October saw this year’s AGM held at one of our regular haunts right on the banks of the Wandle herself – the William Morris pub at Merton Abbey Mills. This year was slightly unusual in that in addition to the usual business and chat of the meeting, we held our inaugural auction (hopefully to become a regular feature) which despite some heated bidding included bargains a-plenty…

With nearly 30 members in attendance, Theo led the business side of the AGM, which saw the whole Committee re-elected with one change in that Jim Dillon now replaces Andy Perks as Membership Secretary. Jim stood in for our Riverfly co-ordinator Will Tall who was unable to attend and talked us through the great success that the Wandle Riverfly project is turning out to be. We do still need more volunteers though – so please do get in touch with Will if you’d be interested in joining the ranks of the monitors…

John Sutton, fisheries team leader from the Environment Agency was good enough to come along to talk to us about the Agency’s work in the Thames catchment area, including their success fighting illegal netting, and to answer a number of questions, particularly on the subject of fish-taking from the Wandle.

And so to the auction… There were deals on creels; prints, waders, hooks and books; frenzied buying of fly tying materials; nets, boots, rods; waving, winks and nods… You get the idea – imagine something between Bargain Hunt and Sothebys and you’d not be far off the mark. In addition to all the stuff there were fishing packages to be had too, including accommodation and fishing in Yorkshire, guided pike fishing, and mayfly fishing on the Avon. And it was all expertly led by Jim, whose Irish charm managed to eke every last bit of value out of every lot.

Next year should be just as fun, so be sure to come along to the 2011 AGM. If you’re not a Member and would be interested in joining the Club, head on over to our Membership page

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