GAPS Species Rules – Latest Club Rules

Please find the latest GAPS Species Rules covering Carp, Predator (Lake & River), Micro Lure, Specimen, and Match/General fishing.

The rules include important information on fishing seasons, line and hook requirements, permitted and banned baits, net sizes, unhooking mats, fish retention, rigs, and required tools.

⚠️ Please make sure you read and understand the rules before fishing any GAPS water.

Important:-

All nets and unhooking equipment must be completely dry before being brought to the lake. Wet nets can spread disease.

All bloodworm and joker baits are prohibited between 1st April and 30 September inclusive on all GAPS waters.

Micro Lures – under no circumstances should pike be targeted outside of the predator season. In the event of an accidental capture of a pike outside of the predator season, it shall be unhooked and returned as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should the pike be kept out of the water to be weighed, photographed or measured.

G.A.P.S Species Fishing Rules

Select the type of fishing below to view the relevant rules. Tap each section to expand the information.

Carp Fishing Rules

G.A.P.S rules applicable to carp fishing.

1 June to 31 May.

No braid.
Mono 15lb minimum.
Braid hook lengths ok.

Micro-barbed or barbless only.
Maximum size 4.

Boilies.
Loose feeding of boilies is permitted in moderation.
Prepared particle baits including nuts.
Natural baits – worm, maggot etc.

No fake or plastic baits.
No live bait.
No dog biscuit – use floating pellet or pop-up.
No rig foam.

Minimum 42in / 100cm.

Yes – with sides or cradle style.

Fish must be retained for as short a period as possible and NOT overnight, in approved sacks or retainers.

Retaining time should be reduced in times of warm weather.

No fixed leads.

Predator – Lake Rules

Rules for predator fishing on G.A.P.S lakes.

Start date on or AFTER 1 October as advised by the Committee.

Close: 31 March.

The pike fishing season may be ended prematurely if pike commence spawning.

Minimum breaking strain main lines:

Mono – 15lb.
Braid – 20lb.
Wire traces – minimum 18 inches long.
Wire trace breaking strain – minimum 20lb.

Semi-barbed or barbless trebles are to be used on all traces.

Sea dead baits.
Metal spoons.
Lures.
Blast frozen coarse dead baits.

No live bait.

Minimum 36in / 90cm.

A suitable unhooking mat capable of protecting fish in excess of 20lb must be used.

Pike should be netted and not “chinned” for the safety of the fish and angler when removing the fish from the water.

No fixed leads.
Visual bite indication must be used.
Free lining of baits is not permitted.

Appropriately sized tools should include:

Long forceps.
Short forceps.
Long side cutters.
Pike disgorger.

Predator – River Rules

Rules for predator fishing on G.A.P.S river sections.

16 June to 14 March inclusive.

For Pike fishing – follow Predator (Lake) rules for ALL sections.

Perch / Chub – line must be appropriate for species.

When targeting Pike, anglers must follow the Predator – Lake rules.

This includes the appropriate line, trace, hook, handling and equipment requirements.

Micro Lure Fishing Rules

Special rules apply when fishing with micro lures.

1 June to 31 May.

Maximum lure size: 2.5 inches / 65mm only.

Anything above this size will be classed as Predator (Pike) fishing.

Mono or braid is permitted with Micro Lure.

All micro lures shall only have a single hook.

Any lure over 2.5 inches / 65mm will be classed as Predator (Pike) fishing and will require the use of an 18-inch wire trace.

Fishing with micro lures outside of the predator season requires the use of barbless hooks.

Hooks must be no bigger than size 8.

No lures with treble hooks shall be used outside of the predator season.

Under no circumstances should pike be targeted whilst micro lure fishing outside of the predator season.

If a pike is accidentally captured outside the predator season, it shall be unhooked and returned as soon as possible.

It must not be kept out of the water to be weighed, photographed or measured.

Match / General Fishing Rules

Rules applicable to general and match fishing.

1 June to 31 May.

No braid.
Mono suitable for target species.

Micro-barbed or barbless only.

Normal lures can have one or two treble hooks. No lure shall have more than two hooks.

Boilies.
Prepared particle.
Natural baits – worm, maggot, caster etc.

No fake or plastic baits.
No live bait.
No dog biscuit – use floating pellet or pop-up.
No rig foam.

Suitable for general fishing.

Good practice.

Keepnet for maximum 6 hours.
Minimum 10ft long.
Must be appropriate for the quantity of fish.
Observe any local or temporary keepnet rules.

Important Rules for All Anglers

⚠ WET NETS SPREAD DISEASE

DO NOT BRING ANY NETS OR UNHOOKING EQUIPMENT TO THE LAKE WET.

You will be either asked to leave or wait until they are dry prior to fishing.

WET NETS SPREAD DISEASE.

Bloodworm & Joker

All bloodworm and joker baits are prohibited between 1 April and 30 September inclusive on all G.A.P.S. waters.

Micro Lure Fishing & Pike

Under no circumstances should pike be targeted whilst micro lure fishing outside of the predator season.

In the event of an accidental capture of a pike outside of the predator season, it shall be unhooked and returned as soon as possible.

Under no circumstances should it be kept out of the water to be weighed, photographed or measured.

⚠ Measure Roll Mats

Measure roll mats are not adequate protection and are not to be used at any time.