Early Autumn Update: Fishing in Wales

After a long and exceptionally warm summer the vibrant colours of autumn are now sweeping across Wales early in 2025, with anglers soon to be greeted with a fresh chapter in the fishing calendar.

Shorter days, cooler waters, and well needed autumn rains have brought with them exciting opportunities for coarse, sea and game fishing across our rivers, lakes, and coastline.

Game Fishing

Autumn signals the final stretch for salmon and sea trout fishing, with their season ending on October 17th. Many rivers, such as the Teifi, Conwy, Mawddach and Towy, are now seeing fish moving upstream on the higher water generated by the autumn rains.

This is the time to try larger flies or spinners, particularly on a dropping river, taking heed of the NRW bylaws. Many clubs have a compulsory C&R rule for all sea trout after September 1st and of course all salmon must be immediately released.

Anecdotally, sea trout (sewin) fishing this year has been reported as being fairly good by some anglers, a positive sign considering the chronic lack of water this summer. Numbers of sewin are showing in the catches at the moment, on a wide range of rivers throughout Wales.

Some Salmon are also being caught on the major systems, such as the Usk, although in lower numbers.

After a very challenging summer brown trout fishing remains productive until the end of the season, with the 30th September being the end date on the rivers. The rains have already triggered some of the better brown trout to feed, with the fishing expected to be vastly improved as we move through to the end of September.

Wild brown trout natural lakes for the most part stay open until 17th October, with a few exceptions that close earlier.

Our many stillwaters, reservoirs and fisheries that hold rainbows and other stocked trout varieties are really coming into their own now, as temperatures cool.

The back end of September can often be one of the best times for our lake trout fishing, with many venues re-stocking with good numbers of fish.

> FIND PLACES TO GO GAME FISHING HERE

Coarse Fishing

For coarse anglers, autumn can be one of the best times of year. The Wye system has had a much needed re-fresh, it is here that barbel and chub anglers will be delighted, with improved catches already reported from many of the Passport beats and angling club waters.

Carp fishing can be very fruitful too, especially during the early part of autumn before the colder weather sets in. Autumn storms and low pressure fronts can really trigger big carp to feed, making it an exciting time of year.

Welsh carp are getting bigger too, with a new 49lb 15oz ‘Wales biggest carp‘ reported recently.

Grayling, such a provider of obliging sport in a number of Welsh rivers are now making an appearance again. These delicate fish prefer cool water, and the recent conditions will lead to some excellent autumn grayling fishing, with the trotting gear often employed.

The upper Wye and its tributaries are a ‘must visit’ this autumn and let’s not forgot the superb river Dee, which hosts some of the best grayling fishing in the UK.

Our many stillwater pools and fisheries will also be coming back into form, for a multitude of free feeding coarse species, from tench to roach, through to bream and rudd. It really is about variety on these type of waters, for eagerly biting fish.

As water temperatures drop, fish eating species such as pike and perch become increasingly active, with opportunities to fish with lures for these predators, where water temperatures have fallen significantly.

Overall, autumn is a great time to target various coarse fish species in Wales and with the change in conditions prospects are excellent for the future weeks.

> FIND PLACES TO GO COARSE FISHING HERE

Sea Fishing

After the summer doldrums, early autumn weather fronts have whipped up the Welsh coasts, which should provide extra impetus for sea species to feed.

Along the coast, after a slow early summer late season bass fishing remains strong, especially for anglers fishing afloat offshore and should go well into autumn.

It is anticipated when the current winds and swell die off, shore lure fishing will kick into higher gear for this species. 2025 seems to be running later than it did last year from a bass point of view, so the best may be yet to come.

Flounder begin to make their appearance in our many estuaries, providing great sport through the colder months.

Summer species are still here in great numbers, especially smooth-hound, which have seen huge numbers caught this year. Shore caught tope have been a fairly common catch throughout the summer.

Huss, rays, conger, pollack and pouting could all figure in your catches in September and beyond, depending on where you in Wales.

Codling and whiting will also become more abundant as the season progresses, giving sea anglers plenty to look forward to on both boat and shore trips.

> FIND PLACES TO GO SEA FISHING HERE

An early autumn in Wales is not only a feast for the eyes with its stunning scenery, but also a rewarding time for anglers of all disciplines.

Whether you’re chasing sea trout, casting for bass, or targeting barbel, this season could offer something you truly special.

Llinellau Tynn – Tight Lines 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🎣

Image locations (starting from top)

Talybont Reservoir, River Taff, Crai Reservoir, Llyn Cae Ty Nant Syndicate, River Monnow, Carmarthen Bay, Aberthaw