Do I need a rod licence?

Yes. Anyone aged 13 or over fishing for coarse fish, trout, salmon or eels in England and Wales needs an Environment Agency rod licence, and it is separate from any ticket or membership the water itself needs. Buy it from the Post Office or on GOV.UK.

Is there free fishing?

None of the waters we hold is reported as free beyond a rod licence. That is what we hold rather than what exists, and a free stretch nobody has told us about is the most common gap on this site.

Can I just turn up and fish?

Not at 3 of the 3 waters we hold: those need club membership or a permit bought in advance. The rest are listed above with what each one is reported to need.

Lock and weir fishing near Abingdon

Abingdon sits on the Thames where the Ock joins it, and the town stretch is the best-known free water on this map. The Environment Agency sells a permit for fishing the lock and weir pools it controls on the Thames. It is a separate thing from your rod licence and it is the rule people are most often surprised by.

We hold three waters here: three river stretches. Everything below is within 9 miles.

By permission: three reported as Environment Agency lock and weir water. Nothing here is reported as free to fish.

All of these are reported to carry the river close season, 15 March to 15 June, and are reported closed for it.

We hold no species records for any of these yet.

Everything here was last checked on 25 September 2026.

Map

Every line below is a report with a date on it, not permission to fish. Read the disclaimer.

3 waters

These are reports, not permission. Verify locally before fishing. This site grants no permission to fish.

Questions people ask

Do I need a rod licence?: Yes. Anyone aged 13 or over fishing for coarse fish, trout, salmon or eels in England and Wales needs an Environment Agency rod licence, and it is separate from any ticket or membership the water itself needs. Buy it from the Post Office or on GOV.UK.
Is there free fishing?: None of the waters we hold is reported as free beyond a rod licence. That is what we hold rather than what exists, and a free stretch nobody has told us about is the most common gap on this site.
Can I just turn up and fish?: Not at 3 of the 3 waters we hold: those need club membership or a permit bought in advance. The rest are listed above with what each one is reported to need.

See these on the map Narrow this down Add one we are missing

Below 3 waters a page like this does not publish at all, and a page assembled from a combination like this one also needs those waters to carry real evidence rather than placeholder records.