SOME FACTS YOU MAY (OR MAY NOT) KNOW ABOUT
READING & DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION
The Association owns or leases some 25 miles of the River Kennet, River Thames, River Loddon and Kennet & Avon Canal - as well as 14 lakes - comprising some of the most varied and finest fishing in the south of England.
Details are given within this website..
There are 30 clubs affiliated to the Association, who are authorised to issue R DAA Permits to their members at standard fees approved by club delegates annually. Club fees vary as some have their own water(s) or make other arrangements as well as making use of the Association's waters.
Last season around 3,000 anglers purchased a R DAA Permit - and, would you believe, it is possible that every single one could be accommodated somewhere on our banksides at the same time!
The Association caters for all types of coarse anglers, the pleasure angler, the match angler and the specimen hunter. Even the angler who likes to, or can only fish at night, is catered for.
In order to maintain communications, a monthly Information Sheet is issued to each Club Secretary, Treasurer, Match Secretary and Delegate. Additionally, we are grateful to the tackle dealers shown within your Permit as issuing Guest/Day Tickets, who allow us to have a R & DAA notice-board in their shops, to whom we send an abbreviated monthly report for display on the board, also produced within this website.
MATCH FISHING
Each affiliated club is allocated a number of venues each season for its exclusive match use, the maximum being ten Sunday and two Saturday dates. With the Permit is a water booking sheet - this shows which waters are being used by each club, with a number identifying which club this is. On the first Sunday of each month of the season, the Association organises a major match, using several venues to cater for the 80 or so anglers who participate. Successful anglers are presented with the Association's magnificent trophies, at an annual prize-giving, whilst cash prizes, pools and super-pools, which are optional, are paid out on the day.
In addition, the best eight results for each club are recorded, accumulating over the season, to determine the position in each division, leading clubs being promoted and the lowest demoted accordingly. Individual gross weights and points are also accumulated to identify the season's champions.
Our Juniors also have similar competitions but compete on Saturdays, and are supervised by our fully authorised team of Angling Coaches.
For further information please contact the Association's Match Secretary:
Mike Sheasby
Tel: (01256) 350415 or email
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PLEASURE FISHING
Not only does the water booking sheet show which water that is booked to a club, more importantly for the pleasure-only angler, every blank square shows a venue that is unbooked, and there are significantly more blank squares than numbered squares. These bookings only cover weekends, therefore with very rare exceptions, details of which are given on the water booking sheet, all the venues can be fished in normal hours during weekdays.
SPECIMEN FISHING
The Association has a Specimen Group, membership of which is available to members as an additional option. Details are given in your Annual Permit.
Specimen Group members are able to fish Sonning Eye Pit and River, Farnham Flint, Englefield Lagoon, Pingewood Lagoon, Whistley Mill Lake and River and Upper Benyons (River Kennet) on a continuous day and night basis, but are required to observe additional rules of conduct.Tthese venues are open to all members during normal permit daylight hours.
Whistley Mill Lake is some 27 acres containing carp to 40 lbs plus, large bream, tench and pike to 30lbs plus. The river has plenty of double figure barbel, large chub and pike to 20lbs.Sonning Eye Pit is a large water and is known to hold very large fish including carp to 52lb but is probably best known for it's huge hauls of specimen Bream & Tench. Englefield Lagoon is very hard fishing but can be very rewarding, expect Carp to 40lbs plus, Bream to 16lbs plus and Tench to 12lbs plus. Farnham Flint Lake holds Carp to 30lbs plus, with a good head of Tench, Bream and Roach, whilst at Pingewood Lagoon, a lovely venue with bright, clear water, a very good head of resident quality fish, with several Carp well in excess of 40lbs, double figure Bream, Tench to 10lbs with Roach, Perch and Crucians. As you can see, the Specimen Group is not a Carp Group, there is something for everyone who enjoys catching quality fish.
For further information contact the Specimen Group Controller:
Paul Millington
Tel: 01256 410099 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
JUNIORS
In addition to the programme below we now run Angling Tuition on two Saturday mornings during the better part of the season. See the Junior section on our main page for details.
SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
There is a footnote on our water booking sheet that Longwater Lake is specifically reserved for Junior instruction on a series of Tuesdays during the school summer holidays. This takes place during the mornings under the direction of a NFA certified coach, and covers health and safety, angling craft, waterside awareness, tackle and techniques, fish identification and knowledge of the habitat and feeding behaviour of fish.
Members are specifically requested not to set up on Longwater Lake until the Juniors have completed their instruction and have cleared the lake; too often members have to be asked to leave their swims on these reserved dates, as they have failed to read their water booking sheets and are fishing as the youngsters arrive.
For further information contact :- RDAA Junior Controller on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
NIGHT FISHING
Non-specimen group members who wish to fish at night, or perhaps because of shift work are only able to fish at night, are catered for at Hambridge Lake, and on the River Kennet at Calcot A & B and Padworth Mill and on the River Thames at Wallingford, Mapledurham and Sandford Weir without extra costs.
PRESERVATION OF OUR WATERS
Permit holders are required to sign their permits to confirm that they have read, and agree to abide by, the rules. As some offences entail confiscation of the permit please make sure that you are familiar with them. Environment Agency Rod Licence numbers will also need to be inserted into the permit.
The Association's present team of Warranted Bailiffs have again been very active on our behalf. Concerted efforts are made on persons illegally night fishing our venues.
CAR SECURITY
Following demand from members, the Association has constructed two high-security palisade car compounds within the car parking areas at Farnham Flint and Pingewood Lagoon. These are available to members at a small annual cost, please see your Permit for details or contact Paul Millington ( Specimen Group Organiser). We have also a number of gated venues to reduce the incidents of burnt out cars, dumping trade refuse and fly-tipping, this has also substantially reduced thefts from cars. Thieves can no longer drive up to these car parks, stop out of sight and make a number of break-ins as previously. It is most important for our mutual security that unlocking and re-locking gates becomes a normal thing to do. Any member caught failing to re-lock a locked venue will be subject to a severe penalty. Should any locks be broken, damaged or have been removed, please advise, without delay, the Association's Fishery Officer:
Del Shackleford
Tel: 07814 659564 (Bailiff Hot Line) or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
THREE ROD RULE
Delegates also approved the use of three rods on certain waters only, subject to the member having the appropriate EA Rod Licence (see also in Rule 4).
