Please read our rod fishing byelaws before you go fishing.
Byelaws protect fish stocks and fisheries in England and Wales. They apply to all waters, whether they are owned by angling clubs, local authorities or private individuals. Owners may impose additional rules, but they cannot dispense with any byelaws that apply to their water.
National rod fishing byelaws
There are
national byelaws that apply across the whole of England and Wales, and
regional byelaws which only apply locally. You need to read the national byelaws
AND your local regional byelaws before you go fishing.
Regional fishing byelaws
Our regional byelaws have recently changed, and we will soon be uploading them below. In the mean time, please make sure you also read the National Rod Fishing byelaws.
New fisheries legislation
New byelaws have been confirmed by ministers in DEFRA and Welsh Government, requiring 100% mandatory catch and release fishing for salmon and sea trout on the River Wye in Wales and England. The byelaws came into force on Friday 22 June 2012 and will last for 10 years, unless we consider during our mid-term review that they are no longer warranted.
We have been working with Defra and the Welsh Government to reform our over-arching fisheries legislation. This mainly relates to net fisheries and fishery management operations (live fish movements, fish passage and so on). It will only affect rod fishing through new byelaws, which will be listed on this page. For more information, please download our newsletter:
