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Junior rod license sales top 100,000
More than 100,000 junior rod licences were issued in England and Wales in 2024-25.
@Nash Tackle Alan Blair
by Jonathan Longden |
Published on2nd April 2026 at 10.22am
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Junior angling is on the rise, with rod licence sales for young people now topping 100,000. The milestone highlights a growing interest in fishing among the next generation, offering a positive boost for the future of the sport.
More than 100,000 junior rod licences were issued in England and Wales in 2024-25, with Environment Agency figures revealing that 100,650 junior licences were issued across the latest season, up 31.3 per cent on the 76,648 recorded in 2023-24.
Junior licences, which are free to anglers aged 13-16 accounted for 10.3 per cent of all rod licences issued in 2024-25. A notable rise on the 8.1 per cent recorded the season before.
The figures also show how sharply junior take-up has bounced back since hitting a low of 61,534 in 2022-23. Over the two seasons since then, the total has risen by more than 63 per cent.
This growth not only highlights fishing’s unique appeal, but also points to a stronger future for angling, driven by a new generation eager to get outdoors, learn new skills and become part of a thriving and supportive community.
Angling Trust chief executive Jamie Cook said a mix of digital visibility and organised participation work was helping bring more young people into the sport.
“The growth of accessible social media content has played a significant role in making fishing more visible and appealing to younger audiences,” he said.
“We are also seeing a genuine increase in junior participation on the ground, driven in part by programmes such as Get Fishing and Reel Education, which last year introduced around 30,000 kids and new anglers to the sport.”
Young anglers celebrate a carp on the bank. Group sessions like this help introduce more youngsters to fishing.
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