Covid 19 – The New Normal

From the 1st September, we will be operating what will be the new “normal.”

A small number of changes remain in place for the time being:

The fishery will continue to open from 7.30am.

The temporary swim 3 on Lake Pepper (Old) will remain.

All anglers fishing overnight must bring hand sanitiser.

Day (and Overnight on Alder and Black Lakes) tickets for the general coarse lakes remain limited.

Specimen Lakes –

Temporary swims changes: Please note that in order to comply with social distancing measures we have installed temporary swim on Old Pepper to replace swim 3

If fishing the specimen lakes, you must arrive at the following specified times:

For 8am starts, you must arrive between 7.30 – 8.00am

For 1pm starts, you must arrive between 12 – 12.30pm

For 5pm starts, you must arrive between 16.00 – 16.30pm

Season Tickets – These are now sold out and there are no more available.

Day/Night Tickets (excluding Specimen Lakes) –

Day/Overnight tickets remain limited, sold on a first come, first serve basis and must be booked and paid for the day before. (We cannot accept requests for half day tickets at present.) To purchase tickets, please contact AKC (01304 380691) who are open between 7.30am -12.30pm the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). To avoid delays and maintain social distancing measures access is limited to four people at a time. It is therefore recommended that if you need to make a purchase, you contact AKC in advance of your trip and pre-order and pay for any equipment that you need. This is particularly important if you are starting at 5pm on the Specimen Lakes, when the shop will be closed. In this instance any pre-purchased equipment will be available to collect from the bailiffs upon arrival.

Match Fishing– Match fishing remains closed at this time.

Temporary Rules:

In addition to the rules, all anglers must have read the rules amendments below:

Anglers must arrive at the times specified below:

Specimen Lakes (8am start) – 7.30 – 8.00am

Specimen Lakes (1pm start) – 12.00 – 12.30pm

Specimen Lakes (5pm start) – 16.00 – 16.30pm

All anglers (irrespective of whether or not they are from the same household) must fish at least 5m apart.

Anglers are permitted one non-fishing guest provided that they are from the same household. The non-fishing guest can remain in the same swim space.

Anglers fishing overnight must bring their own hand sanitiser, and must use it before and after shutting the otter gates (see below).

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Staff from AKC will come out to greet you and check your season ticket or booking. If you do not have your Season Ticket with you or it has expired you will not be permitted into the lakes. No exceptions!!

Once your season ticket / booking has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Each angler will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one non-fishing guest provided that they are members of the same household only.

Anglers must have packed up and left the fishery before 7pm, unless booked onto the specimen lakes, Alder or Black Lake.

With the exception of the main Otter gate, which will continue to be opened (and closed) by fishery personnel, all other otter gates must be kept closed.

Anglers must use hand sanitiser before and after using the otter gates.

These measures ensure that both direct and indirect contact between yourselves and anyone else is kept to a minimum and is intended to protect both your health and that of the wider community.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 9

Covid 19 - Update 9

As we are nearing a return to more normal operations, this will be (what we hope is) the final Covid update.

From the 31st July, the specimen lakes diary and booking page will re-open and anglers wishing to fish Lakes Pepper and Christine will be able to book as before.

A small number of changes remain in place for the time being:

The fishery will continue to open from 7.30am.

Temporary swims on Lakes Pepper (Old) and Christine will remain.

All anglers fishing overnight must bring hand sanitiser.

Day (and Overnight on Alder and Black Lakes) tickets for the general coarse lakes remain limited.

Specimen Lakes -

Temporary swims changes: Please note that in order to comply with social distancing measures we have installed temporary swims on Old Pepper to replace swims 1 and 3 and a temporary swim on Lake Christine to replace swim 1. In addition to this swims 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8 and 9 & 10 must be fished as single swims (i.e. one angler in swims 3 and 4, one angler in swims 5 & 6 etc.)

You must arrive at the following specified times:

For 8am starts, you must arrive between 7.30 - 8.00am

For 1pm starts, you must arrive between 12 - 12.30pm

For 5pm starts, you must arrive between 16.00 - 16.30pm

Season Tickets - These are now sold out and there are no more available.

Day/Night Tickets (excluding Specimen Lakes) -

Day/Overnight tickets remain limited to 25 per day, sold on a first come, first serve basis and must be booked and paid for the day before. (We cannot accept requests for half day tickets at present.) To purchase tickets, please contact AKC (01304 380691) who are open between 7.30am -12.30pm the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). To avoid delays and maintain social distancing measures access is limited to one person at a time. It is therefore recommended that if you need to make a purchase, you contact AKC in advance of your trip and pre-order and pay for any equipment that you need. This is particularly important if you are starting at 5pm on the Specimen Lakes, when the shop will be closed. In this instance any pre-purchased equipment will be available to collect from the bailiffs upon arrival.

Match Fishing- Match fishing remains closed at this time.

Temporary Rules:

In addition to the rules, all anglers must have read the rules amendments below:

Anglers must arrive at the times specified below:

Day Tickets & Specimen Lakes (8am start) - 7.30 - 8.00am

Specimen Lakes (1pm start) - 12.00 - 12.30pm

Specimen Lakes (5pm start) - 16.00 - 16.30pm

All anglers (irrespective of whether or not they are from the same household) must fish at least 15m apart.

Anglers are permitted one non-fishing guest provided that they are from the same household. The non-fishing guest can remain in the same swim space.

Anglers fishing overnight must bring their own hand sanitiser, and must use it before and after shutting the otter gates (see below).

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Once your season ticket / booking has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Each angler will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one non-fishing guest provided that they are members of the same household only.

Anglers must have packed up and left the fishery before 6pm, unless booked onto the specimen lakes.

Otter gates around the fishery will be opened by fishery personnel in the morning and remain open whilst anglers are on site until 6pm, when they will be closed by site personnel. The requirement for anglers to close the otter gates is temporarily suspended.

Anglers fishing the specimen lakes after 6pm must use hand sanitiser before and after using the otter gates.

