Bass Season in the UK: A Month-by-Month Guide

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Look up the bass season uk dates and you will still find pages quoting two fish a day and a “mid-May to October” window. Both are out of date for 2026.

BASS (the Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society) member records put the main season at the end of April to the end of October, longer in the south-west, with bigger fish often turning up in September and October. In England in 2026, every bass caught from 1 February to 31 March must go back; for the rest of the year you can keep three per person per day at 42 cm or over (MMO guidance on GOV.UK).

Below you will find a month-by-month calendar, the 2026 rules by nation, why bass move, and how to shift the dates for your own coast. The rules here are for 2026 and change each year.

Bass Season Month by Month: The UK Calendar at a Glance

Find your month in the table and you know two things straight away: whether it is worth going, and whether you can keep a fish.

Month	Where the bass are	Can you keep one? (England, 2026)	What to fish
January	Most adults in deeper water; the odd mild-spell fish in the south-west	Yes in 2026 (three a day, 42 cm); 2027 rules not set, check GOV.UK	South-western marks in mild weather
February	Spawning offshore	No, catch and release only	Only if you are happy to release everything
March	Very few inshore	No, catch and release only	Rarely worth a dedicated trip
April	Returning to shallow grounds; first peeling crab	Yes from 1 April	Rough ground on crab peel; lures in Cornwall from early to mid April
May	Arriving in estuaries across the south and Wales, later in the north	Yes	Estuaries and rough ground
June	Rough-ground fishing peaks late in the month	Yes	Rough ground, crab baits
July	Thinner on inshore rough ground as fish feed over offshore reefs	Yes	Estuaries, at dawn and dusk from the shore
August	Most reported catches in BASS records	Yes	Dawn and dusk; rough ground again late in the month
September	Bigger fish more often; bait fish shoals inshore	Yes	Estuary mouths, broken ground, surf
October	Bigger fish continue; adults start moving to pre-spawning grounds	Yes	As September, on the big spring tides
November	Many adults heading for deeper water; fish still about in mild years	Yes	Southern rough ground and estuaries
December	Can linger to Christmas in the south in mild years	Yes	Southern marks only, in settled weather

The table describes a typical bass season uk anglers see in southern England and Wales. Further north or east, use the coast section below to shift it, and expect a later start after a colder than normal winter (Sea Angler).

If you only have one month, pick September or October for size and August for numbers.

Bass Rules for 2026: Catch and Release, Bag Limit and Minimum Size

The daily bag went up in 2026, from two bass to three. Some angling pages, and one official Welsh guidance document, still say two.

The 2026 rules for England, boat or shore, from the MMO bass guidance:

1 February to 31 March: catch and release only, by rod and line or handline.
The rest of the year: up to three bass per person per day.
Minimum size: 42 cm; every smaller bass goes back.
Nets: no bass may be taken with fixed nets.

Eastern IFCA and North Western IFCA publish the same measures. Bass nursery areas carry extra restrictions under the Bass (Specified Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1990, and local IFCAs can add byelaws.

Nation	Catch and release	Daily bag	Minimum size	Who to check
England	1 Feb to 31 Mar	3	42 cm	MMO on GOV.UK and your local IFCA
Wales	1 Feb to 31 Mar	3 from 1 April 2026	Check Welsh Government	Welsh Government
Scotland	Check	Check	Check	Marine Directorate
Northern Ireland	Check	Check	Check	DAERA

The Welsh law raising the bag to three came into force on 27 February 2026 (Wales Sea Bass Advisory Group note); the January 2026 Welsh guidance PDF predates it and still says two.

Limits are agreed in annual UK-EU talks; for 2026, ICES advised up to 5,180 tonnes of removals against 2,776 tonnes for 2025 (Angling Trust and BASS statement). The 2027 measures are not yet agreed. For the stock story, read why UK bass fishing is improving; for the wider rules, see our bass fishing regulations and UK fishing seasons guides.

Measure every fish, and check GOV.UK and your local IFCA before your first trip each year.

Why Bass Come and Go: Migration, Spawning and the 9C Line

Bass tagged in the Defra-funded C-Bass project travelled up to 668 km in the southern North Sea, and up to 419 km in the English Channel and the Irish Sea (BASS summary of the research). Fish that roam that far do not hold on one beach all year.

The tagging explains the shape of the season. Channel bass spent late winter in deeper water and returned to shallow inshore grounds from April, the same month the rough-ground fishing starts.

From October to December, adults move to pre-spawning areas in the western Channel, with females seeking water warmer than 9C. That move helps explain why inshore sport thins out as autumn ends.

Spawning starts offshore from February. The researchers think day length, not temperature, triggers it. The February to March catch-and-release period lines up with that spawning time.

C-Bass tracked English Channel fish most closely, so timings on other coasts vary. There is more on the fish itself in our European sea bass species profile.

Sea Angler says the season was once considered to run from mid-May to the end of October. Fish arriving in April and lingering into December stretch the window well beyond that.

Spring and Summer Bass: April to August

August produces the most reported bass in BASS records, so why do rough-ground anglers call July and early August their quiet spell? Because their year peaks in June.

It starts in April. Mike Thrussell Jnr, writing for Talk Sea Fishing in 2020, starts the rough-ground season in early April with the first peeling crab. Sea Angler reports lure bass from early to mid April in Cornwall in a typical year.

Estuary bass arrive later the further north and east you go. Talk Sea Fishing’s typical dates:

late March in the south
mid April in Wales and Essex
end of April to early May on the East Anglian coast
late May further north

Rough-ground fishing peaks in late June. From July to mid August, many fish leave the inshore rough ground to feed on sandeel and small fish over offshore reefs. Estuaries, where adult bass stay to October even in the north, still fish.

