Wild brown trout and sea trout on Devon's moorland rivers, the Dart, Taw and Torridge

Fly Fishing in Devon

The River Exe and the River Carey, plus 13 more rivers. 47 bookable beats between them, with prices, seasons and who to book through in one place.

Open the beat map Browse the beats

October on the water

The season turns

Trout beats close through this month and grayling water opens. A transitional few weeks: what is bookable depends on the beat, so check the dates rather than assuming.

Season: Trout and grayling
Typical day rod: £20; from 9 priced beats
Cheapest this month: £10; Cove Quarry Beat

Grayling beats Easier beats

Four ways into Devon

Most people arrive here with one of these four questions. Pick the one that sounds like yours.

What a day costs Compare prices Month-by-month day-ticket rates across every river we hold pricing for. Stay and fish Fisheries and estates Operators taking bookings, some with rooms and equipment hire. A cheaper day Under £200 Trout-season day tickets at £200 or less.

Where to fly fish in Devon

Every beat and fishery we list in the county, plotted against the boundary. Click a river to read what that stretch is like.

Fly fishing rivers in Devon

Every river we list in Devon, busiest first.

Devon · Somerset

River Exe

13 beats

Devon

River Carey

4 beats

Devon

River Dart

3 beats

Devon

River Tamar

3 beats

Devon

River Teign

3 beats

Devon

River Torridge

3 beats

Devon

Little Dart River

2 beats

Devon

River Bray

2 beats

Devon

River Plym

2 beats

Devon

River Erme

1 beat

Devon

River Lew

1 beat

Devon

River Lyd

1 beat

Devon

River Mole

1 beat

Devon

River Tavy

1 beat

Devon

River Taw

1 beat

What a day actually costs in Devon

Typical, lowest and highest full-day rod, from 13 beats with published day rates. Half-day and evening tickets are left out rather than doubled up.

Compare with other rivers

£100 £75 £50 £25 £0

cheapest to dearest typical (median) October, where you are now

A full day in Devon typically costs £20, from £10 to £35 across 13 beats with published day rates.

Day-ticket prices by month in Devon, from 13 beats with published full-day rates
Month	Cheapest	Typical	Dearest	Beats
January	£10	£20	£30	10
February	£10	£20	£35	11
March	£10	£20	£35	13
April	£10	£20	£35	13
May	£10	£20	£35	13
June	£10	£20	£35	13
July	£10	£20	£35	13
August	£10	£20	£35	13
September	£10	£20	£35	12
October	£10	£20	£30	9
November	£10	£20	£30	9
December	£10	£20	£30	9

£20 in January The trout season is shut, so this is grayling water, the same rivers at a fraction of the summer rate. Grayling beats 13 beats under £200 Out of 13 with published day rates. Good water is not all at the top of the range. Days under £200

Day ticket fly fishing in Devon

47 beats in Devon

Day tickets and permits on Devon's rivers. Each listing includes pricing, species, and booking details.

Brown Trout 46 Wild Only 40 Grayling 16 Wading Allowed 11 Stillwaters 11 Dog Friendly 5 Rainbow Trout 5 Budget 2 Ghillie Available 1

River Exe

Bolham Beat

£15 per evening 2 rods

River Exe

Bickleigh Beat

£15 per evening

Example photo Example photo · River Exe

River Exe

Hartnoll Beat

£15 per evening 2 rods

Example photo Example photo · River Exe

River Exe

Wonham Beat

£10 per rod 1 rod

River Carey

Boldford Bridge

On enquiry

Burrator Reservoir

£20 per rod

Fernworthy Reservoir

£15 for 2 fish

River Bray

Halswell Farm

On enquiry

River Carey

Jays

On enquiry

Kennick Reservoir

£26 per rod

Little Dart River

Littledart Farm

On enquiry

Roadford Lake

£15 for 2 fish

All 8 on the River Exe All 4 on the River Carey All 3 on the River Dart All 3 on the River Tamar All 3 on the River Teign All 3 on the River Torridge All 2 on the Little Dart River All 2 on the River Bray All 2 on the River Plym All 1 on the River Erme All 1 on the River Lew All 1 on the River Lyd All 1 on the River Mole All 1 on the River Tavy All 1 on the River Taw Every beat we list

Fish species in Devon

What the beats above hold, and where else in England you can fish for the same species.

Brown Trout

Grayling

Rainbow Trout

Salmon

Sea Trout

Three different kinds of operator, and most visitors want the first. A fishery or estate owns the water and sells you a day on it. A club or syndicate holds water for its members, sometimes with day tickets alongside. A guide or agent sells days on water somebody else owns, and often comes with you.

