Fishing in Yorkshire

By Alex Clayton · Updated 24 October 2026

Fishing in Yorkshire means the Ure, Swale, Wharfe, Nidd, Derwent and Ouse, plus the Aire, Calder and Don further south. The Dales rivers hold wild brown trout and grayling, the slower lower reaches hold barbel and chub, and stillwaters and the North Sea coast cover the rest. To fish any of it you need an Environment Agency rod licence and permission from whoever owns the water.

The scale catches people out. The Environment Agency’s Yorkshire byelaw area takes in every water draining into a dozen rivers, from the Swale to the Rother, plus the coast from Staithes to Spurn Head.

This is one of our regional fishing guides. It sorts the county by species and water type, then covers permits and the Yorkshire rules that trip up visitors, such as the year-round keepnet ban on rivers and the 23cm minimum size for taking trout.

Yorkshire’s Main Fishing Rivers at a Glance

Pick your river before you pick your swim. Most Yorkshire rivers rise in the Dales as fast, rocky trout and grayling streams, then slow into deeper coarse rivers before they join the Ouse and run out through the Humber.

That pattern is the key to Yorkshire rivers fishing. The same river can be a fly fisher’s stream at its head and a barbel river far downstream, so “is the Ure any good?” depends on which stretch you mean.

River	Character	Main target species	Our guide
Ure	Dales river through Wensleydale, slowing as it leaves the hills	Brown trout and grayling upstream (Hawes area); coarse fish lower down	River Ure fishing guide
Swale	Fast upper river, steadier lowland water downstream	Barbel the main target lower down, densest below Topcliffe weir; plenty of chub; grayling and pike on the upper river	River Swale fishing guide
Wharfe	Dales river through Wharfedale and Bolton Abbey	Wild brown trout and grayling on the upper river; coarse fish lower down	River Wharfe fishing guide
Nidd	Dales river through Nidderdale and Knaresborough	Mixed trout, grayling and coarse water; check the controlling club for each stretch
Derwent	Rises on the North York Moors, flows south to the Ouse	Mixed river; species vary a lot by stretch	River Derwent guide, including the Yorkshire Derwent
Ouse	Big, slow lowland river through York	Coarse fish; any salmon caught must be released
Aire, Calder and Don	Lowland rivers through West and South Yorkshire towns	Coarse fishing, mostly on club water

The table can’t show the calendar. Upper reaches run on trout seasons and lower reaches on the coarse close season, so the dates change as you move downstream. Nearly every stretch is also controlled by a club, estate or farmer, which the permits section below covers.

If you have one day and want variety, start with the Wharfe or the Ure. Both give you Dales trout and grayling water and coarse water lower down, with clubs and estates you can contact for access.

Barbel and Chub: The Lower Swale, Ure and Ouse

Barbel anglers drive straight past the prettiest Dales water for a reason. Barbel want the deeper, steadier flows the rivers only reach once they leave the hills.

The Swale is the name that comes up first among Yorkshire barbel rivers. Angling Times describes barbel as its main target, with the densest population below Topcliffe weir, and chub plentiful alongside them. Access is mostly through farmers and small clubs rather than big day-ticket fisheries, so ask locally, find out who controls the bank you want, and get current prices from them. Our River Swale fishing guide goes stretch by stretch.

The lower Ure and the Ouse are coarse rivers too, holding chub and barbel among other species. Treat every stretch as controlled until the owner tells you otherwise.

These are summer and autumn rivers. A feeder with meat or pellet over a bed of feed is the standard approach, and your tackle should land a barbel quickly rather than play it to exhaustion in a strong flow. Rest the fish in the landing net, head upstream in the current, until it swims off strongly. Leave the keepnet at home: Yorkshire byelaws ban keepnets on any water with a coarse close season, which takes in every river.

Timing matters. English rivers are shut to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June inclusive, so the river season opens on 16 June. Our fishing seasons guide has the full calendar.

Best for: summer and autumn barbel and chub anglers prepared to arrange access first. Skip if: you want to turn up and buy a ticket on the bank. Most of this water needs sorting out before you travel.

