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About
Fly Fishing
The DVTF is a dedicated flyfishing club that offers some of the most attractive chalk stream waters in south-east England. Testing your skill in reading the river and casting with dry flies or nymphs, you may catch trout, roach, chub and dace in different conditions. Above all, you will enjoy the varied flora and fauna on the river.
The Club
Founded in 1954 by a group of enthusiastic local fly fishers, the club has grown to a membership of 55. Always based on the River Darent, we lease some 5km of river between Shoreham and Farningham, which we stock with mostly brown trout and on a few beats rainbow trout. Membership is kept small in number to ensure tranquil, and often solitary, fishing.
The lovely river Darent
The River Darent is a small chalk stream that rises near Westerham in Kent and Limpsfield in Surrey and flows into the Thames north of Dartford. Wild brown trout were once plentiful but went into decline, when the water course was contaminated, during construction of the tarmacadam road from Sevenoaks to Dartford, in the early 1900's. We and our partners have a long-term objective to restore this wild trout population.
Enhancing the environment
As a fly fishing club we are committed to the improvement of the river as a habitat for fish, insects, small mammals and birds such as the Kingfisher which nest along our banks. We work in partnership with the landowners, farmers, Environment Agency and many other groups who are committed to the enhancement of the River Darent. We also monitor the water quality, insect life and fish population as part of our commitment to improving the river.
Projects
The club always has work planned, aimed at improving the fishing along the river. We often carry out this work in partnership with the Wild Trout Trust, South East Rivers Trust and North West Kent Countryside Partnership. More recently, plans involve our riparian owners via the Landscape Recovery Project. Our members "pitch in" alongside these partners, so the work is typically jointly delivered. The most recent project with the WTT, at the bottom of the one beat was delivered this way. This involved raising the river bed with new gravel and improving the stretch as fish habitat. In 2024 we will continue the work of improving light into over-shaded areas in our Hop Garden beat. The Club's longer-term ambition is to restore a self-sustaining population of wild brown trout along our beats. This is being planned as part of the Landscape Recovery Project.
Our Partners
The Club collaborates with a range of partner organisations interested in improving the environment of the river Darent. Recognising the historic challenges facing the river, from low flows to a decline in the wild brown trout population, we work collaboratively on jointly funded and managed projects to sustain and improve the river’s ecology.
We welcome new partnerships. If you have a proposal to discuss, please get in touch.
Poaching
As a club, we have an important part to play towards combatting poaching on the River Darent. We have carefully placed signs indicating that the fishing is private and we also deploy security cameras. All members are encouraged to report instances of poaching, a criminal offence, to the police. One of the committee members leads on anti-poaching policy and liaison with Kent Police, to whom poaching reports are made to provide an accurate picture of its frequency and seriousness.