Fishing the River Trent

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

At 185 miles (298km), the Trent is the third longest river in the UK, running from near Biddulph Moor in Staffordshire to Trent Falls on the Humber. Length is not the hard part of river trent fishing, though. Working out which banks you can legally fish is.

Much of the best water is controlled by clubs and societies, the lower river is tidal, and the whole river closes to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June.

This guide covers the species by reach, barbel tactics, how Trent tickets and club memberships work, the tidal Trent below Cromwell Lock, and the rules you need to follow. For other waters, see our guide to UK river fishing.

River Trent at a Glance: Course, Reaches and the Tidal Limit

Where does the tidal Trent actually begin? Plenty of anglers will tell you Newark. The tidal limit is in fact Cromwell Lock and weir near Holme, north of Newark, and the river is tidal only below that point.

From its source the Trent flows through Stoke, Stone, Rugeley, Burton, Nottingham, Newark and Gainsborough before it reaches Trent Falls on the Humber. Width, depth and flow change so much along the way that it is best planned as three reaches.

Reach	Roughly where	Character	Typical approach
Upper	Shardlow and above	Narrower, gravel runs, streamer weed	Rolling baits or trotting
Middle (non-tidal)	Thrumpton, Trent Lock and Sawley, down through Nottingham and Newark to Cromwell	Wider and deeper, gravel runs and eddies, fishes well with extra water	Feeder
Lower (tidal)	Below Cromwell Lock: Dunham, Torksey, Littleborough, Gainsborough	Wide, deep, tidal flow, steep eroded banks	Heavy feeders of 4oz and up

Treat the approach column as a starting point, not a guarantee.

The fish in the Trent today are the product of a long recovery. Pollution was at its worst in the late 1950s, when the upper and middle reaches held no fish at all. Water quality improved steadily from the 1960s, and by 2004 the Trent was cleaner than it had been for 70 to 80 years.

The recovery has had setbacks. A cyanide release in October 2009 killed thousands of fish. The species section below covers what lives in each reach now, and the tidal section deals with the lower river in detail.

River Trent Fish Species and When to Target Them

Read most Trent coverage and you would think the river held nothing but barbel. That is little help if you want a net of roach in January or a pike on a cold autumn morning.

The Trent is a mixed coarse river. Recent catches include barbel, bream, carp, chub, dace, pike and roach, and the Nottingham Piscatorial Society (NPS) lists barbel, chub, pike, carp, roach, perch and dace on its day-ticket water. Records from 1969 to 1985 also show bleak, gudgeon and eel in the catches, but treat those as history rather than a target list.

The table below is general UK river guidance applied to the Trent, all within the open season of 16 June to 14 March. It is not Trent-specific catch data, so use it to plan your trip, not to predict a catch.

Species	Best window	Typical method
Barbel	Summer into autumn	Feeder, especially in coloured or rising water
Chub	All season, strong in winter	Feeder or trotting
Bream	Summer and autumn	Feeder on slower, deeper water
Roach and dace	Autumn and winter	Float and trotting with maggot or caster
Perch	Autumn and winter	Float or lure, close to slacks and structure
Pike	Autumn and winter	Deadbaits

If you intend to keep a pike, know the limit first: national byelaws allow one pike of no more than 65cm per day on rivers. The rules section below has the full catch limits.

For a mixed bag in winter, take a trotting rod and a pint of maggots to the middle river. For barbel, read the next section.

River Trent Barbel Fishing: Stretches and Tactics by Reach

The single change that matters most on the lower Trent is feeder weight. A light feeder will not hold bottom, and Angling Times recommends at least 4oz between Torksey and Dunham.

That sets the rule for river trent barbel fishing: match the method to the reach, working up from the sea end.

Lower, tidal river (Gainsborough, Littleborough, Torksey, Dunham)

This is wide, deep water with a strong current and a tide pushing in and out. Angling Times describes steep, eroded banks around Gainsborough and Littleborough, where big feeders and heavy leads are the norm. Read the tidal section below before you fish here, because the safety side matters as much as the tackle.

Middle river (Thrumpton, Trent Lock, Sawley, Nottingham and Newark)

The middle Trent is a feeder angler’s river, with gravel runs and eddies that fish well when there is extra water on.

For a day-ticket option on the middle river, the NPS sells tickets for Fiskerton and Rolleston. The tickets section below has the details.

Upper river (Shardlow and above)

Above Shardlow the river narrows, and rolling baits or trotting through the gravel runs and streamer weed take over from static feeders. See our guide to trotting a float if the method is new to you.

Tackle and fish care

Choose a strong main line and hooklength, robust hooks, and feeders heavy enough for the flow in front of you. Our barbel fishing guide covers rigs and baits.

Barbel fight hard and can be exhausted by the time they reach the net. Use an unhooking mat, then rest each fish in the water, head upstream, until it swims off strongly. The NPS requires a mat for specimen fish and bans keepnets on its day-ticket water. Our fish handling guide explains the technique.

Which reach suits you? The heavy feeder on the lower river is for anglers comfortable with big tackle, strong flow and awkward banks. Rolling meat or trotting on the upper river suits anglers who like to keep moving and read the water.

Trent Fishing Tickets: Clubs, Day Tickets and Membership

Drive to an inviting Trent bank and you may find it is members only, or that the day-ticket stretch is closed for a match. Both happen because much of the river is controlled by clubs, societies and landowners.

Trent fishing tickets come in three forms.

Route	How it works	Example on the Trent
Day ticket	Buy for a named stretch, often in advance	NPS, Fiskerton and Rolleston
Club membership	Annual, covers the club’s waters	Burton Mutual Angling Association
Guest ticket	Fish alongside a member	Burton Mutual guest tickets

Nottingham Piscatorial Society

The NPS controls over 14 miles of the Trent, plus tidal Trent and River Derwent water. Its day tickets cover Fiskerton and Rolleston, over 2 miles of the navigable river. When checked in October 2026, a ticket cost £8 online for 2 rods. Confirm the current price on the society’s site.

Its rules:

Tickets are sold online in advance, not on the bank.
No night fishing, no boats and no keepnets.
An unhooking mat is required for specimen fish.
Carry your ticket and your Environment Agency rod licence.
Fiskerton is sometimes closed for matches, so check the society’s match calendar first.

Burton Mutual Angling Association

Burton Mutual membership covers water on the Trent, the Dove and stillwaters. Membership is closed for 2026 and reopens on 1 January 2027, but guests can fish with a member on a guest ticket. Its one-field Walton-on-Trent stretch is no longer available, a reminder that club access changes.

Everyone else

Other clubs control plenty of Trent water, but their tickets and prices could not be verified for this guide. Check with the controlling club or landowner before you fish any stretch.

One common mix-up: Canal & River Trust fishing permits cover the Trust’s own waterways, such as the canals, not the River Trent. For CRT water nearby, see our guide to fishing the Trent and Mersey Canal, a separate waterway with its own rules.

If you want a first Trent session with no membership, book an NPS day ticket online in advance. Whichever route you take, check with the club or fishery before you travel.

Fishing the Tidal Trent Below Cromwell Lock

The Trent has its own tidal bore. When a high spring tide meets the river’s flow, the Trent Aegir can build to 1.5m (5ft) and run upriver as far as Gainsborough, sometimes beyond. The weirs north of Newark stop it.

As the reach section above sets out, the tidal Trent starts below Cromwell Lock and weir, so Newark sits above the tide.

Flow and level rise and fall with the tide, so a swim can change from one hour to the next. You need heavy feeders and leads to hold bottom, and the banks at places like Gainsborough and Littleborough are steep and eroded.

Four safety habits matter more here than anywhere else on the river:

Check tide times before you go, and stay away from the margins on high spring tides when the Aegir may run.
Set up on a stable, flat spot well back from any crumbling edge.
Don’t fish steep banks alone when the water is high.
A bank stick is not an anchor. If the edge goes, it goes with you.

Rules specific to the tidal reaches could not be verified for this guide. Check with the Environment Agency (0344 800 5386) and the controlling club before you fish below Cromwell. The NPS holds some tidal Trent water, but no ticket details for it were confirmed.

