Fishing Seasons and Byelaws
For River Bollin, Birkin Brook, Mobberley Brook and Peover Eye and Peover Lakes

Overview of North West and Border Esk byelaws

North West and Border Esk byelaws apply to anyone fishing with a rod and line for salmon, trout, coarse fish, eels, smelt and lamprey.

They apply to all waters within river catchments that flow into the Irish Sea northwards:

from and including the River Mersey catchment, including the River Weaver and River Gowy catchments
to and including the Border Esk catchment, including that area of the Border Esk in Scotland

Principal river catchments include the Weanatinalver, Mersey, Ribble, Wyre, Lune, Kent, Leven, Crake, Duddon, Esk (Cumbria), Irt, Calder, Ehen, Derwent, Ellen, Eden and Border Esk.

These rules apply across the North West and Border Esk, including the area that is in Scotland.

Angling clubs and private fisheries may enforce their own additional rules, but national and local byelaws still apply.

Local Angling Clubs byelaws should be referenced and used in conjunction with National ones.

Close seasons

Dates are inclusive

A close season is the period each year when certain types of fishing must stop to allow fish to breed.

Close seasons apply to rivers, streams, canals, drains and stillwaters.

All dates mentioned in these byelaws are inclusive. This means a stated period, such as 15 March to 15 June, includes the full day of 15 March and the full day of 15 June.

Some angling clubs and private fisheries may make their own close season rules, for example to:

put one in where there is no statutory close season
extend the statutory close season

They cannot remove or shorten the statutory close season.

The annual close season for:

salmon is 1 November to 31 January
migratory trout is 1 October to 31 March
non-migratory trout (not including rainbow trout) is 1 October to 14 March
freshwater fish and eels – national byelaws apply

Coarse fish

The national coarse fish close season (when you must not fish) from 15 March to 15 June applies to:

all rivers, streams and drains
most stillwaters that are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
some canals

Salmon and migratory trout

The annual close season for salmon is 1 November to 31 January, except on the River Eden (including all tributaries and connected lakes and waters), where it is 15 October to 14 January.

The annual close season for migratory trout is 1 October to 31 March.

Non-migratory and rainbow trout

The annual close season for non-migratory trout (not rainbow trout) in all waters (except fully enclosed stillwaters) is 1 October to 14 March.

The annual close season for rainbow trout in all rivers, streams, drains and canals is 1 October to 14 March.

Fishing for brown trout in stillwaters

You can fish all year with a rod and line for brown trout in fully enclosed stillwaters. A fully enclosed stillwater is one which a fish cannot swim into or out of.

There are brown trout close seasons in stillwaters that are not fully enclosed.

Fishing for rainbow trout

You can fish all year with a rod and line for rainbow trout in all stillwaters.

The rainbow trout close season in rivers, streams and drains is the same as for brown trout.

Fish passes

You are not allowed to fish in a fish pass or within a 5m radius of the entrance and exit of any fish pass.

Fishing for eels

The annual close season for eels in non-tidal parts of rivers, streams and parts of rivers that have been canalised (made into canals) for navigation, is 15 March to 15 June.

There is no close season in tidal waters.

Fishing for eels during the coarse fishing close season

You can fish with a rod and line for eels all year in waters with no coarse fishing close season.

You must return any eels you catch, including in coastal waters, to the same water unharmed.

Rules for salmon and migratory trout – river by river

It is illegal to catch and remove any live or dead salmon from these rivers, their tributaries and estuaries:

Mersey, Merseyside
Weaver, Cheshire

You must release all salmon you catch from these waters immediately, with the least possible injury.

Catch limits, size limits and catch returns

The byelaws outlined in this guide are legally enforceable rules for freshwater fishing with a rod and line across England. National fisheries byelaws apply to all waters in England.

Within these byelaw areas, some byelaws apply to the whole area, whereas others apply to one specific water or location.

You must also have permission from the fishery owner to fish and remove fish from angling club waters, private fisheries or waters on privately owned land. Be aware, fisheries may have additional rules.

National byelaws on catch limits and size limits apply across the North West except for:

migratory trout, which must not be less than 30cm
brown trout and char, which must not be less than 20cm

The daily catch limit applies to all rivers, streams and drains in the North West, as well as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater, Derwentwater.

You measure fish from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.

Salmon_outline_-_fork_length_only_edited

Daily catch limit for coarse fish

The daily catch limit applies to all rivers, streams and drains.

