Northumbrian Water update on fishing

We’re looking forward to welcoming anglers back when fishing returns to some of our Waterside Parks and reservoirs on Saturday 23 May 2020.

Trout fishing

In Northumberland, Kielder Water will re-open for any (bank only, and note Kielder Waterside remains closed), while in County Durham, any method angling will re-start at Derwent Reservoir, Hury Reservoir, as it will at Scaling Dam, in North Yorkshire.

To support social distancing, all banks at Derwent Reservoir, with the exception of the nature reserve, will be open to any method anglers.

Wild brown trout fishing will open at Cow Green, Selset, Balderhead and Blackton reservoirs in Upper Teesdale.

Coarse fishing

Our coarse fisheries at Whittle Dene and Lockwood Beck will open in line with current guidelines. Please do not arrange any matches or knock-ups. 

All angling times are 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

We are opening as many sites as is possible, however, as some members of our Leisure team are currently deployed elsewhere in the business, due to Covid-19, Fontburn Reservoir will remain closed at this time.

As has previously been announced, Grassholme Reservoir was already closed throughout 2020 for safety reasons unrelated to Covid-19 while essential maintenance and upgrade work continues.

No tagged fishing schemes will be operating at the present time, while on-site shops remain closed.

Due to an increase in ground-nesting birds on some sites, we are currently carrying out surveys. With this in mind, please be considerate of this and abide by any signs and guidance displayed on site to avoid any disturbance.

Planning a safe visit:

As we are asking of all visitors, please be respectful of the local communities, stay away from village and residential centres, and strictly observe Government guidelines on social distancing wherever you are.

Please stick to designated footpaths and fishing areas and abide by social distancing guidelines, as well as all signage around the sites, to ensure a safe visit.

On site tackle shops and other facilities will remain closed, so at present we are unable to supply you with bait tackle or permits. Please come prepared.

At Kielder, toilets are only available at Tower Knowe between 9.30am and 5pm.

Our Loyalty scheme will be extended to the end of July 2020. Please keep online receipts so we can add them to your card when our visitor centres can reopen. This extension is subject to review and may be extended further.

To help reduce the risk of infection transmission, there is no need to sign into fisheries or complete catch returns on site at this time. Please email your returns for each water to info@watersideparksuk.com

Permits

Permits must be booked in advance, either on or before the day of the visit, at www.bookwhen.com/watersideparksnorth. : If you are experiencing any difficulty using this site please call the team on 01207 255250, Monday to Sunday from 8am and 5pm.

Happy fishing!