WHO ARE WE?
We are a large Angling Association made up from Angling Clubs in
Hampshire and
Our membership currently stands at 29 clubs giving
us a head count of over 3200
members together with 500 individual members.
In 1975 the Hampshire Basingstoke
Canal Angling Association was
formed from a few local angling clubs, their aim was to gain a lease from the
Hampshire County Council for the 16 miles of canal within Hampshire and then
develop this length as a fishery. Nine years after the formation of the H.B.C.A.A. a formal fishery licence was granted
for the canal from Greywell Tunnel to Ash Lock.
In 1977 the Basingstoke Canal Surrey
Angling Amalgamation was formed from 8 clubs in Surrey with a
similar aim to the H.B.C.A.A. However
their task proved to be greater as the Surrey section contained 29 locks which
all had to be lovingly restored and subsequently many sections remained
dewatered until the late 1980's. However, they did secure a licence to fish a
relatively small length of canal below Ash Lock, which contained water and a
few fish.
In 1989, with the canal now full of water (but not of fish!), it made
sense that any fishery licence would be easier to administer to one angling
body. At this time the County Councils of Hampshire and Surrey were setting up
the Basingstoke Canal Authority to
control the canal. And so in 1991 the B.C.A.A.
was formed when the H.B.C.A.A.
and the B.C.S.A. joined forces.
This significantly strengthened our position whilst negotiating with the B.C.A. for a single fishery licence for the whole
canal. At the time we had over 50 clubs
with a membership of 15 000 anglers.
In 1992 we finally concluded our negotiations and took over control of
the fishing on all 32 miles of the Basingstoke Canal under a 21-year Licence
Agreement.
A major restocking programme was then embarked upon to fill our beloved
canal with fish and since then an estimated £43 000 has been spent on thousands
and thousands of fish and good catches can now be had from all sections (see
our Canal Sections in Detail
page).
The canal has improved dramatically since our early days and anglers can
be found gracing the towpath every day during the season. We have a very active
match calendar (see our Matches
page) hosting some very prestigious matches in recent years, including the Division 5 National in 1997, the Division 4 National in 2001 and the Division 1 National in 2002, Division 2 National in 2004 and countless Embassy
Pairs & Fish O'Mania qualifiers. We are currently looking forward to
hosting the Division 3 National in
2006.
The B.C.A.A. plays an active
part in the National Federation of
Anglers in whom they fully support in their progressive attitude
towards promoting and safeguarding our beloved sport. It is our view that ALL clubs should be affiliated to coarse angling's
governing body as is the case in most other sports. How can the N.F.A. properly fight our cause when only a small
proportion of anglers are members? To find out more about the workings of the N.F.A. make sure you visit their website.
