Fishing in the Lake District

By Alex Clayton · Updated 24 October 2026

Yes, you can fish in the Lake District, and lake district fishing on the three biggest names costs nothing beyond a rod licence. Windermere, Ullswater and Coniston Water are free to fish with an Environment Agency rod licence, according to the Lake District National Park Authority. Most other waters need a lake, fishery or club permit.

The free part is the easy bit. Fishing in Cumbria’s big lakes also means a set of lake-specific byelaws: no live or dead freshwater fish as bait, no maggots in spring and separate close seasons for the native charr. Miss one and a free day can turn into a fine.

This page covers licences, permits, species, seasons and those byelaws, in the order a first-time visitor needs them. Each of the three free lakes then has its own full guide.

Can You Fish in the Lake District? Licence First, Then Permits

“Free” on Windermere means no permit. It does not mean no licence, and mixing the two up is how visitors end up explaining themselves to a bailiff.

Two separate permissions apply to fishing in the Lake District. The first is the Environment Agency rod licence, which everyone aged 13 or over needs to fish for freshwater fish in England. The second is the water owner’s permission: free on Windermere, Ullswater and Coniston Water, and a paid permit or ticket almost everywhere else.

You always need the licence. You only sometimes need the permit. Our guide to the fishing licence explains who needs one and how to buy it.

Current prices from GOV.UK:

Licence (trout and coarse unless stated)	Price
1 day, up to 2 rods	£7.30
8 day, up to 2 rods	£14.70
12 month, up to 2 rods	£36.80
12 month, 3 rods	£55.30
12 month, salmon and sea trout	£93.10
12 month, age 66 and over or disabled	£24.50
Junior, age 13 to 16	Free (but still required)

Prices change, so check GOV.UK before you buy. Salmon and sea trout on the rivers need the salmon and sea trout licence, and holders must send an annual catch return.

For a long weekend, the 8 day licence costs 10p more than two 1 day licences and covers the whole trip. With the licence sorted, the next question is which waters need a permit on top.

Free Lakes, Permit Lakes and Club Waters

Three of the best-known lakes in England cost nothing to fish, while smaller waters next door charge. Size has nothing to do with it. Who controls the fishing does.

Here is how the main waters break down:

Water	Access	Who to ask	Notes
Windermere	Free with EA licence	No permit needed	Boats fall under the separate Lake Windermere Byelaws
Ullswater	Free with EA licence	No permit needed	Bait and maggot byelaws apply
Coniston Water	Free with EA licence	No permit needed	Separate charr close season
Bassenthwaite	Permit only	Lake District National Park Authority	Separate boat permit
Derwentwater	Day, week or season shore ticket	Ask locally in Keswick	Separate boat permit
Buttermere, Crummock Water, Loweswater	Permit needed	Check with the National Trust	Reported to share one permit; confirm before you go
Esthwaite Water	Managed fishery	Book through the fishery	Trout, pike and coarse, bank and boat

The free lakes each have their own guide: fishing on Windermere, fishing on Ullswater and fishing on Coniston Water. If you take a boat out on Windermere, Ullswater, Derwentwater or Coniston Water, each lake has its own navigation byelaws, listed on the National Park’s lake byelaw page.

Derwentwater shore fishing needs a ticket, according to Visit Keswick, but the point of sale changes, so ask in Keswick before you set up. Esthwaite Water runs as a privately managed fishery with online booking. Check its site for current prices and dates.

Away from the big lakes, most river and tarn fishing is club water. The National Park names Windermere Ambleside and District AA, Keswick AA, and Wath Brow and Ennerdale AA among the associations selling day and weekly permits.

Permit arrangements change, so check with the fishery or club before you travel. For stillwaters further afield, our UK lakes guide covers venues across the country.

What You Can Catch: Pike, Perch, Trout and Charr

The big Lake District waters are deep, cold and clear. That suits predators and trout far better than the dense roach and bream shoals that make lowland lakes easy going, so expect to work for bites.

Match the species to the water:

Pike: Windermere and Bassenthwaite are the classic pike waters, and Esthwaite offers pike from bank or boat.
Perch: Windermere and Derwentwater both hold them.
Brown trout: Derwentwater, Esthwaite and the upland tarns.
Roach and bream: Derwentwater holds roach; Windermere has bream.
Arctic charr: the deep lakes, notably Windermere and Coniston.

Windermere is my home water, and pike, perch and bream are what I fish for there. I’ve found the perch hold tight to structure and drop-offs, so a drop-shot or float worked close to a ledge or jetty usually beats covering open water. A drop-shot set-up for perch suits that style well.

For pike I fish lures, troll along the drop-offs in autumn and use deadbaits. Deadbaiting comes with a catch on this water. The byelaw covered in the bait section below bans live or dead freshwater fish, salmonids and eels as bait on Windermere and 13 other lakes, so a bag of frozen roach from home is off the menu.

For bream I fish a feeder, and in my experience it is a slower game here than on a lowland lake.

Whatever the method, use a wire trace for pike. Our wire trace guide covers lengths and breaking strains.

Best for: predator anglers, ideally with access to a boat. Skip if: you want fast bites on coarse fish. Club or commercial waters are the better bet for that.

Lake District Trout Fishing: Seasons, Sizes and Where to Start

Turn up in late October with a fly rod and most wild trout water is closed. Lake District trout fishing runs to fixed legal dates.

Under the North West rod fishing byelaws:

Non-migratory trout close season: 1 October to 14 March, except on fully enclosed stillwaters.
Minimum size, brown trout: 20cm.
Minimum size, migratory trout: 30cm, measured from the snout to the fork of the tail.

Where you start depends on the day you want. Esthwaite Water is the managed option, with bank and boat fly fishing and tuition offered by the fishery. Derwentwater holds brown trout on a shore ticket.

Then there are the upland tarns: small, wild waters where the usual local advice is to fish the fly, use barbless hooks and return what you catch. That is etiquette, not law, but small wild populations depend on it.

Rivers get a short word here. Salmon and sea trout need the salmon and sea trout licence covered earlier, and the salmon close season runs from 1 November to 31 January. Most river fishing in Cumbria is club water, so the permit comes from the local association. Our River Eden guide covers the county’s best-known river, and our brown trout guide covers the fish itself.

A quick comparison of the two stillwater options:

	Managed fishery (Esthwaite)	Wild tarn
Fish	Managed trout water, also pike and coarse	Wild trout only
Access	Booked online, bank or boat	Walk in, usually bank only
Extras	Boats and tuition	Solitude and scenery
Best for	A reliable first day on the fly	Anglers happy to trade numbers for wild fish

Arctic Charr, Vendace and Schelly: The Fish to Protect

Windermere’s Arctic charr have suffered significant declines, according to the Freshwater Biological Association, which links the wider Lake District picture to water pollution, lost spawning habitat, invasive non-native species, low oxygen and climate change.

You can still fish for charr legally, but only in season. The close seasons in the North West byelaws are:

Water	Charr close season
General (North West)	1 October to 14 March
Coniston Water	1 November to 30 April
Windermere	1 October to 30 April, but charr fishing from a moving boat with artificial lures is allowed from 15 March

The minimum size for charr is 20cm. In practice, the Windermere window opens on 15 March only for artificial lures fished from a moving boat. Every other charr method on Windermere, and all charr fishing on Coniston, stays closed until 1 May.

Our Arctic char species guide covers the fish in more depth.

Vendace and schelly are a different matter. Do not target them. If you hook one by accident, return it unharmed straight away. Vendace and whitefish (schelly is the Lake District whitefish) are both listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and Natural England is the body to ask about what that means for anglers.

The verdict: even in season, return charr. One fish in the pan matters far less than a breeding population that is already in trouble.

