Trent and Mersey Canal – Stoke Reach

This is canal fishing rather than a lake session, covering the Trent and Mersey Canal between Bridge 123 at the end of Newport Lane and Bridge 125, off Millvale Street. It’s an urban Middleport stretch in Stoke-on-Trent, so expect a proper town-centre canal feel rather than wide-open rural banks.

• 1 lake: Trent and Mersey Canal – Bridge 123 to Bridge 125
• Fish: carp
• Tickets from: Senior Canal Only Ticket, anglers aged 17 or over — £10
• Find it: Stoke-on-Trent · ST6 3NB

Based on how each lake is set up — not a ranking.

This is canal fishing rather than a lake session, covering the Trent and Mersey Canal between Bridge 123 at the end of Newport Lane and Bridge 125, off Millvale Street. It’s an urban Middleport stretch in Stoke-on-Trent, so expect a proper town-centre canal feel rather than wide-open rural banks. The first cut of the canal was made at Middleport in July 1766, and the canal opened through to Preston Brook in 1777, giving the place a bit of cracking waterway history as well.

Stoke-on-Trent Angling Society took control of this section in January 2019, and the venue is members-only. There’s a separate Senior Canal Only Ticket for anglers aged 17 or over, published at £10. Worth getting that sorted before setting off, as the £10 is a membership or permit rather than a day ticket. There are no day tickets available, so it’s not one for turning up on a whim with a couple of quid in your pocket.

The canal-only ticket can be bought through the society website or from its listed sales outlets. These include Trentside Angling Centre in Abbey Hulton and Nathan’s Angling Centre in Burslem. Bring your valid membership card with you, along with an Environment Agency rod licence. Both must be shown if requested, so don’t leave either one tucked in a drawer at home. If you’re driving, your vehicle also needs to display the society parking sticker clearly.

The venue page doesn’t publish a species list or stocking details, so there’s no guaranteed target fish to plan around here. Treat it as a general canal session and keep the approach flexible. On a new stretch, have a look at the pegs first, note where other anglers are settled, and ask the bailiff or society what’s been showing recently. A sensible canal kit, spare terminal tackle and a bit of patience will serve you better than turning up over-equipped for one particular species.

Space and courtesy matter. You must not encroach within 15 metres of another angler’s swim without mutual consent, so give occupied pegs plenty of room and have a quick word before setting up nearby. Keep the fishing peg free of litter, avoid damaging adjoining or canal property, and leave the place bob on for the next angler. Fires and barbecues are prohibited, as are bad language, alcohol and drugs, so this is definitely a tidy, respectful session rather than a noisy social carry-on.

There are no published opening hours, no advertised night fishing and no specified closed season, so check the current position with the society before making a specialist plan. Every fish must be returned to the canal. There are no listed on-site toilets, café or tackle facilities either, so bring what you need for the day. Get the permit and paperwork in order, pack light but sensibly, and this could be a straightforward urban canal option for anglers who fancy a proper bit of bank fishing.

Good background reading. Most of it is a few years old, so treat it as a starting point and ask on the day.

Videos linked by the fishery

• Our read

  Checked Sept '26 — “A members-only stretch of the Trent and Mersey Canal through Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, controlled by Stoke-on-Trent Angling Society between Bridges 123 and 125. The Senior Canal Only Ticket is £10 for anglers aged 17 or over, with no day tickets available.”

This is our own summary of recurring public feedback and the venue details we checked, not a copied customer review or a promise you’ll catch. Feedback changes, so we keep it separate from the Tackle Index score.