Darren Hawen
Senior Member & Supporter
That’s a bargain Terry. I’ve not fished the Teme or Warks Avon but if I lived a bit closer I definitely would, from what I’ve seen of them they are just the types of river that I love fishing.
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Free fishing, how to find it..
- Thread starter Darren Hawen
- Start date
John Hasler
Senior Member
Another possible way is if the river has its own conservation group that carries out water quality monitoring, riverfly surveys etc. They will know the owners as they arrange access etc for the volunteers.
Mark Swaby
Senior Member
When it comes to unknowns as you say a land registry search and Raparian owner is the only way we know to get correct information. We will be having to go through it with our club to check on our opposite banks on a couple of our fisheries and its not cheap. I can understand why you are looking for a cheaper/ free search .
Darren Hawen
Senior Member & Supporter
Downloaded the Ordnance Survey APP onto my phone, very helpfully it gives the farm names along the rivers & obviously locations, I’ve now got a couple to investigate.
A google search with farm name + area will produce the address as well if you’re looking at somewhere not too local.
Darren Hawen
Senior Member & Supporter
Or just google maps, although after comparing the 2, OS maps show farms that are not shown on google maps.
Steve Lewis
Senior Member
I don't know if this is stating the obvious or not, but for what it's worth - unless there are signs which specifically state NO FISHING, generally any waterways that run by and through land "owned" by the respective local authority (so basically your town centres and immediate outskirts) are free. The only issue there (and it won't be an issue for everyone, but I know I wouldn't go anywhere near them) is you have to be a bit of a masochist and put up with constant passers by, the occasional audience, and the very occasional hostility. But, tempering that, some VERY big fish inhabit these waters - I've seen 30lb carp and pike in (and out) of the Bristol Avon in Bath, for example, and the lengthy free stretches in and around Malmesbury down to Chippenham and Bradford on Avon still offer the best chance of 2lb+ roach, and there are numerous vids on YouTube of people winkling out big fish of several species from Canary Wharf and the like. There must be tens of miles of free fishing in London.
Paul Collins
Senior Member
There's loads of great fishing available in London, the major problem is the draconian parking charges, if you can park at all. It will soon even cost approaching £20 to go inside the North circular road, thanks Khan.
My best free fishing is the Colne near Watford. Anywhere from the M1 down. Great access and last time I was there still mostly free parking.
My best free fishing is the Colne near Watford. Anywhere from the M1 down. Great access and last time I was there still mostly free parking.
Graham Shaw
Senior Member
And go somewhere where you can't see other peoples' tackle, lack of unhooking mats, and poor fish-handling, fish-resting skills. If they do come into sight in the distance, don't watch them.
Having said that, my last 13 barbel - so in fact all my barbel in 2020 - have been from free fishing in Leeds city centre.
Peter Bowles
Senior Member
Hi Neil, sorry to bother you but do you have a link for the free or EA controlled stretches please .. I cant find any of them on the EA website.
Cheers Peter
Neil Smart
Senior Member
No bother Peter, if you go to the Birmingham Angling Assoc:: forums and look up Where To Fish, Uckinghall pond, you will see how to get there. The Severn runs behind the fishery, park in BAA car park.
Never fished the Upton EA stretch but pretty sure it's downstream of the town.
atb
Never fished the Upton EA stretch but pretty sure it's downstream of the town.
atb
Peter Bowles
Senior Member
Cheers mate , I will have a look at that.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Dead easy. Hop on a ferry to France. Buy a Carte de Peche and the whole country's river system is at your disposal 
Back in the UK I did most of my fishing on free waters mainly in and around Yorkshire. There are lots of rivers where the owners of the bank do not enforce their rights and so the water can be fished without charge. Much of the River Dearne falls under the NCB Residuary body and when I was over at their HQ on Police business I enquired about the fishing rights. They weren't in the slightest bit interested in who accessed the banks or fished the water. Same in Sheffield where the Local Authority own much of the Don and tributaries where it passes through derelict land. In Huddersfield you can, or could, fish for trout and grayling right in the town centre on communal land that borders the River Holme. Derelict canals as another source of good fishing. If there are no signs to the contrary it is likely that the owners don't care.
Regards farmers giving access When I used to go asking for shooting rights I always dressed in Tattershall check shirt and decent trousers, not T shirt and jeans. Looking the part gives a good first impression. Sometimes farmers do not own the land and cannot give permission or the permission to fish could be bundled into wider sporting rights that are leased to syndicates. But if you don't ask, you don't get.
I once got permission on a small farm bordering the River Don near to Penistone, but lost it because the locals saw us fishing and assumed that they could too.
Back in the UK I did most of my fishing on free waters mainly in and around Yorkshire. There are lots of rivers where the owners of the bank do not enforce their rights and so the water can be fished without charge. Much of the River Dearne falls under the NCB Residuary body and when I was over at their HQ on Police business I enquired about the fishing rights. They weren't in the slightest bit interested in who accessed the banks or fished the water. Same in Sheffield where the Local Authority own much of the Don and tributaries where it passes through derelict land. In Huddersfield you can, or could, fish for trout and grayling right in the town centre on communal land that borders the River Holme. Derelict canals as another source of good fishing. If there are no signs to the contrary it is likely that the owners don't care.
Regards farmers giving access When I used to go asking for shooting rights I always dressed in Tattershall check shirt and decent trousers, not T shirt and jeans. Looking the part gives a good first impression. Sometimes farmers do not own the land and cannot give permission or the permission to fish could be bundled into wider sporting rights that are leased to syndicates. But if you don't ask, you don't get.
I once got permission on a small farm bordering the River Don near to Penistone, but lost it because the locals saw us fishing and assumed that they could too.