Trout and Grayling Fishing in the Yorkshire Dales

Turn up at a Dales river in October with a fly rod and you’ll find the trout season already shut. In the Yorkshire byelaw area the river trout close season starts on 1 October.

Yorkshire Dales fishing is mostly wild brown trout and grayling on fast, clear, rocky rivers, and much of it is estate or club water with limited tickets. Bolton Abbey on the Wharfe shows how it typically runs:

About 5 miles of water, fly only, with wild brown trout and grayling
Members’ water, with a limited number of day tickets (a maximum of 5 a day) from 1 June to 14 March
Trout season 25 March to 30 September; grayling 16 June to 14 March
A bag limit of 2 trout
Barbless hooks no larger than size 12, no lures, and a catch return required

The estate doesn’t publish a day-ticket price, so contact the estate office before you plan a trip. Our River Wharfe fishing guide covers the rest of the river.

Hawes & High Abbotside Angling Association holds water on the Ure at Hawes, and Ilkley Angling Association and Wetherby Angling Club hold Wharfe water. None has a current price list we could verify, so ask the club directly. The River Ure fishing guide has more on the upper river.

Environment Agency byelaws set the minimum on Yorkshire rivers:

River trout close season: 1 October to 24 March
Up to 6 trout a day, unless the owner allows otherwise
No trout under 23cm may be taken
Grayling: 2 a day, between 30 and 38cm
1 rod for trout on rivers

Estate rules are often stricter, as Bolton Abbey’s 2-trout bag shows. Grayling take over once the trout close (Bolton Abbey runs grayling to 14 March), so confirm the dates for each water with its owner.

The verdict: book ahead, and read the estate or club rules before you tie anything on. At Bolton Abbey that means fly only and barbless hooks no larger than size 12.

Stillwaters and Commercial Fisheries

The coarse close season doesn’t apply to most stillwaters, so while the rivers are shut from mid-March to mid-June, Yorkshire’s commercials can stay open. The exceptions are most stillwater SSSIs and some canals.

Trout lakes are simpler still. In the Yorkshire byelaw area rainbow trout have no close season on any stillwater, and brown trout on enclosed stillwaters have none either. The owner’s rules still apply.

Commercials and trout lakes are spread across the county. They usually sell day tickets on site or online and set their own rules on baits, nets and hook sizes, so check with the fishery before you travel.

Keepnets are the big difference. A net the fishery allows is never legal on a Yorkshire river, because the byelaw bans keepnets wherever a coarse close season applies.

	Stillwater	River
Coarse fishing, 15 Mar to 15 Jun	Usually open	Closed
Keepnets	Fishery rules decide	Not allowed
Tickets	Often on the day	Usually arranged in advance

Sea Fishing on the Yorkshire Coast

The Environment Agency’s Yorkshire byelaw area runs down the coast from Staithes to Spurn Head, yet sea fishing for sea species doesn’t need an EA rod licence. You need one as soon as you fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eels, so check GOV.UK if you plan to fish near a river mouth. Our fishing licence guide explains the rules.

One Whitby trap: rod fishing for salmon, migratory trout, freshwater fish, smelt, shad or eels is banned on the River Esk between Ruswarp Weir and the southern end of Eskside Wharfe in Whitby, under the Environment Agency’s Esk conservation area byelaw.

The coast itself is harbour walls, piers and rock marks around Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. Before you go, read our Yorkshire coast sea fishing guide, from Whitby to Filey.

Permits and Day Tickets: How Access Works in Yorkshire

Buying a rod licence and walking down to the river at the bottom of the road is the classic visitor’s mistake. The licence makes it legal to use a rod. It doesn’t give you permission to fish anywhere, and private waters set their own rules on top.

Route	How it works	Good for
Club or association membership	Annual book covering all of the club’s waters	Anglers fishing more than a handful of days a year
Club or estate day ticket	One day on a named stretch, often limited in number	Visitors and one-off trips
Commercial fishery ticket	Bought on site or online for that venue	Simple, same-day fishing

Names you’ll come across:

Leeds & District Amalgamated Society of Anglers: yearbook membership running 1 January to 31 December, no joining fee, and a claimed 40-plus waters
York & District Amalgamation of Anglers: ten member clubs, with river stretches around the Ouse plus canals and stillwaters
Bolton Abbey Estate: limited fly-only day tickets on the Wharfe; contact the estate
Hawes & High Abbotside AA: Ure water at Hawes
Ilkley AA and Wetherby AC: Wharfe water

We haven’t listed prices for any of them. Price lists online go out of date fast, and the only reliable figure comes from the club or estate itself. We also haven’t found a reliable source for any free stretch of the Ouse or any other Yorkshire river, so treat all water as controlled.

On the bank, carry your licence and ticket, read the club rules before you set up, respect boundary markers, and use the access routes farmers have agreed. Clubs keep their water by keeping landowners happy.

Best for: a club book, if you’ll fish more than a handful of days a year. Skip if: you’re visiting once. A day ticket or a commercial suits you better.

Yorkshire Fishing Rules: Licence, Close Seasons and Byelaws

On 1 April a Dales river is open for trout and shut for chub. On 1 October it’s the other way round. Yorkshire’s river trout and coarse close seasons run on different dates, and the gap catches visitors out.

You need an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish in England from age 13. Current GOV.UK prices are £7.30 for 1 day, £14.70 for 8 days, and £36.80 for 12 months (2 rods) or £55.30 (3 rods). The 12-month licence is free for 13 to 16 year olds. Prices change, so check GOV.UK before you buy, and see our fishing licence guide for the detail.

Fish and water	Close season
Coarse fish on rivers, streams and drains (also most stillwater SSSIs and some canals)	15 March to 15 June inclusive
Non-migratory trout in rivers, streams, drains and canals, and brown trout in all waters except enclosed stillwaters	1 October to 24 March
Rainbow trout on stillwaters	None
Brown trout on enclosed stillwaters	None
Salmon	1 November to 5 April
Sea trout	1 November to 2 April

The fishing seasons guide explains how these work across England.

The byelaws that apply when fishing in Yorkshire:

No keepnets on any water where a coarse close season applies
From 15 March to 15 June on those waters, only fly, minnow, worm, shrimp, prawn, sand eel or artificial lures may be used
Trout: 6 a day unless the owner consents, and none under 23cm taken
Pike: 1 a day, no bigger than 65cm
Grayling: 2 a day, between 30 and 38cm
Rods: up to 4 for coarse fish, 1 for trout on rivers, 2 on lakes
All salmon caught on the Ouse must be released

Byelaws are the minimum. Clubs, estates and fisheries can be stricter, and their rules apply on their water.

The verdict: check the Environment Agency byelaws on GOV.UK before every new season, then read the owner’s rules for the stretch you’re fishing.

Frequently asked questions

When is the close season on Yorkshire rivers?

The coarse close season on Yorkshire rivers runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive, so coarse fishing reopens on 16 June. River trout have a separate close season, from 1 October to 24 March. Both come from Environment Agency byelaws, and clubs or estates can set shorter seasons on their own water.

Do I need a licence to fish in Yorkshire?

Yes. Anyone aged 13 or over needs an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish, and the 12-month licence is free for 13 to 16 year olds. You also need permission from the water's owner, usually a club membership or day ticket, because the licence alone doesn't let you fish anywhere.

Is there free fishing on the River Ouse in York?

We haven't found a reliable source confirming any free stretch of the Ouse in York. Assume the water is controlled and check with York & District Amalgamation of Anglers or the landowner before you fish. Any salmon caught on the Ouse must be released.

Which Yorkshire rivers are best for barbel?

The lower Swale is the river most often named for barbel, with Angling Times putting the densest population below Topcliffe weir. The lower Ure and the Ouse also hold barbel. Ask the controlling club where fish have been showing, because results vary a lot from stretch to stretch.