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Overview of South East byelaws

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

The South East is divided into 2 byelaw areas 鈥� Thames and Southern byelaw.

Thames byelaw area

This byelaw area includes all waters within the River Thames catchment. It includes the Thames, Darent and Cray, Wandle, Lee, Roding, Mole, Wey, Colne, Kennet, Cherwell, Windrush and Coln, and the Cotswold Water Park. It excludes the River Medway catchment.

Southern byelaw area

This byelaw area includes all waters within river catchments that flow into the English Channel, from Highcliffe (Dorset) in the west and eastwards to the Thames estuary. It includes these river catchments 鈥� Medway, Great Stour (Kent), Rother, Cuckmere River, Sussex Ouse, Adur, Arun, Wallington, Meon, Hamble, Itchen, Test, Beaulieu, Lymington and river catchments on the Isle of Wight.

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

When and where you can fish

Dates are inclusive

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.

Close season rules

National and local close season rules (when you must not fish) apply across both the Thames and Southern byelaw areas.

In the Thames byelaw area:

• the national coarse fish close season, from 15 March to 15 June, applies to rivers, streams and drains
• the national coarse fish close season applies to fishing for eels in rivers, streams and drains, but there is no close season on the tidal River Thames downstream of the Thames Barrier
• the close season for brown and rainbow trout in rivers, streams and drains is 1 October to 31 March
• there is no close season for brown trout in fully enclosed waters or for rainbow trout in all stillwaters
• the close season for salmon and migratory trout in all waters is 1 October to 31 March

In the Southern byelaw area:

• the national coarse fish close season, from 15 March to 15 June, applies to coarse fishing and fishing for eels in rivers, streams and drains
• the close season for brown and rainbow trout in rivers, streams and drains is 1 November to 2 April
• there is no close season for brown trout in fully enclosed waters or for rainbow trout in stillwaters
• the close season for salmon in all waters is 3 October to 16 January
• the close season for migratory trout in all waters is 1 November to 30 April

Canals and stillwaters with a close season

The canals in the Thames and Southern byelaw areas that have a close season for coarse and eel fishing (15 March to 15 June) are:

• the Kennet and Avon Canal, downstream of its confluence with the River Kennet at Kintbury
• the Lee Navigation, upstream of Aqueduct Lock
• 2 designated stretches of the Basingstoke Canal, from to , and from to
• the Wey Navigation

The Regents Park Canal, Grand Union Canal, Lee Navigation (downstream of Aquaduct Lock) and the Oxford Canal have no statutory close season.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) with a close season in the South East

Some stillwaters are designated SSSIs. You are not allowed to fish at the following waters during the close season, from 15 March to 15 June.

Bedfordshire

Houghton Regis Marl Lakes 鈥�

Berkshire

Water	OS grid reference
Heath Lake
Rapley Lakes	, 鈥� within Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths SSSI
Swinley Park and Brick Pits	,
Wasing Wood Ponds	,
Wraysbury and Hythe Gravel Pits

East Sussex

Water	OS grid reference
Ashburnham Park
Ashdown Forest - Pippingford Lakes only
Eridge Park
Herstmonceux Park
Pett Level

East Sussex, Kent

Walland Marsh (Royal Military Canal) 鈥� to

Essex

Water	OS grid reference
Abberton Reservoir
Colne Estuary

Gloucestershire

Water	OS grid reference
Frampton Pools
Soudley Ponds
Cotswold Water Park	to

Greater London

Water	OS grid reference
Mid Colne Valley
Brent Reservoir
Denham Lock Wood

Hampshire

Water	OS grid reference
Alresford Pond
Avon Valley (Bickton-Blashford)
Bramshill
Fleet Pond
Lower Test Valley
Shortheath Common
Southampton Common
Titchfield Haven
Warren Heath Ponds	,
Castle Bottom to Yateley Common
New Forest 鈥� Cadman's Pool	SU229121
New Forest 鈥� Hatchet Pond
New Forest 鈥� Little Hatchet Pond	SU364011

Hampshire, Surrey

Basingstoke Canal 鈥� to and to

Kent

Water	OS grid reference
Dungeness
Holborough to Burham Marshes
Marden Meadows
North Warren and Thorpeness Mere 聽聽聽聽聽聽
Medway Estuary and Marshes	Excluding Stoke Angling Club reservoir and section of the Delph Ditch , and Abbot's Court northern 2 lakes
Oldbury and Seal Chart
Orlestone Forest
Romney Warren
Sandwich Bay	, excluding Cottington Lakes , and Finglesham Ponds
Scotney Castle
Sevenoaks Gravel Pits
South Thames Estuary and Marshes	, excluding Beckley Hill ponds
Stodmarsh
The Swale, excluding Murston pits
Walland Marsh

Oxfordshire

Wychwood 鈥�

Surrey

Water	OS grid reference
Ash to Brookwood Heaths	, , ,
Bookham Commons
Chobham Common
Epsom and Ashtead Commons
Godstone Ponds	,
Hedgecourt
Langham Pond
Ockham and Wisley Commons	, , ,
Papercourt	, ,
Puttenham and Crooksbury Commons	,
Staines Moor
Vann Lake and Ockley Woods
Whitmoor Common
Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons	, ,

West Sussex

Water	OS grid reference
Arun Banks
Arundel Park
Buchan Hill Ponds
Burton Park
Cow Wood and Harrys Wood
Ebernoe Common
Forest Mere
Shillinglee Lake
St Leonards Ponds
Wakehurst and Chiddingly Woods	,
Waltham Brooks	,

Wiltshire

Coate Water 鈥�

Rods, tackle, lures and baits

Rods and nets

See the national byelaws for rules on:

• the number of rods you are allowed to use
• using landing nets, keepnets, gaffs or tailers

Tackle, lures and baits

National byelaws on lead weights apply in the South East.

National byelaws on using tackle, lures and bait apply in the South East, in addition to the local byelaws.

These 4 local byelaws also apply:

1. In the Thames byelaw area, you must not fish with any form of gorge bait. A gorge bait is a piece of stick, plastic or bone hidden in the bait parallel to the line. When swallowed, a tug on the line causes the gorge to turn sideways in the fish鈥檚 throat.

2. In the Thames byelaw area, you must weigh fish as close as possible at the point of capture.

3. In the Thames and Southern byelaw areas you must only fish for sea trout, trout or rainbow trout with an artificial fly or lure during the coarse fish close season. In the Thames byelaw area, you may also use a minnow, provided it is caught from the same water with a minnow trap. The minnow trap must be authorised by the Environment Agency 鈥� please call 03708 506 506 (see call charges).

4. In the Thames byelaw area, you must not use more than 3 separate hooks attached to the same rod and line. You must not use any device that is designed to hook a fish automatically.

Catch limits, size limits and catch returns

Salmon and migratory trout catch limits

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

• Ems, West Sussex
• Meon, Hampshire
• Medway, Sussex and Kent
• Stour, Kent
• Thames

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

Coarse fish and eels catch limits

National byelaws apply across the South East.

Trout size limits

In the Thames byelaw area you must not take any trout that are less than 25cm (measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail).

In the Southern byelaw area, you must not take any trout less than 23cm, and migratory trout less than 38cm (measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail).