We extend a warm welcome to all trout anglers. The range of fishing we offer ensures excellent sport for all abilities. Our still water fisheries are among the best in the west and vary in size from around 50 to over 900 acres!
Our fisheries are picturesque and atmospheric lakes, including countless secluded bays, weedy shores and tree line margins to explore. We boast rainbows, browns and a large number of blues of the highest quality. Traditional fly fishing is the rule at our stocked fisheries, although other methods can be used at our free wilderness trout waters.
We are working hard to encourage young people and newcomers to take up the sport. Under 12s may fish for free when sharing their parents’ bag limit. Throughout the season, we host open days and events where we offer free fly fishing tuition for all.
Boats are available at most of our waters which provide an alternative to bank angling. These may be pre-booked and we advise calling in advance to check availability at each fishery.
Most of the waters benefit from facilities designed for disabled or wheelchair anglers, either by platforms or Wheelyboats. These boats must be booked at least 48 hours in advance.
A number of the fisheries have associated local clubs. These are a great way to meet fellow anglers, as well as participating in competitions and social events. We run four competitions during the season with two singles, one pairs and one team of four competition. More details of each of these are available on our competitions page.
Anglers on all our waters must have a valid Environment Agency rod licence which are available from post offices or via the Environment Agency. The only exception may be when attending a bona fide course or a coaching session with a qualified coach – please check beforehand.
South West Lakes Trust is the managing charity of SW Lakes Fishing. The charity is a member of The Angling Trust. In 2014, the South West Lakes fisheries hosted the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships; Scotland took gold and England won silver.
South West Lakes Trust manages a portfolio of nearly 50 lakes and other natural resources so it is not always possible for our wardens to be on the scene when issues occur. The very remote and rural nature of our estate, the thing that makes them so special, also means that modern mobile communications don’t always cover the areas we would like them to. This makes getting an immediate response to ongoing incidents very challenging.
Please use this form to report any incidents of poaching, illegal fishing or any other form of antisocial behaviour to the management team so that we are able to take appropriate action.
Complete Form
Despite trickier weather conditions, lots of fun was had and some great fish landed- in some cases during snow! Lots of surface action spotted and again, it’s great to hear of the social side of fishing being enjoyed, especially at the moment. Read more
First and foremost, I would like to say a big thanks to all the anglers, bailiffs, volunteers and clubs for the warm welcomes I have received - it’s been great and l have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you and look forward to doing more of the same! Read more
Highlights of last week included some fantastic fish at Kennick, both rainbows and brownies, with Martyn G’s rainbow of 4lbs 7oz making best bag of the week. There was also some great great surface action at Burrator, yielding some nice brownies. Fernworthy offered some excellent evening fishing again, with lots of takes in the upper layers and surface making spectacular sport. Read more
All of the South West Lakes trout fisheries are now open for the 2021 season. They continue to operate under strict Covid19 restrictions, in line with the Angling Trust and Government guidelines. This means that the fishing will be available to local anglers only, until the current travel restrictions are lifted. Read more
In 2021 we are starting to build data on how many of the fish caught are stocked and how many fish have been previously stocked or are wild fish that have spawned in Roadford or its tributaries. We have clipped the Adipose fin of our stocked browns for the 2021 season. The adipose fin is located between the dorsal fin and the tail. Read more
Colliford had an unbelievable sport last week -104 fish for 16 rods with fish to 2lbs! Fernworthy also had a great start to the season with rod average of 3.5 fish per person and 50% full bags. Other highlights included G Hext catching 10 Rainbows at Siblyack to 3lb 1oz and Burrator’s consistent sport with rod average of 4.4 per person. Read more
Highlights of last week included a Siblyback rod average of over 4 fish per person! There was also really consistent fishing at Kennick and Burrator with rod averages over 3 fish per person, with 20% of Kennick anglers catching a full bag. Read more
Burrator fished superb on the opening weekend with a rod average over 5! Kennick's rod average was just over 3 fish per person and Stithians' was almost 4 per person. John Rumbold landed a cracking 3lb Rainbow and 2lb 2oz Rainbow at Siblyback and Mr Hext also caught 8 Rainbows in his trip to Siblyback. Read more
At the time of writing, only two of South West Lakes’ rainbow trout fisheries have opened (Kennick and Siblyback), with Stithians and Burrator opening on 5 March for season permit holders and 6 March for day tickets. The brown trout fisheries open on 15 March (Roadford, Colliford, Fernworthy and Wistlandpound). Read more