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Letter From The Secretary Now that one of the busiest periods of the year for me as secretary is coming to an end, I have been reflecting on just how much time my duties are demanding. Twenty years ago the secretary’s job was just that, taking minutes at meetings and dealing with correspondence. After attending committee meetings for most of that period, the responsibilities of this post has grown out of all proportion. The match secretaries are finding it more difficult to run all the club's open and closed matches and are desperate for more help. Johnnie has done terrific work with the club's finances and Dave puts so much effort into his fish recording and Species League work while Tiny is still very busy with his duties.

However, all the other aspects of running the club are becoming evermore overwhelming for me to undertake. Jobs include processing membership and membership packs; printing; proof reading and posting newsletters and emailing club news; engraving; scale certification; booking of venues and catering; press releases; organising the presentation dinner (which itself involved in excess of thirty hours work) in addition to taking and typing up minutes and dealing with all correspondence and sorting out everybody’s problems both big and small; the list goes on and on and it is not getting any easier. These responsibilities have always had an impact on my personal life but added to my duties as junior secretary and my commitments with other clubs and associations, this impact has become unacceptable and it is clear that something has to give. Because of this, and after a great deal of thought, it is with great regret that I must stand down as secretary and press officer at the end of this term. I am happy to continue as junior secretary which in itself is very time demanding but, if re-elected, I will need to strictly limit my work load to junior related matters only.

I feel it is only fair to make this decision now while there is plenty of time left to find a replacement and I can only hope that help from the membership can be found and it would be preferable if jobs could be shared out amongst many rather than one person taking on everything. This is how things used to be done and although I voluntarily took on the job after Tiny stood down, I feel it is unreasonable and unworkable for just one person to undertake. It seems that the more work one person does, the more work is left to that one person. I would like to appeal to the committee and the membership as a whole for volunteers to come forward and help the club to continue in its success.

Kind regards, Hoot.

Shore Report

Wow what a start to the new year, Ian Draper started the ball rolling by breaking the long standing pouting record; his fish came in at 1247 grams a 183.38% specimen. Most of us would have been content with that, not Ian, he followed that with a stonking conger of 25600 grams a 252.75% specimen; he also bagged two specimen flounders.

SPECIES & HANDICAP LEAGUES Top 5 prize positions as at end of February (To qualify fish 10 matches) SPECIES LEAGUE Points HANDICAP LEAGUE Points O Mears 46 Paul Grinter (+30) 45 P J Wheeler 37 S Fowles (+13) 39 S Fowles 26 L Windsor (+15) 36 C Horton 21 S Skinner (+29) 35 L Windsor 21 O Mears (- 15) 31

Sea Angler Penn Clubman League 2014/15 final scores. (Thursday matches only) WBSAC A Team 113 points WBSAC B Team 32 points

Top individual O Mears 63 points

My fish of the Quarter goes to Ian Draper for his magnificent conger eel.

Full details of current leaders for all cups trophies etc, are displayed on the CLUB WEB SITE and also in the Club Notice Board at the ANGLING CENTRE West Bay.

Regards, good luck and very tight lines, Dave

TREASURER’S REPORT FOR NEWSLETTER

We are now four months into the financial year (one third of the way through), and up to the end of February the results are as follows.

Income from subscriptions and donations totals £1,021 and general running expenses total £1,092, a shortfall of £71. Adding in events etc. brings the total income to £1,446 and expenditure to £1,384, a surplus of £62.

The above figures do not take account of the Presentation Dinner which took place at the beginning of March. Ticket sales and the raffle brought in £945 and expenses totalled £912, leaving a surplus of £33.

As at the end of February we have taken 27 Senior Subscriptions, 2 Juniors, 12 Pensioners and 7 Family Memberships. At the same time last year we had 28 Seniors, 4 Juniors and 15 Pensioners. (We did not have Family membership last year.) Total subscription income to the end of February was £855 against £712 at the same point in 2014.

