was one small carp dead floating in the corner of Ontario Basin – it had damage and maggots in its gills – highly likely that this fish was the one that was reported to be in distress yesterday..
So – our KHV scare is now hopefully over – please be extra vigilant so that we can respond immediately if there are mulitple fish deaths.
We have no regrets about raising this issue – better to be a PANIC FANNY and take the safety first option – than to ignore issues and hope they go away on their own..
As ever – being vigilant and reporting things is our best defence against disease – the most important way to prevent the transfer of disease is to dry out your nets and tackle between fishing trips !!
The club committee would like to thank the angler who reported this fish in the first place – well done.
IMPORTANT UPDATE – THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF KHV AT SALFORD QUAYS – BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT AND REPORT ANY FISH WHICH YOU MIGHT CONSIDER TO BE IN DISTRESS
Four club members have walked the entire circumference of the Quays this morning (two groups of two). Conditions were perfect for fish spotting.
There are no signs of any fish in distress – there was one small carp dead floating in the corner of Ontario Basin – it had damage and maggots in its gills – highly likely that this fish was the one that was reported to be in distress yesterday..
So – our KHV scare is now hopefully over – please be extra vigilant so that we can respond immediately if there are mulitple fish deaths.
We have no regrets about raising this issue – better to be a PANIC FANNY and take the safety first option – than to ignore issues and hope they go away on their own..
As ever – being vigilant and reporting things is our best defence against disease – the most important way to prevent the transfer of disease is to dry out your nets and tackle between fishing trips !!
The club committee would like to thank the angler who reported this fish in the first place – well done.
A carp was caught today which showed possible symptoms of KHV
We are calling the EA first thing in the morning – and will take things from there………..
However until we are able to provide an update – its best if ALL ANGLERS treat the Quays as though KHV is present…….. please disinfect nets and tackle after use
Lets hope that the fish which was caught showing symptoms today – is located again quickly — will all anglers please keep their eyes skinned and report anything unusual/abnormal to us via admin@salfordfriendlyanglers.co.uk
Here a pic of the diseased fish which was caught today …
In October 2015 one of our members called a committee member to report 2 people fishing on Drinkwater Park Lake who he thought were fishing illegally (5 rods each) and that he had observed them killing fish and putting them in a bag…
Usually we try to deal with this sort of issue by a swift visit to the lake to “have a word” with the anglers in question, to ensure that they comply with our fishery rules in future. However on this occaision our usual response team were all otherwise engaged so using the information on how to report fisheries crime to the police we called our local police station and reported that there were two people who we suspected of fishing illegally – giving the Home Office crime codes which detail the laws being broken and the appropriate response that the Police should make.
At the end of our call to the Police Station I asked if anyone was going to bother attending – and was pleasantly surprised to be told that an officer was already on the way..
10 minutes later we recieved a call from a Police Officer who had apprehended two people fishing with multiple rods, no licences, not members of the club and with dead fish in a bag……
Now that the legal process has taken its course – we are very happy to report that the people in question have been prosecuted and fined a total of £431 for poaching and unlicensed fishing offences – which we consider to be a great result
Many thanks to PC Richard Garland of GMP Bury South and to Ian Wood of the Environment Agency for all the hard work you have done behind the scenes to bring these people to justice and to protect a community angling facility.
And many thanks to the Angling Trust for providing the information on your website which told us how to report this incident properly
Many thanks to everyone who turned out for our River Irk Clean Up event in Blackley.
Heavy rain over the previous few days resulted in the water quality being too poor for us to ask our volunteers to get in the river and get wet dragging rubbish out. The potential for people to pick up some seriously nasty bugs was just too high. The river hasn’t earned the nick name “The Dirty Irk” without good reason.
So instead we stuck to cleaning the river banks. As you can see from the picture above, we found all the usual suspects which seem to inhabit our urban rivers. Bike wheels, plastic patio chairs, umbrellas, shopping trolleys, and of course an inner city specialty in the plastic coating from stripped copper cables.
