UK Fishing Seasons: Close Season Dates for Coarse, Trout and Salmon

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

In England, the coarse close season runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive on rivers, streams and drains, and you can fish them again from 16 June. Trout and salmon seasons are set region by region, and most river trout seasons close in October.

That gives the fishing season in the UK at least four correct answers, depending on where you stand. Scotland has no coarse close time. Northern Ireland generally has none for coarse fish. Wales closes its rivers but leaves stillwaters and canals open.

Below are the dates nation by nation, then fish by fish, then a quick check for whether the water in front of you is open today. For licences, methods and the wider law, see the UK fishing rules hub.

UK Fishing Seasons at a Glance: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

This table answers most close season questions. Find your nation and your fish, then check the sections below for exceptions.

Nation	Coarse fish on rivers	Coarse fish on stillwaters and canals	Brown trout	Rainbow trout on stillwaters
England	Closed 15 March to 15 June	Open, except waters listed by each region	Close season varies by EA region, starting between 1 October and 1 November	No statutory close season in the regions checked
Wales	Open 16 June to 14 March	No close season (certain SSSIs differ)	Most rivers open 3 March to 30 September (West Wales 1 April to 30 September)	No close season
Scotland	No annual or weekly close time	No annual or weekly close time	Closed 7 October to 14 March	Check with the fishery
Northern Ireland	Generally no close season, but game seasons apply on game waters	Generally no close season	Varies by water; many loughs and lakes open 1 March to 31 October	Some stocked fisheries open all year

Sources: the Environment Agency regional byelaws on GOV.UK, Natural Resources Wales, the Scottish Government and NI Direct.

In England, the regional byelaws are the legal source. The GOV.UK freshwater rod fishing rules page gives no dates itself and sends you to your region, so this page works region by region.

The law is only the floor. A fishery or club can set stricter rules, so a water that is legally open can still be shut by its owner.

The Coarse Fishing Close Season in England: 15 March to 15 June

An April morning, a pint of maggots, and a river you assumed was open because the lake down the road is. It isn’t.

The coarse fishing close season covers rivers, streams and drains in England from 15 March to 15 June inclusive, and fishing reopens on 16 June (North West byelaws). For those three months, close season fishing for coarse species on running water is off.

Pike are coarse fish, so river pike fishing is closed over the same dates. On stillwaters, any spring break for pike is the fishery’s own decision rather than law. For the dates and reasoning, see when pike season starts and ends.

Some regions add extra rules during the close season:

North West: no keepnets on rivers, streams and canalised rivers (North West byelaws).
South East: if you fish for trout, sea trout or rainbow trout during the close season, you may only use an artificial fly or lure (South East byelaws).

To fish a river in spring, fish for trout within your region’s trout season, and follow any method rules such as the South East fly-or-lure byelaw. The trout dates are further down. For bait, hook and method rules, read our guide to freshwater fishing rules in England, and carry a current rod fishing licence.

Canals and Stillwaters: Where the Close Season Still Applies

Parts of the Kennet and Avon, the Wey Navigation and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are shut to coarse anglers from 15 March to 15 June, even though most canals and lakes are open.

In England, most stillwaters and canals have no statutory close season, but each region lists exceptions. Wales has no close season on stillwaters and canals, apart from certain SSSIs (Natural Resources Wales).

Named exceptions in England, by region:

Anglia: the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads; the Fossdyke, Louth, Horncastle, and North Walsham and Dilham canals; plus a list of stillwaters (Anglian byelaws).
Midlands: listed stillwaters and canals, including sections of the Cromford, Grantham, Ashby, Chesterfield and Montgomery canals (Midlands byelaws).
North East: the Aire and Calder Navigation between Castleford Weir and Ferrybridge lock. No other canal, reservoir, lake or pond has a statutory close season, though fisheries may set their own (North East byelaws).
South East: the Kennet and Avon downstream of Kintbury, the Lee Navigation upstream of Aqueduct Lock, designated stretches of the Basingstoke Canal, the Wey Navigation and listed SSSI stillwaters. Regent’s Park Canal, the Grand Union, the Lee Navigation downstream of Aqueduct Lock and the Oxford Canal have no statutory close season (South East byelaws).

Read the full Anglian and Midlands stillwater lists on their byelaw pages. In the North West and South West, check the regional byelaws and ask the Canal and River Trust or the controlling club. See canal fishing permits for who controls what.

For spring coarse fishing, pick a club or commercial stillwater that isn’t a listed exception, and don’t assume a canal is open just because it isn’t a river.

Trout and Salmon Seasons in England by Environment Agency Region

A brown trout river in Anglia stays open almost a month longer than one in the North West. The trout season in the UK isn’t one set of dates: each Environment Agency region sets its own trout fishing season.

Region	Brown trout close season (rivers)	Notes
Anglian	30 October to 31 March inclusive	Also covers rainbow trout in rivers and brown trout in unenclosed stillwaters
Midlands	8 October to 17 March	Also covers rainbow trout in rivers and brown trout in unenclosed stillwaters
North East (Northumbria)	1 October to 21 March	1 November to 30 April on Kielder Water, Derwent Reservoir, Crag, Greenlee and Broomlee Loughs, and East and West Hallington
North East (Yorkshire)	1 October to 24 March
North West	1 October to 14 March	All waters except fully enclosed stillwaters; rainbow trout in rivers, streams, drains and canals over the same dates
South East (Thames area)	1 October to 31 March	Brown and rainbow trout in rivers
South East (Southern area)	1 November to 2 April	Brown and rainbow trout in rivers
South West (Devon and Cornwall)	1 October to 14 March	Camel and Fowey 1 October to 31 March
South West (Wessex)	16 October to 31 March on rivers	Other Wessex waters 15 October to 16 March

Sources: the Anglian, Midlands, North East, North West, South East and South West byelaws.

Stillwaters work differently. Rainbow trout on stillwaters have no statutory close season in Anglia, the North East, the South East and the South West, and nor do brown trout in fully enclosed stillwaters in Anglia, the North West, the South East and the South West. On a stocked lake there, the fly fishing season only stops when the fishery does.

Sea trout and salmon

In the Midlands, salmon and migratory trout close from 8 October to 31 January. In the North West, migratory trout close from 1 October to 31 March and salmon from 1 November to 31 January, with the River Eden closed from 15 October to 14 January. In the North East, sea trout close from 1 November to 2 April.

Read our salmon fishing rules before you book a beat, and check the byelaws for regions not listed here.

One oddity on Windermere, where I fish for pike and perch: char have a close season there from 1 October to 30 April, but you may fish for them from a moving boat with artificial lures from 15 March.

Can You Catch Trout in October?

Yes on rainbow stillwaters, and only sometimes on rivers. In the North West, North East, Thames area and Devon and Cornwall, the river brown trout season closes on 1 October. The Midlands closes on 8 October and Wessex rivers on 16 October. Anglia stays open to 29 October inclusive, and the Southern area to 31 October. Rainbow trout stillwaters, and enclosed brown trout lakes in most regions, have no statutory close season.

Scotland’s brown trout close time starts on 7 October. In Wales, most river seasons end on 30 September, the Upper Severn Area runs to 7 October, and stillwaters that aren’t fully enclosed stay open to 17 October. In Northern Ireland, many loughs and lakes are open to 31 October, and the River Bush to 20 October.

For trout in late October, book a stocked rainbow fishery and check its own rules. See what to catch each season for other autumn targets.

Fishing Seasons in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Carry English rules across the border and you’ll either stay home when the water is open or fish when it’s shut.

Wales

Under Natural Resources Wales rules, coarse fish on rivers are open from 16 June to 14 March, and there is no close season on stillwaters and canals, except certain SSSIs.

Water (Wales)	Brown trout open season
West Wales rivers	1 April to 30 September
Most other rivers	3 March to 30 September
Upper Severn Area	18 March to 7 October
Stillwaters not fully enclosed	20 March to 17 October
Fully enclosed stillwaters	No close season

Rainbow trout have no close season on stillwaters and are open on rivers from 3 March to 30 September. The Upper Severn Area has no eel close season, but from 15 March to 15 June eel hooks need a gape of at least 12.7mm (Natural Resources Wales). For salmon and sea trout in Wales, check the dates with Natural Resources Wales.

