Angling
As an island nation, we have a long history of sea angling and millions of people have done at least some fishing in the sea. For many, this has simply involved buying a handline and some feathers and trailing them behind a small boat or off the end of a pier. There are hundreds of species of fish in the UK's coastal waters and thousands of places to go fishing. The vast majority of the coastline is free to access and you don't need a permit or a rod licence to go sea angling. This makes it one of the easiest ways for beginners to learn how to fish.
Coarse Angling is the most popular type of angling in England and most people live within a few miles of a river, canal, lake or pond where they can catch coarse fish.
Game angling is the term used for fishing for game fish: trout, sea trout, salmon and char. All other freshwater fish are called coarse fish, mainly because they are not usually eaten. This distinction is not very precise: grayling are pursued by both game and coarse anglers. Also, most game anglers release the majority of the fish they catch nowadays, to preserve fish stocks.
Everyone who goes fishing in freshwater in England and Wales must have a rod licence and you can buy yours online from the Environment Agency.
