Latest Club News
As promised, here’s another periodic update on a few things just so you’re informed. We’re happy to see so many new members joining us and exploring the wide array of fishing we offer, and are aware of some very decent catches from across our venues – we’d love to see more though so if you do catch something notable please let us know – ideally with pictures either by WhatsApp (01444 500195), email (info@midsussexangling.com) or via Messenger or Instagram (preferably with pictures)
Thanks for reading, tight lines and we hope to provide regular updates in the future.
Your MSA Committee
October 2026 Update
Water Update
The dry weather unfortunately continues to cause us problems with no meaningful rain in the last month. Piltdown Pond and all our lakes at Little Rowfant remain closed but we are checking the waters very regularly and our new pumps continue to be put to good use. So far, our preventative measures have averted any fish deaths or distress. Keepnets remain banned on other waters with the exception of Ardingly but we strongly advise not using them until conditions improve. The match calendar remains in the main suspended but occasional matches are being arranged on suitable venues – these are communicated through the MSA Match Group WhatsApp group so if you’d like to be added to that please let us know.
Rule change
Following a question raised by a junior member, we have reconsidered the need for all juniors (ie aged 17 and under) to be accompanied by an adult/senior member when fishing the river. With immediate effect, any angler aged 16+ may fish the river unaccompanied
Workparties
Balcombe regulars will have noticed that the workparty team have significantly improved some of the swims at Balcombe in terms of size and accessibility. This week we have been removing the platforms at Valebridge (that were unfortunately installed relatively recently) as most of you will know the lake has now been drained and will not be refilled as it is turned into a ‘wetland’. The normal ‘workparty season’ is coming to an end now as we lose the light in the evenings, but we still have a number of projects to work on so expect to see additional workparties pop up over the coming months at weekends. We really could use more help on these – currently only around 1% of our membership has helped, and given the amount of work needed to maintain and improve our waters we are starting to look at greater use of external contractors but of course this is expensive.
Membership Fees
Current membership fees were set at the time of the merger primarily to harmonise and simplify these across the two former clubs. The Executive Committee has reviewed our fee structure and agreed some modest increases in the light of our long-term aim of building sufficient reserves to be in a position to be able to purchase additional venues and (as above) using more external contractors to help with fishery maintenance and improvements in the absence of sufficient volunteers from within the membership. The fee scales will be as follows for anyone renewing or joining from 1st January 2027 :
Adult – £125 (increased from £115)
Seniors 65+ – £85 (increased from £75)
Ardingly Night Premium – £300 (increased from £250 reflecting the level of demand)
The following membership fees will be unchanged :
Child aged 12 and under – free
Teen 13-17 – £35
Trout add-on – £35
Non-fishing – £15
As well as our day to day running costs such as rent, insurance, legal fees etc we have invested heavily in improvements since the merger including resurfacing the car park at Balcombe, clearing additional swims at Ardingly, installing toilets at Balcombe and Little Rowfant, purchasing equipment (eg new strimmers, aeration pumps), installing CCTV, improving the path around Wilderness and sending volunteers on a course to qualify to be able to apply pesticides. We will shortly be adding additional storage facilities, have committed to some fish stocking and have some ambitious – but expensive – plans to develop our waters further. All of this does, of course, come at a cost and whilst we are financially stable, we want to be in a position to take advantage of any water purchase opportunities (which we are actively pursuing) and these modest increases should allow us to continue to improve what we have whilst building further reserves. We believe the fees still represent excellent value for money.
Member Interactions
September 2026 Update
The inaugural AGM of MSA was held at Balcombe Social Club on Sept 3rd with a decent member turnout who heard about our first very successful year. As this was the first AGM of the newly-formed organisation the primary business was to elect the Executive Committee, which had been operating for the first year under our ‘enabling procedures’. All current officers had previously confirmed they were prepared to continue in-post and given no other proposals were received the ExCo were re-elected en-bloc and unanimously by the meeting so your officers for the next year are :Chair – Roy HurleyVice-Chair – Roly SmithGeneral Secretary – Darren ChilcottMembership Secretary – Adrian WestgateMatch Secretary – Adrian WestgateTreasurer – Dan FordCompany Secretary – Paul WhitfieldWork Party Lead – Neil VineSystems/Technology Lead – Steve PrestonArdingly Lead – Colin Ryall
Workparties
Neil and team, plus Les and crew at Little Rowfant have, as usual, had a busy summer and it’s been pleasing to see some new volunteers attend the regular (usually Tuesday evening) sessions. Some of the highlights include extensive clearance of overgrowing vegetation (including Himalayan Balsam at The Sloop with the help of the Angling Trust and the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust) at several venues, swim-building/clearance at Balcombe, opening more swims , securing the perimeter and creating ramps at Ardingly, installing new cameras and toilets at Balcombe and Little Rowfant and improving the path at Wilderness. As always we have far more work than the existing band of volunteers can realistically complete, so if you can help in any way please do come along – sessions are posted on our Facebook page a few days in advance.
The Future
MSA is in good shape, with a growing membership, solid finances, strong governance and a good range of waters. We are, however, actively looking to grow the Club, in particular looking for new waters. We have a number of lines of enquiry already active, but if you know of any potentially suitable waters – even if they’d require investment to expand/clear out etc – within our ‘region’ (on that we do have some flexibility) please do let us know – equally, we’d also potentially look at any suitable plot of land with a view to creating a new venue.