The Bait and Tackle Byelaws Visitors Miss

Bring a bag of frozen roach from home and you can break the law on Windermere before your first cast. The Environment Agency’s North West byelaws set out rules that apply to named Lake District lakes:

Rule	When	Where
No live or dead freshwater fish, salmonids or eels as bait	All year	Bassenthwaite, Brotherswater, Buttermere, Coniston, Crummock, Derwentwater, Ennerdale, Haweswater, Loweswater, Red Tarn, Thirlmere, Ullswater, Wastwater, Windermere
No maggots or imitation maggots	15 March to 15 June inclusive	Bassenthwaite, Brotherswater, Buttermere, Coniston, Crummock, Derwentwater, Ennerdale, Grasmere, Loweswater, Rydal Water, Ullswater, Wastwater, Windermere
No keepnets	During the coarse close season	Rivers and canalised rivers, plus the same 13 lakes as the maggot ban
Coarse close season	15 March to 15 June	Rivers, streams and drains; most stillwaters are not covered

The bait ban runs all year and covers 14 lakes, including all three free ones. It names freshwater fish, salmonids and eels, so read the exact byelaw wording before you use any deadbait on the listed lakes.

Watch the overlap in spring. The coarse close season does not stop you fishing most stillwaters, but the maggot ban and keepnet rule still apply on the named lakes during that same 15 March to 15 June window.

For pike, the National Park also points anglers to the Environment Agency byelaws on lead weights and barbless hooks. Boats on Windermere fall under the separate Lake Windermere Byelaws as well.

Our fishing seasons guide explains how close seasons work across England.

Between mid-March and mid-June, leave the maggots at home. Fish worms, bread, sweetcorn or lures on the named lakes instead, and check any other bait against the byelaw wording first.

Planning Your First Lake District Fishing Trip

A first trip can cost no more than a day licence if you pick one of the free lakes:

Buy your licence online. A 1 day or 8 day licence covers most visits.
Pick a water. Choose Windermere, Ullswater or Coniston Water for free access, or Esthwaite Water for a managed day with boats and tuition.
Pick one species and one method. Perch on a drop-shot or float near structure, pike on lures, or trout on the fly in season.
Check the dates. Use the byelaw table above, especially the spring maggot ban and the trout and charr close seasons.
Check access on the day. Parking, bank access and local rules vary around each lake.

Match the kit to the method:

Perch: a light spinning rod and small soft lures.
Pike: a stronger lure rod and a wire trace.
Trout: a fly rod for the tarns and Esthwaite.

Our pike fishing guide and perch fishing guide cover the set-ups in detail.

The big lakes are deep, open and cold for much of the year, and wind can turn a calm morning rough. Wear a life jacket in any boat and tell someone where you are going. Our fishing safety guide covers the basics.

If the Lakes are not on your route this time, the regional fishing guides cover the rest of the UK, and fishing in Yorkshire is the neighbouring option. Wherever you go, check with the fishery or club before you travel.

Frequently asked questions

Can you fish in the Lake District for free?

Yes. Windermere, Ullswater and Coniston Water need no permit, according to the Lake District National Park Authority. You still need an Environment Agency rod licence if you are 13 or over. Most other waters, including Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater, need a permit or ticket.

Do I need a fishing licence on Windermere?

Yes, if you are 13 or over. Windermere needs no permit, but the Environment Agency rod licence is still required. A 1 day licence costs £7.30 on GOV.UK. Juniors aged 13 to 16 get theirs free but must still have one.

Is Bassenthwaite free to fish?

No. Bassenthwaite is permit only, through the Lake District National Park Authority, and boat fishing needs a separate boat permit on top of your rod licence. Check the National Park for current prices.

Can I use maggots on the Lake District lakes?

Not from 15 March to 15 June inclusive on the 13 named lakes, including Windermere, Ullswater, Coniston and Derwentwater. Outside that window they are allowed, subject to any fishery or club rules.

Can I fish for charr in the Lake District?

Yes, in season. Windermere's charr close season runs from 1 October to 30 April, with lures from a moving boat allowed from 15 March. Coniston's runs from 1 November to 30 April. The minimum size is 20cm, and with Windermere's charr in serious decline, return what you catch.

When is the trout season in the Lake District?

The wild brown trout season opens on 15 March. The close season runs from 1 October to 14 March, except on fully enclosed stillwaters, and the minimum size is 20cm.