Clive Archer is a hero. This unassuming man does, arguably, more for angling than most people we know.
Together with an enthusiastic team of committee members and helpers, Clive has built something rather special through the Dartford and District Angling and Preservation Society (DDAPS). I was thrilled to play a tiny part in one of its events this summer, where nearly 400 – yes, 400 – young people came together to cast, catch, learn and, most importantly, celebrate our sport.
With support from The Tackle Box, which provided poles, whips and a multiplicity of rigs, this was angling on an impressive scale – and a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when people are prepared to get behind young people and our sport.
Clive and the DDAPS team command our deepest respect – and deserve a very loud round of applause.
Over to Clive to tell us more about the society and the importance of junior members for the future of angling.
Clive Archer: Junior members are our future
DDAPS is an old, established angling club with a rich history within the angling world. We have just shy of 3000 members.
As with other clubs that I have belonged to, junior membership – or lack of it – appears to be an increasing problem. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that if juniors do not enter this fantastic sport of ours, it will almost certainly over time disappear.
If you are a club official or membership secretary, just try checking the average age of your membership.
We carried out this exercise many years ago and the results were a wake-up call.
DDAPS has always had a very healthy match scene. But the last time we checked, the average age of our match anglers was 72.5 years. It was after reviewing these figures that we looked to encourage juniors into our Society. We began with a taster day at our Horton Kirby fishery, which was well attended by youngsters of all ages. It was supported by local authorities, as well as the Environment Agency and others.
I do not wish to appear ungrateful, but it did seem that for some this was no more than a box-ticking exercise.
However, the day was a great success, with many youngsters having their first taste of fishing – but this is where we identified a major problem.
We have created the interest in lots of young people, youngsters who are now desperately keen to go fishing. But where do they go?
We, like many clubs at the time, had a waiting list of around four years – which, let’s be honest, to anyone under 16 years old is a lifetime. Our waiting list is, at present, around 15 years.
So where can these youngsters to go? There are local commercial fisheries available, but at a cost of £10-£15 a day, if young families have more than one child that equates to a lot of money.
We have a day ticket water at Dartford, where a junior ticket is only £3 for the day.
If you were like me and many of my friends at the age of 12 or so, during school holidays we would be fishing four to five times a week. This, however, was free from a day ticket cost, as we would be fishing the river Darent, which runs through Dartford Park. At times we would be shoulder-to-shoulder there were so many of us, catching minnows, gudgeon and, if we were extremely lucky, a perch.
This is no longer available to the youngsters of today, as the local council have allowed this once magnificent river to become overgrown and little more than an open sewer. I was quite heartbroken last time I ventured through the park to look at the river.
Indeed, when youngsters have attempted to fish in the park, they are told fishing is not allowed, with health and safety being quoted as the reason. Over the years I have spoken to councillors and council officials regarding this; they smile, nod approvingly – and do nothing.
At DDAPS we knew our future survival depended on bringing more juniors into the Society, so after the success of our first junior fun day it was agreed that we needed to continue along the lines of offering a free taster day to all juniors. Club Secretary Andy Hope, along with his wife Keeley, took over the running of the junior fun day. It was also at this time that Kevin and Gary Peet, owners of the Tackle Box in Dartford, got involved. They have sponsored this event every year since 2009. Their support has been phenomenal, having supplied all of the whips, rigs, bait etc. Many of their staff also give up their weekend to help run the event.
Since Andy and Keeley took over the running of our junior fun day, we have had 5143 youngsters attend the day, which is unbelievable. To be fair, we do get some returning year after year. I am very pleased that our committee are quite progressive and we have looked at ways of keeping these young people keen. After several attempts to get this right (bearing in mind that whatever you do someone will look for a loophole) we now believe we have it about right.
The major thing that the committee pushed through was that pre-juniors who are attached to an existing member’s card would gain instant membership. Also, any junior who applies for membership before their 15th birthday will get instant membership and will not have to join the waiting list. After the age of 16 these juniors automatically become full members.
We know that not all junior members will go on to be senior members, but it is noticeable that a lot of the juniors that do leave the sport, for one reason or another, return in later life and we believe they help to secure our future as a Society. When speaking to our general membership, the support for what we are doing to encourage young people into our sport is overwhelmingly supported.
As a society, we know we need to progress on to the next level to make sure our sport is available to all. As a result we have spent the last five years trying to obtain planning permission to build a club house, meeting room and training facility at our lakes at Sutton At Hone. The hoops that we have had to jump through and the costs have been staggering. However, we have finally been granted planning permission to build our new facility. Once completed, the aim is to go out to local youth groups etc.
We already host a local Beaver group who come along a couple of evenings a year. If you have never witnessed a young group like this, many catching their first ever fish, I cannot describe the excitement and enthusiasm from these young people. If you run an angling club, just book in such an event – you will not be disappointed.
We have also had the pleasure of hosting several Fishing for Schools events and hope to host many more in the future. Ultimately, our aim is to offer all youth groups a purpose-built facility where there is a classroom and purpose-built ponds that can give many young people an insight into this unbelievable sport we all enjoy, and thus ensure that our sport continues for many generations to come.
Clive Archer, Chairman DDAPS