Spring Fishing in the UK (Including the Close Season)
By Alex Clayton · Updated 24 October 2026
The river close season lands in spring, but most of the water you can fish stays open. In England, coarse fishing on rivers, streams and drains is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. Most stillwaters, most canals, trout waters and the sea are not.
So spring fishing is less about whether you can fish and more about where. As the water warms, fish that sat tight all winter start moving and feeding, and fishing in spring rewards the angler who picks the warmest water and the right swim.
This guide covers what is open in England, Wales and Scotland, where to fish while the rivers are shut, which species to target from March to June, and how to fish cold spring water. For the full legal dates and exceptions, see our fishing seasons and close season rules.
What You Can Fish in the Close Season: England, Wales and Scotland
One table answers most of the “can I fish here?” question. Find your water type, then read across to your nation.
| Water type | England | Wales | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers, streams and drains (coarse) | Closed 15 March to 15 June inclusive, reopens 16 June | Closed: coarse open season is 16 June to 14 March | Generally no coarse close season, check locally |
| Stillwaters (coarse) | Most open all year, but most SSSI stillwaters and most Broads waters are closed | Open all year, except certain SSSIs | Generally open, check locally |
| Canals (coarse) | Most open all year, some named sections closed | Open all year, except certain SSSIs | Check locally |
| Trout | Open with a rod licence, dates set by regional byelaws | Open, dates vary by water (see the trout section below) | Statutory brown trout season, check locally |
| Sea | Open, but bass is catch-and-release 1 February to 31 March | Open, check current bass rules | Open, check current bass rules |
Sources: GOV.UK local fishing byelaws, Canal & River Trust, Natural Resources Wales.
One Welsh oddity: rivers in the Upper Severn Area have no eel close season, but from 15 March to 15 June you must use hooks with a gape of at least 12.7mm.
The close season protects fish before, during and after spawning, along with their eggs and spawning grounds, according to the Environment Agency. That is why it falls on rivers in spring, when most coarse species are getting ready to spawn.
Whatever freshwater fish you are after in England and Wales, you need a rod licence from age 13, and it is free for 13 to 16 year olds (GOV.UK). See our rod licence rules for who needs one, and the full close season dates and rules for every exception.
Stillwaters in Spring: Where to Fish When the Rivers Shut
River anglers lose three months of their year on 15 March. Stillwater anglers lose nothing, because most lakes and ponds in England never close to coarse fishing. That makes stillwaters the backbone of spring coarse fishing.
The three main types fish differently in spring:
- Commercial fisheries: stocked, open all year and usually the first to wake up, because the fish are used to bait and many lakes are shallow. The Canal & River Trust confirms commercial fisheries stay open through the close season.
- Club and estate lakes: quieter, with more natural stocks. Read the club book before you go, because some clubs set their own spring rules or rest certain lakes.
- Gravel pits and reservoirs: big, deep and slow to warm. Expect hard going in March and April, with better sport later in the spring.
Some stillwaters with nature conservation status, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), keep the close season, and on the rest the owner sets the rules (GOV.UK, Canal & River Trust). A lake with a nature reserve sign on the gate is the one to double-check. Check with the fishery before you travel.
If carp are your target, our spring carp fishing guide covers baits and rigs for this time of year.
Best for: anglers who want bites in March and April. Skip if: you are eyeing a big, deep pit before May, unless you are after predators.
Canals in the Close Season: Mostly Open, With Closed Stretches
Most canals in England stay open right through the close season. The Canal & River Trust says so plainly, so there is no need to pack the pole away on 15 March.
The stretches that do close follow a pattern. They are where a canal joins a river, runs as part of a river navigation, or passes a conservation site. Three examples from the Trust’s list:
- Fossdyke Canal, Lincoln to Torksey Lock
- Kennet & Avon, Kintbury to Reading
- Lee Navigation, Lock 8 Aqueduct Lock to Hertford
The full list is longer and can change, so check the Canal & River Trust close season page before you fish any stretch near a river. Rivers stay closed even where the Trust owns the fishing rights. On canals you may also need a Waterway Wanderers permit or a club ticket.