Ian Grant
Senior Member & Supporter
You may be aware of this guy, and all the stretches he talks about Darren, there's quite a few of his videos on you tube showing free stretches of the Thames, Parking, access, etc, just put his user name MUCKER671 into the search field he does other videos on battle grounds etc.
Chris Belcher
Senior Member & Supporter
Lots of free fishing on the Colne and Frays . . .cut my teeth on these rivers and there's some fantastic spots that are gratis . . .only problem is dumping your car and the pikees!
Joe Winstanley
Senior Member & Supporter
1. Visit the government website magic.com: https://magic.defra.gov.uk/home.htm
2. Press 'get started' and enter the postcode or place name of the area you wish to search in the white box at the top left of the screen. This will bring up a OS map at 1:10000 which you can zoom in and out of.
3. Click on the tab marked 'land based schemes' on the left of screen. Tick the boxes for 'Agri-Environment Schemes' and 'Forestry and Woodland Schemes', then unclick the boxes marked 'Higher Level Stewardship Target Areas (England)' and 'Higher Level Stewardship Themes (England)'.
4. Approx. 25-30% of the land will be hatched red, orange or a shade of green. Click on the tab marked 'i' on the top of the screen and the cursor changes to a cross with the message 'Click on the Map to Identify Features'.
5. When you click on a hatched area if will bring tell you the name of the business or organisation who has management control (owner or tenant) of the said land parcel.
6. Then a little detective work can be applied to find out the address or main contact- very easy if it's a limited company or a business with a obvious name such as 'Manor Farm Partnership'.
Where possible I recommend writing or emailing farmers and landowners initially rather than cold calling. If you hear nothing back then cold call, Clive's advice is very sound, but I would also add that it is very important to pick your times e.g. don't turn up at a dairy farm during the middle of milking or a sheep farm during lambing or when they are busy silaging, and by the same token on an arable farm during the middle of harvest. If you do then your chances of being given short-shrift may increase exponentially!
Wet days are often the best times to catch people in the yard or in the farm office catching up on paperwork. Avoid weekends on livestock farms as often this is when staff are off and the farmer is likely to be busy. Also avoid August - it's a busy month with harvest and the month when staff with young families often take their leave.
2. Press 'get started' and enter the postcode or place name of the area you wish to search in the white box at the top left of the screen. This will bring up a OS map at 1:10000 which you can zoom in and out of.
3. Click on the tab marked 'land based schemes' on the left of screen. Tick the boxes for 'Agri-Environment Schemes' and 'Forestry and Woodland Schemes', then unclick the boxes marked 'Higher Level Stewardship Target Areas (England)' and 'Higher Level Stewardship Themes (England)'.
4. Approx. 25-30% of the land will be hatched red, orange or a shade of green. Click on the tab marked 'i' on the top of the screen and the cursor changes to a cross with the message 'Click on the Map to Identify Features'.
5. When you click on a hatched area if will bring tell you the name of the business or organisation who has management control (owner or tenant) of the said land parcel.
6. Then a little detective work can be applied to find out the address or main contact- very easy if it's a limited company or a business with a obvious name such as 'Manor Farm Partnership'.
Where possible I recommend writing or emailing farmers and landowners initially rather than cold calling. If you hear nothing back then cold call, Clive's advice is very sound, but I would also add that it is very important to pick your times e.g. don't turn up at a dairy farm during the middle of milking or a sheep farm during lambing or when they are busy silaging, and by the same token on an arable farm during the middle of harvest. If you do then your chances of being given short-shrift may increase exponentially!
Wet days are often the best times to catch people in the yard or in the farm office catching up on paperwork. Avoid weekends on livestock farms as often this is when staff are off and the farmer is likely to be busy. Also avoid August - it's a busy month with harvest and the month when staff with young families often take their leave.
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Darren Hawen
Senior Member & Supporter
Thanks Ian I’ll take a look.
Jon Young
Senior Member
Can you nightfish this stretch? Sure I read somewhere that the house owner doesn’t allow it but I might be wrong
Neil Smart
Senior Member
Don't think there is any restrictions, the house is by the gate that runs alongside the Severn Way, so pretty much public access without any limitations. The pegs when I was last there were sturdy and well made, not your usual BAA offerrings, you can stretch out with all your gear. A few years back there was a new lake created from the aggregates company that runs along this stretch, it seemed to have all the attributes in being something for the future, I would think by now there might be some natural recruitment of fish stocks.
Uckinghall BAA pond is a pleasant venue and although not much by way of Carp contained a variety of species.
The first time I fished there Anthony, my son, caught a double figure grass carp, that typically fought like Hell in the net.
Uckinghall BAA pond is a pleasant venue and although not much by way of Carp contained a variety of species.
The first time I fished there Anthony, my son, caught a double figure grass carp, that typically fought like Hell in the net.
Neil Smart
Senior Member
As a kid I fished a lot of free waters around the Bristol area, including Bath, I guess the best had to be downstream of Poultney Weir where the Roach grew big. Keynsham weirpool for Chub, the Chew for Trout and Grayling, Frome in Bristol is a brilliant fishery too. I love the possibilities that free Urban fishing offer, and very often are better than expensive club waters.
Stephen Cotton
Senior Member
There's a reason why most of the Trent around Nottingham is freeLots of the Trent around Nottingham is free. Bob Roberts guide shows where the stretches are.
I've had some great fishing on some of it!The Ultimate Trent Guide - Bob Roberts - Fishing information for the complete angler
A where to fish guide for the River Trent including day, night and season ticket lengths, who to contact, tackle shops and more.www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk
