Trout fishing in Kashmir, and how the permits actually work

What you are fishing for

Brown and rainbow trout, both introduced to the valley well over a century ago and both now thoroughly at home in it. The water comes down off the mountains cold and fast, which is exactly what they want, and the better stretches are in the side valleys rather than on the main river through Srinagar.

This is fly water. Spinning is permitted on some stretches and not others, which is one of several things the permit decides for you.

Where people actually fish

The Lidder above Pahalgam is the best known and the most beautiful, running clear and quick through pine. The Sindh, on the road toward Sonamarg, is bigger water and holds bigger fish. The spring-fed streams at Kokernag, Verinag and Daksum in the south of the valley are smaller, calmer and the ones to pick if you would rather not spend the day on your feet in a current.

All of them are a drive from Srinagar — anywhere between an hour and a half and three, depending on which and on the roads. Fishing here is a day out, not a morning.

The permit, which is the actual obstacle

Kashmir's trout water is divided into beats, and the Fisheries Department licenses them by the beat and by the day, to a limited number of rods. You cannot simply arrive at a river and fish it, and nobody at the riverbank will sell you a permit.

This matters more than it sounds. The good beats on the Lidder and the Sindh are taken well in advance in season, particularly at weekends, and a permit applied for the night before will usually get you something — just not the stretch you read about. Decide you want to fish when you book your trip, not when you arrive.

Permit fees are modest and are set by the Department, and they differ for residents and visitors. They are revised from time to time, so we would rather tell you the current figure when you ask than publish one here that goes stale.

The season

Angling runs through the warmer months, broadly from spring into early autumn, with the water highest and fastest early in that window as the snow comes off. The rivers run clearer and lower later in the season, which many people prefer.

Exact opening and closing dates are set each year, so check rather than assume, especially if you are planning around the edges of the season.

What to bring, and what not to bother with

Bring your own rod if you have one you like fishing with. Everything else can be arranged here, and waders are worth not carrying across the country for a two-day trip.

A guide is worth it the first time, not for the casting but for knowing which part of a beat is worth standing in on the day. Water levels change what is fishable more than the season does.

How we help

Tell us when you enquire that you want to fish, and give us your dates. We will apply for permits ahead of your arrival, arrange rods and a guide who knows the water, and put a car and driver on it for the day. It is the part of a Kashmir trip that most rewards being organised in advance, and the part most people leave until they get here.