Regards John

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Paul House helped himself to five specimen flounders, the best at 1442 grams 127.16% specimen. Ollie Mears also had two specimen pout, then Hugh Rathbone decided to join the party with a cracking club record undulate ray of 5915 grams a 100.30% specimen. Meanwhile the codling were coming to the scales in numbers, 14 recorded in one match; to say January fished its nut’s off is an understatement! Unfortunately February arrived and the fishing switched off as usual except for PJ Wheeler who still managed to find codling from West Bay and Eype. Hope to see more club members on the beach soon. Good fishing, Steve Fowles

FISH RECORDER REPORT March 2015 (All results to end of February)

I think we can safely say we have had a fantastic start to shore angling this year as members have already recorded 3 club records and 12 specimens.

Ian Draper last October caught a whiting 1148gm 168.82% not satisfied with this he then caught a club record pout 1247gm 183.38% then to really show off a club record conger eel 25600gm (56lb 7oz) 225.75%. Well done Ian.

Also Hugh Rathbone fishing a club match landed a club record undulate ray 5915gm 100.30%.

Let’s all hope the good fishing continues. It is now 12 years since the introduction of the Species League and 10 years the Handicap League, so here is the hall of fame winners list. SPECIES LEAGUE HANDICAP LEAGUE 2003 P J Wheeler -------------- 2004 D Cornick --------------- 2005 D Chidzoy D Chidzoy 2006 D Chidzoy D Chidzoy 2007 D Chidzoy N Baker 2008 P J Wheeler O Mears 2009 O Mears P Maggs 2010 D Chidzoy D Chidzoy 2011 O Mears A Cullingford 2012 S Harwood G Reed 2013 O Mears P House 2014 P J Wheeler A Cullingford

Now how is this year’s species league progressing?

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Junior Report Spring 2015

The start of another junior season is nearly upon us and thankfully the winter was a lot kinder this time with good fishing throughout; I hope some of you managed to get on the beaches and catch a codling or two. First match kicks off on 11th April with the Fred Tolley Memorial Trophy.

I usually have quite a lot to catch up in the spring issue so I shall start back at the Jurassic League and the annual Juniors V Parents match on 1st November 2014. An even entry this time with 14 seniors and 14 juniors; quite a bit down on the previous year’s turnout. This year’s event thankfully escaped the wet weather forecasted earlier in the week although

competitors faced a brisk south westerly wind with rough seas. Last year’s winner Frances Kitchin took an early lead with a sizeable shore rockling and despite plenty of fish coming to the scales, her catch looked hard to beat with mainly undersized specimens landed. Species included shore and five bearded rockling, bass, weever, flounder, whiting, pollack, shanny, sea scorpion and tompot blenny; all fish were returned. Senior competitor Mike Hallett managed to land the most fish of the match with a remarkable 8 different species but unfortunately the catch was all undersize so Frances Kitchin maintained her lead (sizeable fish take precedence). Junior member Ewan Chambers slipped into second place with 2 sizeable rockling while president Dave Cornick managed to land a sizeable five bearded rockling putting him into third position. Weever fish were still predominant in the catches and one particularly large specimen came to junior member Eden Lynham which turned out to be a new club record of 46 g. As the match progressed it looked unlikely that the leading competitor would be beaten until with just 15 minutes remaining, Ewan landed a third sizeable rockling which put him in the lead. With just minutes remaining, Frances landed a second sizeable rockling but was not quite enough to take back the lead.

After the match, all the competitors and their families returned to the Salthouse for refreshments where an excellent buffet provided by the Punch and Judy Bakery was enjoyed. This event includes the first match of the Jurassic League, the Junior Shore Festival and the Juniors V Parents Open, so first the presentation for the junior match took place. President Dave Cornick started proceedings by thanking me for organising the event along with thanks to Hilary

Smith and Tiny for organising the Salthouse. Thanks were also given to Steve and Sally Lawrence of the Punch and Judy Bakery and Tracey Marley of West Bay Water Sports for supporting the event. The junior match was comfortably won by Ewan Chambers with a catch including 3 sizeable rockling. On to the overall match and the J v P trophy also went to Ewan Chambers and as best junior he also secured the Junior Shore Festival Trophy. The wooden spoon prize went to Jason Salvador Swords (senior); top five competitors listed below. Many congratulations to Ewan as he is the first junior to win the J v P trophy since the event began.

