Fishing in Devon

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

A full day on a South West Lakes Trust coarse reservoir in Devon costs £11 in 2026. Fishing in Devon gives you cheap, bookable lakes and reservoirs, a club-run canal, tightly regulated game rivers and two coastlines, with the north coast on the Bristol Channel and the south coast on the English Channel.

The ticket is the easy part. The rules change sharply between stillwaters, rivers and the sea, and that is where visiting anglers come unstuck. This guide, one of our UK regional fishing guides, covers the lakes, the Grand Western Canal, the rivers and the coast, with current prices and the rules for each.

Where to Fish in Devon: The Four Types of Water at a Glance

Match the fishing you want to the right water and the right ticket route using the table below.

Water type	Example venues	Main species	How you get permission	Close season
Coarse reservoirs	Squabmoor, Jennetts, Melbury, Darracott, Lower Slade, Trenchford	Carp, bream, tench, roach, perch, pike (Trenchford is pike and perch only)	South West Lakes Trust day ticket through the Catch app	None on most stillwaters
Trout stillwaters	Roadford Lake, Kennick	Brown trout, stocked rainbows (Kennick)	South West Lakes Trust, fly only	No statutory close season on enclosed stillwaters
Canal	Grand Western Canal	Pike, perch, tench and mixed coarse	Tiverton and District AC licence, online via Clubmate	None, says the club
Rivers	Exe, Dart, Teign, Taw, Torridge, Tamar, Culm	Salmon, sea trout, brown trout, coarse	Club or owner permission, Fish Pass tokens on some beats	Coarse 15 March to 15 June; salmon and trout vary by river
Sea	North and south coasts	Bass and other sea species	Shore or boat; national bass rules and Devon and Severn IFCA byelaws apply	Bass catch-and-release only 1 February to 31 March

Devon has no single headline water, so pick by species. One border note: Upper Tamar Lake sits on the county line, but its operator lists it under Cornwall, so you will find it in our guide to fishing in Cornwall.

Devon Fishing Lakes and Reservoirs: Day Tickets and 2026 Prices

Most regional guides name a handful of lakes and leave you hunting for a price and a way to book. The main Devon fishing lakes for coarse anglers belong to South West Lakes Trust, and these are its published 2026 figures.

Venue	Location and postcode	Size and swims	Headline species (operator’s claims)	2026 day ticket
Darracott	Torrington, EX38 7HL	3 acres, 20 swims	Mixed coarse: carp, roach, perch	£11 (£9 concession); 24-hour £24
Squabmoor	Woodbury Common, near Exmouth, EX9 7AS	4 acres, 15 swims	Carp to 36lb (16.3kg), tench to 7lb, bream to 10lb	£11 (£9)
Lower Slade	Ilfracombe, EX34 8NA	6 acres, 20 swims	Carp, bream, tench, roach, rudd, perch, pike	£11 (£9); 24-hour £24
Jennetts	Bideford, EX39 5JH	8 acres, 27 swims	Carp to 32lb, bream to 10lb, perch over 4lb	£13 (£10)
Melbury	Near Parkham, Bideford, EX39 5PW	12 acres, 15 swims	Carp to about 30lb	£11 (£9)
Trenchford	Near Christow, Dartmoor	33 acres	Pike and perch only	£11 (£9); 24-hour £24

Source: South West Lakes Trust prices and the individual venue pages, checked October 2026. The Trust lists a £165 season permit for every venue here except Jennetts.

Beginners. Darracott is the smallest water on the list at 3 acres, and the Trust says the first swim is about 20 yards from the car park. It holds a mixed stock of carp, roach and perch. If it is your first day ticket, start here.

Carp anglers. The Trust lists carp to 36lb at Squabmoor, 32lb at Jennetts and about 30lb at Melbury. Jennetts has a steep incline from the car park, so pack light or bring a barrow. It costs £2 more than the others but has the most swims, at 27.

