I get this question every autumn, and the honest answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no – it depends entirely on which type of trout fishing you mean.
River trout seasons in England and Wales are closing or already closed by mid-October in most cases, protecting fish approaching their autumn spawning. If river trout fishing is what you have in mind, you’re mostly out of luck by this point in the year – always check the specific river’s exact dates, since they vary regionally.
Stocked stillwater trout fishing is a completely different picture. Many rainbow trout put-and-take fisheries operate year-round or well into winter, since stocked fish don’t carry the same close-season restrictions as wild river trout. In my experience, October can genuinely be one of the best months on these waters.
Cooling water after summer’s heat often triggers noticeably increased feeding as trout build condition before winter – I’ve had some of my best stillwater sessions of the year in exactly this window, better than the height of summer when warm water can leave fish sluggish.
If you’re in Scotland, some river and trout seasons run later than their English and Welsh equivalents – don’t assume the same dates apply north of the border without checking the specific river board.
My honest advice for October: head to a stocked stillwater rather than assuming your trout season is over. It’s often some of the most productive fishing of the entire year, just not on the rivers you might be thinking of.
Sarah Marsh came to fly fishing through her father, who kept a rod on a small syndicate water in Devon. She spent her teens fishing stocked reservoirs and gradually worked her way toward wild fish on moving water – first on rain-fed freestone rivers in Wales, then on the Hampshire chalk streams she now considers home water.
She holds a level 2 APGAI fly casting qualification and guides informally on the River Test and, from June to September, on a private beat on the River Tay for Atlantic salmon. Her personal best brown trout came from the Itchen at 4lb 1oz; she’d sooner not talk about the salmon that came off at the net last August.
At The River Bend, Sarah writes the game fish species guides, fly fishing technique articles, and the legal content covering trout and salmon regulations.
Covers: Brown trout, rainbow trout, sea trout, Atlantic salmon, fly fishing, chalk streams, Scottish rivers, close season and regulation articles