Welcome to the Saracens Head Angling Group Website

The Saracen’s Head Angling Group of Weston near Stafford is proud to be based at The Saracen’s Head, Stafford Road, Weston. We are a mixed fly and bait fishing group with local waters. We rely on our own subscriptions, fund raising and good will to be viable. We hold key to the philosophy of inclusivity of all individuals who show an interest in joining our membership list.

In the 1970s a certain Bill Tagg, sadly departed, of Tixall Road, Stafford held Fly Tying Classes at the now demolished Gayton Hotel. Bill needed a new venue and in 1976 the back room at The Saracen’s Head was offered. This Bill accepted and Fly Tying began in earnest on Monday nights and the class grew. The landlord and landlady at the time, Peter and Norma Wright, made the group very welcome. As time moved on a small group, whilst reconvening in the bar, decided they needed some angling water.  After a couple of years fly dressing Keith the gamekeeper suggested we should take the River Trent in Weston to fish. Chris Izod offered the River Tean, near Uttoxeter, which then belonged to Fred Allen.  So hastily, in 1980s, a club was formed and a name for the club was settled upon. It seemed obvious to include The Saracen’s Head public house as it was our headquarters. The word Angling needed to be prominent; as was Group, as that is what we were. So The Saracen’s Head Angling Group was born. A room in the pub’s outbuildings was found for us and after clearing it out, laying a concrete floor and adding lighting we had a club room. Unfortunately we don’t have that room anymore but the club’s association with the pub is stronger than ever. We still meet every Monday night in the bar throughout the year and everyone is welcome.

The club began to acquire waters, still do and those can be investigated on this website. We have a very active junior section and from this initiative we have children who have become very effective anglers. The junior members have excellent parental involvement, their own A.G.M. as well as support and coaching from senior Angling members. The children are provided with equipment, regular angling opportunities, competitions and prizes. The senior members, with their A.G.M. in March, are all avid anglers as both coarse and game angling are enthusiastically pursued.

We take safety very seriously and encourage all to be mindful of this aspect of angling. All club members are catered for in our Club Insurance that covers all club fishing related activities. This includes angling, work parties and club trips. We advise all anglers when using boats to wear a life jacket. The club is a member of The Angling Trust and that enables us to call upon the power of Fish Legal when necessary. We also work closely with The Environment Agency to enhance our waters.

The social angling aspect of the club is thriving and continues to offer exciting angling opportunities away from home every year. We have visited Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Iceland and more are planned for the coarse and game angler.  On some of these occasions Maggot Racing on our famous Maggot Racing Board is undertaken.

We take our role within the village community very seriously by providing, not only, angling opportunities but being involved in the life of the village. Many adult and junior villagers are members of the club. We have a stall at The Village Fete to promote the club and support the life of the village.  We call upon all members to be mindful of litter and have signed up to the Take Five scheme. The Angling Trust ask all anglers not only to leave no litter but take home an extra five pieces. We also are committed to the correct disposal of scrap fishing line so as not to damage wildlife and the environment.

We undertake regular work parties on our waters with our own machinery to keep our waters accessible and well maintained. These we carry out with the cooperation of our farmers and riparian owners. We would encourage all our members to join us to experience these enjoyable, yet productive gatherings.

Our committee, meeting every Monday, is the driving force behind the club and is made up of a cross section of the club members. These members have a variety of skills and angling experiences to provide a base of knowledge to drive the club forward.

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