HOW TO JOIN

The Barbel Catchers Club is a national organisation which brings together experienced anglers with the objective of providing:-

· A forum for discussion and debate
· An opportunity to increase our knowledge by learning from each other
· An opportunity to increase our understanding of the species and its environment

The club is organised by dedicated barbel anglers for barbel anglers and prefers the accent to be on comradeship, involvement and its strong social base rather than a commercial approach or heavy involvement in angling politics. The aim is to bring together likeminded specialist anglers whose primary interests are the barbel and barbel fishing. It is not necessary to have caught a string of 'doubles', nor are there any targets to be achieved. There is instead, a significant emphasis on encouraging member participation and all members are justified in expecting others to contribute. The old adage 'you only get something out if you are prepared to put something in' is very appropriate to the Barbel Catchers. Accordingly the main requirements are:-

· A willingness to be involved and to contribute
· To have a reasonable experience of barbel fishing
· To show enthusiasm and interest in the club and species

Whilst a national organisation, with annually elected officers running the structure and services, the clubs primary units are the regional groups which cater for members locally. These are currently based in the broad geographical areas of Yorkshire, Southdown, Chilterns, Wessex, North West, Southern and Midlands/Cotswolds. Each region is led by a 'Regional Organiser' who arranges regular meetings, 'fish-ins' and other activities and is a point of contact for the committee and the other R.O.'s.

There is provision for 'individual' membership for members who are geographically remote from the current regions. Individual members are attached to their nearest region for contact purposes and are expected to maintain such contact by attending a reasonable number of meetings.

Two National 'get togethers' are held each year and members are encouraged to attend both. The AGM is held every April at a 'nationally central' venue and this is a full day consisting of the formal meeting and a very informal social evening. The 'National Fish-in' is held on a premiere barbel river during the autumn months and also ends in a social evening.

Formal communications within the club are by means of our magazine 'BARBUS' and a Newsletter which are published at two monthly intervals. 'BARBUS' is produced entirely from within the club and it is a condition of membership that all members contribute at least once per calendar year. Articles vary from tales of captures, new ideas, humorous experiences, etc., to ones on barbel behaviour and the general enjoyment of barbel fishing.

The club has a Records Officer to collate all of the information fed to him via 'catch returns' and reports this back to the membership at the AGM and through BARBUS. It is also a condition of membership that 'catch returns' are provided by all members to the Records Officer at the end of each season, to include weight, date, and river of capture for all barbel caught.

The club welcomes new members who are keen to join and contribute and who feel they can meet all the above criteria. If you would like to be considered for membership please apply in writing, giving details of your angling experience and your reasons for wishing to join to the Secretary:

Or on-line to webmaster@barbelcatchersclub.co.uk

Go to Top of Page