Category: Club News

We are delighted to advise that, with the kind support of the Duchy of Cornwall, the Club has been able to renegotiate the leases for both the Inny (Beat 19) and the West Looe (Beat 20).

There are no changes to the rules, regulations and season dates that were previously in place for these beats. Members are able to fish the beats with immediate effect

The 2020 Trophy Winners have been published – see the Trophies page

Please note that new/updated LDAC Club Policies on Health and Safety, Data Protection and Risk Assessments have been published and are available to all members on the Club website here

All members, guests and daily/weekly permit holders should read and familiarise themselves with these documents before using Club waters

At the 2020 AGM the Chairman reported that the 2019 season proved once again one of the more challenging in recent years as drought conditions across England and Wales led to a marked decline in the rod catch both locally and nationally.

• 2018 National statistics for England and Wales follow;
• 2018 salmon catch: 7,788 against 2017 13,500 (a decline of 38% on the 5-year average)
• 2018 Sea Trout 13,600 against 22,000 in 2017 (a decline of 49% on the 5-year average).
• Wales faired worst with the decline being -60% for Salmon and -56% for Sea Trout on the 5-year average. 

As a consequence Wales had introduced new conservation measures in the form of a 10-year byelaw. 

Locally we have also seen the introduction of new byelaws for the Camel, West Looe and Seaton rivers (all details on the Club website).

Against this backdrop of increasing regulation the Club has seen a further fall in membership numbers. The income stream that membership fees generate is, of course, key in allowing the Club to exist; to enable it to rent fishing, to insure itself and run the organisation.
The Treasurer would discuss the impact of falling revenues further in his report.

The two salmon hatcheries continue to provide important support for dwindling stocks. Despite tough conditions both managed to meet their targets for brood stock collection in 2019. More details follow in their reports. 

• Hatcheries were not the answer to all our problems but they provide a backup for years when conditions (high river levels and water temps) have hampered spawning and juvenile fish survival. 
• A timely reminder was made to members to check any salmon on the Fowey for fin clipping (indicating returning hatchery fish).
• Thanks made from LDAC to the volunteers who make this important contribution to our fishing. WRT fry surveys continue on the Fowey and the results show juvenile numbers for salmon and sea trout holding up despite environmental pressures. 

There was little to report on the Draynes gravel cleaning, but this is hopefully going to restart in summer 2020; subject of course to managing increasing regulation and the need for licences to do so.
Bank clearance days have been generally well supported. Ashford/Doublebois were cancelled due to recent inclement weather and they will be arranged for a later date, more information will be posted on the Club website.

The Chairman took the opportunity to thank the Secretary for all his efforts and a special mention made to R Grieve for his support in running the Club website.
Finally he thanked the Committee and wished all better fishing in 2020.

Rob Williams
LDAC Chairman

• The Committee met 4 times with excellent attendance.
• Committee discussed and took the lead in implementing voluntary restrictions on the Fowey (and other rivers) to support fish stocks in the future. These are being rolled over into 2020 with no additional measures added.
• Participated fully in FRA and TTFA and LRA meetings to best represent interests of the Club and its members.
• Arranged with Fishing Mayhem to act as our sole agent for selling not just visitor permits but also annual memberships. (Cash only).
• Noted the first reported occurrence of a live signal crayfish in the Draynes.
• Noted the likely introduction of beavers in the upper reaches of the Warleggan in 2020. Reports of a female beaver with kits were made in the Inny and also a solitary male at Roadford Lake.
• Noted ongoing work with WRT to coppice Lewarne in a sustainable manner to help improve access and improve environment for anglers.
• Removal of commercial net from Fowey.
  • LDAC agreement to support EA voluntary restrictions both avoided a byelaw on the Fowey but more importantly resulted in the NLO of zero. This has been bought out with funds provided by SWW and support from the EA. Thanks go out to both for their efforts.
• On increasing membership dues for 2020 
  • Noted that membership dues had increased by 2.5% this year.
  • For £100.00 members get access to c.22 miles of fishing (£4.50 per mile). This compares very favourably with Newbridge (£35.00 per mile), and Lanhydrock (£45.00 per mile).
  • Variety: 6 rivers with brown trout, sea trout, salmon and grayling. 
• Thanks made to the riparian owners for accepting a 20% reduction in rentals as the club manages a drop in membership/income. Further details to follow from the Treasurer. 
• The main message this year is really one of looking forward, rather than looking backwards.
  • Looking forward to going fishing in 2020 
  • Looking forward to getting out and about on the rivers. 
  • Looking forward to catching a fish, and of course losing them; the latter being the ones’ remembered the most. o Looking forward to seeing the first kingfisher of the year flashing down the stream. The surest indicator that rivers are healthy. 
  • Looking forward to hearing about the size of the fish being caught in Club waters. 
• In concluding the Secretary reminded members to advise of any address or email changes asap. Failure to do so would inevitably result in lost contact. • 
• The FRA AGM on 16th April 2020 will be at a new venue, the Conservative Club in Lostwithiel. More details will appear on the LDAC website nearer the time.

The Treasurer presented and reviewed the P&L account for year ending December 31st 2019.

Allowing for all costs in the year the Club carried forward a loss of £1,602.00 for the year.
This is the first recorded loss for the Club and is directly attributable to the sharp reduction in membership numbers.

For 2019 this was at an all time low of 126.
The Committee is aware that 2020 will be critical financially. 

• Membership rates are therefore increasing by 2.5% to £100.00 pa. 
• The Club are pleased to note that most of our riparian owners have also recognized the financial uncertainties we are facing and have agreed to a 20% reduction in rental rates whilst we weather the not-so-perfect storm of increasing regulation, the effects of commercial netting at sea and climate change. We thank them for their understanding and support.

Trevor Sobey
LDAC Treasurer

Due to on-going Government restrictions on group gatherings the 2021 LDAC AGM, originally scheduled for 9th February is now cancelled until further notice.

As outlined in the December newsletter members must now apply to the Treasurer directly for their 2021 permits. Details can be found in the December 2020 newsletter and on the Club website at LDAC.org.ukDon’t forget to include the correct subscription for 2021, either as a cheque or, with Treasurers’ prior agreement, monies paid directly into the LDAC account, a SAE to enable us to send you your new 2021 permit and, of course, your duly completed catch return form for 2020.

Please also ensure we have your latest contact details (address/email) so that we can keep in touch with you during the year.

Many thanks and tight lines for 2021
Paul Jordan
Hon Secretary LDAC
31st January 2021

The Environment Agency has produced a leaflet on Red Skin Disease – a condition that has been sighted on a small number of Salmon in many countries including the UK.

The Environment Agency would like you to read the attached leaflet and report any sightings to your club or better the incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

LDAC waters to re-open on Wednesday 13th May 2020.

We will follow all the published Angling Trust guidelines

• We do recommend that you follow the Angling Trust guidelines when returning to your sport (see below)
• Don’t forget to renew your Environment Agency salmon and seatrout rod fishing licence for the 2020 season

In light of the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic and being aware that many people will be suffering financial hardship at this time, we have decided that for the remainder of the season only to waive the joining/rejoining fee.

Full details of ticket prices etc are available here

If you would like to pay with Online Banking – please follow this process –

• Identify the Membership Fee applicable 
• Send the appropriate payment –
  BACS Account Name – LDAC
  Account number – 80574988
  Sort code – 20-50-40
• Email the Treasurer at kathsobey@btconnect.com with all the required details as listed on the application form.

>> Important – Existing members should still send their Catch Return and a SAE <<