J v P Top Five

1st Ewan Chambers (junior) 355g (261g sizeable) (Pictured right) 2nd Frances Kitchin (senior) 205g (226g sizeable) 3rd Dave Cornick (senior) 253g (49g sizeable) 4th Steve Harwood (senior) 333g 5th Mike Hallett (senior) 261g Wooden spoon: Jason Salvador Swords (senior)

After these proceedings came the trophy presentation for the Saturday Junior League. Overall winner this year on both weight and points was James Lawrence. All winners were as follows:

The Saturday Cup (overall winner weight): James Lawrence, Lambert Trophy (runner-up weight): Ewan Chambers, The Points Trophy: James Lawrence, Points Runner-Up Trophy: Ewan Chambers Ladies Junior Trophy: Abby Button, The Hils Trophy (heaviest fish): Ewan Chambers, The Trevett Cup (heaviest flounder): Yasmin Harwood The Tiny Cup (heaviest mackerel): Eden Lynham, The Forward Trophy (most promising junior): Aaron Chambers

On to the Jurassic League with the last of five matches taking place on 19th December and this autumn/winter period has continued to return good catches. 11 members turned out to fish on a breezy but dry day on the East Pier at West Bay. After a slow start, and as the tide started to make, fish soon started coming thick and fast with flounder, whiting, pout, bass, pollack, poor cod and rockling coming to the scales.

Jamie Salvador Swords took an early lead with the first fish of the day, a small bass, but Nathan McMaster soon had the first sizeable fish of the day with a whiting. This was overtaken by Kadie Lynham with her sizeable flounder but

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then James Lawrence entered the match with sizeable pout and whiting. All but one competitor landed fish with the majority of anglers managing to weigh in fish over the minimum size. Nathan then pulled out all the stops with a succession of sizeable fish leaving James and Eden fighting for second and third place with Caolan Ayers getting closer to the top three. Eden eventually settled into to second place with a decisive, last minute double-shot of sizeable pout leaving Nathan with a clear win.

After the competition, all the juniors, family and friends retired to the Salthouse to enjoy a tasty buffet generously provided by the Punch and Judy Bakery. This year had a ‘tacky Christmas jumper’ theme and was judged by club president Dave Cornick. Prizes were awarded for best parent and the top three juniors; results below.

I started proceedings by thanking all those who have donated prizes for the league and to those who have helped out on the day. Prizes were then awarded for the winners of the final match; in addition to the usual match prizes, the top three on the day won Christmas hampers provided by Hilary Smith. This was followed by the full results of the league, with a prize for everyone who fished that day. This year a new trophy has been presented, the Jurassic League runner- up, which was donated along with prizes by Tom Treloar of Abbotsbury Fishing Tackle. This year’s overall winner, Ewan Chambers, had a clear lead with 2442 g but only 34 g separated the next 3 positions with Caolan Ayers taking the new runner-up trophy with 1570 g; results below.

Jurassic League Results (top five)

1st Jurassic League trophy: Ewan Chambers 2442 g, 2nd Jurassic League runner-up trophy: Caolan Ayers 1570 g, 3rd Kadie Lynham 1547 g, 4th Nathan McMaster 1536 g, 5th Aaron Chambers 1435 g

Christmas Jumper Competition

Best junior: James Lawrence, 2nd Kadie

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West Bay S.A.C.’s annual presentation night kicked off as usual with

a delicious three course meal and was attended by around fifty

members. After the meal, chair Rod Barr started proceedings by

thanking secretary Roger Guppy for organising the event and Lynn

Mudford for a great job in preparing all the trophies along with

others who had helped out on the day. The presentation started with trophies for major leagues during the

club year and

this year the

shore events

were dominated

by Ollie Mears

who won all

three of the

major leagues;

the Rickard Cup

and Axminster

Cup for best

weight and

points in the

Thursday night

series, the Andy Neal Roving Challenge for wining the Saturday night

rovers and the Daytime Cup for the Sunday afternoon competitions.

