Over the past few weeks we have received a number of second hand reports concerning cormorants at the Dell. No confirmed sightings have been reported directly to the committee and these unsubstantiated reports conflict with our own monitoring and data collection. Members of the committee and bailiffs have visited the lake every day at varying times over the last month and over that period only a few birds have been spotted. These were easily deterred by non-lethal methods.

When fishing the Dell it is the member’s responsibility to deter these pests when seen to protect our fish stocks. However the committee requires as much data as possible relating to confirmed sightings to support our licence to cull persistent birds. To that aim we have created a web form for reporting all legitimate sightings and methods used to deter.  The form can be located here or via the link under Membership. When completing the form we would ask that you include as much detail as possible and attach up to 5 date/time-stamped photographs of exactly when and where the birds have been observed. This will assist us in targeting our activities. Please note that this form is for data collection purposes only and you will not receive a reply to your message. All other concerns relating to the lake should be emailed to secretary@dellangling.co.uk.

As always the committee thanks you for your support in this matter.

The lake will be closed the weekend of Saturday 23rd January and Sunday 24th January 2021.

Due to the nature of the work to be undertaken the lake will be fully closed and the gates locked.

The committee have reviewed the latest statement by the Angling Trust and are pleased to announce that we are reopening the Dell. It is up to members to abide by the rules of only travelling locally and fishing overnight is not permitted. Note that until the government confirms what they have said to the Trust in their own guidance the Police may not accept fishing as exercise.

The link to the Angling Trust post is here:

We have now seen the guidance from the Angling Trust and in line with their recommendation we will be closing the Dell with immediate effect.

As soon as we are permitted to reopen we will do so. During the lockdown period, members of the committee and the bailiffs will be making frequent visits to conduct essential maintenance and to make sure that cormorants are not attacking our fish.

Following Boris’s announcement and pending further clarification the Dell will remain open. Members must fish alone or with others in their bubble; please observe social distancing. Sanitizer must be carried and used.

We will post an update as soon as we get more information.

Our understanding at this time is that we can keep the Dell open for members and guests to fish but that we can’t hold competitions. Please abide by the Covid guidelines; fish with members of your bubble, use sanitizer and clean the toilet after you use it.

Following government guidelines and the new tier system to become effective from midnight Wednesday 2nd December London will be in tier 2 meaning match fishing can continue at the Dell.  Kent however is in tier 3 and therefore any matches in this tier will be moved to the Dell until further announcements.

A very productive weekend’s work by the committee.

The blocked ditch has now been cleared and once Tony is happy with the quality of the run-off water it will be allowed to trickle into the lake once more. Thank you Keith for manning the digger and laying the new pipework ably assisted by Tony.

Our resident pyromaniac Paul dealt with burning the piles of leaves collected by Alan. The paths around the lake are now much clearer.

Chris got stuck into removing the unsightly pile of rubbish by the containers that had accumulated over the years. Tony and Simon still have a little more work to do in this area next week but it’s starting to take shape.

Thank you to all the members who approached us over the weekend and personally thanked us for our hard work. Your kind words and support are very much appreciated and we will continue to do all we can as a small team to maintain standards in these difficult times that prevent us having work parties.

Now that we have seen all developments during the day the committee has decided to keep the Dell open for fishing We would like to ask you to keep to the government guidelines in social distancing and make sure you have some hand sanitizer on you.

Night fishing will still be allowed.

Day tickets will still be available but only one guest per member in keeping with government guidelines.

Club competitions have been suspended until further notice.

Keep safe everyone