Fishing in Lincolnshire

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Fishing in Lincolnshire covers three very different kinds of water: lowland rivers such as the Witham, Welland, Trent and Steeping, day-ticket lakes and holiday-park fisheries, and the sandy beaches north of Skegness. For freshwater you need an Environment Agency rod licence plus a ticket or permit, and the rivers are closed to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June.

Where you fish also decides which rules apply. The county sits across two Environment Agency byelaw areas, and its coastline falls under a separate sea fisheries regulator. This guide works through Lincolnshire fishing lakes, rivers and the coast one water type at a time, then finishes with the legal checklist. For other areas, see our guide to more UK fishing regions.

Where to Fish in Lincolnshire: Rivers, Lakes or Coast

The classic wasted trip is turning up on a river bank in April with a bag of coarse gear. Rivers in England are closed to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June, so pick the water type before you pick the venue.

Water type	Best for	Main species	When	Ticket route
Rivers and Fen drains	Improvers, pike anglers	Bream, roach, pike, perch	16 June to 14 March for coarse	Club permit or club day ticket
Commercial and holiday-park lakes	Beginners, families, holiday visitors	Carp, tench, bream, rudd	All year at most venues	Day ticket at the venue
Trout fisheries and the Great Eau	Fly anglers	Trout, grayling	Set by each fishery	Fishery ticket
Beaches	Sea anglers	Cod and whiting in winter, bass and flatfish in summer	Year round; some marks fish best over low water	No rod licence; check Eastern IFCA rules

In spring, lakes and canals are your only coarse options. Autumn and winter suit the rivers and the beaches, and Visit Lincolnshire points to the Fens for big pike once the weather turns.

On a coast holiday with children, start with a holiday-park lake: pegs, a car park close by and a ticket you can buy on the day.

Lincolnshire’s Fishing Rivers: Witham, Welland, Trent and the Fens

Lincolnshire’s two biggest rivers drain to different seas. The Witham runs to the Wash and the Trent runs to the Humber, and because Environment Agency byelaw areas follow catchments, the county does not sit under a single set of river byelaws (see the rules section below).

River Witham. The Witham flows through Lincoln to the Wash. Slow lowland water of this kind suits bream shoals and roach, so a groundbait feeder with maggot or caster, or a waggler on the slower stretches, is the usual starting point. Our River Witham fishing guide covers tactics in more detail, and the bream fishing guide applies to much of it.

River Welland. The Welland runs past Spalding to the Wash. Local press reported in 2023 that Peterborough and District Angling Association had taken the fishing rights at Spalding, with tickets needed from 16 June 2024. That arrangement may have changed, so check current tickets with the club before you fish. More in our River Welland guide.

River Trent. The Trent forms part of the county’s western edge on its way to the Humber. See the River Trent fishing guide for venues and methods.

Smaller rivers include the Steeping, Ancholme, Bain, Glen and Great Eau, plus the network of Fen drains.

Two things catch visitors out. First, the coarse close season applies to every one of these rivers (dates and exceptions on our fishing seasons page). Second, this guide could not confirm any free stretch of river in Lincolnshire, so assume you need a permit and ask the club or rights holder.

Best for anglers happy to buy a club ticket. Skip the rivers in spring if you want coarse fish.

Lincolnshire Fishing Lakes: Day-Ticket Venues and Holiday Parks

A day on a Lincolnshire commercial can cost less than a takeaway, and the river close season does not apply, because most enclosed stillwaters stay open all year. That makes Lincolnshire fishing lakes the easiest way in for beginners and holiday visitors.

Worked example: Tattershall Lakes

Tattershall Lakes is a holiday park with two fishing waters. The operator lists:

Day ticket: £7.50 for one rod, £9.50 for two rods
7-day ticket: £35 for one rod, £40 for two rods
Hours: dawn to dusk, no night fishing
Rules: barbless hooks, no keepnets, all fish returned, maximum two rods, one angler per peg
Booking: through guest services
Waters: the Fishing Lake (about 15 acres, 30-plus pegs, 5 to 7ft deep) and the Rudd Lake (about 2 acres, 4 to 7ft)
Species: carp, tench, bream and pike

Skegness fishing lakes

For Skegness fishing away from the beach, Newfield Farm sits between Burgh le Marsh and Skegness, with 36 pegs over two lakes holding carp, tench, rudd and bream. The local tourism directory lists it at £7 per person per day, open 7am to 7pm, so confirm both with the venue. Roach Farm, Swan Lake, Sycamore Lakes and Green Haven are other lakes listed in the area.

What to expect on a commercial

Barbless hooks, unhooking mats and keepnet bans are standard rules on many UK commercials, and Tattershall applies two of them, so read the rules board before you set up. For carp, the method feeder is the standard approach: a small inline feeder, a short hooklength and a hair-rigged pellet or boilie. The day-ticket carp fishing guide covers peg choice and feeding.

Holiday-park lakes are usually for guests and booked through reception. Open day-ticket venues let you turn up and pay, though some ask you to book. Either way, check with the fishery before you travel.

Angling Clubs and Permits: How Most River Fishing Is Controlled

A rod licence lets you fish legally in England. It does not give you the right to fish any particular bank. On Lincolnshire’s rivers and drains that right usually belongs to an angling club, so the club is your first call.

A national fishing directory lists these clubs as controlling waters in the county:

Club	Waters listed
Lincoln and District AA	Stretches of the Trent, Till and Witham, plus around half a dozen lakes
Scunthorpe Amalgamated Anglers	Trent stretches, Idle, Louth Canal, Warping Drain, Upper Witham, Torne, Ancholme and lakes
Grantham AA	Upper Witham stretches, about four miles of the Grantham Canal, a reservoir and stillwaters
Wainfleet Angling Club	River Steeping, with day and member permits

For the Welland at Spalding, see the rivers section above.

Day-ticket prices, whether tickets are sold on the bank, and where to buy them (the club itself or a local tackle shop) all change. This guide has not verified any club prices, so check with the club before you go. Our guide to day tickets and fishing clubs explains how permits usually work, from bank tickets to annual membership.

Find the club first, then pick the swim.

Trout and Fly Fishing in Lincolnshire

A chalk stream in Lincolnshire surprises most anglers. The Great Eau holds trout and grayling, and the county has a handful of trout fisheries for fly anglers who assume a flat coarse county has nothing for them.

A national directory names Otby Lake, Withern Mill, Toft Newton and Cleatham among them. Ticket types, stocking and methods change from season to season, so treat the names as a starting list.

The standard trout and coarse rod licence covers both, but fly fisheries set their own bag limits and method rules on top. If you are new to it, read our stillwater fly fishing guide first.

For a fly session, book a stillwater trout fishery, and check with the fishery before you travel.

Sea Fishing on the Lincolnshire Coast: Skegness to Mablethorpe

On these shallow beaches, timing beats casting distance. Mablethorpe fishes over low water and Sutton on Sea fishes best after rough weather, when the surf has stirred up the seabed.

Mark	Species	Notes
Chapel Point (Chapel St Leonards, north of Skegness)	Cod and whiting in winter, flatfish most of the year	3/0 to 4/0 hooks with big squid or lugworm baits for cod
Moggs Eye and Huttoft	Flatfish, school bass, winter cod and whiting	2/0 hooks
Sutton on Sea	Flounder, dab, plaice, bass	Best after rough weather. Size 2 to 1/0 for flatfish with ragworm or lugworm tipped with mackerel or squid; 2/0 to 4/0 for bass with peeler crab, ragworm, squid or sandeel
Mablethorpe	Cod and whiting in winter, bass and flatfish in summer	Shallow sand that fishes over low water; weed can make some marks hard to fish

Skegness fishing from the town itself is harder to pin down. This guide could not confirm whether angling is allowed on Skegness pier, so ask the pier operator before you take a rod.

Rules on the coast

You do not need an Environment Agency rod licence for sea fish, because the licence covers freshwater fish (see sea fishing licence rules). The Lincolnshire coast and the Wash do fall under Eastern IFCA, which sets byelaws and minimum sizes. Check the Eastern IFCA regulations (tel 01553 775321) before you keep any fish.

On flat beaches the tide can run a long way out and come back across a wide area, so watch the water behind you as well as in front. Our tides for sea fishing guide explains how to read the tables.

This coast is surf and sand, a contrast to the rock marks in our guide to sea fishing in Cornwall. Best for winter cod and summer flatfish. Skip it when the weed is in.

Rod Licences, the Close Season and Which Byelaws Apply

Fishing without a rod licence can bring a fine of up to £2,500, and that applies on private lakes and club waters too, not only public rivers. Three checks come before you buy the ticket.

1. A rod licence

You need an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish with a rod and line in England. Children under 13 need none, and the junior licence for 13 to 16 year olds is free. Current trout and coarse prices for up to two rods:

Licence	Price
1-day	£7.30
8-day	£14.70
12-month	£36.80 (£24.50 if you are 66 or over, or disabled)

Prices change each April, so check GOV.UK before you buy. See our fishing licence guide.

2. The close season

No coarse fishing on any river in England from 15 March to 15 June. Most enclosed stillwaters and canals stay open all year, but check local byelaws and the fishery’s own rules. Full details are on our fishing seasons page.

3. The local byelaws

The Anglia byelaw area covers North Sea catchments from the Thames to the Humber (both excluded), while the Midlands area covers the Severn and Trent catchments. Lincolnshire waters can fall under either, so read the local fishing byelaws for the water you plan to fish. The same checks apply to fishing in Cheshire or anywhere else in England.

Licence, season, byelaws, then the ticket.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a rod licence to fish a private lake in Lincolnshire?

Yes. You need an Environment Agency rod licence on private lakes and club waters, on top of the fishery's ticket. Children under 13 need none, and 13 to 16 year olds get a free junior licence.

Can I fish Lincolnshire rivers in April?

Not for coarse fish. Rivers are closed to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June, but most lakes and canals stay open.

Is there free fishing in Lincolnshire?

This guide could not confirm any free stretch, so assume you need a permit and ask the club or landowner.

Where can I fish near Skegness?

Try day-ticket lakes such as Newfield Farm (confirm prices with the venue) or beach marks north of the town such as Chapel Point. Check Eastern IFCA rules before keeping sea fish.