The river close season is in place now, but can you still go fishing? Yes! Find out what’s still allowed and where to go

Understanding about close seasons, is like having the right fishing licence, it’s an important and essential part of becoming an angler and is similar to learning the rules of any sport. ‘Close seasons’ in fishing are times of the year when you can’t fish for some types of fish on certain types of water.

For example, right now you cannot fish for coarse fish on any river in England and Wales on the 15th March right up until after 15th June. During the annual close season for coarse fish on rivers, you need to consider a canal or stillwater for your coarse fishing adventure!

About the river close season that’s in place RIGHT NOW:

• What: Close season for coarse fish on rivers
• When: 15th of March to 15th of June inclusive (that means no fishing on the 15th of March through to the 16th June)
• Where: All rivers, streams and drains, some stillwaters and Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England and Wales
• Why: To stop disturbance to river coarse fish and protect their spawning

You might still be able to fish for salmon, brown trout, sea trout and rainbow trout on some rivers during the coarse fish close season on rivers, using certain types of flies, lures and baits – but it’s important to first check local fishing byelaws to see what you can do in your area, and remember too that some privately owned bodies of water and sites of interest, or environmentally protected sites can have their own close seasons.

If you are new to fishing and want to try it during annual close season for coarse fish on rivers, but are confused by all of this, the best thing to do is ask in the local fishing tackle shop, contact your Angling Trust Regional Angling Development Officer to find a venue that is open, and welcomes newcomers, and make sure you understand what the “close season on rivers” means it’s all explained here on the Environment Agency website.

As anglers we want to protect our fish when they are vulnerable during their main spawning time and the current close season is in place on rivers to prevent disturbance to coarse fish.

The current close season covers all rivers, streams and drains, some stillwaters and some Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). To drive awareness and remind anglers of the start of the close season, the Environment Agency launched Operation Clampdown 14, with a joint patrol across Cheshire including support from the Angling Trust, the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Environment Agency Fisheries teams, and Angling Trust Volunteers.

Each year the Environment Agency Angling Trust and Police work together to ensure the close season is enforced, leading to hefty fines for anyone caught fishing for coarse fish on rivers and streams – last year alone 769 close season patrols by the Environment Agency led to 110 close season and 140 other fishing related offences!

Please note that some fish might spawn outside of the close season dates depending on the fish, weather or other conditions – this happens on both running and stillwater. In these situations anglers are encouraged not to fish for spawning fish to protect the next generations of fish, and the spawning fish themselves which can be more susceptible to damage or predation. There is a useful blog about this on the Environment Agency website.

If you want to go fishing in the sea and most saltwater estuaries, there is no national annual close season but you will need to check local rules about protected areas or species at certain times of year and the Angling Trust will try to help if you drop us a line at [email protected]

*The annual close season for coarse fish on rivers in England and Wales runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive – the word inclusive indicates that it starts at 00:00 on the 15th of March and runs right through the 15th of June when you can fish again at 00:01 on 16th June. The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by police forces and the Angling Trust. Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.

The Get Fishing campaign is funded by

The Angling Trust’s Get Fishing campaign to get more people fishing more often is funded by the Environment Agency from fishing licence income as part of the National Angling Strategic Services contract with the Angling Trust, and Sport England. Children under 13 do not need a licence, and licences for children aged between 13 and 16 are free but you still need to register and receive a licence before you go fishing. You can get a licence for the full year, for 8 days (ideal for holidays!) or just a day’s fishing.

NOTE: Although young children who are under 13 year old do not need a licence to fish, the person supervising them needs to have the proper fishing licence before they take hold of the fishing rod or help the child fish with it.

Get Fishing is Proudly Supported by

The Angling Trust’s ‘Get Fishing’ campaign is proudly supported by Angling Direct, our Exclusive Retail Partner

If there’s something that you cannot find here to help you start fishing or return to angling, please contact your local Regional Angling Development Officer – you can find the nearest one to where you want to go fishing here.