Est 1876

The ATAA works closely with the Environment Agency, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, The Wild Trout Trust and other organisations to improve river habitats and encourage native fish breeding populations.

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The Association is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and run by volunteers.

 

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A Brief History of the ATAA

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The ATAA was formed in 1876 for the purpose of conserving the fishing environment on the River Avon and its Tributaries. It is one of the oldest fishing clubs in Britain, and throughout its long existence has pursued this overriding conservation objective of protecting and improving habitat to provide the best experience for members and for the benefit of the environment as a whole. Overall, our waters are noted for their solitude and natural beauty.

 

The club was formed at Waterhouse, a private house in Monkton Combe, by the owner, Squire Johnstone Frederick Hayward, who also owned the adjoining Brett Farm. He permitted angling on his land and in the brooks that ran through the Midford valley. In 1876 the total membership was restricted to 200 but it is not known whether that figure was ever reached.   It is difficult to be precise about the extent of the fishing at that time because the Association’s records were destroyed by bombing in the Bristol Blitz of 1940. However, a map of the waters, which can be dated to 1920, shows that the fishing on the Avon and the Frome was as today, plus rights on a short stretch of the Midford Brook from County Bridge on the B3108 up to Tucking Mill.

 

In 1928 the then President, J. Arthur Palethorpe, purchased the ponds adjacent to Dunkirk Mill and presented them to the Association to enable it to rear its own stock trout. “The Ponds” were operated with varying degrees of success until they fell into disuse during the war. They were reopened sometime after the war and enabled the Association to continue to rear their fish.

 

 The Association purchased the rights on a long stretch of double bank on the Cam and single bank on the Wellow in 1967. Later purchases include double banks on the Wellow and also the land, with fishing rights, at Midford Meadow leading to the Flume. The club now owns or rents 8 miles of double bank and 4 miles of single bank fishing.
 
At the same time as financing the purchase of fishing rights, the club’s members have consistently worked on conserving and improving the natural habitat of the Midford, Wellow and Cam valleys.  This work has included the building of broken weirs, flow-deflectors, sand-traps and bank protection.  The outcome of this work is a healthy population of wild brown trout.  All beats on the Upper Wellow and Cam now operate successfully on a 'catch and release' basis to ensure that this population is maintained for the future.

 
A group of committed volunteers continue to carry out environmental work on the Association’s waters.  The objective remains to protect and enhance the habitat in which native brown trout and other species can flourish. This work has enhanced both the habitat and ease of access to the club’s fishing while also promoting the sense of the ATAA being a members’ club.