Fishing the River Nene

By Alex Clayton · Updated 25 October 2026

The River Nene runs from Northamptonshire through Northampton, Wellingborough and Oundle to Peterborough, then across the Fens to the Wash. River Nene fishing is mainly for bream, roach and chub, with pike, perch and reported zander, and most of the bank is controlled by angling clubs. You need an Environment Agency rod licence plus the right club ticket or permit, and the river is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive.

Finding the rest is harder. Ticket details sit on separate club sites and a council page, and some magazine lists call stretches “free” without saying who owns them.

Below are the species and methods, the main stretches from Northampton to Peterborough with who sells each ticket, the rules, match fishing and river levels. Rules and prices change, so check with the club before you travel.

The Nene at a Glance: What Kind of River It Is

The Nene is a chub and roach river in its middle reaches and a bream river by the time it reaches Peterborough.

From Northampton down to Oundle, much of the bank is club water held by Northampton Nene AC and Wellingborough & District Nene AC, whose stretches include Ringstead, Hardwater Mill and Oundle. Wellingborough & District also lists a Barnwell river stretch, and North Northamptonshire Council runs a separate 1km backwater at Barnwell Country Park, near Oundle. Chub, roach and winter pike are the fish the clubs highlight here.

Lower down, Deeping St James AC describes its Stibbington stretch, near the Nene Valley Railway, as deep, wide and free-flowing. Around Peterborough (Nene Park, Orton Mere and Woodston Reach) the species lists lean towards bream and mixed silver fish, with pike, perch and chub alongside.

Below Peterborough the river carries on through the Fens to the sea. This guide concentrates on Northampton to Peterborough, where the ticket information is clearest.

The whole Nene catchment falls under the Environment Agency’s Anglian region byelaws. It is one of the lowland rivers in our UK rivers guide, alongside southern rivers such as the Dorset Stour.

For chub and trotting, fish the upper and middle river. For bream on the feeder, head for Peterborough.

Nene Species and the Methods That Catch Them

If you take one method to the Nene around Peterborough, make it a cage feeder for bream. This is what the clubs and angling press report, and where.

Species	Where it is noted	Method the sources point to
Bream	Peterborough embankment, Nene Park, Wansford, Stibbington	Cage feeder with groundbait, worm and caster; prebaiting helps
Roach and dace	Hardwater Mill, Spinney Lakes, Wansford, Stibbington	Bread punch at Hardwater Mill; big maggot and hempseed on the long pole in Peterborough matches
Chub	Barnwell backwater, Oundle, Spinney Lakes area	Trot the glides or trundle a ledgered bait into the holes
Pike	Hardwater Mill, Spinney Lakes, Wansford, Stibbington	Winter predator fishing
Perch	Wansford, Stibbington, Nene Park	Caught alongside silver fish
Barbel	Castor and Alwalton	Reported, but hard to tempt in some seasons
Zander	Peterborough embankment	Soft paddletail lures

Angling Times reports bream to around 7lb (3.2kg) from the Peterborough embankment. Treat that as the top end. Upstream, Wellingborough & District Nene AC has reported chub to 6lb from The Plantations near Oundle, and winter bags of roach, big chub and big pike from its Spinney Lakes and Nene/Ise water.

Nene zander are a Peterborough story. Angling Times reports zander around the town embankment, including fish into double figures, taken on paddletails near the Grain Barge. Little is published about zander elsewhere on the river, so treat them as a bonus rather than a target.

Take an unhooking mat and long forceps for pike and zander. National rules let you keep one pike up to 65cm a day from a river, but most anglers return them. Eels must go back unharmed.

One caution: Peterborough anglers have raised concerns about falling fish numbers on the Nene, which they link to seals. No verified figures are published, so ask the association how the river is fishing.

Where to Fish the Nene: Stretches, Clubs and Tickets

Turn up at the wrong gate on the Nene and you are fishing without permission. Most of the river is club water, so check who controls a stretch before you set up. Upstream to downstream:

Stretch or venue	Controlled by	Access	Notes
Northampton area	Northampton Nene AC	Club membership (tackle shops or club website)	Also holds Great Ouse, Grand Union Canal and lake waters
Ringstead, Hardwater Mill, Barnwell river, Oundle (including Oundle Mill)	Wellingborough & District Nene AC	Club membership; day tickets not confirmed	Oundle Mill is reached through a locked gate on private land
Barnwell Country Park backwater, near Oundle	North Northamptonshire Council	Season permit only from 1 April 2026, no day tickets; 70 permits, £20 adult, £15 over 65s	About 1km of backwater; barbless hooks; 3-rod limit; predators 1 October to 31 March only
Wansford (Sibson and Yarwell)	Deeping St James AC	£5 day ticket bought online; car registration needed	32 platformed pegs; day-ticket anglers park on the verge and walk about 550m
Stibbington	Deeping St James AC	Same £5 day ticket	24 pegs, only 4 for day tickets (outside the gate)
Nene Park, Ferry Meadows, Orton Mere and Woodston Reach (Peterborough)	Peterborough & District AA	Day tickets and annual membership via fishinginpeterborough.co.uk	Check prices with the association
Castor and Alwalton	Reported as Peterborough & District AA water	Check with the association	Known barbel water

The Deeping St James AC day ticket is sold as the River Nene and Fish Refuge ticket, and it also covers the club’s venues on the River Welland.