In Wales, canals have no coarse close season except certain SSSIs (NRW).
Compared with a river swim, a canal gives you many of the same species (roach, perch, bream, pike) but legally from March. Shallow, narrow canal water tends to warm faster than a river, so it is often one of the first venues in an area to start fishing well.
Spring Trout Fishing: Seasons by Nation and Water Type
While coarse anglers are kept off the rivers, trout anglers are just getting going. Spring trout fishing is the main way to fish moving water before mid-June, and the dates depend on your nation.
England. You can fish for trout during the coarse close season with a rod licence (Environment Agency). Brown trout can be fished all year on fully enclosed stillwaters, and rainbow trout on all stillwaters. On rivers, rainbows follow the brown trout close season (GOV.UK). River trout dates vary by region, so check the byelaws for your Environment Agency area on GOV.UK.
Wales. Natural Resources Wales sets these non-migratory trout seasons:
- Most rivers: 3 March to 30 September
- West Wales Fisheries District rivers: 1 April to 30 September
- Upper Severn Area: 18 March to 7 October
- Stillwaters that are not fully enclosed: 20 March to 17 October
- Fully enclosed stillwaters: no brown trout close season
Some named lakes and lower river reaches have their own dates, so check the NRW seasons page for your water.
Scotland. Brown trout have a statutory season, with local variations. Confirm the dates with Fisheries Management Scotland and on your fishery permit.
Salmon and sea trout. In England you need a migratory salmon licence as well as the rod licence. Before 16 June, you may only fish for salmon with artificial fly or lure, and any salmon you catch must be released.
On stillwaters, early-season trout take nymphs and buzzers fished slowly. Later in spring, the mayfly season brings some of the best dry-fly fishing of the year.
Spring Coarse Fishing: Tench, Bream, Perch and Pike
Most spring fishing guides are carp guides in disguise. That leaves out some of the best spring coarse fishing on the waters that stay open.
Tench
Tench are the classic late-spring stillwater fish. They wake up once the water warms in May and feed well into early June before spawning. Fish a float or feeder tight to reed beds and lily pads.
Bream
As the water warms, bream shoals move up from the deep water towards the shallower areas. A feeder over a modest bed of feed suits them, because a big carpet of bait in cold water often goes uneaten. In my experience on Windermere, the bream follow the warming water rather than the calendar, and a steady feeder approach on the shallower shelves works better than heavy baiting.
Perch
Perch feed well in early spring and spawn early, before most other coarse species. Fish small lures or a drop-shot rig slowly around jetties, moored boats and snags. I’ve found that a drop-shot worm worked almost on the spot catches when anything faster gets ignored.
Pike
Pike spawn early in spring and can be weak and vulnerable afterwards. Pike on English rivers fall under the coarse close season, so fish only waters where pike are open and the fishery allows predator fishing. Use strong tackle, carry a long pair of forceps and an unhooking mat, and keep the fish out of the water as briefly as you can. In my experience, slowly fished deadbaits and lures worked along the margins suit this time of year better than fast retrieves.
Roach and rudd also feed in the warming shallows, and they make good spring targets on a float with maggot or caster.
The verdict: start with perch and pike in March, move to bream in April, and save May and early June for tench.
Spring Fishing Month by Month: March to June
Spring covers four months that fish very differently. Use this table to plan your sessions.
| Month | Best waters | Target species | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | Stillwaters, canals, Welsh trout rivers (most from 3 March) | Roach, perch, pike, early trout | English rivers close from 15 March; bass catch-and-release until 31 March; cold snaps |
| April | Commercials, club lakes, stillwater trout fisheries | Perch, bream, roach, trout | Bass bag limit returns from 1 April (3 fish, 42cm minimum); changeable weather |
| May | Shallow lakes, estate lakes, canals | Tench, bream, rudd, trout | Mayfly hatches begin on some waters; fish start to spawn |
| June | Stillwaters, then rivers from 16 June in England | Tench, bream, river coarse fish | Spawning on many stillwaters; river reopening |
March is also the month to sort your tackle while the rivers are shut. Respool reels with fresh line, check rod rings for cracks and grooves, and tie a stock of rigs for the opening weeks.
