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BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:21 pm
by Bigoll
As the plight of the free sections of the Roding becomes worse with the banks becoming too popular with those who take fish and leave rubbish, I'm considering joining either the Billericay or Ongar clubs in the new season. There are still free sections hidden away which are rarely fished and I will continue to frequent those, but a stretch of river which is closed to the undesirables would be a welcome addition to my venue options.

Both have stretches of the river in roughly the same area; BDAC has 4 miles from Abridge through to the M25 with a few gaps in between, and ODAS about 2 miles in the Ongar area. They're both around £70 p.a. depending on a few variables. ODAS is a small club with 6 stillwaters, all of which are easily accessible to me, while BDAC has more waters but none of them bar the Roding are particularly local.

I'm leaning towards BDAC just for the length of bank advantage, but the ODAS still waters are a tempting ingredient. Any thoughts and experiences about the two would be most welcome; many thanks to 'Bluelabel' for his input already.

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:48 pm
by Aitch
Both have merits.... as a member of ODAS I can only speak of what I know... Billericay are a good club and as well as the Roding I think they have stretches of the Chelmer (another river to consider) through to the Heybridge basin, as does Chelmsford AA....

If you are feeling flush join both.... if not then I know ODAS would welcome a new member, (as would Billericay)

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:53 pm
by Pedro
I used to know a chap who belonged to the Billericay club and he had only good impressions.they have a variety of waters including stretches on the Chelmer and some good lakes.
If you can afford it,joining both would give you access to some nice venues and after one season you could review your options.

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:48 pm
by Tench Dreamer
Bigoll wrote:As the plight of the free sections of the Roding becomes worse with the banks becoming too popular with those who take fish and leave rubbish, I'm considering joining either the Billericay or Ongar clubs in the new season. There are still free sections hidden away which are rarely fished and I will continue to frequent those, but a stretch of river which is closed to the undesirables would be a welcome addition to my venue options.

Both have stretches of the river in roughly the same area; BDAC has 4 miles from Abridge through to the M25 with a few gaps in between, and ODAS about 2 miles in the Ongar area. They're both around £70 p.a. depending on a few variables. ODAS is a small club with 6 stillwaters, all of which are easily accessible to me, while BDAC has more waters but none of them bar the Roding are particularly local.

I'm leaning towards BDAC just for the length of bank advantage, but the ODAS still waters are a tempting ingredient. Any thoughts and experiences about the two would be most welcome; many thanks to 'Bluelabel' for his input already.
Bigoll I know where you mean,re the free stretches. Is it that bad? has it got worse? do you mean specifically down by Debden up to ray park...In the end this kind of fishing seems like might be a memory .

Id love to drop down there next summer .... but time constraints means I wont spend precious time in a rubbish dump catching non existent fish!

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:35 am
by Bigoll
Many thanks to Bluelabel (again!), SteveC and Pedro for your insights. In an ideal world I'd join multiple clubs to reap the combined benefits but think I'm limited to splashing out on only one membership this year. I'm still undecided between BDAC's longer banks and ODAS's convenient additional venues so will have to boot myself into some kind of decision.

TD - it seems every time I went to the river this year there was a large collection of people hurling big rubber lures along it and asking me about pike in strong accents. There have been multiple incidents of people caught with carrier bags of 5lb chub and actually barbecuing stuff on the banks. This is mainly Debden through to Buckhurst Hill where the river is most accessible, while a few more secretive spots remain largely untouched. The problem is that the fish are very mobile so if they stray into an 'affected' stretch and are caught, they never appear again elsewhere, while the quieter spots are gradually falling (the pool I named Perch Pit, where I caught 18 fish on 2 occasions last summer has been dead for months, with campfire relics around it). The rubbish issue is partly to do with the inconsiderate anglers and partly the flashy nature of the river, which washes a lot of stuff along.

I will still fish the quieter spots in the new season, but I'm getting to the point when I'd like to go somewhere quieter where the only anglers are those with licences who respect the river and its inhabitants. Perhaps we can meet up in the new season and see what's left in the free spots.....

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:08 am
by Aitch
As another option, have a look at the Castle AC website... they have 800 metres of the Roding above the ODAS section and access to a stretch of the Stort... good news is they only charge £25 a year membership

http://www.castleanglingclub.webeden.co ... 4565919460

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 2:20 pm
by Bigoll
Thanks for the link, Bluelabel; I was having trouble tracking Castle down via Google. I have to say that their 2 mile stretch of the Roding looks fantastic with plenty of pools and features (though I'd be interested to see what access is like on the ground) and you can't argue with £25 for the year! The stretch of the Stort and one of its backwaters is a bonus for a nice day out too. I think I'll be contacting the Castle secretary to make an enquiry!

Does anyone else have any experience of Castle AC (Ongar)? I may post this in the Stort section too.

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:17 pm
by Aitch
Quite a few ODAS lads and lasses are members of castle... heard nothing but good feedback they also fish matches on the Lea as well so plenty of river fishing for those that want it

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:15 pm
by Bigoll
Sounds good to me, Bluelabel. I guess the ODAS / Castle link-up is an obvious one as the Castle stretch ends where the ODAS one starts. Maybe I'll get myself an ODAS membership and put Castle on my birthday list, which happens to fall within 2 days of the new season.....nice option for a gift from someone! I just need to check if I've got enough time to fish all these new places in the new season!

Re: BDAC or ODAS?

Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:04 am
by Andrew Banham
The bdac tresurer is a Castle member as well and some nice chub and perch have come out in matches. He asked me to join but with a thames lock and weir permit and bdac membership i have more fishing than time