These measures ensure that both direct and indirect contact between yourselves and anyone else is kept to a minimum and is intended to protect both your health and that of the wider community.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 8

Covid 19 – Update 8

From the 1st July gates will open from 7.30am.

Overnight Fishing on Lake Alder

From 1st July a limited number of overnight tickets (up to a maximum of 5) will be available to fish on Lake Alder (priced at £5 for Season Ticket holders and £20 for day tickets / per day). Tickets for overnight fishing will be sold on a first come / first serve basis for Season Ticket holders and “Day” tickets alike. Overnight fishing will initially be limited to a maximum of 48 hours per angler per week. Tickets must be purchased through AKC the day before you wish to fish. The remaining space will be reserved for day fishing only.

Day Tickets on the Specimen Lakes

From 1st July a limited number of day tickets will be available to fish Old and New Pepper and Lake Christine. To check availability and book space, please contact AKC the day before you wish to fish. Day Tickets on Lake Pepper cost £15 and on Lake Christine cost £12.50

To purchase overnight space on Lake Alder or Day Tickets on the specimen lakes, please contact AKC (01304 380691) between 8.00am – 10.30am the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). If you need to purchase any equipment, you can do this at the same time and if it’s in stock it will be ready for you to collect when you arrive.

Specimen Lakes –

All anglers fishing the specimen lakes overnight (pre-existing bookings only) must bring their own hand sanitiser. You will be asked to show that you have it and if you don’t you won’t be permitted to fish.

For pre-existing bookings after the 8th June, please note that entry into the lakes is restricted. You must therefore arrive at the following specified times:

For 8am starts, you must arrive between 7.30 – 8.00am

For 1pm starts, you must arrive between 12 – 12.30pm

For 5pm starts, you must arrive between 16.00 – 16.30pm

Please note: AKC (the on-site tackle shop) will be open between 7.30am -12.30pm. To avoid delays and maintain social distancing measures access is limited to one person at a time. It is therefore recommended that if you need to make a purchase, you contact AKC a few days before your visit and pre-order and pay for any equipment that you need. This is particularly important if you are starting at 5pm when the shop will be closed. In this instance any pre-purchased equipment will be available to collect from the bailiffs upon arrival.

Season Tickets – These are now sold out and there are no more available.

Day Tickets (excluding Specimen Lakes) –

Day tickets remain limited to 25 per day, sold on a first come, first serve basis and must be booked and paid for the day before. (We cannot accept requests for half day tickets at present.) Anglers may only purchase one ticket for themselves and one other for another member of their household (if they wish.) Arrival times will be restricted. You will be advised of this when you call to purchase your ticket. You will be asked for id on arrival to confirm your booking (passport, driving licence or bank card), so please only book if you are able to provide one of the documents mentioned. If two members of the same household are fishing, you must both have proof of id. If you don’t have the id requested, you won’t be permitted to fish.

Match Fishing – Match fishing remains closed at this time.

Temporary Rules:

All anglers must have read the updates rules below:

Anglers must arrive at the times specified below:

Season Tickets / Day Tickets & Specimen Lakes (8am start) – 7.30 – 8.00am

Specimen Lakes (1pm start) – 12.00 – 12.30pm

Specimen Lakes (5pm start) – 16.00 – 16.30pm

All anglers (irrespective of whether or not they are from the same household) must fish at least 15m apart.

Anglers are permitted one non-fishing guest provided that they are from the same household. The non-fishing guest can remain in the same swim space.

Anglers fishing overnight on the specimen lakes (i.e. pre-existing bookings) must bring their own hand sanitiser, and must use it before and after shutting the otter gates (see below).

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Once your season ticket / booking has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Each angler will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one non-fishing guest provided that they are members of the same household only.

Anglers must have packed up and left the fishery before 6pm, unless pre-booked onto the specimen lakes.

Anglers fishing the specimen lakes after 6pm must use hand sanitiser before and after using the otter gates.

These measures ensure that both direct and indirect contact between yourselves and anyone else is kept to a minimum and is intended to protect both your health and that of the wider community.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

In Memoriam - RIP

Sadly we have to report the loss of one of our 50+ lbs fish out of Lake Pepper.

Landed last year by Dale Crowson, at a weight of 53lbs (a regular at over 40lbs, this was the first and only time she tipped the scales at over 50lbs to our knowledge), and sadly now passed away.

In Memoriam:

Mitchell Mace - 48 hours on (New) Pepper

Mitchell Mace made the most of the easing of lockdown restrictions landing a total of 16 carp in 48 hours, including a new PB. Here is just a small selection:

And his PB. Well, that was this stunning Mirror weighing in at 41lbs 12oz.

Congratulations Mitchell.

Ian Canon - A Memorial Match PB - 41lbs 14oz Mirror

The Memorial Match is an annual event in the Cottington Calendar and arguably one of its most important, commemorating bailiff Dave Wall, who sadly passed away 10 years ago.

This years event saw a slight change in format (due to the Covid restrictions and social distancing measures), but was no less competitive for it. An early front runner on the leader board was Ian Canon who landed this stunning Mirror:

Tipping the scales at a very healthy 41lbs 14oz, this is a UK pb for Ian.

Congratulations Ian.

Shaun Shepherd Fishing Lake Christine - 29lbs 4oz Mirror

Its been a long time coming, but at last anglers are back on the banks at Cottington and we're able to start publishing some of the fish that have been landed, rather than Covid updates. And one of the first to take advantage of the eased lockdown measures and get back onto the specimen lakes was Shaun Shepherd, fishing peg 2 on Lake Christine, and who landed this lovely Mirror, weighing in at 29lbs 4oz:

Congratulations Shaun.

Covid 19 - Update 7 & 7a

Covid 19 - Update 7a

Amendment: To purchase a day ticket for the general coarse lakes (Specimen Lakes are still closed) you must call AKC (01304 380691) between 9.00am - 10.30am the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). If you need to purchase any equipment, you can do this at the same time and if it's in stock it will be ready for you to collect when you arrive.

