Quick start for anglers

This is the shortest path from "never used LakeBooking" to "fishing on Saturday". If you've already created an account, skip to step 2.

1. Create your angler account

Sign up with your name, your email address and a password. We'll send you a verification email. Click the link in it to confirm your address, and you're in.

What we ask for at signup:

• Your name. It's the name the host sees on your bookings, unless you book for someone else.
• A valid email address. You need to confirm it before you can book.
• A password.

That's all. You can add a phone number later in Account settings, so the host can reach you if something changes at the gate.

We don't ask for a card at signup. Cards come out only when you book.

2. Tell the search what you actually want

Start from the search bar on the home page. Fill in Where (a place or a lake's name), When (your dates) and Who (who's coming). Results are sorted by Best match, which puts the lakes closest to the place you searched first. Then tap Filter. The filters are designed for fishing, not for hotel-style booking:

• Fishing type. Carp, coarse, predator or mixed.
• Catch policy. Catch & release, or lakes where you can keep fish.
• Fish species. About 30 species, from common carp and grass carp to pike, zander and catfish. Multi-select, and you only see lakes whose packages target every species you pick. Add a minimum trophy size and we also check it against the fish stock the host has declared.
• Amenities & features. Parking, electricity, a restroom, dogs allowed, a tackle shop and more. A lake has to have every one you tick.
• Price range. The price of a session, with all fees included.

Prefer to browse? The fishing lakes directory lists every lake by name and county.

Every result card shows the lake's photos, name and town, what fishing it offers, its rating, and the price of a session (for your dates, or for the next free day if you haven't picked any). Lakes our team has reviewed and approved carry a Verified badge. Tap a card to open the lake page.

3. Read the lake page like an angler

The lake page is built for a five-minute read before you commit. The parts that matter most:

• Swims and map. Each swim can have its own photos, a description and a pin on the lake map, and View all on map shows them together. Directions to the gate aren't a separate part of the listing, so if the description doesn't say where to turn or where to park, ask the host once you've booked.
• Packages. What you actually book. Each package sets how many anglers and rods a session covers, whether you can keep fish, which session lengths it sells and at what price. View details shows the rest.
• Lake rules. The host's own rules, in their own words, behind the Lake rules button near the top. Look for barbless or barbed, no-kill or take, quiet hours, dogs, children and anything else the host cares about. A package can add rules of its own, and checkout shows you both before you pay. If you came barbed to a barbless lake, this is your last chance to swap hooks at the tackle shop.
• Fish stock. The species the host says live in the water, with approximate numbers and sizes where they've given them. Not a guarantee (fish move, weather changes), but it's the host's best honest snapshot.
• Reviews. Tap the review count beside the score near the top of the page. Each review is one overall rating plus a written review, from an angler who fished there through a LakeBooking booking.

4. Pick your swim and book

Above the packages, check that When and Who match your trip and tap Update. Then:

1. Under Choose your package, pick one with Select package.
2. On the package, tap Customize to choose the Session length and, where the lake offers more than one, the Check-in time. Only the lengths the host sells are shown.
3. Under Choose your swims, pick your swim (or swims, if the package needs more than one).

Tap Book now. At checkout you tell us Who's fishing? (you, or someone you're booking for), read and accept the rules, and see how the Total splits into two pieces. The booking fee counts toward the total, so it isn't an extra charge:

Pay the booking fee by card and your booking is in, with no bank transfers. Many lakes confirm each booking by hand, so it may then wait for the host to confirm it, and we message you as soon as they do. The booking card on the lake page tells you in advance whether a lake confirms as you book or after you book. If the host can't take you, the booking fee is refunded in full.

5. The evening before your session

From 18:00 (lake time) on the evening before your session, we send you a Your session is tomorrow reminder with a link to your booking and the lake's contact details. The host gets the list of the next day's arrivals, with their phone numbers, at the same time.

Contact details have been open both ways since the booking was confirmed. Your ticket shows the lake's phone, email and WhatsApp (as the host saved them), and the host has your email and phone number (if you added one). Message the host in your Bookings keeps everything in writing. The booking still carries no arrival instructions or gate codes, so ask in the thread about anything the lake page doesn't cover.

If anything has changed (a swim is now unfishable, the lake is closed by the authorities, the access road is washed out), the host messages you here, not on Facebook. Keep notifications on for the platform.

6. At the lake

Arrive at your check-in time. The host checks your name against the booking, takes the remaining balance, and walks you to your swim. Setup is yours from there. Keep your ticket handy (View ticket in your Bookings). It shows your booking reference, a QR code to show at check-in, and the amount to Pay at the lake.

A full walk-through of what happens between arrival and leaving is at At the lake.

7. After your session

Reviews open shortly after the session ends, and the next morning we send you a single reminder to write one. There's no deadline. Use Leave a review next to the booking in your Bookings. A review is one rating out of 10 plus a written review. Hosts don't reply to reviews, and a posted review can't be edited.

If your session was anything other than as expected (the host cancelled at the gate, the swim was unusable, the declared stock wasn't there), message the host from your booking. Messages are text only, so describe what's wrong and keep your photos. If it isn't resolved, escalate to contact@lakebooking.com with the photos attached. That starts a mediation, not just a chat. See Refund Policy for what we can and can't do.

Where to next

• Finding a lake: the search, the filters and the result order in more detail.
• Making a booking: the checkout flow, the booking fee and the remaining balance, and Stripe's 3DS step.
• At the lake: arrival, on-site payment, leaving.
• Glossary: every fishing-platform term we use, defined.