Rules of The Athlone Anglers Association

These are the rules of the Athlone Anglers Association and they govern how competitions and other events. are run by the Association. These rules are approved at AGM’s by the members of the association and may only be altered or added to by the successful submission of a motion to an AGM. However, in exceptional circumstances the committee of the association may alter, amend, remove or introduce a new rule to the association during the angling season without the approval of an AGM but the alteration, amendment, removal or introduction must be put to the next AGM for approval for permanent adoption into the rules.

General Rules

  1. Membership Fees

Single Adult membership - €20

Single Junior Membership - €5

Family Membership - €30

Student and O.A.P. Membership - €10

Junior membership applies to those under 18 and in full time education.

Family Membership applies to two adults (either married or co-habiting) and any children in the family who are under 18 and in full time education.

Student membership applies to those who are 18 or over and in full time education or under 18 in part time education and part time employment. Those under 18 and in full time employment shall be liable for the Single Adult Membership and O.A.P. membership shall apply to those aged 65 or over.

All membership fees must be paid by the end of March or at the next competition after the end of March that the angler attends.

Day Membership will remain at €10 and can only be used twice in one season after which the person must take out full membership. Day memberships are accepted at the discretion of the Captain of the day.

  1. Entry Fees

Each Adult = €7.50

Each Junior = €5.00

Dapp competitions each adult and junior = €7.50

The boat of the Captain of the Day shall be exempt from entry fees.

  1. Competition Prizes

1st - €150

2nd - €110

3rd - €75

4th - €60

5th - €40

Boat Raffle Prize - €30

Presentations will take place between 9.15pm and 9.30pm.

  1. Competitions

The Association will run twenty-two Angling competitions of which thirteen competitions will be for trout and of these thirteen three will be held during the Mayfly season, weather and fly hatch permitting, and anglers taking part in these three competitions may only use Dapp of Fly-fishing methods. Three of the other trout competitions, the Fallon Memorial Cup, the Conway/Conroy Memorial Cup and the Keneavy Memorial Cup will be catch and release only competitions. The association will also run nine pike competitions and of these at least five will be fished using the measure, photograph, release method.

The association will also when possible run a Ladies Pike competition, a Youth Pike competition and a Children’s all species competition.

The running order of all competitions will be decided by the committee.

  1. The Mayfly Season

The start of the Mayfly season will be decided by the committee and will run for a period of twenty-eight days. During this period the competition for the heaviest trout on the Dapp will take place and all members are automatically entered into this competition and the cup will be awarded to the angler who catches the single heaviest trout and has it weighed in at the appointed weigh in station. Trout caught on Sundays regardless of whether the angler was participating or not in the normal Sunday competition count for this competition. Only trout caught using the Dapp or Fly-fishing method are eligible.

  1. Captains of The Day

There will be at least one captain on all competitions to weigh fish regardless of whether the competition is a compulsory catch and release competition. Contact numbers and locations for the captain or captains will be provided to anglers on the morning of the competition.The decision of the captain or captains in relation to all matters of the competition that they are officiating at shall be final.

On non-compulsory catch and release competitions the captain will only weigh live fish and dead fish must be brought to the presentation venue for weighing. If a trout that has been weighed for catch and release does not swim away then the weight will be removed from the captains sheet and the trout must be brought to the presentation venue for weighing before the appointed scales down time.

The boat of the Captain of the Day shall be exempt from entry fees.

  1. Competition Rules
  1. Each angler can use two rods however there should be no more than four rods in use at any time when there are more than two anglers in the boat.
  2. On trout competitions, a size limit of 14 inches will apply i.e. trout of less than 14 inches will not qualify for a prize and must be returned to the water immediately.
  3. On all trout and pike competitions where a fish is being released the following rule will apply, a fish will be considered to have swum away once it can hold itself upright, and unaided in doing so, beneath the surface of the water. It is the responsibility of the angler who catches the fish to return the fish to the water. Once the Captain returns the fish to the angler after weighing the angler will have a period of ten minutes to get the fish to swim away. Captains will weigh the fish at the following set time 1pm and 3pm and at the end of the competition. Should an angler have a fish which is very large or is liable to die through injuries sustained while being landed then they may ask the captain to weigh their fish outside of these times If the fish fails to swim away during this period the captain will delete the weight from the captains sheet and in the case of a non-compulsory trout catch and release competition the trout should be brought to the presentation venue that evening for weighing before the appointed scales down time.
  4. On all competitions fishing, may not begin until the official start time and anglers must stop fishing at the official lines up time. If an angler has hooked a fish just prior to the lines up time they may continue to play it until it is landed or it is lost and then angling must cease. Anglers may wish to continue angling after the official lines up time but fish caught after that time will not count for the competition which has just finished and should not be weighed in for it.
  5. The use of fish/depth finders are not allowed on any competitions.
  6. On pike competitions,the boat must not be anchored, moored, grounded or rendered unmovable by the natural water current in any way while fishing; this includes driving the boat into reeds.
  7. On all trout competitions, which are not compulsory catch and release, a bag limit of two fish per angler will apply. This means that anglers may take home two fish but if they catch anymore then they must be weighed with the Captain and released.
  8. Only legal methods of fishing are allowed on competitions and these may be further restricted by club’s rules such as Dapp/Fly-fishing only during the Mayfly season.
  9. Scales down time in the presentation venues will be 8.30pm for all competitions except the three Dapp competitions when the scales down time will be either 9pm or 9.30pm
  1. Safety
  1. The committee shall, at the first committee meeting after the AGM appoint a Safety Officer. The safety officer shall be responsible for updating the Athlone Anglers Association Safety statement and for ensuring that the Safety Statement is available to all members and that they are aware of their responsibility to make themselves aware of the contents of the Safety Statement and to abide by it.
  2. It is the responsibility of each angler to make themselves aware of the contents of the Safety Statement and to abide by it always.
  3. If bad weather is forecast for the day of a competition or other event which may be adversely affected by weather conditions the Safety Officer, or any other committee member, may contact other committee members to ask their view as to whether the event should go ahead and if the majority decide that the event should not proceed then the membership will be advised of this decision as soon as is practicable usually by text message.
  4. If, on the morning of a competition or event, the Captain, if in his/her opinion, the weather has deteriorated, may call a meeting of the committee members present to decide as to whether the event/competition should go ahead.
  5. In the event of a tied vote in either scenario above the event will not go ahead.

Recommendations and Awareness

The following are not rules of the Association but they are the law of the land and while we have no authority to enforce the law of the land it is our recommendation that all members abide by.

  1. Appropriate life jackets should be worn by all anglers when out on the water or operating near the water.
  2. Anglers regularly pull in on shoreline to rest and have something to eat and they should make sure that all litter is cleaned up before they leave.No damage should be caused to property such as fences and gates or any other property or structures and no damage should be caused to trees, shrubs and bushes.Remember the old motto, “Take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints”
  3. If lighting a fire, then please use only fallen timber/sticks to light the fire and note that it is illegal to light a fire on the shoreline in County Westmeath. If you do light a fire please ensure that all safety precautions are taken including properly extinguishing the fire before you leave.
  4. The rules of navigation state that you should drive on the right-hand side and when overtaking that you should do so on the left-hand side of the boat you are passing. This will allow the boat you are passing to have better visibility of you.

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