The Society seems to have set its own close season, which varied from year to year. In 1882 ‘opening day’ was set for the first Monday after 15^th June. The following year ‘opening day’ was 20^th June, in 1889 it was set to be 17^th June but in 1903 the season started as late as 8^th July.  In 1888 there is reference to prizes awarded ‘during the season ending October 18^th.  All these dates may well have nothing to do with close seasons as we know them today but simply mark the period in which members competed for particular prizes. The mention of two winter prizes, also in the 1888 AGM report, confirms that fishing certainly continued after October. It is not until 1896 that there is a positive reference to the forthcoming season ending on 16^th March 1897.

Godalming was a thriving industrial town and all sorts of manufacturing processes lined the banks of the River Wey, each one of them discharging untreated waste into the stream. These included the flock mill at Eashing, the leather and tanning works at Westbrook and the paper mills at Catteshall. In addition, the waste from the tannery in Mill Lane also reached the river via its tributary, the Ock. Also, when the Society was established in 1881, the town had no sewage treatment works and a fair amount of the townspeople’s own effluent found its way into the river. Therefore, it is understandable that the condition of their river was paramount to members as, indeed, it is today.

The pressing need to improve the quality of the river was certainly one of the main driving forces which lead to the establishment of the society. In April 1881 a correspondence in the Surrey Advertiser highlighted the poor state of the river. One writer, ‘Piscator’, described the River Wey as ‘highly polluted’. ‘It is a frequent occurrence  to see dead and dying fish everywhere,’ he continued, ‘also countless numbers making for the backwaters as the main stream becomes impregnated with the abominable filth from the manufactories, which filth gives the river the appearance of “pea soup,” and again that of coffee.’ Parliament had passed the Rivers’ Pollution Act in 1879 but this pioneer piece of legislation had proved ineffectual. ‘The owners of the factories are morally responsible under the act – I take it,’ protested Piscator. It is interesting to speculate as to the identity of the writer, who no doubt must have played an important role in the early days of the Society.

From the newspaper reports of the Society’s early AGMs it is obvious that the river improved quite rapidly. The Society, whose membership included two ex-mayors of the town, had influential contacts and was doing a fine job. Other challenges also faced members during those early days. It was reported at the AGM in 1884 that it was ‘regretted that the fishing in the river had been nothing like so good as in previous years, which was accounted for by the ravages made by otters, several of which have lately been seen in the river.’ The presence of otters tells us that the river was actually in good condition and that the level of pollution originating at Godalming was not as bad as some Guildfordians downstream might have suggested. In the 21^st century the revival of otter numbers is clearly a matter which divides members, but in 1884 the need to eradicate the otter seems to have been unanimous.

A boost to river quality came with the opening of the Godalming Corporation Sewage Works at Unstead in 1895. Two years later chairman and vice-president, Edward Stedman, was able to report that ‘from what he heard of the state of the river and the quantity of small fish about, the river was in a much better condition than it had been for many years.’

As mentioned in chapter one, from the beginning members were keen to keep the river well stocked and the matter of obtaining fish is highlighted in a number of the Surrey Advertiser reports. Mindful that they needed to move swiftly should any offers of free fish come their way, in 1895 the committee decided to purchase some nets. In 1897 £11 12s 6d was spent on 150 tench, 350 bream and 200 perch, all of which were put into the river.

At the AGM in 1895 members discussed stocking the river with barbel as ‘the late Mr Andrews, whose death they greatly deplored, was of opinion that they would do well in the river’. Thomas Andrews was described in the Surrey Advertiser in 1891 as ‘the well-known pisciculturist of Guildford, [who] was rapidly becoming of world-wide fame.’ Among his successes was the introduction of trout to South Africa.  Time has shown that Andrews was absolutely correct as barbel now thrive in the River Wey. At the time the cost was considered prohibitive but the chairman said that ‘he had had an offer for sale of 40 or 50 barbel’. Frustratingly, the Surrey Advertiser reporter is then silent on whether this offer was taken up.

From the early days the Society had a ‘collector’, whose job was to extract annual subscriptions from members and probably to also collect fees from non-members fishing from the towpath. Today the role of the collector is probably best described as a combination of membership secretary and bailiff. In those days the Surrey Advertiser did not record the Society’s annual income from subscriptions and day tickets. In 1897 it was reported at the AGM that an article had appeared in the Fishing Gazette suggesting that fishing from the towpath on the Navigation was free. Members ‘did not want to put their foot down upon those who came to fish there, but it must be remembered there was no free fishing on the tow path. They were very pleased to see any brother anglers down there to fish and to provide sport for them;’ the report continued, ‘but it should not go forth to the public that it was free fishing.’

During these early years the Society concentrated its efforts on the river, where permission was given freely by local riparian owners, but by 1896 there was clearly pressure on the committee to obtain access to some of the local still waters. At the AGM in that year ‘it was resolved to apply to General Marshall and his tenant, Mr. C. Pearson, to Earl Winterton, and to Mr H.D. Gosling for permission to fish in their ponds.’ General Marshall was, of course, president of the Society and owner of Broadwater; H.D. Gosling was owner of Busbridge and Earl Winterton seems to have controlled several waters including Shillinglee. That year, 1896, may represent the beginning of the Society’s long association with Broadwater and Busbridge, although the report of the AGM for the following year does not record whether such permissions had been granted.

What species and what size of fish were members catching during these early days? The Surrey Advertiser report of the AGM for 1898 gives details of the minimum weight of each species which qualified for the specimen prize. The pike was given top billing with a prize of £1 and a minimum qualifying weight of 5lbs. The prize for each of the other species listed was 10 shillings (50p) with weights set at 3lbs for chub, 4lbs bream, 1lb roach, 2lbs perch, ½lb dace and 3lbs for trout. It is unclear whether these prizes were awarded only for fish caught during the Society’s competitions. In the same year ‘Mr. Joseph Wright kindly offered a special prize of 10s 6d (52½p) for the best specimen trout over 4lbs.’

Although the Society offered no prize for carp, it is reasonable to assume that some members at least had begun to try for the monsters said to inhabit Broadwater Pond.  Remarkably, it was on 4^th December 1899 that Mr. G. Holden of Farncombe landed a carp from the pond which weighed in at a record 23lbs 1 oz. The Surrey Advertiser correspondent noted that ‘the only carp that can claim to have beaten that record is one said to have been taken in Harting Pond, many years ago, of the weight of 24½lb. But the Broadwater specimen rests on better evidence, and may perhaps claim to be the largest authenticated example known in this country.’ Specimen fish were usually stuffed and this one’s fate was no exception. In 1901 it was presented to the museum at Charterhouse School but itspresent whereabouts is unknown.

In June 1900 the Society lost its first president, when General Sir Frederick Marshall died. He had been a staunch supporter of all things sporting in Surrey and in Godalming in particular, having given  the Society free use of those sections of the river where he held the riparian rights. A remarkable Victorian, who fought in the Crimea and later in the Zulu Wars in South Africa, his passing signalled, perhaps, the end of the first phase in the history of Godalming Angling Society.