Private River?

Bernie · Jun 23, 2004

I moved to a small town in North Lincolnshire a few months ago and have eagerly been waiting for the fishing season to start so I can try out a river running through it which is round the corner from my house.

I have not tried it yet as I have noticed a sign has been erected saying that fishing is only allowed if you are a member of the local angling club and you must buy a day ticket to fish there.

I was under the impression that by purchasing a rod license I was allowed to fish for free in any public rivers in the UK.... Does anybody know if I am correct to think this or not?

Pete Austin 3 · Jun 23, 2004

rivers are not public,unless the bank is common land.The fishing rights are usually owned by the person that owns the land which the river runs through.On man made drains,the EA usually own,or have control of ten metres of bank from the water,for maintenance purposes.The vast majority of club waters are leased from the Environment agency or land owners.Canals are owned by British waterways,who lease the fishing to clubs.The rod licence DOES NOT entitle you to fish where ever you like,you even need a rod licence to fish in your own back garden pond.

Wolfman Woody · Jun 23, 2004

S'right.

John Hepworth · Jun 23, 2004

Sadly the EA rod licence does not give permission to fish enywhere, just to be able to use up to two rods where permission IS granted.
even if awater is classed as FREE, you can be sure that in most cases someone somewhere will own the fishing rights.

Pete Austin 3 · Jun 23, 2004

on the somerset levels,droves are classed as common land,one mile of a local river has a drove along the bank,this is free fishing as the bank is common land.Either end of the free stretch is privately owned and leased to the local angling club.

jason fisher · Jun 23, 2004

then you've got portmeadow in oxford which is common land but some deranged angling club insist they have the fishing rights to it.

Wolfman Woody · Jun 24, 2004

Then you've got Spade Oak Meadow in Bourne End which is owned by the Council, but the fishing rights belong (by adverse occupation) to the LAA. Further upstream the land is privately owned and the fishing rights are again owned by the LAA, but there's no way they can use them except by boat as the farmer won't let them on his land to exercise their rights to fish. Work that out!

john conway · Jun 24, 2004

Common land does not mean that the public in general have rights of access, access or usage may be tied in with house ownership? In other words if you live in certain properties you become commoners and have specified rights, i.e. you can graze x number of stated animals, collect rushes for thatch or stone for repairing buildings and roads etc. Common land has owners and it’s not the general public. If there are no rights for the commoners to fish then the owner or owners of the common can lease or sell these rights. As far as I know there is no such thing as free fishing without the owners of the lands consent, unlike definitive rights of way which require an act of parliament to remove or create.

Mark Wintle · Jun 24, 2004

Jason,
Port Meadow as far as I can recall belongs to the City of Oxford, and for many years the citizens of Oxford were permitted to fish it, but those from outside had to get permission from the Sheriff of Oxford. It may be that because no-one ever did get permission this was regularised by OCC allowing ODAA to control the fishing. I suspect that ODAA rent other stretches in Oxford from OCC, especially the water through the city. Certainly the grazing rights are only granted to those with commoner's rights. If you want clarification then contact Oxford CC.

To confuse things further, certain commons are designated as "town" commons. If you can establish an unchallenged use of a certain type of recreation for 20 years then you may continue to exercise that right. I have done this on a Dorset common with help from the county solicitor. I had documentary evidence of fishing going back 75 years. You should have seen the look on the face of the mug who rented the fishing when I showed him the town common documentation. Any local could have advised him not to bother.

Pete Austin 3 · Jun 25, 2004

John,on the river near me,the local club has the lease of the fishing rights,except the stretch where a drove classed as common land runs along the bank.There is vehicular access and a public footpath along the drove,no one owns the land,therefore no one has the fishing rights,the ea are responsible for the water,but cannot lease it to clubs,as they do other stretches.Well done Mark on wiping the smile off that blokes mug.

Deck Monkey · Jun 25, 2004

Simple solution (and not mentioning any free fishing elsewhere in the country that would be bog all use to the poor chap!) - find a local tackle shop and ask when in doubt.

Never assume anything is free fishing. Always ask first otherwise you can get yourself in all sorts of trouble.

Wolfman Woody · Jun 25, 2004

"no one owns the land" - I think you will find that someone does! Check with Land Registry.

Mark Wintle · Jun 25, 2004

Jeff is right. If you have "common" land it may be worth finding out what the true position is. All common land had to be registered as such back in 1968, though new pieces of common land could be added since. Each county council has to keep a register of these. If you ask the county council they will provide maps, and details of ownership and commoner's rights. The land registry does not necessarily show who owns the land. If it has not been sold since before about 1974 it may still be unregistered even if it is registered as common land. The right of piscary refers to the right to fish. The land will certainly be owned by someone. I had the most trouble on a piece of land that is both unregistered and not common land yet a right to fish seems to have been established over at least a 100 year period. The game (salmon) rights do belong to someone, but not the coarse rights. I have found that the EA seem to struggle when it comes to legal rights and ownership. They have given some spurious advice in the past, claiming rights that certainly were not theirs.

Wolfman Woody · Jun 25, 2004

There is this little stretch of the Thames, 1320 metres as I measured it, to which the fishing rights were claimed by the LAA back in the 19th century. However they did not acquire a right of access and the present owner of the land faught them in court and won (so he told me). So, they have the rights to fish, but can't use them as they cannot cast a line without crossing the farmers land.

Unless they have a boat!

If you fish a stretch of water for 12 years without being challenged and have all within your power to establish ownership then you too may be granted ownership by adverse occupation. However, if someone coms along and say "I own this land, but you can fish there." that's it. The clock goes back to zero.

John Hepworth · Jun 26, 2004

A similar thing used to happen when I was at school with a footpath. Although it was used by all, the Home Office (Wakefield Prison) used to close it off for one day a year.

Private River?

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