If you are new to fly fishing, don't worry. It is much more accessible than you may think. For all the information and advice you need to get started, go to fishandfly.com. Lessons are a must; it's too easy to slip into bad habits if you're not taught correctly from the outset. A good place to start is the Hardy Greys website (hardygreys.com), which carries a list of accredited instructors.

One of the most inspiring teachers in the country is Nick Hart at the Exe Valley Fishery (01398 324022) near Dulverton, Somerset. There is a beautiful lake there, but Nick also teaches on the nearby Exe and Barle rivers. Guests stay in the Three Acre Country House Hotel (01398 323730, from £40pppn) and the Stag Hound Cottages (01398 324453).

John Horsey is England's most-capped international fly fisherman (johnhorsey.co.uk). He teaches on the Chew and Blagdon reservoirs , near Bristol. Both are beautiful, renowned for their fully finned, hard-fighting rainbow trout. Try the 15th-century Carpenter's Arms at nearby Stanton Wick for superior pub accommodation (01761 490202, £95 per room per night).

Dave Burgess at the Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avon is another leading instructor, and he is especially child-friendly. Call him on 07771 710021. He recommends the Avonmouth Hotel at nearby Mudeford for splendid accommodation (01202 483434, from £128 per room)

Two more England internationals, Stuart Crofts and Jeremy Lucas, operate in the north of England, Jeremy from the Lake District and Stuart in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Jeremy works the Eden river system , and his specialities are trout and grayling on single-handed rods. He also has a cottage where you can stay (01768 352995). Stuart is renowned for his ability with bugs and his unparalleled watercraft, and if you've got a grasp of the basics you can't spend a better day with anyone (01226 766940). He recommends the Coverbridge Inn at Layburn, Wensleydale, as having the finest beer and beds in England (01969 623250, £50 per room per night).

Around the coastal waters you don't need a licence to fish for bass, mullet, wrasse and pollock. Justin Anwyl (01243 785496) offers instructional days on the south coast as does Tim Gaunt-Baker on the north Norfolk coast (07876 555960). Tim also conducts stillwater fly guiding at Narborough Lakes near Kings Lynn. This is a superb venue for some very big fish indeed (01760 338005). The fishery even has its own self-catering cottages (£70 per room).

If you're ready to strike out alone, try the Arundell Arms in Lifton, Devon (01566 784666, from £99). It certainly isn't an angling secret — in fact it is probably the best known fishing hotel in the country — but it never rests on its laurels.

Wild fish are my own particular delight, which is why I'm so impressed with the Haddon Fishery near Bakewell in Derbyshire. The Wye here is very special, made more so now the estate has instituted a non-stocking policy to the great benefit of the wild browns and rainbows — this is one of the few places in the UK where rainbows spawn and flourish. Stay at the Peacock Hotel (01629 733518, £145), right in the heart of the estate.

Just as wild are the waters of the Upper Wye and its tributaries in Wales. Once again, fishing is for wild browns and grayling along banks that are rarely trodden. Thanks to the Wye and Usk Foundation, vast stretches of river have been opened up to visitors (01982 551520). Stay at the Caer Beris Manor Hotel, Builth Wells, a country house hotel run by a passionate angler, Peter Smith (01982 551520, £54.50pp).

Tim Pilcher at Tweedside Tackle, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland (01573 225306), is the man for fishing on the Tweed , the greatest of all the northern rivers. The Tweed is synonymous with salmon, but Tim points out that the wild brown trout are now numerous and stonkingly large. Most people stay at Ednam House in Kelso (01573 224168, £77pp), but Tim recommends the Wheatsheaf Hotel at Swinton, 12 miles down the road (01890 860257, from £104 per room)

Finally, if you fancy a real treat, Simon Cooper runs Fishing Breaks , an organisation that can open the door to some of the great rivers in fly fishing history down in Hampshire and Dorset. See above article.

• John Bailey is the author of numerous books on fishing, including Where to Fly Fish in Britain and Ireland.

· This article was amended on Wednesday May 23 2007. Kelso is in Roxburghshire, Scotland, not in Northumberland, England. This has been corrected.