Congleton & District Fly Fishers Ltd
"O, sir, doubt not that Angling is an art; is it not an art to deceive a trout with an artificial fly?"
Isaak Walton
Historically fly-fishing was regarded as something of an elitist sport.
Congleton & District Fly-Fishers was founded in the early eighties specifically to remove the barriers, real or imaginary and make fly-fishing for trout available to anyone who wished to participate.
Deeps
A disused sand quarry off Giantswood Lane was rented and a small group of like-minded fishermen formed a fishing club. From then until today (and hopefully into the future) the basic tenets have been the same although as described below the operational framework has had to change.
From the outset, the core purposes of the club in addition to fly-fishing for trout as described above, included the involvement of the local community through open days, free tuition, free loan of equipment, open competitions, special events for children. Of equal importance in our priorities has been the maintenance of the natural habitat including the surrounding fields and woods as well as the water and our success in this has been recognised in the site being declared a site of special significance because of the wildlife it harbours and the flora it sustains.
In 1998, the owners decided to sell the Mere and the club’s contribution to and position within the local community was a prime consideration in the owners’ decision to sell to us, rather than other more generous bids. It was this purchase that necessitated changes in our operational structure.
Monies to meet the agreed purchase price were raised by a mixture of existing funds, personal loans, share holdings and a Royal Bank of Scotland business loan. In order to qualify for the business loan, the club had to become a limited company (hence the share holdings mentioned above) and so today we are Congleton & District Fly Fishers Ltd. As required by law we have a board of directors , secretary etc etc. However, everybody works on a volunteer basis and no salaries, ‘expenses’ or other rewards are paid.
We generate funds by selling day-tickets and selling annual memberships to meet the costs of stocking monthly and other daily running costs such as fuel, grass cutting, fence maintenance etc.
Satisfaction of catching a fish on your own fly
There is something very satisfying about catching a fish on something that you made with your own two hands.
“There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process.”
~ Paul O’Neil
