Just because the towpath for the public is free, doesn't mean you can fish for free too. Here you'll find information about why this is the case, and what you'll need to consider before you fish.
Fishing rights are legal property. The owner of the river, canal or reservoir stillwater bed is assumed to own the fishing rights above the bed of the fishery. But it's not really that simple. Ownership of fishing rights in the water can be separated from the ownership of the land. In the strict legal sense, the public only has a right to fish for free in the officially recognised fully tidal parts of rivers and in the sea, except where an individual owns a private right of fishery.
So, while the fishing might be free, you need to be aware that you don't necessarily have a right to access the estuary or the shoreline. The landowners are quite within their rights to charge a fee to access their land. Although, in theory, you could get access by boat. By law since no public fishery can exist in waters that are not tidal. Even where a public right of navigation exists, this doesn't give you the right to fish.
So, in inland fisheries, the fishing rights are owned by someone. Some owners might choose to allow the public to fish free of charge or, for a variety of reasons, choose to take no actions against people fishing in their waters.
Donate now provide access to nature and angling skills for thousands of children, mums, dads, and grandparents. Fishing rights on canals are privately owned, mostly by us, because we own most of the canals in England and Wales. You can find out which angling clubs control which stretches of canal using our fishery search. The same rules apply if you want to fish from your boat , as your boat licence does not give you any right of fishing. In other words, you don't have to physically steal the fish to commit an offence.
