Aberdare Angling Association

Situated in Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley, 18 miles west of Cardiff, Wales.

The club as been running for more than fifty years and is getting bigger and better every season.

We have 3 reservoirs, 1 fly only, 1 worm only and one worm and fly, and we also have a large stretch of the river Cynon.

We stock with our own farmed rainbows, sized from 10 inches to 7lbs, and last year up to 3,500 fish were released into our waters, this year we hope to increase the stocking to the 4,500 mark.

All our waters are situated in the most beautifull countryside in the UK, and are all easily accesible from major roads. Some of our waters are situated in the beautifull Dare Valley Country Park which is one of the scenic highlights of the Valleys.

Our season tickets offer excellent value, as we fish from January 1st to December 31st. We fish every day except Christmas day and you can take home 3 fish a day.

Club History
Dr James Ross Steen a young Irishman came to Aberdare before World War 2, he brought with him his passion for Angling especially Fly fishing, and his love of the natural environment that stemmed quite naturally from his rural outdoor upbringing in the tiny village of Carickmacross Southern Ireland.

Coming from a part of Ireland where all the rivers were crystal clear he was appalled when he arrived in Aberdare and saw the dirty and wantonly polluted River Cynon.

The years went by and as soon as he saw the slightest glint of an opportunity of being able to do something about it he set forth undaunted on his quest for a clean River Cynon.

He gathered his angling friends together and held a meeting at the Glandover Pub on the Galdys, the meeting was a success, a further meeting was held at the Ambulance Hall in Depot Rd., and the Aberdare & District Angling Association was born, Dr. Steen wasvoted Chairman a position he was to hold for nearl 30 years his interest eventually extending to the neighbouring River Taff.

He saw his dream come true all right ….not only did the Cynon once more become a river fit for anglers, but the powers that be so recognised his genuine love of nature and his ingrained hatred of pollution that they made him a member of the Glamorgan Rivers Board and up to his fatal illness, he was a staunch supporter of a better environment and of nature conservancy in all its aspects becoming a member of the Welsh National Water Development Authority.

And as long as the men who accompanied him on his angling expeditions loved angling and loved nature That was all that mattered. He did not care, or ask, or wish to know, their station in life. That was utterly unimportant. Unmistakably so, this made him one of nature’s gentlemen

Dr. Ross Steen A family doctor at Aberdare for some 40 years.
Dr.James Ross Steen aged 62, died suddenly while on holiday. He lived at Ardnalee Cwmbach Rd. He had been a widower for two years and only daughter - Deldre lives at Swansea .She and her husband have two children.

The War
He was a Lieutenant Colonel in World War Two, serving in Burma, he was mentioned in despatches . Three times he was blown up by enemy mines and wounded. He came to Aberdare after a brief period as a ships doctor. When the war came he went to Dr, Harry Banks and said he wanted to join the Medical Corps.

Older people will recall that when he first came to Aberdare he was anaesthetist to Dr. Harry Banks, who was at the time one of the local G.P. surgeons performing operations at the hospital.

The death of Dr. Ross Steen at the comparatively early age of 62 is a tremendous loss to Aberdare ….an inestimable loss….because there was so much more medical skill and dedicated service that he would have wish to given.

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Charges:
Adults: £60.00 a season
Consessionery: £45.00
Juniors: (14 to 16) £30.00 and from £20.00 under the age of 14
River permit only: £10.00 a season
Day permits: £8.00

Last season we had a fantastic time with adult and junior competitions being a great sucess, thanks to our sponsers Valley Angling Supplies, Aberdare; Garry Evans Tackle, Cardiff and Cliff Harvey Tackle, Pontypridd.
We also have more competitions organised for this year, again sponsered by the above companies

Contact details:
Mark at saracen21@hotmail.com or tel: The secretary Mark Jenkins on 01685 876321