Predator anglers. Trenchford is pike and perch only. You can use spinners, plugs, fly and dead sea fish, but live baiting is banned and there are no carp. Lower Slade also holds pike, with a pike season running from 1 October to the end of February.

Best for: lure and deadbait sessions on the biggest water in the table.
Skip if: you want a mixed bag or a carp.

Day tickets run dawn to dusk and are booked through the Catch app. Season permits are sold online or by phone on 01566 771930. These are the operator’s 2026 prices and rules; check with the fishery before you travel.

Trout Fishing on Devon Stillwaters: Roadford and Kennick

At 738 acres, Roadford Lake is more than ten times the size of all six coarse reservoirs above put together. It offers fly-only brown trout fishing, with boats available to hire. It sits in Devon on the Cornwall border, so do not look for it under Cornwall.

Kennick Reservoir, near Christow (EX6 7NZ), is a much smaller 50 acres. It holds stocked rainbow trout and wild brown trout, and it is also fly only.

Both avoid the river rulebook. Enclosed stillwaters have no statutory brown trout close season, whereas brown trout on Devon rivers close from 1 October to 14 March (see the rivers section below). Trout permit prices are not listed here, so check current rates with South West Lakes Trust.

The verdict: pick Roadford for boat fishing and big-water fly fishing, and Kennick for a smaller, stocked water.

The Grand Western Canal and Tiverton Club Waters

You cannot buy a ticket for the Grand Western Canal on the bank. Devon County Council leases the canal’s angling rights to Tiverton and District Angling Club, so you need an Environment Agency rod licence plus the club’s own licence (Devon County Council).

The club’s 2026 prices:

Day ticket: £7 (adult or concession)
Adult season: £40
Concession season: £33
Junior season: £5

The season runs 1 January to 31 December with no closed season, and tickets are sold online only through Clubmate. The ticket covers the Grand Western Canal, Lakeside, Little Yeo and the River Culm at Stoke Cannon.

On the canal, expect pike and perch in winter and tench in summer. Since 1 January 2026, Lakeside and Little Yeo ban floating baits and require a landing net handle of at least 1.8m. Juniors must be accompanied on both.

Hot weather is the catch. The club suspended Little Yeo and Lakeside from 12 August 2026 for fish welfare. Little Yeo partially reopened on 7 September; Lakeside was still suspended at the club’s 4 October update. Check the club’s notices before you go, and follow its request to avoid pike fishing on the canal in warm weather.

Best for: mixed coarse fishing and winter predators on a tight budget.
Skip if: you want to turn up and pay on the day.

Devon Rivers: Seasons, Float Bans and No-Spinning Zones

On the Exe, Dart, Teign, Taw, Torridge, Axe and Devon Avon, it is illegal to use a float when fishing for salmon or trout. That is one of several Environment Agency South West byelaws that ban methods legal on rivers elsewhere. For the national picture, see our fishing seasons guide.

Close seasons on Devon rivers

River	Salmon close season
Exe	1 October to 13 February
Dart and Teign	1 October to 31 January
Taw and Torridge	1 October to the last day of February
Tamar and Tavy	15 October to the last day of February
Axe, Otter and Sid	1 November to 14 March
Avon (Devon)	1 December to 14 April

The coarse close season on rivers runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. Brown trout on rivers close from 1 October to 14 March.

Method rules that catch visitors out

No float for salmon or trout in the Avon (Devon), Axe, Dart, Exe, Taw and Torridge, and Teign districts.
No spinning for trout in Dartmoor National Park waters, the Exe above Exebridge, the Otter above Langford Bridge, the Torridge above Woodford Bridge, the Bray, Mole and Little Dart, and the whole of the Okement, Lyn and Barnstaple Yeo.
Salmon before 16 June: artificial fly and lure only, and every salmon must be returned alive.
All salmon released on the Harbourne, Heddon, Otter, Sid and Yealm.
Trout size limits: 25cm for migratory and 20cm for non-migratory trout on the Avon, Axe, Dart, Exe, Taw, Torridge and Teign; 18cm on the Tamar and Plym.
Spot rules: no fishing for any species, sea fish included, in the tidal Barnstaple Yeo, and no taking fish within 46m below the crest of Kilbury Weir on the Dart.