Scotland

Scotland has no rod licence for recreational fishing, but you need permission or a permit from the owner of the fishing rights. Brown trout close from 7 October to 14 March, with no weekly close time, and coarse fish have no annual or weekly close time. There is no salmon fishing on Sundays, and salmon close times vary by district, so check with the local district salmon fishery board (Scottish Government).

Northern Ireland

Coarse species such as pike, bream, roach, perch, tench, rudd and carp generally have no close season, but you must follow game seasons on game waters. Game open seasons include:

Lough Melvin: 1 February to 30 September
Lough Erne system: 1 March to 30 September
River Bush: 1 March to 20 October
Other loughs and lakes: 1 March to 31 October
Carlingford area: 1 April to 31 October
Foyle catchment salmon: 1 April to 20 October (private fisheries)

Some stocked rainbow fisheries open all year (NI Direct). A game rod licence covers the game season for game fish and January to December for coarse fish (NI Direct rod licences). Our guide to fishing licences in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland covers what to buy.

To coarse fish a river in April, go to Scotland or Northern Ireland, with the owner’s permission (plus a licence in Northern Ireland, on a water outside game seasons).

Why the Coarse Close Season Still Exists: The 2019 Environment Agency Review

If most stillwaters and canals had already lost their close season, why do rivers keep theirs? Because the Environment Agency reviewed it in 2019 and kept it.

The process ran in three stages (EA briefing, August 2019):

A 2018 angler survey: 43% wanted to keep the close season, 17% wanted to keep it with different dates, and 33% wanted it removed.
A 12-week consultation from 14 January 2019.
A decision in August 2019 to keep the river close season.

The reasoning was spawning: river fish are more sensitive to disturbance before, during and after it. Chub and barbel gather in large spawning shoals where disturbed females may reabsorb their eggs, and dace and pike were also flagged. Covering every species’ full spawning period would have meant a close season from early February to late July, which the EA judged very precautionary.

The current regional byelaw pages still give 15 March to 15 June. For spawning chub and barbel, three months off the rivers is a small ask.

Can I Fish Today? A Quick Five-Point Check

Five questions settle it before you load the car.

Which nation are you in? Scotland has no coarse close time. Northern Ireland generally has none outside game waters.
Is it a river, stream or drain? In England, it’s closed for coarse fish from 15 March to 15 June. In Wales, it’s open from 16 June to 14 March.
Is it a canal or stillwater? Check your region’s listed exceptions and SSSIs (see the canals section above).
Are you fishing for trout or salmon? Check your region’s dates in the trout table above.
Do you have a licence and permission? In England and Wales you need a rod licence from age 13, plus the fishery’s permission. Club and fishery rules can be stricter than the law.

When in doubt, the regional byelaw page and the fishery have the final word.

Frequently asked questions

When is fishing season in the UK?

There isn't one UK fishing season. In England, coarse fishing on rivers reopens on 16 June after the 15 March to 15 June close season, and river trout seasons mostly close in October. Scotland has no coarse close time. The at-a-glance table on this page covers each nation.

Can you fish stillwaters during the close season?

Usually, yes. In England and Wales most stillwaters have no statutory close season, but some are listed exceptions, including SSSI stillwaters in the South East and Wales and listed waters in Anglia and the Midlands. Fishery rules apply on top.

Is there a close season for coarse fishing in Scotland?

No. Scotland has no annual or weekly close time for coarse fish, so you can fish for them on rivers and stillwaters all year. You still need permission or a permit from the owner of the fishing rights, even though Scotland has no rod licence.

When does the trout season start in England?

It depends on the region. The river close season ends on 14 March in the North West and Devon and Cornwall, 17 March in the Midlands, 21 March in Northumbria, 24 March in Yorkshire, 31 March in Anglia and the Thames area, and 2 April in the Southern area. Rainbow trout stillwaters have no statutory close season in most regions.