Fishing - where to fish and getting a licence

I was wondering if there was anyone out there who knows anything at all about the fishing available around Munich.

I've walked along some of the Isar and it looks to me like it ought to hold a few trout.

Does anyone know how I'd go about getting a licence?

I'm predominantly a fly fisherman, but hey, I'd be glad to get any sort of fishing in if I can.

Many thanks in advance

Andy.

Its gotta be easier to get a fishing permit than a hunting one. I was just having a look on the web, and found an article about the hunting and fishing museum here. Apparently, there are catfish about these parts, potentially 5 ft long, 200lb, with 18 inch mouths. Crap eating though. I have never fished, would LOVE to try (especially fly fishing) but I would want to eat what I caught (of course, the chances of me catching anything more than a cold are slim)

Hiya
you need to do a course then an exam, get a licence and then get a permit.
http://www.lfl.bayern.de/ifi/
You've missed the application date (1. Dec 2003) for 2004 though and will only be considered for the next round of exams in March 2005. You learn about the fish types in the area, how to handle them and what you can fish - it is a multiple choice exam but many fish types are at risk of extinction in Bavaria and this is why they are strict on licencing.
I don't know about the Austrian rules though.
Katrina

andy
...have a book for you if interested...

'fly fishing' by j.r.hartley.

Hi there,

Thanks for the help. Especially Katrina. The website looked very informative, but unfortunately my Germanish is as yet non-existant.

Did some hunting around on the net and found the following very useful site in English.

http://www.cybertrout.com/germany.htm

It appears that non residents can get a three month permit without having to do a test, so I'm going to time it to get the best of the fishing this year and if I'm still here next year I can sit the exam.

Thanks again

Andy.

I will be opening an online shop selling fly tying materials, flies and other accessories and I am english speaking. I hope to be opening within 2 weeks so have a look in, you might find something interesting!!

http://www.flyangler.de
http://www.fliegenangler.de

Sorry for the late post.
I have just found this thread.
I do all my flyfishing in the lakes and rivers in Austria.
Unlike like here you don't need to go to school or sit a test.
Just pay your money and fish, I've had some nice trout (rainbow, brown and brook) and generally pay about 10-15 teuros.

I am not sure if I asked this ages ago but...

Does anyone have a clue about the test you have to sit to catch fish in Germany? It has long been a thorn in my side that I cannot escape to a lake like in UK without sitting a bloody exam.

The fish in this country are simply too free. If this was France every pond and river would have someone pulling them out!

Jeremy, have a lookat http://www.fischerpruefung.de/ for articles on Fischerprüfung. I believe they take place once a year (this year is already full) and take 40hours (8 Sundays) plus they cost about 250€. Then I think you have to sit a test, again more money.

I just drive to Austria and buy a day permit for a lake or stretch of river.

True words.

Anyone know the penalty if you are caught fishing without a permit here? Whipping out your tackle on a busy stretch of the Isar is probably unwise, but are they really gonna send inspectors out to every pond and lake in the Bavarian countryside? Actually, I know the answer to that is probably yes...

Heh heh heh. Yes, likely very unwise... heh heh heh.

Most ponds and lakes around here have Life gaurds and other official around all day...

I heard somewhere, cant remember where, but it is possible to fish, lisence free as a tourist, for upto 6 months...

Anyone confirm this?

G

Fishing on a tourist license. I also heard this, I think you have to go to somewhere on Poccistrasse and that you must be a member of a recognized fishing club in the UK and have a UK fishing license. All documents must be accompanied with an official translation.
But don't tell them you are a resident. Or am I stating the bleeding obvious!

There are some HUGE fish in the little reflection pool infront of the Nymphenburg Schloss. They were slow moving. You could just jump in there, avoid the swans, wrestle them around, and slip a net over them and head home on the 17 tram with enough fish to feed yourself for a week.

There are huge fish all along that canal going up to the Schloss. Massive fish. I've always wondered what kind of fish they are and if you could eat them (and if they would taste nice). Does anyone know?
Avoid those swans though, I saw one nibble a tobbler last week - nasty.
Katrina

If they are massive fish, then they are probably some member of the carp family.
You can eat them (Karpfen) but I bet they taste muddy (earthy).

