Fishing Tips That Actually Catch More Fish

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Is there a trick to catching fish? Not a single one. What looks like a trick from the next peg is usually a handful of basics done well, in the right order, every session.

These fishing tips follow that order: get legal, find the fish, start close and get the depth right, feed little and often, check your rig, stay quiet and adapt, then return every fish properly. That sequence is how to catch more fish on most waters. It is written for coarse and general freshwater fishing, with the rules as they apply in England. If you have not bought your kit yet, start with our complete beginner’s guide to fishing.

Step 1: Sort Your Licence and Check the Water Is Open

A day ticket does not make you legal. Even a private club lake or a commercial fishery needs an Environment Agency rod licence on top.

You need one to fish in England and Wales if you are 13 or older, including on private land and club waters. Under 13s do not need one, and fishing without one can lead to a fine of up to £2,500 (GOV.UK). Juniors aged 13 to 16 get theirs free. Adult prices change each April: at the time of writing (October 2026) a 12-month, 2-rod coarse and trout licence costs £36.80, but check GOV.UK before you buy.

A standard licence covers 2 rods for coarse fish, and a 12-month licence can cover 3, though the venue may set a lower limit (GOV.UK). Our rod licence guide has the full options.

In England you cannot fish for coarse fish or eels on rivers from 15 March to 15 June. Most enclosed stillwaters and canals are open all year, but local byelaws and fishery rules can still apply (GOV.UK). Our fishing seasons guide has the detail.

Then get a day ticket or club card and read the fishery’s rules on bait, keepnets and hooks. Check with the fishery before you travel. Fishing outside England? Check Natural Resources Wales, the Scottish Government or NIDirect.

Step 2: Find the Fish Before You Fish

You have fished all day from the peg nearest the car park, and the angler three swims down has been catching steadily. The difference is rarely tackle. It is location.

You cannot catch fish that are not in your swim, so start before you leave home (Fieldsports Journal):

Decide your target species, because a bream shoal and a lone pike live in very different places.
Ask the tackle shop or the bailiff which areas are fishing well.
Find out which methods and baits the regulars use.
Walk the banks on an earlier visit if you can.

On arrival, walk round before you set up anything. Fish give themselves away with swirls on the surface, fish rolling or topping, and patches of fizzing bubbles (Angling Times). Treat those spots as your first targets.

With no visible signs, fish near features: margins, reed beds, overhanging trees, lily pads, inflows and depth changes. Our guide to reading the water covers this properly. Timing matters too, and dawn and dusk often fish better than midday, as our guide to the best time to go fishing explains.

On Windermere, I find perch hold tight to structure such as drop-offs and moorings in the colder months, so I look for features before I think about bait.

Pick your swim on evidence, not on how far it is from the car.

Step 3: Start Close In and Get the Depth Right

The easiest way to get more bites on most stillwaters and canals is to fish closer, not further. Casting to the horizon is one of the most common beginner mistakes.

Angling Times advises fishing close in first, wherever you have 3ft (about 1m) or more of water at the rod tip (Angling Times). Close in, you hit the same spot every cast, so feeding one tight area is simple. Margins also hold natural food and cover.

Accuracy only pays if the bait is at the right depth. A guessed depth leaves the bait hanging mid-water or lying wrongly on the bottom. Plumb it instead:

Clip a plummet (a small heavy weight) onto the hook.
Cast to your chosen spot and let it settle.
If the float disappears, slide it up the line. If it lies flat, slide it down.
Adjust until the tip just shows, then remove the plummet.

Your bait now sits just on the bottom. If the float later sits too high or too low, the depth or shotting has changed, so re-plumb (more on that in Step 5).

Best for: stillwaters, canals and slow rivers. Skip if: you are on a big water or fish are clearly showing further out. Then step out gradually.

Step 4: Feed Little and Often, and Let the Bites Set the Pace

A big opening bombardment of groundbait feels like it should pull fish in. Often it does the opposite, filling the few fish present or pushing them off the spot.

Angling Times recommends starting small, with a few pellets or a small ball of groundbait at a time. If bites are slow, feed very little and let the bites set the pace. It also suggests feeding two or three lines, so you can rest one while you fish another (Angling Times).

Over-feeding harms the water as well as your session. The Environment Agency warns that uneaten groundbait rots, uses up oxygen and can cause harmful algal blooms (Environment Agency).