A good mornings work, cleaning 3 sections of river bank between Sainsburys and the BT Cable Yard in Blackley.
As you can see from the pic below, the Irk also treated the two volunteers who did venture into the river with a foamy bath, courtesy of the run off from the car wash at the local Sainsburys, and the truck was slightly upstream of the m60 motorway both of which run off directly into the river.
The shopping trolley at the front of the pic was removed, but you can see the permanent foam lane on the far bank which isn’t visible in the river, upstream of the two offending locations.
Hopefully with a little council co-operation we will be able to get these two sources of pollution dealt with.
Our next clean up event will be held in Ashton U Lyne on the River Tame. 10.30am start on the 29th Nov. Meet outside the Station Hotel.
This will be the last event of the year – and our clean up events will re-commence in Spring 2016
Congratulations to 12 year old Kaden McCarthy from Salford, on the capture of this magnificent 20lb+ pike from the Rochdale Canal in the City Centre of Manchester.
A superb fish, caught on ledgered sprat and a dead cert winner of Salford Friendly Anglers annual “fish of the year” competition.
If any adult angler submits an entry for this competition between now and are Xmas do, they will be drummed out of the club.
If you’re thinking that this was a lucky one “one off” capture, then you’d be very mistaken. This is Kadens 2nd 20lb+ pike from the centre of Manchester this year, and he can also claim more feathers in his cap with the capture of some decent carp and chub this summer too.
So, John Wilson watch out, Martin Bowler move over – keep your eyes peeled next time you’re on the bank for our own superstar in the making Kaden McCarthy.
Many thanks to Greater Manchester Police, whose prompt response to our call for help resulted in the arrest of two poachers on our community fishing lake at Drinkwater Park.
An eagle eyed venue regular spotted 2 men acting suspiciously this morning, and reported their activity to a club committee member.
He saw that the men were pike fishing with 5 rods each, and had a take on one of the rods which they weren’t paying any attention to.
Once they noticed that one of their baits had been taken, they reeled in a 5lb+ pike, killed it by a blow to the head and then put it into a bag.
Now we do not allow fish to be killed or taken from out waters. Its theft. We cherish all our fish, especially a delicate predator like Pike.
If we had to replace that 5lb Pike from a fish farm it would cost us over £50.
So, if you ran a shop or a business and you saw someone stealing something to the value of £50 what would you do??
Easy – call the police and have them arrested.
And that’s exactly what we did this morning.
Using the 101 non emergency number we called the switchboard at Greater Manchester Police, and told them what had happened. We told them that its illegal to fish with more than two rods at a time and these guys had 5 each. And we told them that they were killing and stealing our fish (which they were) from a community lake, managed by the community with the help of the local council, EA and Forestry Commission in such a way as to provide free fishing for families.
And then we supplied GMP with the deal sealer – using the information available to us via the Angling Trusts “how to report poachers” webpage – we were able to quote the police/legal codes of the laws that these guys were breaking so that the officer sent to investigate could deal with the matter effectively and with full knowledge of the relevant laws these people were breaking.
At the end of our conversation, we asked the lady on the GMP switchboard if it was likely if they would send out an officer to respond to our call, and were amazed to hear that an officer was already on the way to the lake. Brilliant.
20 minutes later we got a call from an officer on the banks of Drinkwater Park Lake, who had apprehended two men, fishing without valid rod licences, with 5 rods each and dead fish in their possession. Add to the mix a witness of all this taking place from the angling club and Bobs Your Uncle – these guys are going to court.
Many thanks to our eagle eyed member who thought to report this to us. Many thanks to the Angling Trust for giving us the information we needed to help us report the offenders properly and many many thanks to Greater Manchester Police for such a prompt response and helping to protect a community angling facility from some selfish, ignorant &@#ks