TILGATE PARK FISHERIES RUN BY VOLUNTEERS
Fishing at Campbells lake is currently suspended for spawning do not buy a day ticket or attend campbells lake as you will be asked to leave no refunds will be given

 Campbells lake closed for spawning As of today the decision was made to close Campbells lake due to spawning from 9am 3/5/2026 . Do not arrive or buy a day tickets with the intention to fish. you will be asked to leave and no refunds will be given. This is an important part of fish care and fishery management to enable the fish to take part in this event without interference. We know many of you will be disappointed, however we still feel a short period of unknown closer is better than a two month close season. We ask all of our members to understand and respect this decision, as it is so important we do not cause our fish unfair stress during this short closure period. Please also be advise that the match on Saturday has been cancelled for the same reason. Spawning is the act of fish and other aquatic animals releasing eggs and sperm into the water to reproduce. This process is crucial for maintaining healthy fish populations and the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. 

kind regards Michele

Secretary

 Good morning We find it necessary today to remind some of our members of the importance of behaviours on the bank towards other park users. We understand that clashes sometime occur . However , although you may be angry , how you react should be as contained as possible. Please be kind and understand that the act may be an accident .This is important for the safety and enjoyment of all lake users and anglers. We have a zero tolerance policy at the lakes for anti-social behaviour so ensure your actions are not infringing any of our rules as you risk your membership by doing so. We find that the majority of our anglers fish without any rule breaking and just enjoy their days out. However if you are not please adjust you behaviour for the benefit of us all. 

BOATERS

 SPRING IS BEGINNING TO SHOW GOOD EVENING ALL We are now into the new season after one of the longest, wettest, darkest and coldest winters we have had for time. Many of you brave anglers have been out in all weathers trying to catch your target fish. Results have varied , but some of you are definitely fish whispers as your catches testify to! We kick off this season with our first course match of the year on Saturday the 11th of April . This is a open match and anyone can take part please take a look at our match calendar. You can contact Steve or message our Facebook page to take part. Tight lines everyone 

michele

 WELCOME ALL MEMBERS OLD AND NEW We are predicting a busy Easter on the lakes and we hope you all have a great time. Please be mindful of other lake users, the boats will be out and the park will be busy with visitors many of which will be curious about what you are catching. Places are occupied on a first come first serve basis and some of you may be disappointed at busy times. Do remember we do have two lakes at the park you can use. We do not allow swim reserving on our lakes and at present the two swims on the point are currently closed. We are hoping to have them up and running soon. This will depend on volunteer time to complete the work. Enjoy your time on the banks Tight lines 

 Is poaching fish a criminal Offence? Fish poaching is a broad term and is used to describe the use of an illegal method, fishing out of season, retaining fish in certain condition or fishing without permission. All are criminal offences. 

WARNING ALL POACHERS

POACHERS WILL BE REPORTED AND PROSECUTED

 HI ALL, THE FISH SURVEY TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY 17TH OF FEBRUARY AS RE-SCHEDULED. THE GUYS FROM THE ENVIROMENTAL AGENCY WERE OUT IN A BOAT ON A BRIGHT BUT COLD DAY. THEY SPENT SEVERAL HOURS COASTING UP AND DOWN AND ACROSS THE LAKE TO DETECT OUR FISH STOCKS. THIS IS NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE AND I UNDERSTAND IT WILL NOW TAKE TIME TO ANALYSE THE RESULTS. WE ARE HOPING IT WILL GIVE US A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WATER, NOT JUST FISH STOCKS BUT ALSO DEPTHS OF WATER , VEGITATION ETC. THE GUYS GAVE UP THEIR TIME FOR FREE TO US , AND WE GRATEFUL FOR THEIR SUPPORT. MICHELE 

 So after the thaw comes the removal of all the rubbish thrown onto the ice. A big thanks to Tom and young George for getting this done 

 FISH SURVEY Postponed Due to the unforeseen circumstances the fish survey arranged for tomorrow has been cancelled. This will be rescheduled in the next few weeks. Campbells lake will be open for fishing tomorrow as usual. The match on Saturday will still take place as detailed on our clubs calendar. 

 FANTASTIC WORK DONE BY OUR VOLUNTEERS As you all know the club is run by a small group of volunteers , working on the committee, bailiff duties , match organisers and work parties. We have as a team built all the platforms that surround Campbells and Silt. The guys, working so hard in just few work parties have addressed the increasing bank side erosion on the point in partnership with the park staff who spent their time going backs and forwards with soil for this re-build. The result of all their hard work is amazing and speaks for itself. This is a legacy left by those who took part .helping to preserve this part of the lake for others to enjoy for many years to come. Well done Chris , leigh , Tom , James and Ray absolutely brilliant . Great work guys 

 We are just over half way through the season , the match league has ended and we celebrate our champions for this year . The fishing has been challenging for the course anglers , we believe this is due to the loss of fish through age, changing feeding habits nature and nurture of many of our heritage large bream. We believe these to be around 15 years old , which is a good age for bream. These fish had provided large catch bags for our course anglers and have been sadly missed this year. We have made restocks of course fish tench and silvers but these need time to grow and may not be responding to previously used angling tactics. However these will continue to grow and we have already had some reports of some larger roach and perch being caught . We have arranged a fish survey to take place, provided by the Environment Agency on the 14/11/2025, to further access the amount of larger bream remaining . Along side of this we will also be assessing other species to ensure a good balance in our mixed fishery and help us to better understand what to add to our stocking program for 2025/26. Advise will be taken into account from the Environment Agency team on how to proceed. Carp angling has seen some loses too, as two of our heritage fish have passed away by natural causes Finlay and The Little Long. This is very sad news , however we estimate their age to be around 60 plus years old, which is a grand age. These were respectfully buried by one of our bailiffs, who kindly did this for the club. Many of our carp anglers have reported some brilliant catches and most seem to be having a successful session on our banks. The reports of catch sizes has proven our slower stocking program is working for these waters and these fish will be true Tilgate grown fish and will be the heritage fish of the future. Please remember to let us know what you catch and your weights. Pike season , has just started and i must remind all day ticket holders and members to read and follow the rules with regards to hooks and fish care. All fish species should be treated with the upmost care . Using nets , landing mats , where the size of the fish requires it . Also a reminder that you cannot use treble hooks to catch any fish in our water and for Pike only circle hooks or singles can be used. Please be aware the bailiffs are authorised to do a rig check at any time. We would love to here about your catches as we rarely here from our pike anglers. We believe that they go to 20lb , but as yet we have not had a pike record recorded in the book. Our bailiffs and volunteers have been hard at work trimming the swims and removing over hanging branches , and going about their bailiff duties. They are all volunteers and they should be celebrated for all that they do to keep fishing in the park. The next big project is the point on Campbells lake, work begins on the 1/11/2025 and these swims will be closed for the duration of the works , plus some time for the works to settle. We hope you will appreciate the improvements made there and will enjoy fishing from these new swims. Anyone who would like to help out can contact Chris via our Facebook page via messenger. We have some winter course matches going on until the end of the season, so please get in touch if you would like to take part . Enjoy the rest of the season Michele TPF 

NEWS UPDATE

 LAKE CLOSURES FOR OTHER PARK EVENTS RACE FOR LIFE 19/07/2025 BOTH LAKES WILL BE CLOSED ON THIS DAY DRAGON BOAT RACING CAMPBELLS LAKE WILL BE CLOSED ON THIS DAY 9TH SEPTEMBER PARK LIFE CAN BE VERY BUSY ESPECIALLY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. WE THANK ALL OUR MEMBERS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COMPLIANCE WITH THIS. PLEASE ENSURE YOU DO NOT FISH ON THESE DAYS OR YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE 

 SPAWNING ON OUR LAKES Good Morning everyone As of yesterday the decision was made to close both lakes due to spawning . This is an important part of fish care and fishery management to enable the fish to take part in this event without interference. We know many of you will be disappointed, however we still feel a short period of unknown closer is better than a two month close season. We ask all of our members to understand and respect this decision, as it is so important we do not cause our fish unfair stress during this short closure period. Please also be advise that the match on Saturday has been cancelled for the same reason. Spawning is the act of fish and other aquatic animals releasing eggs and sperm into the water to reproduce. This process is crucial for maintaining healthy fish populations and the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. 

 MEMBERSHIP UPDATE Hi everyone Further to the details held on our membership tab on this web page , we would like to remind al of our renewal members that today is the second to last day your place will held in the club. As you are all aware membership is allocated on a annual basis and we do not send reminders. So this is just a heads up . If you apply late there will be a charge of £10,00 and we cannot guarantee a place as we reallocate spaces to new members each year. It is our intention to close membership at the end of may or before if we feel the lakes are suitably visited and seem full. As an admin team we hope you will support these endeavours as we are finding more and more that people are forgetting to renew until they fish with an old card. kindest regards and enjoy your fishing Michele 

 Swim work has been in progress over the last couple weeks . Our volunteer team are working hard to ensure the lakes are prepared for the new season of fishing. just a couple of pictures to show the kind of work they have been doing. great work team 

 Hi all On Sunday 7th April we received 287lb of new tench into Campbells lake. Another massive boost to our re-stocking program to return Tilgate fishing lakes back to the great catching waters of yester year. the weight amounts to around 90 fish to add to the the tench re-stock on both Campbells and silt last year. We are very proud as a team of how much progress we have made and how well the stocks are growing. Our carp stocking program has seen every success producing some beautiful looking doubles in both Campbells and Silt. Our silver stocks are continuing to thrive even though it is a constant battle with our natural predators picking them off . We will continue to invest in our fish stocks and hope that they will carry on doing well and that we will continue to come closer all to remaking this fantastic venue .