Each day, you can take:

a total of 15 coarse fish (barbel, chub, common bream, common carp, crucian carp, dace, perch, pike, roach, rudd, silver bream, smelt or tench, including any hybrids of these species), other than grayling, of not more than 20cm
2 grayling sized between 30cm and 38cm
1 pike of not more than 65cm

You can also take the following fish from rivers, streams and drains:

non-native species
ornamental varieties
minnow
loach
bleak
gudgeon
bullhead
stickleback
ruffe

You need permission from the owner to remove fish from stillwaters and canal fisheries. You must return eels or shad to the same water unharmed.

You must return fish that are not legal to keep, to the same water with as little injury as possible.

You must return fish not legal to keep, that you kept in a keepnet or keepsack, alive to the same water before or when you complete fishing.

You may be fined if you leave fish that are not legal to keep in a keepnet or keepsack after you have finished fishing.

If you catch fish to use as live bait, you must keep them at, and only use them in, the water from which you took them (except where local byelaws do not allow this) - see bait and lures.

You measure the size of a fish from the tip of the snout to the fork or cleft in the tail.

Catching and keeping salmon

It is illegal to catch and remove any live or dead salmon from any waters or banks before 16 June (or later, in some local byelaws) in any calendar year. All salmon caught before 16 June must be released immediately with the least possible injury.

Before 16 June, you can only fish for salmon with rod and line using an artificial fly or artificial lure. You must return all catch unharmed.

It is illegal to sell, or keep with the intention of selling, any salmon or sea trout that has been caught with a rod and line. You can be fined for selling rod and line-caught salmon or sea trout.

Tackle, lures and bait

Types of tackle, lures and bait you must not use

You can fish with up to 4 rods and lines. It depends on what you are fishing for and where (see use of rods).

You can use a landing net to help you land your fish.

You must not use a gaff, tailer, firearm, otter lath, wire, snare, crossline, setline, spear, stroke-haul, snatch or light.

You must get authorisation from the Environment Agency to use any other fishing methods and instruments.

From 15 March to 15 June in rivers, streams and those parts of rivers that have been canalised for navigation:

you are only allowed to fish for migratory and non-migratory trout with minnow, worm, shrimp, prawn or artificial flies or lures
you must not use any lure or bait not on or attached to a hook

Using lures

There are some restrictions on the weight of lures, and the size of hooks attached to lures.

After 31 August, when you fish for salmon or migratory trout using lures:

with double, treble or multiple hooks attached, the gape of each hook should not be more than 8mm and the weight of the lure should be no more than 15g
with or without a separate weight, the total weight must be no more than 30g

Worms and hooks

These are the rules on the number of hooks and hook size when you fish for salmon or trout using worms as bait:

when you use 1 hook attached to a line, the hook must be no more than 40mm in length with a gape (the distance between the point and the shank) of no more than 15mm
when you use 2 or 3 hooks attached to a line, hooks must be no more than 15mm in length with a gape of no more than 8mm
you must not attach more than 3 hooks to a single line
the total weight of any lead weights used to sink the line must not exceed 30g

Foul hooking

You must immediately release any salmon, sea trout, trout or freshwater fish you catch by foul hook from a river, stream, drain or canal.

A foul hook is when a hook catches in the body or fin of a fish, or anywhere other than the mouth or throat.

Keepnets, keepsacks and landing nets

You must not use any keepnet:

with knotted or metallic mesh
less than 2m in overall length
with holes in the mesh larger than 25mm in circumference
with supporting rings or frames more than 40cm apart (excluding the distance from the opening to the first ring or frame)
with rings less than 120cm in circumference

You must not use any keepsack:

made from anything other than soft, dark coloured, non-abrasive, water-permeable fabric
less than 120cm x 90cm (if rectangular), or 150cm x 30cm x 40cm (if used with a frame)

You must not:

hold more than one fish in a single keepsack.
use landing nets with knotted or metallic mesh

You may be fined if you leave fish in a keepnet or keepsack after you have finished fishing.

Use of rods

You must not fish:

for salmon, trout, sea trout and char on rivers and streams using more than 1 rod and line at the same time
for salmon, trout, sea trout and char on reservoirs, lakes and ponds with more than 2 rods and lines at the same time
for coarse fish or eels with more than 4 rods and lines at the same time
with more than 4 rods and lines in total at the same time

When you fish with multiple rods and lines, you must place each rod close together so that the total distance between the outermost fishing rods does not exceed 3m.

It is illegal to leave a rod and line unattended with its bait or hook in the water. You must be in control of your rod and line at all times.

Rods not affected by licence limits

The rods not affected by licence limits (unless they have hooks attached) are:

spod rods (used to propel bait into water)
marker rods (used to mark out lines)

Fishing Seasons and Byelaws For River Bollin, Birkin Brook, Mobberley Brook and Peover Eye and Peover Lakes