Fourteen years ago, the Deloraine District Anglers Club was down to four members and staring at the possibility of folding altogether. Today it has cast that history aside, hitting 100 members last season and already 79 signed up just two meetings into the new season.
President Nick Barrett was one of the four who refused to let it go. Three of the others were ready to step back, but Barrett had grown up around the club through a neighbour who used to take him fishing on the rivers and dams as a kid. “It’s too good a thing to let go,” he remembers thinking. The outgoing members stayed on for a year to show him the ropes, and he learned the job of running a club fast.
Letter to the Editor
Competitions officer Shane Campbell came to the club a little differently, dragged along after playing footy with Barrett. “Nick’s a pretty good player, so to keep him I had to come to the fishing club,” he says. He brought friends, those friends brought more friends, and the wives, girlfriends and kids started turning up too. The club leaned into that, stocking a private dam at Meander so families have somewhere easy to fish together, particularly over the Christmas break.
The club runs five major competitions a year, including the Robbie Dunlop Memorial Shield, which alone attracts more than 30 sponsors. Tamar Marine, Seamaster Fishing Supplies, Allgoods are among the regulars who back the club year after year, including meeting hosts the British Hotel, the Mole Creek Sports Club and the Sheffield RSL. Between the big sponsors and the smaller gestures, Barrett reckons the club has built relationships with 40 to 45 local businesses.
The North Coast Post: BSB 633 000 · Account number: 2366 8 9535
None of it is entirely serious. Members caught out with lost gear, forgotten rods or general errors in decision making face the fines officer, and a two dollar fine goes straight into the kitty for drinks and food at competitions. Campbell copped one on the night of this interview, fined for taking his son fishing while wearing two right shoes. Barrett is a firm believer that the fines session is the highlight of every meeting.
The Deloraine District Anglers Club is clearly a social, friendly and welcoming group of people, and it’s not surprising that the club has continued to consistently grow and add new members – even when many community groups and clubs have struggled to retain their own.
Not everything can be planned around. Weather has forced the club to postpone events or shift to a different lake more than once, and with members running boats on the water, safety is taken seriously, especially around competitions.
Looking ahead, the goal is straightforward, cross the 100 member mark again and keep building. Plans include stocking more dams to give families more to do outside competition days, and growing the competitions themselves so the club can give more back to its members.
For anyone thinking about joining, Barrett says it is easy. Message the club’s Facebook page, or turn up to a meeting at the British Hotel. “If you want to be a member, we’ll make it happen!” Barrett says.
