Coarse fishing in Wales

Come to Wales to go wild. Though we’re not short of quality commercial fisheries between the carp-rich lakes of Llyn y Gors on Anglesey and White Springs near Swansea, our wild coarse fishing attracts most anglers. Expanses of water like Llyn Maelog on Anglesey, Llyn Tegid and Llyn Trawsfynydd in Eryri (Snowdonia) or Llangorse Lake in Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) are geared towards the visiting angler.

You can also try a fishing holiday - Nine Oaks Fisheries in Llanarth offers on-site self-catering accommodation, novice lakes and family fishing lessons galore. Or Lake House Holidays on Anglesey has self-catering cottages with two on-site course fishing lakes.

Search for fishing lakes across Wales

Search for fishing holidays across Wales

man sat fishing at edge of lake.
man fishing by lake.

Llyn y Gors, Anglesey, North Wales

So legendary is our pike fishing that a 46lb 30z brute landed at Llandegfedd Lake in 1992 has never been bettered in the United Kingdom. For gentler casting join fishing celebrities like Matt Hayes and Martin Bowler on the Wye, the nation’s favourite river. Barbel, river pike, chub and grayling are fished using a passport scheme on a catch-and-release basis. The memories are yours to keep.

Game fishing in Wales

Catching a fish is the easy bit. The problem of game fishing in Wales is where to go: intimate brook, bucolic river or mountain lake?

The celebrated River Usk trickles from the Black Mountains above Sennybridge, running through ancient forests and over red bedrock to the wide, fast flowing freestone runs from Brecon downstream. During March to September it’s the loveliest game river in Wales; as beautiful as it is bountiful, with truly wild Welsh brown trout the main prize.

Not just the Usk though! Our hundreds of rivers offer wild trout, sea trout, grayling and salmon, from the mighty Afon Dee in the North, to the sedate Teifi in the West; the Queen of Welsh rivers.

With over 500 to choose from, let’s not forget the picturesque lakes of Wales, a paradise for trout fishing enthusiasts. Nestled amidst stunning landscapes, these serene, crystal-clear waters reflect the verdant surroundings of mountain, forest and meadow.

From the ornate dams of the Elan Valley to the majestic green swathed hill slopes of Llyn Clywedog, each lake will amaze in its tranquillity. The abundant mountain lakes of Yr Eryri are steeped in history and Welsh tradition, here you will find native brown and stocked rainbow trout to fly fish for to your hearts content, whatever your skill level.

Man fishing in front of bridge over the River Usk, Abergavenny.
A small boat in the middle of a lake, with people fishing.

The River Usk at Abergavenny, South Wales, and Llyn Clywedog in Mid Wales

Sea fishing in Wales

No surprise that Welsh sea fishing is the best in Britain. We have over 750 miles of beach, estuary and rocky foreshore. Hire a local guide (the key to a successful trip) and you’ll discover kelp-strewn gullies where monster pollack and wrasse lurk in Pembrokeshire, on the Gower Peninsular and on the Llŷn Peninsula, or will learn where and when to cast for bass or try for flatfish and tope on the sandy estuaries of the Dyfi and Tywi. 

For adventure join a boat charter. Huge conger eels and thornback rays lurk near Cardiff. The cod are back in the Bristol Channel. And in Pembrokeshire there are shark. Skipper Andrew Alsop set a British record when he landed a 222lb blue shark off Milford Haven. Two anglers reeled in a record 88 sharks on one trip. Better still it’s an adventure that’s open to first-timers. If record sharks aren’t enough, then Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna will seriously pull your string! At 900lb and 9 foot long, the UK’s biggest saltwater fish are now being caught just 30 miles off the Pembroke coast.

Search for sea fishing trips across Wales.

Boats moored in a harbour on a sandy beach with a path leading up to colourful houses.
Fishing boats moored in a harbour, with mountains in the background.

Fishing boats in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, and Trefor Harbour, Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales

Need to know more about fishing in Wales?

Visit Fishing In Wales - the website for Welsh angling. Featuring over 1000 fishing locations for sea, game and coarse fishers, the Fishing In Wales website uses intuitive interactive maps, allowing you to find fishing spots and angling facilities in Wales quickly and easily.

Croeso i Pysgota yng Nghymru / Welcome to Fishing In Wales!

A sparkling lake surrounded by woodland and mountains.

Llangorse Lake, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)

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