News 

07.01.21 Latest from the Angling Trust. (Jacksons is open)

04,01.21 National lock down - Advice from the Anging Trust

27.12.20 Remaining winter league matches cancelled.

Due to the uncertainties surrounding covid (and not currently having a match sec), the remaining winter league matches are cancelled. Hopefully, matches will be resumed in the new year when a new Match sec can be appointed (assuming covid restrictions allow).

12.12.20 Fish hides introduced. 

To give some additional protection for the fish from the cormorants, we have installed two sets of cages with fine netting on the top but with more open sides. The sets have been placed in the deeper water roughly in the centres of the Rothay Drive and "wall" sides. They both have bamboo canes so that anglers can see where they are and hopefully avoid snagging up on them. These cages are fixed into placed (not floating) and IF they seem to do the job, can be planted up on the top with vegetation. Lets hope they help.

01.12.20 No AGM / News letter to be sent out.

Tomorrow (the 1st Wednesday of December) would normally be the club AGM. Due to the covid restrictions, that cant take place. 
Instead the club will send a news letter (including the yearly financial statement) to each member. 
Where we have an email address, it will be sent electronically. Otherwise a hard copy will be delivered to you. 
That might take a few days. If you have changed address or contact details, please let the membership secretary know asap. 
Any members who have any questions or observations etc, please contact the relevant committee member.

25.11.20 Introduction of new fish.

New fish stocks were introduced to Jackson's today comprising

40x 10-12" barbel
40x 1lb bream,
60x 8-12oz common & mirror carp
60x 1lb F1 carp
40x 8-10" chub

All the fish were in immaculate condition.

12.11.20 Hand sanitiser dispenser fitted.

As part of the clubs anti-covid regime we have installed a hand sanitzier dispenser inside the entrance to Jackon's. Please use it as apporpriate when handing the entrance locks etc.

04.11.20 Fisheries Office Steve steps down

Fisheries officer Steve as stepped down from his post. A new bench with a suitable plaque will be placed on the flagged area behind peg 5 in recognition of his long service to the club. In the short term it is not envisaged that the post will be filled. This is due to the high workload that is required as part of the regeneration program to restore the fishing on Jackson's to its former glory. Instead, the work will be undertaken by the whole committee with the help of club members. Any members who would like to get involved, please let us know. 

04.11.20 Covid update from The Angling Trust

Fish safely, locally and respect the ‘rule of two’ during lockdown
Having now examined the government’s new Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations the Angling Trust is pleased to be able to offer some initial guidance and interpretation to anglers and fishery providers. Our formal guidelines will be published following further consultation with colleagues at Sport England and DCMS once Parliament has debated the regulations today and passed them into law.
Overall the Angling Trust is pleased that ministers have recognised the value of allowing angling and some other forms of outdoor recreation to continue through the forthcoming lockdown period. However, the new rules are more complicated than we had hoped and anglers should be fully aware of what we can and can’t do in the next 28 days.
How to Fish
The regulations are clear and you can only leave home to fish with members of your own household, your support bubble or with one other individual. The Rule of Six is now effectively the Rule of Two for most of us. The tightening of the rules on ‘gatherings’ means that match fishing or any other organised fishing event is prohibited by law during lockdown. However, competitive fishing will be able to resume once there is a return to the three tier system of restrictions.

02.10.2020 - Covid update

The Angling Trusts advice that at the moment  fishing is still permitted. Matches and pleasure fishing (observing the strict covid rules) are to continue. The match this Sunday at Moss Farm (Aprils) is still on. We will update you if/when things change.

29.10.20 Head Bailiff resigns. 

Head Bailiff Archie as resigned with immediate effect. A replacement will be recruited at the earliest opportunity.

04.10.20 More tree work

Pegs 10 to 18 will be closed on Monday 5th of October for more essential tree work.

14.09.20 "I hear that we are taking all the carp out"  - NO, WE DEFINATELY ARENT !

A number of members have expressed some confusion regarding the removal of SOME of the carp from Jackson's. We would like to make it clear that only a select few carp are to be removed. This is part of the regeneration program that has been widely discussed at general meetings (October and November 2019)and reiterated at the AGM in December 2019.

It shall be recounted now for clarity for all. 

In order to improve the overall fishing on Jackson's, the club will implement a series of plans to improve the environment within the pond. Firstly, the application of siltex which will address the issues surrounding the silt. The silt in Jacksons is inert. It does not support any plant life and very little of the natural food that would usually be expected to be present in a water like ours. Essentially, the siltex activates the silt in such as way as to stimulate the growth of pond weed, micro-organisms, crustaceans etc. 
The siltex will be applied twice in the first year, at least once the second year, after which a view will be taken on its effectiveness and whether more will be applied yearly, every other year, or not at all. 

Pond weeds will be planted of varying types in appropriate places so as to create weed beds in suitable positions. These weed beds will create badly needed cover for the fish and other fauna and oxygenate the water. We have consulted with leading pond weed company Aqualife regarding the types and placing of appropriate plant life and are excited about the improvements that this will bring.

Finally, we will slightly adjust the balance of the fish stocks. Jackson's is capable of holding a finite total biomass of fish. The Environment Agency continually tell us that we have too many carp in the pond. Many of us will recall the last time we followed the EA's advice which resulted in us losing a lot of carp, along with a lot of members.  We are totally committed to NOT allowing that to happen again. 
In order to reduce the total mass of carp, and thereby free up space for new fish to be added; we will SELECTIVELY remove a number of carp in the 10lb range. ALL, the biggest carp will remain, along with all the carp of 9lb and below. We all like to land one of big brutes and there are a good number of fish 12lb and above, whilst there are  a lot of carp in the 4-8lb range. Again, we reiterate that ALL these fish will stay in Jackson;s. 

The fisheries officer has ordered a a delivery of new fish which will be introduced in October this year. The order includes

40x 10-12" Barbel (the last batch have proved very successful)
40x 1.5lb Bream, 
30x 8oz common carp
30x 8oz mirror carp
60x 1lb F1 Carp, 
40x 8-10" chub 
and a handful of large tench.

We hope that this makes the position clearer.

02.09.20 Treemendous work.

Temporary peg closures. 
On Monday the 7th September pegs 10 to 25 will be closed for the cutting of trees. Its a major task and will involve a team of tree surgeons.
Members must use only pegs 1 to 9 or 26 to 31 so that the work can be carried out safely.

26.08.20 None RAC match incident

Some of you may have heard of an incident that took place recently during a trip that some of our anglers made to Shropshire. The trip was not an offical club event. The committee has discussed the events that took place and conclude it now closed.

26.08.20 Trees

A number of the trees surrounding the pond are in a potentially dangerous state. They need urgent attention. Banks Office Laurie has been consulting with an number of tree surgeons and there will be some major work undertaken ASAP. The branch that fell earlier in the week could easliy have resulted in death or serious injury and must not be allowed to happen again. 

Following on from the immiediate essential work, Laurie will be putting together a plan that should result in the safe maintenance of the trees which should result in a lower overall cost. More details will follow when the plan has been finalised.

26.08.20 Reduction in rodents noticed

Laurie has been monitoring the reported sightings of rats and it does appear that his efforts to tackle the problem are resulting in a reduction in the number of them. The methods he has used are relatively inexpensive, envrionment friendly and best of all - working. 

25.08.20 Pegs 12-18 closed

A large willow tree branch has blown down. That stretch will be closed until it can be safely removed and the other trees checked to ensure that they are safe.

18.08.20 Help with boat repair ?

The fiberglass boat that we use on the pond is in need of a little TLC.

If anyone has experience of patching up with fiberglass please get in touch with Banks officer Laurie, it would be a great help.

17.08.20 New car park gate

Unfortunately, a members key broke in the lock on the car park chain. Temporarily we fitted another lock that uses the exisitng key. Nobody really liked the chain as a security solution to the car park access, so we are in the process of replacing it with a balanced lift up barrier. This should prove much easier for people to use.

01.08.20 Rat Trap

We are addressing the proliferation of unwanted rodent life by setting a number of traps around the banks. Please do not disturb them, they will be checked regularly by the Banks Officer.

31.07.20 Bee-Gone

The bees that were behind pegs 1 and 2 have buzzed off, so those pegs are back in use.

25.07.20 Bees !

A bee hive has formed behind pegs 1 and 2. The pegs are closed for the time being.

25.07.20 Car Parking

Members are reminded that the club rules state that members car must be parked on the club car park when visiting Jackon's pond. It is essential that we maintain our good relationships with residents in the area.

15.07.20 On Wednesday 15th July we were able to hold our first committee meeting since February.

Observing covid rules, we used nearly half of the room in Houldsworth working mens club. As such it simply isnt possible to resume general meetings safely. We will, as soon as it is safe to do so, although nobody has any idea when that might be. We will give members as much notice as possible when meetings do resume. 

With that in mind it wont be possible to read out notices of motion etc three times before the usual AGM in December (even if it actually takes place then). Once general meetings resume, we will read out any Notices of motion at the first meeting, and then hold the following meeting as the AGM. If any member has a notice of motion that they would like to propose, please contact Club Secretary Mike Bickley (email address is on the contact page). The notice will then be published on this website and read out at the first meeting.

Due to the lack of general meetings and the reduction of information flow between members and the committee, we will be posting news updates on this page as regularly as possible. If anyone has anything that they would like to be mentioned, please contact the relevant committee member and we will post on here where suitable. 

CCTV system.

The CCTV system on Jackson's is in need of a major upgrade. Work will commence on the system almost immediately. The upgrade will allow bailiffs greater flexibility in its use, which will in turn enhance members safety and increased protection to the fish stocks and the premises in general. Access to the CCTV system will be very strictly limited and the persons with access will be CRB checked before they can use it.

Club Rules.

Baliffs have reported an increase in incidents of a minority of members acting in serious breach of club rules. We will be addressing this in two ways. The upgrade to the CCTV system will act as a preventative measure, but will also allow us to clearly record any problems that may need addressing. Additionally, from the next period of membership, all members will be required to sign that they have read and will abide by the rules. No new memebers will be joined to the club until they have read the rule book, so that there can be no misunderstanding about what is expected of them.

Waste bait & litter

There have been a number of instances of unused bait being left on pegs. This is strictly forbidden. Waste bait greatly encourages the prevelance of rats which pose a major health hazard to anglers as a vector for Weils disease and other illnesses.

There has also been a fair number of cans left discarded on and behind pegs. Cans are not permitted on Jackson's (put corn, meat etc into a bait box before entering the pond) and please, please take all litter away with you.

Car park keys

Some members have reported problems with keys not working in the car park padlock. Any member who has experienced an issue should mention that to Head Baliff Archie Davies who has a limited stock of replacement keys that have all been pre-tested. 

Pegs 7,8,9

The above pegs which were previously closed due to the 2m social distancing rule can now be used following the relaxtion of the social distancing to 1m+

Committee reshuffle

There was some movement of places on the commitee. Danek Imoleck was co-opted as Chairman. Mike Bickley moved to the post of Club Secretary, while Helen Stanfield moved to Minutes Secretary. Paul Henderson was co-opted as Match Secretary.

Each will need to be ratified at the next AGM.