Since deciding to come back to trout fishing after a break of over 30 years, I've spent some time with my friend Google, sussing out the trout fishing opportunities in East Yorkshire and apart from several fisheries which are certainly not of interest to me or prohibitively expensive impossible to join club waters, there is almost nothing.
I have found some good pike fishing ( well it was just over 20 years ago when I fished it one time only) but it seems that I need to travel much futher afield to find the kind of waters that I once fished.

I have a caravan sited just over a hundred miles from here, not far from Weardale up in County Durham ( where I'm originally from) so it looks like I'll be using that as a base for my trout fishing and fishing the likes of the River Wear, Tees and maybe the North/South Tyne and the Border rivers if I feel like travelling further still!

I won't be able to take full advantage as I live too far away for very frequent visits but, financially and practically speaking, it still seems to be worthwhile to join maybe two or three clubs up there and fish the stretches when I visit maybe once or twice per month.

I reckon about £220-250.00 per year plus the cost of the odd extra day tickets should cover it which doesn't seem too bad considering.

So the question is: How much do you guys spend on average on your fishing venue permits/ club fees annually and how far do you travel on a regular basis?

Tony

Hi - I am a member of a club in Weardale that is on Tunstall reservoir. Membership is £150 per year and you can visit as much as you like. You can keep a fish per visit, and the fishing is generally good. There are boats which cost £10 per day- no engines- just oars unless you have your own motor.

Hi John,
I have fished Tunstall resevoir a few times many years ago - what is it like these days?

We also used to fish Derwent Resevoir which was quite good.
Do they still get the good runs of salmon up Eastgate- Westgate?

Tony

I spend £30 a year and can travel as far as 2 miles if the mood takes me. If I'm feeling lazy then I'll walk the 50 yards to the Tweed which offers 5 miles of wild brown trout and grayling fishing with no permit or licence required

My club's annual fee is £150 but I fish for free as the secretary. As an OAP my rod licence is reduced. I fish Stocks in Lancashire ten times a year mainly on a sport, bank, ticket for half a day £130 in total. I will have a couple of salmon fishing outings £100. I visit the odd fishery close by £50. My expenditure for the year is relatively low.

BK

Well aren't you just the lucky one

The only free fishing in my area seems to be a stretch of coarse fishing water similar to a canal. From what I can gather, there are plenty of Roach and some large pike still in there and apparently it never gets fished due to it's remote location - the one and only time I fished it some 20-odd years ago, I had several pike up to 20lb but was led to believe there were far bigger ones in there at the time. That's worth the odd day out now and again but I couldn't do that all the time.

There's also a couple of hundred yards of free trout fishing on a local canal but that is flogged to death.

Looks like the only option for me is travel so I'm guessing the North East rivers are my best bet as I can visit my caravan and have a day or two's fishing at the same time. Maybe not so bad after all but it would be quite costly if I only trevelled there to fish and returned home the same day.

Tony

Well that's similar to what I expect it would cost me so not bad really.
I don't really drink ( not tea-total though ) so it's only like the cost of a couple of pints of beer per week which isn't bad for such a rewarding hobby!

Tony

Must admit I very rarely fish the Tweed even tho' it is on my doorstep and free. It's such a big featureless river that I might just as well be fishing a resevoir. I prefer the Whiteadder, a tributary of the Tweed which is altogether different and a joy to fish. There was uproar when the permit fee was increased to £30! Last night my trout fishing was completely ruined by bloody great sea trout and salmon leaping and thrashing about

The Whiteadder...now that takes me back over 40 years since I last fished it ( only oince I believe)! If I remember, isn't there a junction with another river before it gets to the Tweed?
I somehow remember fishing near where two rivers converged but it's so long ago, I could be wrong!

Tony

I spent the princely sum of £5 for a years permit for Banton Loch - its usually £10 but as a local I get half price! its 1 min walk from my house

If I'm honest the price and proximity of the loch are what resparked my interest in fly fishing ( I just moved here a few months back). So in future years I might spend more to fish nearby rivers, after honing my technique for cheap. Dont think I could justify spending hundreds as others seem to - 2 young kids and self employed I have to prioritise my spending!