We had a great turnout of members despite the weather and Eastern Road. That was good because we had a lot of rule change proposals in the pipeline and we needed a representative number of members to vote on these changes. The minutes of the AGM might look more official than our usual reports and this is because we may need to reference a formal set of AGM Minutes if we apply for a different status of club which could allows us to reclaim VAT.

SMAC Annual General Meeting 10th February 2026

Minutes:

1. Members Present

  • 17 SMAC members were present plus one puppy

2. Review of 2025 Season

  • Bream Competition May, best placed member Jim Atkins 2nd
  • New Bass Competition, promoted and organised by Dave Newnham and Dan Lumsden C&R, shotgun start, sponsorship by Rapala, best placed member Steve Tamblin 1st
  • Species Competition top members Dan Lumsden and Pete Churchill, both with 11 but Dan placed first with a score of 27 vs 7
  • Cod Competition, first date in November finally fished February, best placed member Dan Lumsden 1st
  • SMAC BBQ in June, good call on the weather
  • Premier Berth Holders Social Morning – result, new prize sponsor Portsmouth Distillery, Premier lift & Scrub discount and a promise of a new banner

3. Treasurer’s Report

  • Funds at start of year £2,230 (committed spend approx., £1,900 for presentation night)
  • Funds at end of year £1,897 (expected spend £1,900 for presentation Night)
  • Membership funds due now approx. 70 members @ £20 – £1,400
  • Raffles raise £400+ each

4. Officer Elections: 

  • Commodore: Tim Andrews re-elected as Commodore
  • Chairman: Neville Merritt elected
  • Deputy Chairman: Jim Atkins elected
  • Treasurer: Eleanor Atkins elected
  • Secretary: Dan Lumsden elected
  • Event and Competition Volunteers: Dave Newnham, Steve Kelly, Dan Lumsden

We always welcome other members to come forward to help our Committee and volunteers with future events and competitions!

5. Rule Change Requests:

  1. Rule 7: “Species Hunt to be added to the Annual Competition and count towards Club Champion”  – ACCEPTED by unanimous vote
  2. Rule 7: “Each cup to be increased from 3 places and points to 5 places and points” – ACCEPTED by unanimous vote
  3. Rule 7: “Only one fish to be entered per angler per cup” (instead of one angler taking several places with several fish) – ACCEPTED by majority vote
  4. Rule 7: “Add smoothhound to the Competition Cups” – REJECTED by a majority vote because this was considered impractical as most people want to return smoothhound. However it was suggested that we could run a summer or evening Social Competition for smoothhound based on length on Club Rulers.
  5. Rule 9: “Only fish caught on berth holders’ boats may be entered into Club competitions” (instead of only Annual berth holders) – ACCEPTED by unanimous vote
  6. Rule 9: “Only fish caught on berth holders’ boats or by past berth holders (i.e. not crew on their boats) if they have maintained their membership for up to five years may be entered into Club competitions. All boats must leave and return from Southsea Marina or Langstone Harbour and all fish must be weighed and witnessed on Southsea Marina scales” – ACCEPTED by majority vote. As this is a new rule we will offer an amnesty valid only for one month for memberships that may have lapsed over the past five years.
  7. Rule 11: “Fish of the Month awarded only to Specimen Fish” – REJECTED by a majority vote. However it was noted that the wording of this rule should be clarified to: “Fish Of The Month – awarded to the best specimen fish or notable fish, members at the meeting to vote.” This means that exceptional fish can be recognised even if they do not reach specimen size.

6. Plans for 2026 Season

  • Presentation Night 14th March
  • Bream Comp 3rd May
  • Bass Comp Saturday 18th or Sunday 19th July
  • Species Comp late summer date tbc
  • Inter-Club hosted by LHFA again
  • Cod Comp to be scheduled from early November
  • BBQ June date tbc
  • Premier Berth holder Socials will be supported by SMAC if invited.

7. AOB

  • No AOB thankfully

9. Next AGM

  • Tuesday 2nd February 2027

February Monthly Meeting

Following that epic session, we then rattled though our regular Monthly Meeting Agenda.

Standings was a short read as only a few fish have been caught let alone entered since our season started on 1st February. Please see WhatsApp or the noticeboard because Steve and I scribbled all over our only copy in our excitement during the AGM.

Fish Of The Month was awarded to Ray Plomer for a giant dogfish of 2lb 1oz. A sign of the times but well done anyway.

Our Open Cod Competition was finally fished on 1st February (or 32nd January) after postponing since the end of November based on weather forecasts. Congratulations to Dan Lumsden for catching the only cod and taking 1st place. You can read all about it here.

Now the SMAC 2026 season has started, membership subscriptions are due £20 please to Steve Kelly who has kindly volunteered to help Eleanor our new Treasurer.

Presentation Night is Saturday 14th March in the Marina Bar as usual. 7pm for 7:30 start and we always expect a big crowd – partners and juniors welcome. There will be a free drink voucher for all members, free food after the prize giving and a massive raffle. Our new committee and volunteer team are already on the case to make this another great evening.

Next regular Monthly Meeting will be Tuesday 3rd March in the Marina Bar starting at 7pm.