Member Interactions
July 2026 Update
You should all have received an email informing you of our inaugural post-merger AGM on Thursday 3th September, 7pm for a 7:30pm start at Balcombe Social Club. Please come along if you can to learn about our activity and plans, and also to have a hopefully fruitful open floor discussion.
In addition to the existing CCTV installed at Little Rowfant, we have now installed a camera at Balcombe Lake which covers the car park, entrance gate and storage container. This is primarily in response to member feedback about anti-social behaviour (not necessarily from our anglers). The camera records 24/7 and all footage is stored in the cloud. Hopefully this will give members more peace of mind and security and act as a deterrent to some of the less acceptable behaviour that has been reported at times. We are also considering installing further cameras at other venues. As always, if you do see anything you believe goes against the club rules or risks the reputation of the club please do report it immediately using any of the channels mentioned above. We are in the process of ensuring GDPR compliance so if you have any concerns in this regard please do let us know.
Hot weather
We are keeping a close eye on all our venues during the seemingly more frequent heatwaves we are getting but again we rely heavily on our members to be the eyes and ears of our waters so if you see any signs of fish in distress, pollution or similar again please let us know as soon as you possibly can. As well as a water testing kit, we have one aerator in storage which we will probably install soon and also have a pump for emergencies. We also met with the EA this week (who are supportive and keen to become more engaged with the club) who explained they are dealing with a significant number of troubled venues at the moment.
Invasive, Non-Native Species (INNS)
We have been working closely with the Angling Trust, the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust and the Waterlife Recovery Trust on managing INNS on our venues. This week (postponed during the last heatwave) a number of volunteers from OART attended the Sloop (above the weir) and attacked our Himalayan Balsam which has been significantly spreading year on year. We have also secured funding from the AT for some new kit to help deal with the problem and including some money to get a couple of people trained on the use of pesticides near water. We also have a number of mink traps across multiple venues (and plan to add more) provided by the WRT and these are proving pretty successful in reducing mink numbers (several have been trapped at Deak’s Lane and on the river).
All of these relationships form part of our wider strategy to expand external relationships with organisations that either share similar interests or can help us improve as a club, and we are seeing some significant benefits to this approach.
www.facebook.com/OuseAndAdurRiversTrust
www.waterliferecoverytrust.org.uk
Shouldn’t need repeating but we’re still seeing too many instances of:
Gates being left open/padlocks not being scrambled
Fires on the bankside
Littering
Inconsiderate parking
We’re in the process of discussing our approach to bailiffing and looking at ways of increasing our numbers/presence on the bank. As enforcement increases, we will need to consider stronger enforcement/sanctions so please leave your peg as you would like to find it and report anything untoward
Work Parties & Maintenance
These are being held every Tuesday evening as long as we have enough daylight. We always have more work than available volunteer time so if you’re able to lend a hand (you don’t need any particular skills, we can always find jobs) please do come along. Details of the venue/planned work are posted on our Facebook page a few days in advance, alternatively drop us a WhatsApp on 01444 500195 and we’ll let you know.
Club Matches
Adrian Westgate, our Match Secretary, has pulled together a fantastic calendar for the season and our matches are being very well attended (often fully booked). Match reports are always available on Clubmate shortly after the event and even if you’re not a match angler we’d encourage you to take a look at them as they’ll give you an idea of what is being caught. The matches are friendly and inclusive and new competitors are always welcome – you’ll find the group very welcoming and happy to give advice if you’re unsure.
March 2026 Update
Merger Activities
We believe we’ve made good progress in the first few months. The Executive Committee is now fully established and operating effectively with a full complement of officers, monthly meetings and a clear and closely-managed action list. We have a single instance of Clubmate through which membership and communication are managed, we’ve changed the name of the limited company to Mid Sussex Angling Ltd, aligned and simplified membership categories, largely completed the integration of our banking and finance arrangements and are working on making sure our freeholds are properly registered. New club signage has been erected at most venues (work in progress) and our website (www.midsussexangling.com) is fully up and running including new, more detailed maps and venue information. All of this, plus Club rules, match booking/results, gate codes and our online shop etc are all available on the Clubmate app.
Membership
Work Parties & Maintenance
We’re approaching the lighter evenings so we will be starting these again in earnest very shortly – please do try to help out where you can as we are always grateful for extra volunteers – it’s a great way to meet other anglers/committee members, and the sessions are often followed by refreshments at a suitable watering hole. Details will be posted on our Facebook page in advance, usually on a weekly basis – if you have any particular skills that would be beneficial, please let us know but all extra hands are always welcome as we have an extensive programme of work that needs doing.
Despite the awful weather throughout the winter, we have still managed to clear a number of swims on the farside causeway/Hammer Point at Ardingly (so now fishable when the reservoir is full) and added a new gate, significantly improved the path at Wilderness, added siltex to the Road Lake and removed some trees at the complex and on 27/28 March will be undertaking major improvements to the car park at Balcombe Lake. Working closely with the Waterlife Recovery Trust, we have also captured several mink, particularly at Deak’s Lane and on the river. We’re also working with SEW to secure the perimeter at Ardingly with new locks/chains to help restrict public access.
Club Matches
Match attendances are thriving which is great to see – you can see all the match reports on Clubmate. We recognise most of our venues have limited capacity, so please make sure you book in advance via Clubmate for any that you wish to fish as places are limited and if you turn up on the day without booking there is a strong chance you won’t be able to fish. We have a match WhatsApp group – if you wish to be added to that please let Adrian Westgate, Match Secretary, know. We’d also encourage all members to check the match calendar (on Clubmate) when planning any session as waters are generally closed to other anglers on the day of any match.
General
