Francesca, I edited a national fishing mag for 6 years and have worked on several mags since 2000.
Like noted, coarse and fly fishing are two different things but both are equally enjoyable.
Fly is probably the easiest to get into in terms of cost and set-up; a rod, reel, couple of lines, plus accessories and flies are pretty much all you need. Many small stillwater trout fisheries have APGAI (Association of Professional Game Angling Instructors) accredited tutors on site that can teach you how to cast (and fish), much in the same fashion a PGA golf pro would teach you the fundamentals of golf. A day's fishing at a typical stillwater will be between £15-£20 for a several fish limit, with catch and release afterwards, and there are literally hundreds dotted around the UK.
There are several good magazines around - the one I shoot for in the game market is
Total FlyFisher, a good read with lots of info biased towards the beginner.
Fly fishing is great fun and often many people who take it up really get into it in a big way. Fly tying is a sub-sector that's massive and very rewarding. Materials like arctic fox and jungle cock are quite expensive but may people I know who tie say that's a small price to pay for creating what they deem 'art'. Again, TFF is a good source for fly tying info, although there are a few books (check out anything by Peter Gathercole - top photographer BTW) that make it dead easy.
Coarse fishing is the other aspect of fresh water fishing. Most coarse anglers split into match, pleasure or specimen; the former being competitive anglers who fish for a variety of species; specimen being chasing bigger, individual fish like big car, bream, pike and barbel. Pleasure anglers are a mix of both.
I used to match fish and loved it, although if you think photography is expensive, match fishing can be extortionate.... I have three 16-metre poles at home with RRPs of £4,000 each, plus about another £6K worth of other gear. Of course, like anything, you suit your budget to what you buy and you can start on the cheap for as little as £100 for a rod, a reel, some tackle (floats, line , hooks etc) and a net. Like fly fishing, there's been an explosion of commercial fisheries that have cropped up around the UK. These are mixed fisheries containing all sorts, but mainly carp from a few ounces to 20lb+, all designed to give everyday anglers the chance to catch tons quite easily. day tickets are usually a fiver or so and you can get a few tins of corn or a bag or pellets for a few quid and have a great day's sport.
Specimen fishing is usually much more an investment of time than anything else because you're chasing the biggest fish and generally turns you into a loner who lives off Pot Noodles and tea
Buy
Total Coarse Fishing magazine for a hint of what to expect
The one thing to remember is that you need a licence to fish fresh water in the UK. It's about £25 for freshwater fishing (including non-migratory trout). For salmon and wild (migratory sea trout) then the licence is about £60 per year. The coarse season runs 16th June to 14th Mach for running water - lakes can usually be fished all year round. Toyr season is some time in March through to December for wild fish; again, stillwater trout can be fished for throughout the year usually.
Any other info, just PM me. Fishing is a great sport and despite the bad press it gets from the PETA brigade and all that, it's a big community that puts millions back into the economy and back into the environment to help maintain waterways. You'll love it