Mears also went on to pick up the Kingfisher Cup for most overall

points along with the Pollack Trophy, Conger Trophy, Lyme Bay

Marine Mullet Trophy, John and Frances Hunt Trophy and joint

winner of the Ball Cup and the Specimen Trophy; a very successful

year indeed! Best lady in shore competitions was Frances Kitchin

who picked up the Pettet Cup with June Stokes winning the Andy

Neal Roving Challenge Ladies Trophy. Best junior in senior shore

Lynham, 3rd Abbie Button, Best parent: Paddy McMaster.

Many thanks for those sponsoring the league including: Abbotsbury Fishing Tackle, Diane O’Keefe, Tiny, Hilary Smith, Gerry Reed, Nigel and Jane Smith, Andrew Fowler, Frances Kitchin and Hugh Rathbone. Also thanks to Hilary Smith and Andrea Joy for setting up the hall.

That's about all for now apart from my annual reminder for those of you who haven't fished since last year to make sure your gear is in order! Hope to see you all again on the pier soon.

Best wishes, Hoot.

Quarterly Draw

1st S. Fowles, 2nd J. Stokes, 3rd N. Stokes.

IT WAS YOU

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matches for both weight and points was Eden Lynham who won both the

Junior Cup (shore) and The Eric Hamblett Memorial Trophy; he also

won the Jake Neal Roving Challenge. On to the boat section and this

year’s winner was Steve Fowles who won not only the Symes Cup but the

Boat Champions Shield with Faye Stephenson picking up the Rose Bowl

for best lady and Charlie Lawson winning the Junior Cup and the

Churchouse Boat Plaque for best junior in boat matches. Next came the Species League and the winner of the separate Junior

League was Ewan Chambers. Winner of the handicap league was Adam

Cullingford and in the main league best lady was Frances Kitchin with

the overall Species League Champion and Match Points Champion prizes

awarded to PJ Wheeler.

The evening continued with the presentation of the numerous trophies

and awards members can win throughout the year and the winners were:

Ollie Mears, Charlie Lawson, Steve Fowles, Derek Smith, James Barr,

Gerry Reed, Simon Bowditch, Lea Windsor, Ian Draper, Paul House,

Eden Lynham, Frances Kitchin, Graham Stephenson, Rod Barr, Fierin

Scor (best boat), Mark Wickenden, Steve Harwood, Craig Horton, PJ

Wheeler, Chris Jefferies, Connor Hallett, Faye Stephenson and Ewan

Chambers. The Presentation ended with two awards that are highly valued by club

members; the Clubman Shield and the President Cup. Firstly the

Clubman Shield which goes to the member who has best supported club

events throughout the year and the recipient for 2014 was Steve Harwood

who had attended fifty club events.

Next the club’s president Dave Cornick took the floor to present the

President Cup. This was started by club president Fred Bowditch who

sadly past away in the autumn of 2013 and is presented to the member

who the incumbent president considers has done the most work for the

club. The president had considered four recipients for this year’s award;

Steve Fowles for running the shore events, Richard ‘Tiny’ Daw for

maintaining the website and producing the newsletter and updating

the club’s paperwork,

the Angling Centre

for taking

membership and

support for the club

and Roger ‘Hoot’

Guppy for all his

meticulous and hard

work in keeping the

club running smoothly

as secretary, junior

secretary and press

officer. The award this year went to Roger Guppy.

The evening finished off with a raffle and the committee would like

to thank all those individuals who donated prizes and Tom Marley

for organising.