The Bottesford & District Angling Association (B&DAA) was formed in 1890, although the first known minutes are from 

1896. Not all attendees were named in those days, but it a strongly held belief by some, that our current President, Mr 

Brian Cross was present? 

The early matches were recorded and detailed such things as, entry fee (1 shilling), weights, cart hire, bread & cheese lunch, beer (men), pop (juniors), free entry for wives & girlfriends and followed by a lovely tripe supper.

Bottesford & District Angling Association (B&DAA) is a fully functional club delivering a leisure pursuit to Bottesford 

and surrounding area residents for over 100 years, and we have the minutes to prove it. Why then if it has been here for 

129 years are we now publishing the fact? Since those early days we have moved on and continue to thrive as an active and friendly local club, with approximately 40 members. There is always room for more and the Association would wholeheartedly welcome new members both young and old. 

The B&DAA has the fishing rites and run matches on the Grantham Canal, from the Rutland Arms at Woolsthorpe to Redmile. Throughout the summer months we also run matches Club Matches at various fisheries/ lakes within a 20 mile radius. 

The main reason is that the club has existed because adults introduced younger members of their family to the sport, 

who in turn introduced their peers. Nowadays we are competing with game stations, computers, television and apathy, for our next crop of young anglers. You might ask why apathy, well it’s the adults apathy. It’s our fault that youngsters are not getting out there and involved in community activities – NOT THEIRS!

We in the B&DAA dearly want to see the great sport of Angling thrive within our area and fervently believe the canal must

be retained as a scenic resource, full of aquatic life, to be enjoyed by every local resident and by generations to come. 

We are faced with an uphill struggle however as The Canal is classified as a Remainder Waterway and as such receives minimal maintenance from Canal & Rivers Trust whose budget is mainly taken up on active waterways. Hence members 

of B&DAA can often be seen with rakes and drags attempting to clear the prolific weed and reed growth, as well as removing fallen trees from the canal. In recent years the club has formed a close working relationship with The Grantham Canal Society whose aims are similar to ours, in that they too want to see this beautiful local resource returned to its 

former glory.

The Association provides:

Over 4 miles of fishing on the Grantham Canal

Ability to participate 365 days of the year

Friendly club atmosphere

Coaching, support, advice and support

Friendly 3 hour matches every Friday night through June and, July

Matches usually every other Sunday throughout the year (many on different venues)

Opportunity enter into the community spirit by joining the club, helping on canal clearance days, serving on the 

committee

Opportunity for girls and women to compete equally with the boys and men

An outdoor pursuit in a safe environment

Of course angling isn’t free and we have to pay substantial rents for our waters, hence we have to charge for membership books and day tickets. Now what other sports organisation can offer 365 days of participation for that sort of money

Currently we have around 40 members, of which about 25 regularly attend the organised matches, the Committee meets every month and the AGM is held on the 3rd Wednesday of March each year. We in the B&DAA dearly want to see the great sport of Angling thrive within our village and fervently believe the canal must be retained as a scenic resource, full of aquatic life, to be enjoyed by every local resident and by generations to come.

If you fancy having a go at fishing, want to take it up again or just want to be a social member helping with the canal environment? Then give one of us a ring and have a chat.