Covid 19 - Update 7

Firstly, a massive thank you to all the anglers that have fished with us since we have re-opened our doors and who have respected the measures we've put in place to try and protect everyone's health. It is thanks to you and your efforts that we have been able to open the lakes to wider groups of anglers.

Specimen Lakes - The specimen lakes will re-open on Monday the 8th June for existing bookings only. We ARE NOT accepting any new bookings at this time and the diary will remain closed. All bookings between 1st and 7th June will be refunded.

Temporary swims changes: Please note that in order to comply with social distancing measures we have installed temporary swims on Old Pepper to replace swims 1 and 3 and a temporary swim on Lake Christine to replace swim 1. In all cases the waters you are fishing remain unchanged, all that has changed is the location you fish from the bank.

All anglers fishing the specimen lakes overnight (pre-existing bookings only) must bring their own hand sanitiser. You will be asked to show that you have it and if you don't you won't be permitted to fish.

For pre-existing bookings after the 8th June, please note that entry into the lakes is restricted. You must therefore arrive at the following specified times:

For 8am starts, you must arrive between 7.30 - 8.00am

For 1pm starts, you must arrive between 12 - 12.30pm

For 5pm starts, you must arrive between 16.30 - 17.00pm

Season Tickets - These are now sold out and there are no more available.

Day Tickets (excluding Specimen Lakes) -

Day tickets remain limited to 25 per day, sold on a first come, first serve basis and must be booked and paid for the day before. (We cannot accept requests for half day tickets at present.) Anglers may only purchase one ticket for themselves and one other for another member of their household (if they wish.) Arrival times will be restricted. You will be advised of this when you call to purchase your ticket. You will be asked for id on arrival to confirm your booking (passport, driving licence or bank card), so please only book if you are able to provide one of the documents mentioned. If two members of the same household are fishing, you must both have proof of id. If you don't have the id requested, you won't be permitted to fish.

Day Before Fishing

Contact AKC (by phone on 01304 380691) between 10am - 11am the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). (If you need to purchase any equipment, you can do this at the same time and if it's in stock it will be ready for you to collect when you arrive.)
AKC will take your details and collect payment over the phone.
You will be given a slot time to arrive.

On the day:

You must arrive at the slot time provided.
If you arrive by car, please stay in your car.
On arrival you will be asked for your proof of id.
We will confirm your booking and direct you to the lakes.

Please note: You will be asked for your preferred lake when you book (to help us manage allocation of space), but please note that we cannot guarantee space on your preferred lake as Season Ticket holders are given priority on the lakes. In particular space on Lake Alder is very limited and is offered to Season Ticket holders first.

Match Fishing - Match fishing remains closed at this time.

Temporary Rules:

All anglers must have read the updates rules below:

Anglers must arrive at the times specified below:

Specimen Lakes (8am start) - 7.30 - 8.00am

Season ticket holders - 8.00 - 8.30am

Day Tickets - 8.30 - 9.00am

Specimen Lakes (1pm start) - 12.00 - 12.30pm

Specimen Lakes (5pm start) - 16.30 - 17.00pm

All anglers (irrespective of whether or not they are from the same household) must fish at least 15m apart.

Anglers are permitted one non-fishing guest provided that they are from the same household. The non-fishing guest can remain in the same swim space.

Anglers fishing the specimen lakes must bring their own hand sanitiser, and must use it before and after shutting the otter gates (see below).

Unless you have an existing booking on the specimen lakes, then overnight fishing remains prohibited.

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Once your season ticket / booking has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Each angler will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one non-fishing guest provided that they are members of the same household only.

Anglers must have packed up and left the fishery before 5pm (6pm from the 8th June), unless pre-booked onto the specimen lakes.

Otter gates around the fishery will be opened by fishery personnel in the morning and remain open whilst anglers are on site until 5pm (6pm after the 8th June), when they will be closed by site personnel. The requirement for anglers to close the otter gates is temporarily suspended.

Anglers fishing the specimen lakes after 6pm must use hand sanitiser before and after using the otter gates.

These measures ensure that both direct and indirect contact between yourselves and anyone else is kept to a minimum and is intended to protect both your health and that of the wider community.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 6

Covid 19 – Update 6

We will be re-opening for day ticket sales (on the general coarse lakes only) on Tuesday 26th May. The specimen lakes remain closed at the moment. Day tickets will be limited to 25 per day, sold on a first come, first serve basis and must be booked and paid for the day before. (We cannot accept requests for half day tickets at present.) Anglers may only purchase one ticket for themselves and one other for another member of their household (if they wish.) Arrival times will be restricted. You will be advised of this when you call to purchase your ticket. You will be asked for id on arrival to confirm your booking (passport, driving licence or bank card), so please only book if you are able to provide one of the documents mentioned. If two members of the same household are fishing, you must both have proof of id. If you don’t have the id requested, you won’t be permitted to fish.

All anglers (irrespective of whether or not they are from the same household) must fish at least 15m apart.

Day ticket anglers are permitted one non-fishing guest provided that they are from the same household. The non-fishing guest can remain in the same swim space.

These measures ensure that direct contact between yourselves and anyone else is kept to a minimum and is intended to protect both your health and that of the wider community.

Day tickets will still cost £10.

Please note: You CANNOT pre-book a lake. Space on Lake Alder is limited and will be offered to Season Ticket holders first.

Process:

Day Before Fishing

Contact AKC (by phone on 01304 380691) between 10am – 11am the day before you wish to fish (no earlier). (If you need to purchase any equipment, you can do this at the same time and if it’s in stock it will be ready for you to collect when you arrive.)
AKC will take your details and collect payment over the phone.
You will be given a slot time to arrive.

On the day:

You must arrive at the slot time provided.
If you arrive by car, please stay in your car.
On arrival you will be asked for your proof if id.
We will confirm your booking and direct you to the lakes.

All anglers must have read the updates rules below and ensure that they have packed up and left the site before 5pm.

Season Tickets: Season tickets are now sold out and we are not accepting any further applications.

