18th June 2020
I hope this update finds you all well,
Following last night’s committee meeting and written consent from Welsh Water we are now in a position to open all our waters from This Friday 19th June. This includes the Ponsticill, Dolygaer, Cantref and Talybont. PLEASE DO NOT FISH THESE WATERS UNTIL FRIDAY.
We have decided to continue with the suspension on day ticket sales for some time to allow priority to our members to access the water. This will continue to be monitored and reviewed following this Fridays announcement.
We appreciate your patience in working with us during these challenging times. No doubt there could be changes again but for now the guidance from welsh assembly government needs to be adhered to.
• No anglers must be within 2 metres of each other or members of the public.
• One angler per peg, as always.
We are also now in a position where we are opening our fisheries for night fishing. This will be inline with Welsh Government guidance where night fishing is permitted without the use of camping, we will not be able to provide any guidance on what that means as it has not been justified and will leave that to your own interpretation.
The only small issue we have moving forward is with litter being left by anglers out our waters. We have currently suspended day ticket sales so if this problem is escalating it is from our own members. There are bins at most venues please use them, any members in future caught leaving the venue in a mess will have 2 options, assisting the in maintaining the venue or leaving the club.
As ever if you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting me: sec.mtaa@gmail.com
Stay Safe,
Liam.
Club Secretary on behalf of the MTAA committee
I hope this update finds you all well.
OK following Friday’s announcement we are now able to open the fishery at the Lake in Cyfarthfa Park from tomorrow (1st June). There are some changes to fishing arrangements due to the government guidelines listed below.
- No anglers must be within 2 metres of each other or members of the public.
- One angler per peg, as always.
- To help with social distancing, only odd numbered pegs are open, with tape on those that are closed (see photos attached).
As Cyfarthfa Lake is in the public eye, anyone caught infringing on the regulations imposed will be removed from the Lake immediately and banned from attending the Lake for the duration that social distancing regulations are being imposed.
We urge members to enjoy the fishing available to them at Cyfarthfa Lake and to think carefully how they are conducting themselves whilst at the Lake.
The current situation has not changed with Welsh Water whose property remains closed. It is likely that this will remain in place until the next review.
So for clarity:
CLOSED (Where you CAN NOT fish): ALL RESERVOIRS INCLUDING CANTREF, DOLYGAER, PONSTICILL and TALBONT.
OPEN (Where you CAN fish): Penywern Ponds (TOP and MIDDLE), Cyfarthfa Park Lake (Odd numbered pegs only) and All Rivers (TAFF and USK).
As ever if you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting me: sec.mtaa@gmail.com
Stay Safe,
Liam.
Club Secretary on behalf of the MTAA committee
Morning All,
NRW have released new guidance: Only change is it allows Registered Disabled anglers to drive to venues.
Can we add this image below to the relevant outlets.
Drakeford is on at 1230 today but I doubt it will provide any more clarity than below. Angling Cymru are a shambles.
Latest News about our waters from Liam Walsh Alliance Secretary 14/5/20
Covid Update. Its starting to feel like a government briefing.
Please see the attached image the response we have received from Welsh Water that confirms that all Welsh water reservoir property is still closed and therefore we have no choice but to keep pontsticill, dolygaer, Talybont and Cantref closed. The conversation I had today led me to believe this will be in place until at least the next review at the end of the month and the decision has rightly been made to protect the Welsh Water work force who have limited access to PPE.
We are in a fortunate position that we have other waters that remain open.
Open Waters:
Rivers Taff and Usk
Top and Middle pond
Brecon Canal
Closed:
Cyfarthfa lake
All reservoirs including Cantref, Dolygaer, Talybont and ponsticill
There has been a lot of information about where and how you can fish. The current position as advised by Welsh Government and NRW is that you must be local and not travel by car. We do not support the conflicting statement from angling cymru advising people can drive to venues as there is no evidence to support the legality of their claim which could result in members being prosecuted if challenged by police.
We will continue to monitor the situation and update accordingly.
Also we have also closed down day tickets online to give members priority on the water.
All due questionable ways in which anglers are trying to interpret what our Secretary Liam put on facebook regarding our water opening let it be clear that we only have Top Pond and Middle pond penywern currently open as well as River Taff and River Usk beats. Advice is you fish local so if you live in Merthyr the river Usk is not local.
So far WW have NOT opened their Reservoirs.
On another note will all anglers refrain from calling me to ask any questions as I think the above now makes it abundantly clear what we do have open. In order to contact you announcements will be made on our face book page. No day tickets are available from now on our waters and the link on the Web site does not work. If you think guidance is unclear it is what we have been given we cannot change it.
Members of the committee have been in conversation throughout the day following a lot of speculation around angling in Wales and it is something that is ever evolving.Following the advice from the Welsh Government, Local AM and Angling Cymru we as an association have decided that angling on MTAA water (All Rivers, Top and Middle Ponds) will be re-opened with immediate effect with the exception of Cyfarthfa Lake, as the park is still closed. We are seeking confirmation on the Reservoirs at Tal-y-bont, Ponsticill, Dolygaer and Cantref as these waters are owned by Welsh Water and we are still waiting to hear from them and as such they remain closed.
This statement does not however allow members to break the Welsh Government Covid-19 guidance which states that exercise must be carried out locally. Social Distancing must be abided and as such members are asked to respect that only one person is to be using a peg at any one time on the top and middle ponds. In the interest of your own and others safety where using gates please ensure you wash your hands or use hand sanitiser to prevent potential spread of the virus
Common sense needs to be applied well, you must not travel outside of your locality and where you can combine activities such as shopping, well being and exercise. We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops, and would like to thank you for your patience and support during the lock down.
The key thing to making this work is abiding by the government rules- Remember you can still be prosecuted for travelling outside of the local area to exercise and any do not congregate in large numbers on our water as this could result in the Welsh Government withdrawing angling as an acceptable form of exercise.
Finally there has been significant incidents with regards to poaching on our waters during the lock down – The Directors would like to thank the Bailiff team for the excellent work in policing the waters during the last few weeks and would encourage any members to get in touch with the club or police via 101 to report any suspicious activity on our waters.
As always if you have any questions please do not hesitate in getting touch with myself
Stay Safe,
Liam
Club Secretary sent on behalf of the committee
Once on your peg you are to remain on your peg, no landing fish for other anglers or visiting unless you are from same household.