As for August’s big numbers, BASS itself notes they may reflect effort, with more anglers out in summer. Its records also show dawn and dusk as the most successful shore periods.

Peeler crab and lures both have their months here; the how-to sits in our bass fishing techniques guide.

Best for: crab-peel rough ground from April to June. Skip if: you plan midday sessions on inshore rough ground in bright high summer.

Autumn Bass Fishing: Why September and October Produce the Biggest Fish

BASS member records show bigger bass often turn up in September and October; August only wins on numbers.

Autumn bass fishing pays because the fish are building condition before the October to December move to pre-spawning grounds described in the migration section above. At the same time, shoals of whitebait, sandeel and sprat push inshore, and bass follow them.

Fish estuary mouths on a dropping tide, and broken ground with white water after a blow. Rough ground comes back into play from late August, according to Talk Sea Fishing.

The conditions to watch for:

overcast skies rather than bright sun
a light onshore wind
white water over broken ground as a blow eases
dawn and dusk from the shore

BASS records add two points. From a boat, tide state seems to matter more than time of day, and spring tides are slightly more likely to produce overall.

Surface lures work at first and last light, slower soft plastics suit rough water, and peeler crab, worm, mackerel or squid all catch in the surf. The detail is in our bass fishing techniques guide.

The end can be abrupt. Sea Angler reports that autumn fishing in Norfolk and Suffolk often stops suddenly, while Talk Sea Fishing says fish can linger to Christmas in the south in milder years. Then the cod season guide takes over for winter shore anglers, and the UK fishing seasons calendar covers other species.

If you can fish only a handful of autumn tides, pick big springs at dawn after a blow has settled.

Bass Fishing From Rocks Through the Season

Rock marks can fish at their best in June and October and go quiet in July. Bass fishing from rocks follows the food, so a single season’s diary from one angler is a poor guide to it.

The pattern below comes from Talk Sea Fishing’s rough-ground advice. Expect it to run later on northern coasts.

Period	What the rocks do
April to June	Crab peel draws bass onto rough ground, peaking in late June
July to mid August	Fewer fish inshore as they feed over offshore reefs
Late August to December	Bass back on the rocks, until Christmas in milder years

Conditions matter as much as the month. Talk Sea Fishing favours big spring tides, overcast skies with a light onshore wind, and low water around dawn or dusk. BASS records back both the dawn and dusk timing and the spring tides.

Rock ledges carry real risk. Check the tide time and the swell forecast before you go, and never fish a ledge alone in a big swell. For tackle, marks and getting down safely, see our rock fishing guide.

Fish the rocks in the crab-peel months and in autumn after a blow; in July and early August, when the fish are out over the reefs, try the estuaries instead.

Adjusting the Calendar to Your Coast

Three local signs tell you more than any date: the first peeling crab, the first sandeel shoals, and a run of mild weather in late autumn.

Typical angler experience, from Talk Sea Fishing (2020) and Sea Angler:

Coast	Typical start	Typical end	Notes
South and south-west England	Late March (estuaries) to mid April (Cornwall lures)	Can linger to Christmas	Longest season; odd fish in mild winter spells
Wales and Essex	Mid April (estuaries)	Varies	A little later than the south
East Anglia	End of April to early May	Often ends suddenly	Norfolk and Suffolk autumn sport can stop abruptly
Northern England	Late May	October	Shorter, later season
Far north of Scotland	Late June	Late October	Shortest season

Talk Sea Fishing also says bass can be caught year round south of a rough line from Cumbria to North Yorkshire. To read your own coast:

Start from the BASS window: end of April to end of October.
Shift it earlier and longer in the south-west and Wales, later and shorter in the east and Scotland.
Watch for the three signs above.
Note the tide state whenever fish come.

The south-west starts first and finishes last; the east coast starts late and can stop without warning.

Winter Bass and the February to March Catch-and-Release Period

You can legally fish for bass on a February night, but you cannot take one home. Is it worth going?

Only on the right coast. Adults move to deeper pre-spawning water from October to December and spawn offshore from February (C-Bass), so winter catches are local and depend on the weather. Sea Angler puts mild spells in the south-west as your best bet, and reports occasional fish in February.

From 1 February to 31 March, every bass is catch and release only in England, boat or shore, and in Wales, as set out in the rules section above.

If you do catch one, give it the best chance of swimming away:

wet your hands before handling it
keep it in or close to the water
unhook it quickly; barbless or crushed barbs make this easier
support its body for any photo
release it facing into the current

Best for: anglers on south-western coasts during mild spells. Skip if: you only want fish for the table.

Frequently asked questions

When is bass season in the UK?

For most anglers, bass season runs from the end of April to the end of October, and longer in the south-west, based on BASS member records. There is no ban on fishing, but in 2026 the period from 1 February to 31 March is catch and release only in England and Wales.

What is the best month for bass fishing?

August produces the most reported catches in BASS records, but that may reflect the number of anglers out in summer. For bigger fish, September and October are the best months. The autumn section of this guide covers where and when to fish.

When is the closed season for bass?

There is no closed season on fishing for bass for recreational anglers. Instead, 1 February to 31 March is catch and release only, according to MMO guidance. Bass nursery areas and local IFCA byelaws can add further restrictions, so check with your local IFCA.

How many bass can I keep in 2026?

You can keep three bass per person per day outside February and March in England, each at least 42 cm. Wales allows three from 1 April 2026; check the size rule with the Welsh Government. In Scotland, check with the Marine Directorate. In Northern Ireland, check with DAERA.

Do the bass rules change every year?

Yes. Recreational bass limits are set through annual UK-EU negotiations and then amended by regulation; in 2026 the daily bag rose from two fish to three. The 2027 rules are not yet agreed, so check GOV.UK before your first trip each year.