Anyone with a current valid season ticket and wishing to fish, must arrive between 8am and 8.30am. No exceptions!! If you arrive earlier you will have to wait and if you arrive later you will be refused entry.

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Staff from AKC will come out to greet you and check your season or check your day ticket purchase. If you do not have your Season Ticket with you or it has expired you will not be permitted into the lakes. No exceptions!!

Once your season/day ticket has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Anglers will be allowed to fish the 6 general coarse lakes only. (The specimen lakes will remain closed for now.)

Anglers will be allowed to fish on a day ticket basis only i.e. no overnight fishing.

Each angler will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one non-fishing guest provided that they are members of the same household only.

Anglers must have packed up and left the fishery before 5pm.

Access to the fishery (unless fishing Alder) will be via the main Otter gate only, which will be opened by fishery personnel in the morning and remain open whilst anglers are on site. The requirement for anglers to close this gate is temporarily suspended.

The pedestrian gate over the bridge onto Black Lake (adjacent to Lake Alder) is and will remain closed and anglers must not attempt to use it to access the lakes. Anyone found attempting to use it will be asked to leave the site permanently.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 5

Covid 19 – Update 5

Not surprisingly Season Tickets have been in high demand and there are now only a handful left.

However, before purchasing, please be aware that we are looking to open for day ticket sales very shortly, so please only apply for Season Tickets (see link below in Update 4) if you believe that you will get full value from them.

More information about day ticket sales will be available on Thursday.

Specimen Lakes: Unfortunately we have taken the decision not to open the specimen lakes yet and will be cancelling all bookings up to the end of May. We will of course be refunding cancelled bookings and hope that this exercise will be completed by Monday at the latest.

We are sorry, as we know that this is not what anglers were hoping to hear, but hope that you will understand that our priority remains trying to run the lakes in a way which does not increase the risk to anglers and those people on site as well.

We will publish further news regarding the specimen lakes nearer to the end of the month.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 – Update 4

Covid 19 - Update 4

Great News!! We are open, but in a limited way.

Season Tickets:

We have started to re-open the fishery to existing season ticket holders only. However, our priority remains the health and well-being of our anglers, fishery personnel and all those on site. For this reason we are currently only open to existing Season Ticket holders whilst we ensure that the measures we put in place continue to provide a safe venue for anglers to fish. However, we are now ready to start accepting on-line applications for new Season Tickets.

Please note: Season Tickets are limited and are sold on a first come, first serve basis.

Process:

1. Click here to go to the Season Ticket Application Form.

2. We will e-mail confirming receipt of your application together with our payment instructions. Payment is by bank transfer only.

3. Once we have received payment we will contact you confirming that your Season Ticket(s) is available for collection (it can be collected from the fishery when you arrive to fish.)

We are sorry, as we know that not everyone may be able to apply on-line. However, the reason for this approach is to minimise the risk to everyone of catching Covid 19. We cannot (and will not) accept hand delivered applications or payment in cash. Please do NOT travel to the fishery in the hope of submitting a paper application, it will not be accepted.

Day Tickets

We will be reviewing the situation regarding the sale of day tickets over the next week and will be publishing details of when we intend to re-open for ticket sales at that time.

Specimen Lakes:

We will be reviewing the situation regarding opening our specimen lakes over the next week and will be publishing details of when we intend to re-open them at that time. In the meantime all bookings on the specimen lakes until then will be cancelled and we will be issuing refunds. The refunds will be processed starting next week.

Refunds:

All refunds for cancelled bookings up to the 8th of May have now been processed. If you believe that you had a booking on or before the 8th May and are due a refund and have not yet received it, please e-mail us (please DO NOT e-mail if we are already dealing with an existing query.)

There are (temporary) new rules detailed below, which all anglers must read and familiarise themselves with. Failure to adhere to them will result in a lifetime ban. This may sound harsh, but please remember that these rules are being implemented to try and help save lives within our communities, whilst still providing meaningful access to the lakes.

Please do not arrive at the fishery expecting to fish, unless you hold current valid season ticket, as you will be refused entry.

The Kingfisher cafe and AKC Bait & Tackle will both be offering "click and collect" services (see below for details), but the shops themselves will remain closed at present.

Valid Season Ticket Holders - What you need to know:

Only travel to the lakes if you are not required to isolate yourself.

Anyone with a current valid season ticket and wishing to fish, must arrive between 8am and 9am. No exceptions!! If you arrive earlier you will have to wait and if you arrive later you will be refused entry.

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Staff from AKC will come out to greet you and check your season ticket. If you do not have it with you or it has expired you will not be permitted into the lakes. No exceptions!!

Once your season ticket has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Season Ticket holders will be allowed to fish the 6 general coarse lakes only. (The specimen lakes will remain closed for now.)

Season Ticket holders will be allowed to fish on a day ticket basis only i.e. no overnight fishing.

Season Ticket holders must have packed up and left the fishery before 5pm.

The pedestrian gate over the bridge onto Black Lake (adjacent to the Lake Alder) is and will remain closed and anglers must not attempt to use it to access the lakes. Anyone found attempting to use it will be asked to leave the site permanently.

Yours Sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 3

Covid 19 – Update 3

Great News!!

The Government has confirmed that fisheries can re-open. However, our priority remains the health and welfare of our anglers, fishery personnel and the wider community in which we all live.

With this in mind, we will be starting gradually, testing the measures we have in place and refining them if we need to, before opening up further. We will also be following the Angling Trust guidelines (where they are appropriate to our circumstances and are achievable.)

There will be (temporary) new rules detailed below, which all anglers must read and familiarise themselves with. Failure to adhere to them will result in a lifetime ban. This may sound harsh, but please remember that these rules are being implemented to try and help save lives within our communities, whilst still providing meaningful access to the lakes.

The first anglers that will be permitted back to the fishery with be current valid season tickets holders i.e. anyone who has purchased a season ticket for the 2020/21 season. Please do not arrive at the fishery expecting to fish, unless you hold current valid season ticket, as you will be refused entry.