Northern and upland waters usually run behind the south, so treat the table as a guide and watch your own water. For when each species spawns, see the fish spawning calendar. For carp through these months, read our spring carp fishing guide.
Spring Fishing Tips: Water Temperature, Wind and Light Feeding
Fish are cold-blooded, so a couple of degrees of water temperature matter more than the date on the calendar.
- Fish the shallows first. Shallow, sheltered water warms first and pulls fish in, especially after a few sunny days.
- Read the wind. A cold wind into your bank chills the margins and can switch fish off. A mild wind blowing onto a bank pushes warmer surface water there and is worth fishing into.
- Fish the afternoon. Early in spring, the best spell often comes in the afternoon, after the sun has had time to warm the water.
- Feed little and often. Fish are only starting to feed. A few balls of groundbait or a pouch of maggots beats a big bed you can’t take back.
- Plan for slow days. A hard frost can kill a session that looked good on paper. Downsize hooks and baits on those days.
On Windermere, I’ve found the perch and bream respond quickly to the margins warming, so a sunny, sheltered bay is usually where I start.
Spawning runs through spring and into summer. Most UK coarse fish spawn at roughly 13 to 20C, from about April onwards. If you find fish clearly spawning or guarding nests, move swims. Handle fish full of spawn gently and briefly, and use the fish spawning calendar to plan around it. Nobody needs a photo of a spawn-bound bream that badly.
If the wind turns cold overnight, start in the most sheltered shallow bay you can find.
Sea Fishing in Spring: Bass Rules and What Arrives Inshore
Keep a bass in March and you are breaking the law. From 1 February to 31 March, recreational bass fishing by rod and line is catch-and-release only (GOV.UK bass guidance).
Outside that window, the limit is 3 bass per angler per day, with a minimum size of 42cm. Some bass nursery areas have extra restrictions on top. The rules are reviewed regularly, so check the current GOV.UK bass guidance before you keep a fish.
Every bass caught in February and March goes back, whatever its size. Unhook it quickly, support it in the water and let it swim off on its own. From April, measure any fish you plan to keep against the 42cm minimum before it goes in the bag.
The rest of the sea is open all spring, and the inshore fishing builds as the water warms. Flounder, plaice, rays, dogfish and smoothhound all show from the beach and the boat, and bass move inshore through the spring.
For when bass fishing peaks and how to fish for them, read our bass season guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fish in the close season?
Yes. During the coarse close season you can still fish most stillwaters and canals, trout waters within their own season, and the sea. What you can't do in England is fish for coarse fish on rivers, streams and drains from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. See our fishing seasons rules for the exceptions.
Do I need a rod licence to fish in spring?
Yes, in England and Wales, if you are 13 or over and fishing with a rod and line for freshwater fish, including trout and eels. Licences for 13 to 16 year olds are free. The close season changes nothing about this, and in England the licence applies on private waters too. Buy or check yours on GOV.UK.
Is there a close season in Scotland?
Scotland generally has no coarse close season. Brown trout, salmon and sea trout do have seasons, and salmon and sea trout dates vary from district to district. Confirm the dates with Fisheries Management Scotland and on your fishery permit before you go, because local rules can differ.
When does the close season end?
In England, rivers reopen to coarse fishing on 16 June. In Wales, the coarse open season on rivers runs from 16 June to 14 March, so the same day applies. Trout and salmon seasons have their own dates, set by regional byelaws in England and by Natural Resources Wales.