Work to a simple rhythm: feed, fish, watch the response, adjust.

What you see	What to do with your feed
Bites coming fast	Feed a little more, a little more often
Bites slowing down	Cut back and rest that line
No bites at all	Feed very little and try another line

In my experience with the feeder on Windermere, bream shoals respond better to a steady trickle of feed than to one big dump. Our groundbait guide covers mixes and quantities.

The rule: you can always add more feed, but you can never take it out.

Step 5: Check Your Rig When the Bites Dry Up

How long has your bait actually been fishing properly? If your float sits differently to when you first cast, the honest answer may be “not since you lost that shot”.

When nothing is happening, check the things you control before blaming the fish. Angling Times advises checking the rig whenever the float sits wrongly, looking for missing shot, and re-plumbing the depth (Angling Times). Run through this list:

Float cocking correctly, with the same amount of tip showing as when you set it
All shot on the line and in place (see our float shotting patterns)
Hooklength free of tangles and twists
Hook point sharp, bait still on and not masking the point
Main line free of nicks and frays
Depth still right, confirmed with a quick re-plumb

Two legal points apply in England. Never leave a rod and line in the water unattended, and if you fish more than one rod, the outermost rod butts must be no more than 3 metres apart (GOV.UK).

Barbless hooks make unhooking easier and gentler on the fish. They are advice, not a national rule, but many fisheries set their own hook rules, so check the venue.

If your float has not moved in a while, wind in and check the whole rig before you change anything else.

Step 6: Stay Quiet and Adapt to the Conditions

Keeping low and quiet costs nothing and works on every water. Fish in the margins can feel heavy footsteps and see movement above them.

Tread softly, keep off the skyline, set up a little back from the edge and stop your kit clattering. A bank stick hammered into hard ground is a poor way to announce your arrival.

What worked last week is a starting point, not a plan. If a swim shows no signs of fish and gets no bites after a fair trial, change one thing at a time: line, depth, bait or swim. That way you learn which change made the difference.

Wind, temperature and light all shift where fish feed, so the swim that fished well in one set of conditions may be empty in another. Our guide to how weather affects fishing goes into the detail.

In my experience, Windermere pike move with the conditions, so I change depth or area rather than sit it out.

Sitting it out relies on the fish changing their minds. One change at a time puts the decision back with you.

Step 7: Land, Unhook and Return Every Fish Properly

The first fish of a session is the one most likely to be flapping on dry grass while you hunt for the disgorger. A healthy returned fish is a future bite, so follow these steps (Angling Times):

Have the unhooking mat, landing net and forceps or disgorger ready before you cast.
Wet your hands, and never use a towel (Environment Agency).
Kneel low over the mat for unhooking and photos. Covering the eyes with the wet net mesh helps calm a fish.
Support the fish gently and avoid squeezing behind the gills.
Return it upright in the water, facing the flow on a river, until the fins ripple and it kicks away.

Some returns are the law in England. Foul-hooked fish must be returned alive, eels (not conger eels) must be released alive, and any fish you cannot keep must go back unharmed (GOV.UK). Gaffs and tailers are not allowed, and a keepnet must meet the GOV.UK specification. Check the fishery’s own keepnet rules too. Our guide to unhooking and handling fish goes further.

If you see fish in distress on a river, call the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a trick to catching fish?

No, there is no single trick to catching fish. Anglers who catch consistently find the fish first, start close with the depth right, feed little and often, check their rig when bites stop, and stay quiet. Work through the seven steps above in order and most sessions improve without any secret bait.

What are the best fishing tips for beginners?

The best fishing tips for beginners are to buy a rod licence, fish close in, feed small amounts, plumb the depth so your float is set correctly, and handle every fish with wet hands. Our beginner's guide to fishing covers kit and your first session.

Do I need a licence to fish on a private lake?

Yes. In England and Wales, anyone aged 13 or over needs a rod licence, including on private lakes and club waters. Under 13s are exempt, and fishing without one can mean a fine of up to £2,500. You need the venue's ticket as well.

When can you fish for coarse fish on rivers?

In England, you cannot fish for coarse fish on rivers from 15 March to 15 June. Most enclosed stillwaters and canals are open all year, but local byelaws and fishery rules can still restrict you. Our fishing seasons guide has the full picture.