Barnwell changed in 2026: North Northamptonshire Council dropped day tickets in favour of a limited number of season permits.

The Peterborough embankment is a well-known town stretch for bream and the odd zander. Some magazine lists call it free, but no landowner or authority confirms that, so check access with Peterborough & District AA or Peterborough City Council first.

Prices are as shown on the club or council page when checked and can change. Check with the club or fishery before you travel.

For a first Nene session without joining a club, buy a Deeping St James AC day ticket and fish Wansford, where day-ticket anglers can choose from 32 pegs rather than 4.

Nene Fishing Rules: Close Season, Licence and Byelaws

When a Nene club page says “fishing allowed 16 June to 14 March”, it is restating the law: the coarse close season on English rivers runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive.

Most stillwaters are exempt, so Barnwell’s lakes stay open all year while its river backwater shuts. The Anglian byelaws keep the close season on some Nene valley waters, including Higham Ferrers Gravel Pits, Twywell Gullett, the Nene Washes and Dogsthorpe Star Pit. Our fishing seasons guide has the detail.

You need an Environment Agency rod licence from age 13 (free for 13 to 16 year olds). A 12-month, 2-rod trout and coarse licence was £36.80 on GOV.UK when checked, but prices change each April (see our fishing licence guide). The licence is not permission to fish: you still need the club ticket or permit.

The national byelaws that matter most:

Up to 4 rods for coarse fish, with the outer rods no more than 3m apart and none left unattended. Club rules can be tighter (Barnwell allows 3).
Lead weights are legal only if 0.06g or less, or over 28.35g.
No gaffs or tailers, and no crayfish as bait.
Return foul-hooked fish and eels.

Close-season eel fishing is limited to water seaward of listed points such as Guyhirn Road Bridge, so read the Anglian regional byelaws in full. The national rules are the same on the River Medway and the River Tamar.

Match Fishing on the Nene

Local press match reports from Peterborough keep naming the same winning method: bream on the feeder, cast to the far bank. That makes Nene match fishing results a useful guide for a weekday pleasure session too.

Those reports include 40lb 8oz of bream in a 2018 National-section match, and 130lb of bream winning an Orton Downstream RiverFest qualifier in 2021. Roach caught on big maggot and hempseed over the long pole have also framed in Peterborough matches.

For a pleasure session, copy that approach. Put a cage feeder of groundbait, worm and caster on the far-bank shelf for bream, and feed hemp for roach on the pole on the deeper stretches. Angling Times notes that prebaiting helps on the Peterborough embankment, so arrive early enough to feed the swim before you start.

Match calendars change every season, so get current dates from Peterborough & District AA, Deeping St James AC or Northampton Nene AC.

River Levels and Conditions: Check Before You Travel

Bookmark one link before any Nene trip. Deeping St James AC links its river levels page to the GOV.UK river level station for the Nene at Wansford (station 6107) and advises checking it before you set off.

The Nene rises and colours after heavy rain. A rising, coloured river pushes fish into slacks and inside bends, so fish the margins and slower water once it starts to drop. Local match reports have noted rain bringing the barbel on at Castor and Alwalton.

Platformed pegs and steep banks get slippery in high water, and a flooded peg is never worth fishing. The same applies on other eastern lowland rivers such as the River Witham.

Check the gauge on the morning of any long drive. If it shows the river well above normal and still rising, stay at home.

Frequently asked questions

When can you fish the River Nene?

From 16 June to 14 March. The river is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive under the national coarse close season. Most stillwaters, such as the Barnwell lakes, stay open, though some Nene valley pits keep the close season.

Do you need a licence to fish the River Nene?

Yes. You need an Environment Agency rod licence if you are 13 or over (free for 13 to 16 year olds), plus the club ticket or permit for the stretch you fish.

Where can I buy a day ticket for the River Nene?

Deeping St James AC sold a £5 online day ticket for Wansford and Stibbington when checked, and Peterborough & District AA sells day tickets for Nene Park, Orton Mere and Woodston Reach. Check with the club before you travel.

Can I fish Barnwell Country Park on a day ticket?

No. From 1 April 2026 fishing at Barnwell is by season permit only. North Northamptonshire Council lists 70 permits at £20 for adults and £15 for over 65s.

Are there zander in the River Nene?

Yes. Angling Times reports zander into double figures from the Peterborough embankment, taken on paddletail lures. Little is published about zander elsewhere on the river.