At the lake

The evening before, arrival, paying the remaining balance at the lake, the session itself, and leaving.

This page is about everything that happens between "booking confirmed" and "session over". The booking flow is on Making a booking; the post-session bits (reviews, disputes) are below.

The evening before arrival

Contact details have been open both ways since the booking was confirmed. Here's what happens as the session gets closer:

From 18:00 (lake time) the evening before, we send you a Your session is tomorrow reminder with a link to your booking and the lake's contact details. The host gets a list of the next day's arrivals, with their phone numbers, at the same time.
The host has had your name since you booked and your email and phone number (if you added one) since the booking was confirmed, so they can reach you if anything changes. Some hosts message you with arrival details.
You can reach the host any time with Message the host in your Bookings. Since the confirmation, your ticket shows the lake's phone, email and WhatsApp as the host saved them, so you can call if you'd rather.
There's no checklist or arrival pack on the booking. Check the lake page and the Lake rules for what to bring (licence, sleeping bag for overnight sessions), and ask the host about the gate, parking and when to arrive.

Keep platform notifications on. If a host calls instead of messaging, that's fine, but ask them to drop a single-line confirmation on the platform thread afterwards, because the thread is what the platform uses if anything escalates.

Arrival

Most lakes have a reception, such as a hut, a caravan, the host's house or a barn. Arrival is in three steps:

1. Identification

The host checks your name against the booking. If you booked for someone else, that's the name you gave under Who's fishing? at checkout. Keep your ticket handy (View ticket in your Bookings). It shows your booking reference and a QR code to show at check-in.

Mismatch handling. If the angler's name on the booking is "Andrew Smith" but Andrew couldn't come and his friend Bob shows up, the host can refuse entry. Bookings can't be transferred to someone else. If you knew in advance, you should've cancelled and rebooked, or messaged the host through the platform to ask (and got their agreement in writing on the thread).

2. Paying the remaining balance

This is the moment the remaining balance gets settled. The host should tell you the amount before you hand anything over. It should match Pay at the lake on your ticket (the total minus the booking fee you paid).

Acceptable payment methods are the host's choice:

Cash. Universal (every host accepts it). Bring the exact amount in the lake's currency.
POS / card. Most lakes with a fixed reception have a POS. Some carp waters with caravan receptions don't.
Bank transfer on the spot. Some hosts accept this via Revolut / Wise / instant SEPA. Not all banks support it in real time.

Get a receipt. The host is legally obliged to issue a receipt or invoice for the remaining balance. Cash businesses use a fiscal cash register receipt (bon fiscal); larger operations issue an invoice. Ask if you don't see one offered. It's the host's compliance, not yours, but you want the paper trail.

3. The walk to the swim

The host walks you to your swim. This is the moment to ask anything you weren't sure of:

Where the lifebuoys are.
Where the toilets / nearest tap / waste bins are.
What the night procedure is, and whether there's an on-site host or reception closes after dark.
Where you can park if the swim has separate parking.
The emergency contact number if the host isn't on-site overnight.

It also helps to walk the swim before unloading, to make sure it matches what was advertised and that you're happy with it. If anything's substantively wrong (swim is flooded, no clear casting line, listed amenities missing), this is the moment to flag. See "When something's wrong" below.

During the session

The platform mostly disappears during your session. We don't push promotional notifications, ever. You can message the host from your booking at any time, and our phone number is on the Contact page. Use them as needed.

Things that come up that you might not have planned for:

Welfare equipment. Some lakes provide unhooking mats, slings and weighing harnesses at each swim; some require you to bring your own. The lake's rules are the place to check before you book. If you're standing at the swim without a sling and the rules say "sling required", walk back to reception. The host has spares more often than not.

Live well / retention. If the lake permits carp sacks or retention slings (rare and shrinking, as most modern carp waters disallow them), its rules say so, along with any limits the host sets. Honor them.

Catch reporting. If catch reporting is enabled on this lake (host's choice), use Log a catch on the lake page or on your fishing session, which appears once your booking is confirmed. It's optional. Catches show on the lake page and in the "Live from the banks" feed on our home page. It's how the platform stays honest about which lakes are actually producing.

Trash / leave-no-trace. Every lake on the platform requires you to take your trash with you. Most have bins at reception; some don't. If you have any doubt, ask. Anglers leaving trash is the single most common complaint hosts make about anglers, and hosts remember it.

Leaving

At the end of your booked time, the host or a team member usually wants to walk the swim with you for a 30-second check (swim left tidy, no trash, no damage). It's not personal. It's just operations.

There's no "check-out" workflow on the platform. The session ends at the booking's end time, and the booking is marked completed shortly after. That's when you can review it.

After the session

Reviews open shortly after the session ends. The next morning we send you a single reminder to write one. There's no deadline. If you don't write one, the booking simply has no review. We don't badger you.

A review is one rating out of 10 plus a written review, left with Leave a review next to the booking in your Bookings. Hosts don't reply to reviews, and you can't edit a review once it's posted. We'd rather have a robust permanent record than a "negotiable" one.

When something's wrong

If the session is materially not what was promised (swim unusable, listed amenities missing, host cancels at the gate, declared stock impossible, e.g. lake is frozen and host didn't say so), there's a single right move:

Open the booking on your phone.
Message the host from the booking (Message the host).
Describe the problem in a line or two. Messages are text only, so take photos and keep them.
Then try to resolve things in person.

The order matters, because the timestamped message is what the platform uses if mediation kicks in. "I told the host on Sunday and they said they'd sort it" leaves no record we can act on.

If the host can move you to a different swim, refund the remaining balance, or rebook at no charge, that's fantastic. Accept it and note the outcome in the thread. If not, email contact@lakebooking.com with your booking reference and your photos, and the dispute follows the mediation path in the Refund Policy.

When you're the problem (it happens)

You can also be the angler who messes up. Common cases:

You arrived barbed at a barbless-only lake. The host can refuse entry; the remaining balance is not paid; the booking fee is non-refundable. Read the rules.
You showed up two anglers extra. The host can refuse entry for the extras or charge a surcharge per the lake's rules.
You overran your booking end time. If the lake's rules charge for it, you settle it at the gate.

None of these are catastrophic. Acknowledge it, settle on-site, move on. Hosts remember the anglers who own their mistakes.