Where you can fish

There are places to fish in Barnsley to suit anglers of all ages and abilities and with varying fishing skills and techniques.  Whether you like to fish a reservoir or commercial water, a canal or river, an urban site or somewhere more remote and picturesque, there’ll be a water in Barnsley that will appeal to you.

The fishing rights on some rivers and other waters are privately owned and you’re not allowed to fish unless you get permission from the owner. 

You can’t fish at night on any of our sites unless the club holding the fishing rights gives you written permission.

For more details about where to fish, you can check 'Rod and Line in Barnsley'. For a copy of this and other leaflets, contact Parks Services.

What you can catch

You can expect to catch a wide variety of fish in waters around the borough, including perch, roach and rudd from the smaller ponds and canals; bream, tench and carp from the larger waters and commercial fisheries; and chub, pike and barbel from the rivers.

Any fish that you do catch should be returned to the water safely and quickly to prevent distress.

Tackle shops also have lots of knowledge about the local waters, so they’ll give you advice on where to fish. You can also ask the bailiff about which methods and techniques work best on the waters you intend to fish.

Before you go fishing

• Adults and children over the age of 12 must have an Environment Agency rod licence, which you can get from post offices or online from the Environment Agency website.  You can buy a rod licence for one day, eight days or a full season. A full season licence expires on 31 March no matter what date you buy it.
  
  
• Children under 12 don’t need a licence, but you may be asked for proof of your age.
  
  
• As well as a licence, you must buy a day ticket or a season ticket for each water you fish. Rules, regulations and day ticket prices vary for each water, so contact the club that controls the fishing to check what they are. They’ll also tell you if there are any fishing matches taking place on their waters that would prevent you from fishing on certain days.

How much it costs to fish

Charges for the different water areas are set by the fishing clubs and will vary depending on where you want to fish. They usually range between £1.50 and £6 a day.

Some clubs sell season tickets which may be used at other waters run by that club.

You need to pay for your day/season tickets in cash to the bailiff.