General Rules -
Members are expected to behave in an appropriate manner at all times and show consideration for other anglers and members of the public. Most importantly, the association expects anglers to treat the fish with the respect that they deserve and handle them with every care. Liverpool and District Angling Association reserves the right to eject anglers if we feel their behaviour is inappropriate.
Anyone attempting to remove fish will be prosecuted.
ALL members rubbish must be taken home, failure to do so could mean expulsion from the Association
Rods must not be left unattended
A maximum of two rods only
No fires
No braided hooklengths or leadcore
Any bailiff as the right to check the amount of fish being kept in the net. If the bailiff requests that the fish be returned to the water, then members must adhere to the request.
Strictly No Night Fishing.
No fish to be taken away from the water dead or alive.
Match Rules
1. No competitor will have live or dead fish in their
possession before the Championship.
2. The signal to commence and cease fishing will be
given by the Senior Section Steward in each
Section.
3. The duration of the match will be stated at the draw.
4. Before the starting signal no competitor must on
any account ground bait or loose feed the swim but
will be allowed to wet a line, plumb the depth and
test the float, mix or wet ground bait, clear his/her
fishing ground of weed or obstructions and
position his/her equipment. On no account must a
feeder be used prior to the starting signal.
5. A competitor may wade provided that the water
does not extend above the knees, unless he/she
can touch the bank with their fingertips, in which
case the water can extend above the knees. When
platforms are used, the water must not come over
the angler’s knees when standing on the
river/lakebed.
6. Every competitor must fish from within one metre
either side of his/her designated peg. On flowing
water, he/she will fish from their position in the
direction of the flow as far as the next peg. On still
waters he/she may fish as far as half the distance
between his/her peg and the pegs on either side.
Where competitors are drawn on opposite banks
the limit of the swim will be the middle line
between either bank. The competitor will restrict
their activities completely to these boundaries,
neither his/her person, tackle, bait, ground bait or
hooked fish may intrude into his/her neighbour’s
swim.
In an extreme situation e.g., snagged tackle or a
snagged fish, an angler must seek permission from
his neighbour/neighbours before moving this from
his/her designated peg to try and remedy the
situation.
7. No competitor may leave his/her peg during the
Championship other than to answer the call of
nature. However, in the event of an emergency
and/or severe weather conditions, a competitor
may leave their peg but only with the express
permission of the Senior Section Steward. In such
circumstances the Senior Steward may decide in
the best interests of the competitors that fishing
should be suspended. In the worst case fishing may
be terminated by the Senior Steward upon an
instruction from the AT’s team of Championship
adjudicators.
8. A competitor must not cause annoyance to, seek to
interfere with another competitor during the
course of the Championship. They must act in a
sporting manner at all times.
9. A competitor shall have in use, one rod or pole, one
line and single hook at one time, but may have
other poles or rods and tackle assembled behind
them where possible, providing that tackle is not
baited.
10. Any bait, other than live or dead fish, Bloodworm or Joker is allowed.
No spinning baits or artificial lures.
11. Maximum length of poles permitted is 16 metres,
floating poles are not allowed
12. Braid hook lengths are not permitted.
13. No competitor shall present their baited hooks into
their swim by any means other than the pole or rod
to which the line is attached.
14. All feed may be thrown in by hand, or by the use of
one or two handed catapults, throwing sticks, swim
feeders, bait droppers, bait cups and bait shuttles,
but no other mechanical means of projecting feed
is allowed. No bait shall be introduced with a pole
or bait dropper attached to an extra pole or rod
whilst continuing to fish. Spodding is not
permitted.
15. Competitors must strike, play and land their own fish
from the confines of their own peg. (See Rule 25)
16. Competitors must retain all fish in a keepnet that
complies with the relevant Environment Agency
bylaws.
17. Nets must be dry when arriving to fish, dry nets are
less likely to spread diseases, parasites and nonnative species. Keep nets must be pegged out
behind the designated swim until 15 minutes
before the start of the match, this may
be signalled by a whistle ,shout and/or claxon.
18. All fish caught are eligible for weighing except
Game Fish, Pike, and non-native species (zander
and catfish) and Crustaceans.
19. Competitors must, if practicable, keep all fish
caught alive. If for any reason competitors cannot
keep fish alive the Stewards shall have the power to
weigh in during the Championship and return the
fish alive to the water.
20. Competitors must cease fishing at the signal.
Should a competitor still be playing a fish hooked
before the signal is given, they will be permitted no
more than 15 minutes after time has been called to
land the fish.
21. All competitors will remain at their pegs until
details of their catch have been recorded by the
Steward, except for the purpose of clearing litter
from their swims.
22. Competitors are responsible for ensuring their pegs
are clear of litter and no competitor shall have their
catch weighed in who has litter on the banks of
their swim.
23. Both the competitor and Scales Steward MUST
ensure that the correct procedure for transferring
fish from a keepnet to weigh net and back to the
water is followed.
(a) Swim the fish from the bottom of the Keepnet to
the top, ensuring that the top ring is out of the
water, and gather the rings up from the bottom as
the fish move up. Once the fish are between the top
ring and the 2nd or 3rd ring (depending on the
number of fish in the net), remove the keepnet
from the water and gently slide the fish into the
weigh net. Should the number of fish require more
than one weigh only slide sufficient fish into the
weigh net for the first weigh. Whilst the weigh is
taking place hold the remaining fish back in the
water until required for weighing and repeat until
all fish have been weighed.
(b) Remove the keepnet from the water collapsing
the net down, until the 2nd or 3rd ring from the
bottom can be reached from inside. Pull the chosen
ring through the top ring and then gently slide the
fish into the weigh net. Should the numbers of fish
require more than one weigh, only slide sufficient
fish into the weigh net for the first weigh. Whilst the
weigh is taking place, hold the remaining fish back
in the water until required for weighing and repeat
until all fish have been weighed.
After each competitor has been weighed in at their
peg, it will be the duty of the Scales Steward to
return all the fish to the water.
24. The individual weight of each competitor will be
recorded
25. Each competitor will be responsible for ensuring
that the weight of his/her catch is correctly
recorded by the Record Steward on the Weigh
Sheet.
26. After being weighed any dead fish are to be
returned to the HQ by the Scales Steward
and suitably disposed of.
27. Any fish about which the Stewards have any doubt
must be brought before the Management Team
and the competitor’s weight will not be confirmed
until a ruling has been obtained. Even if the
Steward recommends the disqualification of a
competitor, they MUST weigh the fish in case their
ruling is not upheld.
28. Any objections must be made in writing and lodged
with a member of the Management Team or Senior
Section Steward no later than one hour after the
end of the match.
Irregularities which are brought to notice at a later
date may be dealt with only by and at the discretion
of the Committee.
29. The result of the team competitions shall be determined on a points
system. The top weight in each Section shall
receive the same number of points as there are
teams entered, the second highest weight one
point less etc. In the event of anglers failing to
catch a fish, together with absent or disqualified
anglers, they shall receive “no” points.
In the event of more than one competitor recording
the same weight in the same Section, those
competitors will receive equal points i.e., one point
less than allocated to the previous highest weight
in that Section. Therefore, in a match of 50
Teams if 3 anglers in one Section tie for 6th place,
all having equal weights, they would receive 45
points each with the 9th angler in that Section
receiving 42 points and so on.
In the event of more than one team having the
same total points, their final positions will be
decided by total weight.
51. The holders of the trophies shall, upon
presentation, be allowed time for photographs to
be taken and will then be required to hand the
trophy back to the Officials present.
30. All competitors must
conform to Environment Agency bylaws. Any
competitor reported by the
Environment Agency for being unable to produce a
valid license shall be deemed to be in contravention
of the Rules and shall be disqualified. All pools,
entry fees etc in respect of the said competitor shall
be forfeited.
31. The use of lead, including any alloy or compound of
lead, in the form of split shot or any other suitable
items for weighting fishing lines is prohibited. The
prohibition does not apply to weights of lead, alloy
or compound of lead, of 0.06g or less or of more
than 28.35g or to weights of lead, alloy or
compound less than 28.35g if the said lead, alloy or
compound is incorporated in the construction of
swim feeders or self cocking floats.
32. If, in the opinion of the Event Management
any Team or Individual is in breach of these Rules
or is guilty of behaviour which is contrary to the
best interests of the sport, or upon complaint being
received by the Event Management Team that
there has been an alleged breach of the rules, the
Event Management Team shall make a decision on
all available facts and that decision will be final and
binding. An appeal can be made to the full managing committee to dealt with at a later date;
a copy of the appeals procedure is available from
33 Any team or competitor proved to be in
contravention of these rules will be disqualified.
34. Any team or individual angler deemed to be bringing
the sport into disrepute will be severely dealt with