Getting river permission

Assume every stretch of Devon river needs permission from the owner or a club, because a rod licence does not give you the right to fish any water. Fish Pass sells token-based access to beats on Devon and Cornwall rivers for wild brown trout, sea trout, salmon, grayling and coarse fish, but check the app for current beats and prices. For coarse fishing, the Tiverton club’s River Culm stretch at Stoke Cannon is one verified option. For the border river, see our River Tamar fishing guide.

If you plan to fish a Devon river for salmon or trout, read the byelaws for that river before you pack a float or a spinner.

Sea Fishing in Devon: Bass Rules and Who Sets Them

A bass you can legally keep in April must go straight back if you catch the same fish in March. Sea fishing in Devon splits between the north coast, facing the Bristol Channel, and the south coast, facing the English Channel. For choosing a spot, our guide to UK sea fishing marks covers how to read a mark.

The 2026 recreational bass rules (GOV.UK bass guidance) apply from both shore and boat:

Rule	2026 limit
Minimum size	42cm
1 February to 31 March	Catch-and-release only (rod and line)
Rest of the year	Up to 3 bass per angler per day

The catch-and-release period covers ICES divisions 7e to 7j, which include the waters off both Devon coasts. The rules are reviewed every year, so check the current GOV.UK bass guidance before each season.

Other species have rules too. The Devon and Severn IFCA is the inshore fisheries authority for the Devon coast. It sets local byelaws and minimum conservation reference sizes for other species, and manages marine protected areas such as the Torbay Marine Conservation Zone, which has its own code of conduct. Check the IFCA’s size list before you keep anything.

Estuaries can carry river rules too. The tidal Barnstaple Yeo, covered in the rivers section above, is closed to all fishing, sea fish included.

The verdict: carry a tape measure and know the date.

Before You Travel: Licence, Permission and Fishery Status

Four checks make a freshwater trip legal and save a wasted drive.

Rod licence. Needed from age 13 for freshwater fish, salmon, trout, smelt and eel; 13 to 16 year olds get a free junior licence. Trout and coarse (up to 2 rods) costs £7.30 for 1 day, £14.70 for 8 days or £36.80 for 12 months; salmon and sea trout is separate (£13.50 for 1 day). The fine is up to £2,500 (GOV.UK). See our rod licence guide.
Permission. Buy from the fishery or club (Catch app for South West Lakes Trust, Clubmate for Tiverton). You need the owner’s permission as well as a licence (GOV.UK).
Byelaws. Rivers only, as covered above.
Status. Check the fishery’s notices the day before. Tiverton club waters closed in the August 2026 heat (see the canal section).

Check with the fishery before you travel. For trips further afield, see our guides to fishing in Hampshire and fishing in Lincolnshire.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a fishing licence in Devon?

Yes. Anyone aged 13 or over needs an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish, salmon, trout, smelt and eel in Devon. Licences for 13 to 16 year olds are free, and under 13s need none. You also need permission from the fishery or club.

Is there a close season for fishing in Devon?

Yes, on rivers. The coarse close season on Devon rivers runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. Most stillwaters and canals, including the Grand Western Canal, have none. Salmon and trout seasons vary by river, so see the rivers section above for each one.

Where can I fish in Devon on a day ticket?

South West Lakes Trust reservoirs, including Darracott, Squabmoor, Jennetts, Melbury, Lower Slade and Trenchford, sell day tickets from £11 through the Catch app. Tiverton and District AC sells £7 day tickets online for the Grand Western Canal and its other waters. Check with the fishery before you travel.

What is the bass size limit in Devon?

The minimum size is 42cm. Under the 2026 GOV.UK guidance you can keep up to 3 bass a day, from shore or boat, except from 1 February to 31 March, when it is catch-and-release only. Check the Devon and Severn IFCA for local rules.