You should travel to fishing venues on your own or with members of your household – abide by current guidelines on social distancing whilst fishing.

Maintain a distance of at least 2 metres from other people (unless members of your household) in line with government guidance.

Only travel based on what is allowed under current Government guidelines.

You can fish with members of your household or up to 5 other people outside your household – stick to social distancing guidelines at all times.

The Head of Sports Participation at DCMS agreed that the new Angling Trust best practice guidelines were ‘sensible’ and could now be issued as the basis for a safe resumption of match fishing in England from May 25th.

For match fishing, we favour leaving peg spacing to the common sense of match organisers. A 15 metre space would be preferable for pleasure fishing and it is the standard on our river matches but we recognise there are venues where this is impractical.

Sharing equipment is permitted although should be kept to a minimum. If equipment is shared to take someone fishing, you should practice strict hand hygiene, cleaning your hands thoroughly before and after use. Equipment should be cleaned thoroughly in line with wider guidance on hygiene.

The Angling Trust was unsuccessful in attempts to persuade the government to allow the reopening of tackle shops to coincide with the resumption of angling on May 13th. It now looks as iF they will be reopening on June 15th. Tackle shops are able to carry on trading by remote ordering (online, phone text or post).

Do not leave home if you have symptoms of Covid-19 and follow Government advice on self-isolation.

Note that government regulations are country specific and travelling between countries in the UK is currently not permitted though this is likely to change in July. For more information please see following links for specific government guidance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland