Banish all thoughts of fishing being an old man’s sport: increasingly, the younger generations are picking up the rods and bait as well.
And why not? Fishing is famously relaxing – you can while away hours sitting by the side of a river or lake, chatting with friends or indulging in a bit of peace and quiet. And with many of us stressed and perpetually online, it’s no wonder that Google searches for fishing have seen a 26 per cent increase this year. Or that applications for rod licenses rose by 15 per cent at the start of the decade, with women accounting for nearly a third of those numbers in the 15 to 44 age group.
Factor in the influence of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and what you have is a bona fide trend. On TikTok, posts tagged #CarpFishingUK have gained more than 166.1m views — and Gen Z fishing advocates like Carl Smith (whose Fish With Carl YouTube channel has more than half a million subscribers) have helped bring the sport to a younger audience.
The NHS has even started prescribing fishing as a form of therapy, while fishing advocates Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have a programme of their own dedicated to catching carp in beautiful natural locations.
“I fish for many reasons but mainly as I love the peace and tranquility of being outdoors and in nature; being by the water while waiting for a fish to bite is so relaxing,” Bev Clifford, a fishing influencer with 18,000 Instagram followers says.
“There is a great social element to angling, I’ve met so many wonderful people and made great memories. Fishing can be incredibly male-dominated, but we’re seeing a great shift in the number of women getting into fishing in the past five or so years.”
As a sport, fishing is also surprisingly cheap to take up. It only costs £6 for a 24-hour licence, while beginners’ kits rarely cost more than £100. And even better, you don’t have to travel that far outside London to get started.
As younger Brits increasingly swap nights at the pub for days by the riverside with their older peers, we asked Kevin Adams – the author of a new guide to wild fishing — where his top spots near the capital were. Bring on the peace and quiet.
Tring Reservoirs, Hertfordshire
The waters here are well-known for specimen-sized bream, carp, catfish, tench and pike, and also contain good numbers of quality roach and perch. I’m told that the reservoirs hold five UK records, and they’re also well known for their birds. Look out for great crested grebes, swans and herons as you fish, and ducks in winter.
£10, tringanglers.org.uk
Pang River, Berkshire
You’ll find small, free-rising brown trout and rainbow trout on this beautiful chalk stream, and plenty of insect life. As far as I’m aware, you can fly fish how you like; for a change, perhaps forget fly-fishing author Frederic Halford, and his strictures, and go American, fishing a nymph downstream. Cast to the far bank and let the fly swing around, occasionally lifting the rod as it does so. Deadly.
River Bourne, Surrey
As the River Bourne passes through Addlestone it’s only about fifteen feet wide, so it’s a small river. There’s free fishing to be had on the north bank, between Crockford Bridge amd Sayers Court. Trotting and ledgering are generally regarded as the best techniques to start catching some fish here.
Free, facebook.com/BourneAnglers
Ardingly Reservoir, West Sussex
This relatively new reservoir was created in 1978 to keep the local area in water and to regulate the flow of the River Ouse. The reservoir is deep, so the favored angling method here has always been tip fishing with a ground bait feeder. This is still the best method to catch the omnipresent bream shoals: think heavy feeding with crumb. It’s also excellent for
winter pike fishing.
£15, ardinglyactivitycentre.co.uk
River Stour, Kent
Ashford Borough Council lets urban anglers fish their patch of the Stour for free. It’s an enlightened view not shared by Canterbury Council, which discourages angling on its stretch of The Stour. Give it a go and you’ll encounter the usual coarse fish, and perhaps a trout or two. Please do fish the river or else the Ashford Stour might end up following the puritanical fate of the Canterbury Stour.
Free, kentishstour.org.uk
Wild Fishing: Britain's 700 Most Beautiful, Secluded & Affordable Places to Fish, by Kevin & Jill Adams, is out now (£18.99, wildthingspublishing.com). Readers can receive 20% off and free P&P with discount code LondonStandard.