Best for experienced river anglers with heavy feeder gear. Skip it for a first Trent session.

River Trent Rules: Licence, Close Season and Byelaws

Three checks keep you legal on any Trent bank, on top of your ticket: your licence, the date and the byelaws.

Rod licence

You need an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for freshwater fish in England, coarse fish included. Juniors aged 13 to 16 need one too, though theirs is free.

Licence	Price when checked (October 2026)
1-day trout and coarse, 2 rods	£7.30
8-day trout and coarse, 2 rods	£14.70
12-month, 2 rods	£36.80
12-month, 3 rods	£55.30
12-month concession	£24.50
Junior (13 to 16)	Free

Prices change each April, so check GOV.UK before you buy. You can buy a licence up to 30 days ahead, online or on 0344 800 5386. Our guide to how the rod licence works covers the options.

Close season

The coarse close season runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive on rivers, streams and drains in England, under the national rod fishing byelaws. The Midlands byelaws apply the same dates to the whole Trent catchment.

Most canals and enclosed stillwaters can be fished all year, so the Trent and Mersey Canal does not follow the river’s close season. Check local byelaws before a spring session. See UK fishing seasons for the full picture.

Byelaws

No keepnet or keepsack where the coarse close season applies (Midlands byelaws).
River daily limit: 15 small coarse fish of not more than 20cm (other than grayling), 2 grayling of 30 to 38cm, and 1 pike of not more than 65cm.
Unattended rods are illegal.
Outermost rods must be no more than 3m apart.
Crayfish are banned as bait.

Eel fishing in the close season is restricted to listed baits on hooks with a gape of at least 12.7mm.

Club rules sit on top: the NPS bans keepnets and night fishing on its day tickets.

Licence in your pocket, a date after 15 June, and the club rules read before you set up: that covers most anglers.

Planning a River Trent Session: A Five-Point Checklist

Five checks, ten minutes, before you load the car.

Check the date. The river is closed to coarse fishing from 15 March to 15 June inclusive.
Buy your rod licence. Get it on GOV.UK, up to 30 days ahead.
Pick a stretch and confirm who controls it. Find out whether day tickets exist or whether it is members only.
Buy the ticket in advance where required. NPS tickets, for example, are not sold on the bank.
Check the match calendar and the river level. Then pack an unhooking mat, and leave the keepnet at home where the club bans them, as the society does.

The Trent is a big river that rises and colours after rain, and extra water can switch on the gravel-run swims of the middle river. A fast-rising, flooding river is another matter. Stay well back from the edge, and go home if it is coming up over the banks.

For the tidal reaches, add one more check: tide times, as covered in the tidal section above.

Planning a trip further afield? Our guides to the River Severn, River Wye, River Thames and River Great Ouse cover their own clubs and tickets.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a licence to fish the River Trent?

Yes. You need an Environment Agency rod licence, plus a ticket or club membership for the stretch you fish. Juniors aged 13 to 16 need a licence too, but it is free. Check the current licence price on GOV.UK before you buy, because it changes each April.

When is the close season on the River Trent?

The coarse close season on the Trent runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. Canals such as the Trent and Mersey Canal, and most enclosed stillwaters, can usually be fished all year, so check local byelaws if you want to fish in spring.

Where does the tidal Trent start?

The tidal Trent starts at Cromwell Lock and weir near Holme, north of Newark. Below that point the river is tidal, so Newark itself sits above the tidal limit. On high spring tides the Trent Aegir bore can run as far as Gainsborough.

Is there free fishing on the River Trent?

This guide has not confirmed any stretch of the Trent as free to fish. Much of the river is controlled by clubs, societies or landowners, so check with the controlling club or landowner before you fish. The Canal & River Trust permit covers its canals, not the river.

Which other UK rivers are good for barbel and mixed coarse fishing?

The River Severn and the River Wye are both well known for barbel. For mixed coarse fishing, look at the River Thames and the River Great Ouse. Each has its own clubs and ticket arrangements, so check access first.