Rules and safety

3

Fish per day

Per angler, from shore or boat, from 1 April to 31 January. The UK limit rose from 2 to 3 in February 2026 and covers Wales and Scotland too.

42cm

Minimum size

Measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Smaller fish must go straight back.

Feb–Mar

Catch and release only

From 1 February to 31 March, every bass goes back, everywhere.

£0

No selling

Recreational anglers may never sell bass, or any other rod-caught fish, without a commercial licence.

Tope

Anglers may catch tope on rod and line, but it is illegal to land a rod-caught tope in England (Tope Order 2008). Unhook it in the water. Wales has its own matching order, so treat tope as release-only there too.

Skates and angel shark

Common (flapper) skate, white skate and angel shark are protected. Release them at once, with as little handling out of the water as possible.

Undersized fish

Return them straight away, alive. Use a wet hand or a mat, unhook quickly, and don't throw fish from height: lower them in a drop net from piers and walls.

Good practice

Return wrasse, smoothhound, big female rays and big bass, even when you could legally keep them. Flatten barbs for release fishing.

No sea licence

You don't need a licence to sea fish from the shore or a boat in England or Wales.

Rod licence in rivers

You do need an Environment Agency (England) or Natural Resources Wales rod licence if you fish for salmon, sea trout, freshwater fish or eels, including in tidal rivers. Flounder fishing up the Mersey or Tyne is fine; targeting sea trout is not.

Piers, ports and harbours

These are private property with their own rules. Seaforth needs a permit; some piers are club-only, closed for repairs, or ban casting in summer. Check before you travel.

Digging bait

You can dig lug and rag and collect crab for your own use on most foreshores. Backfill the holes, put rocks back the way up you found them, and keep clear of signed protected areas and bird roosts. Don't eat shellfish gathered from the shore unless the bed is classified as safe.

Protected sites

Flamborough Head, parts of the Northumberland coast and Anglesey are marine protected areas. Angling is generally allowed, but check NE IFCA, NIFCA or Welsh Government byelaws for local restrictions.

Charter boats

On a charter, the recreational rules still apply to you: the same bass limit, the same sizes, and tope goes back.

A tub of seawater

Drop a fish into a tub of seawater, recast your pre-baited trace, then unhook the fish calmly. It's kinder and you lose less fishing time.

Deep-hooked flatfish

Slide a disgorger down the line to the hook and push it free. If it's deep in the gut on a fine-wire hook, cut the line close instead: the hook rusts out.

Dogfish

Hold the tail and head together in one hand, so it can't wrap round your wrist and rasp you with its skin.

Conger

Slide your hand up inside the gill cover for a safe hold, or use a T-bar to take the hook out at the side of the pier.

Bass, bream and weever spines

Hold small bass by sliding a finger inside the gill cover, avoiding the spiny dorsal fin. Never handle weever without a cloth or pliers.

A string of mackerel

Hold the lead, keep the string tight and sideways, and point the rod tip away. Unhook one fish at a time.

Seals

Once a hooked fish is at the surface, lift it out quickly. If a seal settles in, move on, and check the leader for teeth marks.

Never turn your back on the sea

On a low rock ledge, watch every set of waves and wear the lifejacket. A bigger wave always comes. Plan your way off before high water.

Hold the rod on rough rock

On rough NE rock, hold the rod high rather than using a tripod, so the line stays off the rock and barnacles. Over shallow rock, keep winding with the rod high so the fish stays up in the water.

Snagged?

If a hooked fish snags, give it slack: it often swims out. To pull free a snag with no fish on, wrap the line round a braid handle or rod rest and walk back, with your face turned away. A lead can fly back.

Wet weed is lethal

Weed-covered concrete and rock are like ice once rain or spray wets them. Wear studded boots.

Storms change beaches

After big storms, re-walk even a familiar beach in daylight. New gullies and sandbanks can form and cut you off behind them on the flood.

Lifejacket care

Use 150N for coastal fishing and always fasten the crotch strap. Service self-inflating jackets as the maker says (about every 3 years) and carry a spare cartridge.

Remote ledges

A handheld VHF on the local channel gives weather and is a backup when there's no phone signal.

Digging bait

Watch for soft mud in old diggers' trenches, check the tide, tell someone where you are, and fill your holes in.