The Kingfisher cafe and AKC Bait & Tackle will both be offering “click and collect” services (see below for details), but the shops themselves will remain closed at present.

Valid Season Ticket Holders – We are open from 8am on Wednesday the 13th May.

What you need to know:

On arrival you must stay outside (in your car if you arrive by car.) You must respect the social distancing rules and ensure you stay at least 2 metres apart from other people.

Staff from AKC will come out to greet you and check your season ticket. If you do not have it with you or it has expired you will not be permitted into the lakes. No exceptions!!

Once your season ticket has been checked, the barrier will be opened for you (we will not be issuing tokens.)

Season Ticket holders will be allowed to fish the 6 general coarse lakes only. (The specimen lakes will remain closed for now.)

Season Ticket holders will be allowed to fish on a day ticket basis only i.e. no overnight fishing.

Season Ticket holders must have packed up and left the fishery before 5pm.

Space on the lakes will be more limited than usual (in order for us to comply with the Angling Trust guidance that anglers must maintain 15m social distancing whilst on the bankside) and will be allocated on a first come / first serve basis.

When selecting a swim anglers must ensure that the swim is at least 15m apart from any other anglers.

Season Tickets holders, if they wish to, will be permitted to be accompanied by no more than one member of their household only.

The above is subject to change based on our experience of how well these measures are working and anglers should check the website on each and every occasion they visit to ensure that they are familiar with the most current instructions.

The next phase of our re-opening will be for day ticket / season ticket sales on the general coarse lakes only. Details will be announced in the future.

Shop, Cafe & Amenities:

AKC BAIT AND TACKLE

Firstly we hope this message finds you safe and well.. With government announcements stating ANGLING is now back on we are trying to do our bit to help you with your tackle & bait etc…. We have devised a very safe plan to do so with safety being our first thought. As of 12/05/2020 you will be able to order via email for a CONTACTLESS collection the following day, you will be given an allocated time slot to arrive and collect your goods so there is no cues or carnage.

THE PROCESS

1. Place orders via akcbait@hotmail.com before 4pm for next day collection.

2. Please state in the email FULL NAME, BEST CONTACT NUMBER & What you would like to order.

3. The following morning starting from 8am you will receive a phone call for payment and at which point we will tell you exactly what we have put in your shopping bag.

4. Once payment has been taken you will be given an order number and a STRICT time slot to come to the car park and collect your stuff. (No Earlier & No later)

5. When you arrive please stay in your vehicle until a member of staff comes outside and at which point will ask for your order number from a safe distance. 6. Your order will then be put in a safe place for you to collect.

6. Then you can be on your way and enjoy your angling.

This of course is going to be a trial and error process which we’re trying to keep as simple as possible so it runs a smoothly as possible and people remain SAFE at all times. We will NOT take orders over the phone as we will ONLY have 1 member of staff at the shop processing the orders from the night before. This could however change as we move forwards! We ask that ONLY 1 person and 1 vehicle show up for their collection. Anyone not sticking to the process will not be served again. It sounds strict BUT we care about the safety of the people and want everyone to come out of this unharmed and well. We hope this helps. In the meantime please stay safe out on the banks, respect the rules and make sure we can continue to carry on with the sport we love without ruining it for everyone else.

Kingsfisher Cafe:

Limited refreshments will be available from the Kingfisher cafe. Orders must be placed in advance by calling Mike and Barbara on 01304 371898.

You must wait outside and your order will be brought to you.

Amenities:

The toilets will be open. They are being cleaned on a daily basis in accordance with current recommendations.

Yours Sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 2

Dear Anglers,

Following the Prime Minister's announcement on the 10th May that some restrictions are being eased, including access to some sports, there has been much speculation that this could include fishing.

We know that many of you are keen to get back to the bankside with rods out in the water. However, at present, it is still unclear whether or not fisheries can re-open and if they can, the conditions that we may need to meet to be able to do so. Until there is clear guidance that we can re-open and the conditions under which we may do so, then we will remain closed.

Nevertheless, we are optimistic that fisheries will re-open soon, whether that be on Wednesday (13th May) or in the very near future. However, it is very likely that any access to fisheries will be conditional, ensuring that we take all reasonable and responsible measures to protect both anglers and fishery personnel alike and to ensure that the fishery does not become a potential source of new infection. Unfortunately, whilst we can plan for some of the more obvious conditions, we cannot plan to meet all possible conditions until we know what they are.

Additionally there are a number of practical logistical problems that we know we will need to address. For example, we know that maintaining social distancing will be a criteria. However, a number of swims on our specimen lakes are "doubles" which means that we will possibly have to reduce the number of planned bookings that we have.

So, in order to meet these challenges we are planning on re-opening the fishery (as and when we can) in stages. The first anglers that will be permitted back to the fishery will be pre-existing season ticket holders i.e. anyone in possession of a valid 2020/21 season ticket.

As soon as we are able, we will expand this to include the sale of new season tickets and day tickets for the general coarse lakes. And lastly we will re-open the specimen lakes.

We know that this will be a disappointment, particularly for those with bookings on the specimen lakes. However, these measures are necessary to ensure that we play our part in bringing the Covid 19 pandemic to an end.

There is a strong possibility that things will change quickly over the next few days, so please check back for updates regularly over the next few days. We will try and keep everything as up-to-date as we can.

In the meantime we will continue to refund anyone who cannot fish their bookings on the specimen lakes.

Thank you for your continued patience.

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19 - Update 1

Dear Anglers,

We hope that you are all managing to stay safe and well.

We're sorry for the blanket e-mail to you all, (particularly if you have already seen the announcement on our website and facebook pages), but this was the most timely way in which we could get in touch and let you all know what's happening with your bookings.

We have been overwhelmed by the support you have shown the fishery and for that we wish thank you all.

Ideally we had hoped to try and meet everyone's wishes, whether that be for a refund or deferring bookings until later in the year.

However, following the Government's announcement that the current restrictions will be extended for at least a further 3 weeks, it is clear that for those wishing to defer their bookings until later in the year, there are not enough dates available to meet demand.

With this in mind, we have decided that the only fair alternative is to refund all bookings that have been affected. Initially we will start refunding bookings that were due to take place in March, April and up to the first week in May. We will start processing the refunds next week although we anticipate that this may take up to 7 days to complete.

If the restrictions are extended further, beyond the beginning of May, then we will refund those as well.

We are truly sorry that we haven't been able to meet your expectations on this occasion, but hope that you will agree that as disappointing as this may be, it is the fairest resolution for all concerned.

Stay safe and hope to see you back soon.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Covid 19

Closure Due to Corona Virus

Dear Anglers,

As a result of the Prime Ministers announcement yesterday evening, restricting people’s movements (to shop for essential items, travel to and from work, meet any medical needs and to exercise once per day), regrettably Cottington Lakes has no option but to close temporarily. This decision has not been taken lightly, but we believe that it is a responsible decision considering the current circumstances.

We have also temporarily disabled our “Bookings diary” to help allow us to manage the wishes of those with current bookings.

Understandably anglers will be concerned about their bookings. We will be contacting all anglers/group contacts individually to discuss bookings with them, however, please bear with us as this is a considerable undertaking. (Please try to refrain from messaging through Facebook or e-mailing as this will slow down our ability to contact everyone.)

Although current advice is that restrictions will be in place for a minimum of 3 weeks, initially we will be contacting everyone with a booking on or before the 31^st May 2020.

For those with season tickets, we will put out advice once we have completed contacting anglers with confirmed bookings.

Yours sincerely

Cottington Lakes fishery

Over 50lbs and NOT the Big Girl!! - Dale Crowson

Pickings were slim for Dale Crowson, fishing peg 1 on Old Pepper. He only saw one fish during his whole session. But one fish is better than no fish. So how to tease it out? Initial attempts using dog biscuit proved unsuccessful.

The following day it was back but this time much higher in the water. And this time Dale was successful:

Dale weighed her at 53lbs and had the weight verified at a second weighing. This lovely Mirror has been seen regularly in the past at over 40lbs but has clearly had a growth spurt, to reach her current weight.

As Dale said, "this is what dreams are made of."

This makes Dale the latest member of Cottington's "50" Club.

Congratulations Dale.

Plastic Free Deal

Cottington Lakes is proud to support the Plastic Free Deal initiative, aimed at reducing the single use plastics that are contaminating our waters and our countryside:

For more information about this great initiative have a look at their website:

http://plasticfreedeal.org.uk/

and/or their facebook page;

https://www.facebook.com/PlasticFreeDeal/

New Lake Record - Joshua Handley on Lake Alder

This monster would grace most specimen waters. But Joshua Handley, fishing with a friend at the weekend (2nd June), landed it out of Lake Alder.

This is the second time in recent weeks this stunning Mirror has been out, this time at 32lbs 2oz, topping her previous weight by a slender ounce.

Congratulations Joshua on the new Lake record.

Bait Boats

Bait boats are permitted on Lakes Pepper and Christine.

However, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of anglers who have got them stuck and had to ask for them to be recovered. We are a small family run business and doing this takes valuable time away from us to carry out important maintenance and/or improvements around the rest of the lakes.

We have no wish to ban them, used correctly they are a useful tool in the anglers tool box, and this would be unfair on the vast majority who use them without issue. Instead we recommend that if you want to use them, then tie a line to them so that in the event that they become stuck, they can be recovered.

If you choose not to, then please don't be surprised if you are charged (£20) to recover it.

Fishing With Finn - Easter Weekend

Graham Finn is a field tester for Next Generation Tackle (NGT) and has been bringing anglers young and old down to Cottington to fish the coarse lakes for a couple of years now. A busy early part of the year meant that the Easter weekend was the first opportunity to get out this year. And .... well, I'll let Graham tell you the rest;

Well, what a brilliant weekend Cottington is having. Yesterday (Saturday) I have never seen so many anglers enjoying your lakes, it was almost hard to find 4 pegs together to fish, but we managed to find a spot. Cottington offers great fishing for children up to the age of 85 and on this occasion the 3 youngsters I had with me had a combined age of 239 years between them, so plenty of experience!!

We found a spot on Elliot and decided to settle down and have a few hours in the Easter sunshine. Fishing very simply with method feeder tactics down the middle and across to the island, we had a great day. Catches included Common carp, Mirror Carp, Crucian Carp, Koi Carp, Bream, Perch and a surprise big old Gold Fish!!

The largest fish was a Mirror Carp weighing just over 9lbs, but when the rod is bending every few minutes and not knowing what is going to be on the end of it, its great fun.

My old dad, at 85, had a few Carp with his picture being taken while he sat in his chair.

Dad, enjoying a few hours in the sun.

Young Patricia had several Carp all around the 6lb mark with a few small ones for good measure.

Patricia showing off one of her haul.

Not to be left out, Alan had the biggest fish of the day along with plenty of others in his mixed bag.

Alan with the biggest fish of the day - 9lbs Mirror

And it had to be myself with the Goldfish!!!

Graham with his prize Goldfish

All the fish were photographed and quickly and gently returned.

Every one used a NGT ground bait mix along with NGT Banana and Hazelnut yellow boilies with an occasional bait change to sweet corn, which are all available from Cottington's on site shop The Anglers Cabin where you can also get great, up to date, advice.

And finally, some shameless advertising on behalf of NGT!!

Best regards

Graham Finn

fishwithfinn

It just goes to show, that fishing really is for kids of all ages. And finally a quick link to NGT's website.

https://nextgenerationtackle.com/

Alder Gives Up a 30lbs+ Mirror - Ben McDonnell

A recent overnight session on Alder left Ben McDonnell with a haul of 5 fish, including one 30lbs + Mirror.

But first out of the bag was this 17lb 9oz common, which Ben landed using Casual Carpers Salted Caramel:

An overnight alarm call left Ben with a lovely Koi, also landed using Salted Caramel. Weighing in at 16lbs 7oz this is a new pb for Ben:

Next up came a smaller Common weighing about 13lbs and landed using Casual Carpers Spiced Krill. A quick catch and release, so no photo.

Saving the best to last (well nearly last), Ben brought this stunning Mirror, weighing 32lbs 1oz, onto the bank, another victim of the Salted Caramel:

And just when he thought it was all over this lovely Mirror made an appearance:

On the bank at 27lbs 4oz.

Ben was fishing from peg 12.

She's Out!! First Showing of the Year by the Big Girl Courtesy of David Harden

David Harden joins the limited few who have been fortunate enough to land Cottington's Big Girl at over 50lbs.

David landed her at 9pm on the 4th March from peg 10, weighing in at 51lbs 6oz.

For those wondering where best to try and land the Big Girl, pick a spot... any spot!! She's now come out from all around the Lake making appearances from pegs 1, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 16.

2019 Bookings for Pepper & Christine

We know that lots of anglers are waiting anxiously to be able to book spaces on Lakes Pepper & Christine for 2019. Well, we're almost there and we are working very hard to make the new diary and booking system available from the 1st November.

But before releasing the diary, we need to make everyone aware of some important changes.

Reservations can only be made through the on-line booking system and can only be made with payment of a 50% deposit (no change to the deposit). Upon completion of a booking, the system will generate an e-mail confirmation. If you do not receive an e-mail please check your junk/spam filter. If you still haven't received an e-mail, please contact us via cottingtonlakes@outlook.com and we will confirm your booking has been accepted.

Anglers are responsible for checking that the details within the confirmation e-mail are correct i.e. lake, dates and times etc.

Payment of the outstanding balance is due not less than 28 days prior to the booking and anglers are responsible for ensuring that this balance is paid in time. In the event that payment isn't received, the system will cancel your booking and make the space available for other anglers (please see our Cancellation Policy at the foot of the Bookings/Diary page.)

Lake Pepper has been separated into 2 lakes to enable half lake bookings. Old Pepper comprises of swims 1-8 and New Pepper comprises of swims 9-16. If you wish to book the whole of Lake Pepper you must book both lakes separately. Please note, you are booking a space on the lake of your choice, not a specific swim.

To enable the diary to run at an acceptable speed, it has been necessary to limit the start times. Bookings in 2019 will be limited to the following start times: 8am, 1pm and 5pm. However, you must book in with AKC one hour before your start time (see below.)

All ticket prices remain the same as for 2018. However, in order to enable the diary to function, start and end times must be different. Therefore the following changes apply:

1 Day Ticket = 23hrs fishing, 2 Day Ticket = 47hrs fishing, 3 Day ticket = 71hrs fishing ... etc. You can of course still book extra hours over and above a day ticket with additional hours charged at the hourly rate.

Upon arrival you must still check in with AKC (on-site tackle shop), present your booking confirmation e-mail and you will be issued with a ticket. We ask everyone to check-in one hour before your start time. This is especially important if you have booked a 5pm start time as AKC close at 5pm and you must have checked in and collected your ticket before they close. This will also assist the fishery to manage the issue of bank equipment (mats, nets & weigh slings) which we will be doing in the future.

We look forward to seeing you in 2019.

Success for the McDonnells on Lake Christine

Ben McDonnell joined his dad, Mac McDonnell, for 5 days on Lake Christine courtesy of Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club as part of a long service award for Mac who has worked at the club for 40 years.

Mac, fishing from peg 4, and using Maple Nut, got off to a great start when he landed this 24lbs 10oz leathery Mirror, a new personal best;

It was then Ben's turn landing 3 of the Commons, which are a trademark of the lake, in succession. First up was this lovely 22lbs 11oz Common;

Next up, a night time wake up call with this 20lbs 5oz Common;

And finally, completing Ben's trilogy yet another Common, this time weighing in at 23lbs 1oz;

Ben, fishing from peg 3 was using Sticky Baits Krill and Sticky Baits 12mm Signature Squid.

Not to be outshone by his son, it was Mac's turn to get back into the action, and what a way to do so, landing one of the lakes big Commons at 35lbs 6oz and breaking his pb for a second time during the trip.

To finish off Mac landed another Common about 40 minutes later, this time weighing in at 29lbs 6oz, this time caught using a Crab boilie.

Congratulations to both of you and especially Mac for 40 years service, which is an outstanding achievement.

Fishing with (Graham) Finn

Graham has been bringing friends and family down to Cottington for a little while now, always with the intention of promoting the sport for the next generation of anglers.

On his most recent trip, last Thursday, Graham and Pat brought two families fishing to Cottington for the first time. Graham chose Lake Windsor for their first visit. Windsor is a great lake to learn on. There's plenty of space, a great head of fish and a good chance of catching, which is after all what it's all about!! And with a little coaching, showing them simple method feeding tactics a couple of bags of micro pellets and a couple of tins of sweet corn and learning how to handle and care for the fish, the five boys are now well on the way to doing everything for themselves.

Setting Up

Bringing it to the bank

During a busy few hours all the boys managed to catch fish and here they are presenting their prizes;

Tristan

Richard

Matt

Chris

Ryan

The boys caught some lovely fish up to five and a half pounds, a couple of tench and a few bream as well.

Graham said " We had a great day, I was very impressed with the care the boys showed the fish. They are all now fans of Cottington Fishery and cannot wait for the next visit."

38lbs 8oz Common - Olly Swift

Olly Swift with his 38lbs 8oz Common, landed from peg 4 on Lake Pepper.

Congratulations Olly. An absolute stunner!!

A Session on Pepper - Angie Northcott & Mark Forrister

Angie Northcott and Mark Forrister spent 4 days on Lake Pepper, back towards the end of August.

Mark was clearly still buzzing from the session as he sent the photos but with no other details. He just said "Great trip." So without further ado, here's a sample of their catches;

Congratulations to both of you.

A New PB for Gareth Worsfold - 41lbs 12oz Linnear

A session on Lake Pepper to celebrate his sons 18th birthday, left Gareth Worsfold holding the prize rather than his son, and with a new pb in the process!!

Gareth arrived at the lake at 4pm on the 29th July and landed this gem a little over 12 hours later early on the 30th.

Gareth was over the moon. His previous pb stood in the "20s", but this gem leap frogged him past the "30s" and straight into the 40s. Gareth landed this lovely Linnear Mirror using Sticky Baits Manilla on a basic bottom bait hair rig.

And the weight... Gareth's new pb stands him at a very handsome 41lbs 12oz.

Congratulations Gareth.

Scott Gentry - 39lbs 3oz Mirror

Scott Gentry, fishing from peg 13 on Lake Pepper on the 5th August, had a pleasant surprise when he landed this stunning Mirror;

Weighing in at 39lbs 3oz, Scott landed this gem at 8 am using Mainline cell boilies.

Congratulations Scott.

Fin Potter On Lake Elliot - 15lbs 7oz Mirror

Fin Potter spent a day on Lake Elliot on the 15th July and came away with a lovely 15lbs 7oz Mirror. And here he is, presenting his catch ...

Congratulations Fin. Great to see the next generation of anglers enjoying time on the bankside.

Introducing Chris Wiles

The face may be familiar to some as Chris Wiles is a regular on the banks on Cottington's lakes. But now you are likely to see a lot more of Chris as he is the newest member of the AKC team, the on-site tackle shop. Chris is an experienced angler, as the photos below testify.

The resemblance is uncanny!!

Keeping it real on Alder, with his daughter.

A stunning Mirror caught off the top on peg 4 of Lake Christine, weighing 34lbs.

Another Lake Christine fish, this time weighing in at 28lbs.

You can find Chris in the shop on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Welcome Chris.

Making Use of a Christmas Gift Voucher - Dave Meredith

Dave Meredith spent the recent Bank Holiday weekend making great use of the Christmas gift voucher bought by his wife, relaxing on the banks of Lake Pepper on peg 8.

All the action came at night, but you don't mind being disturbed if there's the chance of a great fish on the end of your line. Dave certainly didn't - just look at that smile!!

First up was this lovely 32lbs 8oz Mirror.

Dave completed his brace with this rather nice 23lbs 12oz Common.

Congratulations Dave.

A New PB for Lee Franklin - 28lbs 6oz Mirror

A 48 hour session on Lake Christine resulted in Lee Franklin landing a new pb;

Lee landed this stunning Mirror fishing from peg 4 and weighed it at 28lbs 6oz.

Congratulations on your new pb Lee.

Not To Be Outdone - Mark Forrister & 39lbs 2oz Mirror

Having seen partner Ange land a lovely 33lbs 1oz Mirror , not to be outdone Mark Forrister landed this imposing fish on the 22nd May, ten days later;

Landed from peg 6 on Lake Pepper, this lovely Mirror weighed in at 39lbs 2oz.

Congratulations Mark.

33lbs 1oz Mirror For Angela Northcott

Ange Northcott was woken at 1.50am on the 12th May to the sound of alarms screaming. A short while later and she had landed this cracking Mirror;

Landed from peg 9 on Lake Pepper, this stunner weighed in at 33lbs 1oz.

Congratulations Ange, and great to see you out on the bank.

A New Lake Record for Alder - Chris Duncombe

Chris Duncombe never imagined that he would come away with a Lake record during his session on Alder on the 5th May, but that's exactly what he did...

Chris landed this beautiful Mirror using Strawberry Crush boilies. And the weight... 29lbs 12oz. Congratulations Chris!!

A "30" surely can't be too far away!!

Ben McDonnell on Pepper - 32lbs 14oz Mirror

Ben McDonnell recently spent 48 hours on Lake Pepper and was rewarded with this brute of a Mirror;

Ben landed his prize, which weighed in at 32lbs 14oz, using Sticky Baits i there I recently done 48 hours on pepper and was rewarded with this brute of a mirror at 32lb 14oz caught using sticky baits Manilla

Proud to Support Fishing For Schools

Cottington Lakes is proud to support Fishing for Schools, playing host to an event on Windsor for five students on Wednesday 2nd May.

The programme consists of six four hour sessions during which the participants can achieve certification at various levels of a formally recognised ASDAN qualification, based on the Angling Trusts Cast Awards.

On the day all of the students caught fish with carp to 8lbs, bream to 3lbs and roach. All of the students got something from the experience and fullfilled the criteria for the Angling Trusts CAST awards Starter Level.

We look forward to welcoming them back on the 9th May for their next event.

"What is fishing for Schools?

Fishing for Schools was started in 2008 and offers young people the opportunity to discover the joy of fishing, whilst learning new skills in a fun and proactive way.

It is delivered by the Countryside Alliance Foundation and world famous angler Charles Jardine, and to date over 2,000 students have benefited from Fishing 4 Schools.

The charity helps pupils re-engage with education, building their confidence and self-esteem, while at the same time assisting with new qualifications and skills."

If you want to know more about Fishing for Schools, check out their website;

http://www.countryside-alliance.org/the-foundation/fishingforschools/

The One That Almost Never Was - 32lbs Common for Jim Malyn

A story that is common to many anglers, but Jim Malyn found it hard going a couple of weeks ago on Lake Christine. He had fished the lake from Wednesday (18th April) night into Thursday and only had a 17lbs common in the morning, then nothing all day so he decided to pack up and head home early as he didn't fancy packing away at 6 o'clock on Friday morning. As he was packing away he had a screamer on his right hand rod and ended up landing this stunning 32lbs mirror:

What a cracking fish and a great way to end a session, on a high!!

A Brace for Jamie Cox

Jamie Cox spent a few days on Lake Christine last month and came away with a brace of fish:

The pick of the pair was this stunning Mirror which weighed 31lbs 10oz;

But this Common is none to shabby either...

Jamie landed this lovely pair using maggot bombs.

All News Items

Covid 19 – Update 6

Covid 19 – Update 5

Covid 19 – Update 3