Fisheries and estate waters in Devon

Fishery operators taking bookings on Devon's rivers. Each listing covers tickets, accommodation, and equipment hire where available.

River Tamar

The Arundell

£45 per rod 2 beats

River Torridge

Half Moon Inn

from £15 per evening 1 beat

Example photo Example photo · River Exe

River Exe

Exe Vale Fishery

On enquiry 1 beat

The River Taw is one of the largest rivers in Devon and the county's main fly fishing draw. It is a spate river, subject to large and sometimes rapid changes in height based on rainfall. That character shapes everything about fishing here. Conditions can shift quickly, so it pays to check river levels before travelling and to build some flexibility into a trip.

While the Taw's salmon and sea trout fishing gives the river its reputation, there is also good brown trout fishing, especially on the upper reaches of the system. Browns tend to be small, as the acidity of the river limits the natural food supply, but they are entirely wild. Given sufficient rainfall, the river fishes well through the season, and when salmon stop taking it is possible to fish on into the night for sea trout, for which the Taw is rightly known. Salmon and sea trout are caught on the Taw, though it has not had a strong reputation as a salmon fishery for some years. Around 100 salmon are caught across the whole river each season.

Throughout its length the fishing is owned by riparian owners, clubs, syndicates, and hotels. Some of the fishing is run on a commercial basis, meaning rods are available on a season or day basis for visiting anglers. The Westcountry Angling Passport scheme also covers some trout water on the system and is worth checking if you want a flexible, low-commitment option.

Finding fly fishing near you in Devon

The map above plots Devon's beats and fisheries against the county boundary, so you can see roughly how far a stretch is rather than just its name on a list. Tap a marker for a quick read on price and species before you go further. If you're weighing this county against somewhere else, or want to see every day-ticket beat in the country at once, the full beat map covers all of them.

A day ticket is usually a half day or a full day on the water, so it's worth weighing the drive against how much fishing you'll actually get out of it. A longer trip makes more sense for a full day than for two or three hours in the afternoon.

For scale, the River Exe rises near Exe Head, near Simonsbath, Exmoor, Somerset, and the River Carey rises near Halwill Moor Plantation, Halwill. Beats sit further downstream from there, not at the source itself. The map above is the more exact guide to which stretch is closest to you.

Fly fishing lessons and tuition in Devon

FishingBeats doesn't list fly fishing schools or dedicated instructors: the agents and guides above are the ones selling day tickets and guided days on Devon's beats. Some may be willing to teach alongside a day out even where it isn't sold as a separate product, so it's worth asking rather than assuming either way. That's a different thing from starting from scratch, though: a guided day generally assumes you can already cast, where a lesson teaches the cast itself, and most UK fly fishing lessons for that begin on a stillwater rather than a river. How tuition, guided days and courses fit together is covered on the agents page. Once you can put a fly out, easy beats rated for a first visit or beats where you can arrange a ghillie are a reasonable next step, and a few beginner-friendly beats to start on is worth reading before you book.

FAQ

Devon fly fishing FAQs

The questions people ask before booking a day in Devon, answered from what we actually list.

01Is all the fly fishing in Devon private?

No. Most of the water is privately owned, but a great deal of it is let by the day. We list 29 beats in Devon you can book a day rod on without being a member of anything. Beyond that there are syndicates and clubs, which take a season ticket or a membership rather than a day ticket, and some of those run waiting lists.

02What does a day's fly fishing cost in Devon?

A typical full-day rod is around £20, from £10 at the cheap end to £35 on the best-known beats in the best weeks. That is across 13 beats with published day rates. Season lets and syndicate rods are priced differently and are not counted here. See how that moves month by month, or browse days under £200.

03When is the fly fishing season in Devon?

Most beats run their trout season from around 15 Mar – 15 Oct, though each beat sets its own dates and the listings carry the exact ones. Grayling fishing then runs roughly 1 Jan – 31 Dec on the beats that sell it, which is the cheaper half of the year.

04Which Devon river should I fish first?

The River Exe has the most beats to choose from, which makes it the easiest to find a day on at short notice. Booking a ghillie for a first outing is worth the money on any of them.

05Do I need a rod licence to fish in Devon?

Yes. Anyone aged 13 or over fishing for trout, grayling, salmon or coarse fish in England needs an Environment Agency rod licence, and it is separate from whatever the beat charges you. Buy it online before you go. The beat ticket gives you the right to fish that water; the licence gives you the right to fish at all.