Sales of rod licences in England and Wales are recovering slightly after a downturn in April but are still behind Environment Agency targets for the year.

In April sales were down 3.04 per cent but this rallied to 2.29 per cent less in May, while income was down 4.09 per dent in April but showed just a 3.32 percent reduction last month.

Much of this has been blamed on the inconsistent weather, as the EA‘s Tom Sherwood explained: “May began unsettled, cloudy and cool, with temperatures running around 1.4°C below average by mid-month.

‘Frequent outbreaks of rain, some hail and even frost were recorded in place before conditions then changed rapidly, as high pressure became dominant and temperatures rose quickly into a significant late-May heatwave.”

Licence sales are slightly lower compared to the same period last year, with May 2026 seeing 146,714 licences sold compared to 147,704 in May 25.

Annual coarse and non-migratory trout two-and three-rod licences and senior two-rod permits all saw falls in sales across May, compared to April.

The EA is planning another short-term licence upsell mailer for this month, targeting anyone who bought a short-term licence in May 2026, encouraging them to switch to a full licence and make the most of summer.

Tom added: “June could be quite a pivotal month for rod sales in our attempts to catch up with sales totals from last year. Traditionally, one of the biggest sales months of the year, this June coincides with the start of the World Cup!”