@Katrina Wossa tobbler? A kind of Swiss chocolate?

Those fish swimming all too freely in Nymphenburger Kanal are certainly Carp. You can tell by the long dorsal fin (I think that is what it is called) stretching all the way down their backs. One of your carp's fave activites is cruising just beneath the surface of the water on a hot summer's day.

There are also whoppers as we used to call them floating round the Olympic Park lake which I think is connected to the Schloss.

The old method for catching carp in the 60s in the UK used to be to simply float a bread crust on a hook and line right on the surface. The carp would surface and gobble it up. Nowadays carp fishing is a science in its own right, and anglers prepare specialised boiled baits in flasks containing weird stuff like amino acids, fling them out at "prebaited" spots, sit in a bed chair for three solid days and wait for their Optonic buzzers to indicate what is known as a "run" where the carp bolts off into the middle of the lake.

As fighters they are possibly the king of all European fish, excepting the salmon. I used to fish for them in France in Dordogne pools where they were totally unshy of simple baits. Used to catch sometimes up to 8 of them at 8lb each in a small lake near where we lived! Fished for free but gave the owner a bottle of whisky once in a while.

Carp should never be eaten for two reasons. One is that they don't taste very nice (unless stored in a bath of water for a day) Two is that they are simply very intelligent fish who should be put back in thé water and left to fight another day.

Jeez I miss fishing.

@Showem:


I also read that and thought Fnarr Fnarr! Shit! I'm 37 and still think like Finbarr Saunders!

I love a bit of Finbarr

Hugh Fearnsley-Whittishall-Wotsit on TV set up a strange carp bath thing, and got rid of the muddy flavour, but it took about a week.

Jeremy, I'm glad I'm not the only one whose mind works like that.

I would advise you all to forget fishing for crappy carp in Munich and rather plan a fishing trip to the Canadian Pacific. Mmmm, Pacific salmon, killer whales skimming along beside your boat, much better.

Showem, carp are crap, true. But they are just too free here!!! I want to forage!!

Would standing in hip waders and tickling them out legally count as fishing? Probably. But without your tackle out all over the place (heh heh), you might be able to convince that you are simply a really eccentric Ausländer who likes playing with fish. Which would probably be a smaller fine than fishing without an licence.

Please do not get your tackle out by the Nymphenburger Canal. There is an SOS Kinderdorf there and you'll get arrested.
Signed
A Resident
PS A Tobbler is a swan-nibbled toddler obviously. Tsk.

I tickled a trout once.

...No really. When I was a kid I read about it in a survival book (which helped you survive in the wild if you got lost away from your mam by eating berries and snaring rabbits (like hell I could choke a bunny) that if you saw a trout in a stream you could gently stroke its underbelly then whip it out of the water.

My poor victim was only about four inches long though. I whipped it out in a small river in north Wales.

Please read the above with a clean mind!

Fnarr! Fnarr!

Clean mind Sir? Sorry we are currently out of stock. Would a slightly shop soiled version tide you over until new stocks arrive?

Oh no, reminds me of the Two Ronnies Fork Handles sketch!

To bring this one alive again... am i right to understand that fishing in Munich, regardless of whether it's a tiny lake in the twigs, or the Isar, you need to spend lots of money and time studying to get a liscence?

And in Austria you just turn up to a lake, look for the rich man with all the notes, and slip him a few more for the day?

btw, tourist option are out.

Cheers.

KT

You need a liscence in Germany and that entails taking a class and a test. Once you passed, then you can get a liscence for life. The fines for being caught without a liscence are enormous. In Austria, they have special deals. You are still buying a liscence per se, but it is short term and is usually only offered in conjunction with some privately owned place to fish.

I don't know if this is correct, or I misunderstood the person explaining it to me. Even if you have a license, you can not fish anywhere that you want. Must places are private owned, or leased by a fishing club. If you want to fish, you must have a license, and permission to fish at the location. So if you want a license, you should also join an angler verein.

I see all this talk about a fine for fishing without a liscense/permit/classtime to learn where and how a fish does what ever a fish does, but there is no actual number associated with this fine in any of the posts.

I generally am the first to break the rules and believe me when I am lost in the mountains and have my fishing gear I will not hesitate to see what I can catch in whatever river/pond/lake I come across.

So any actual euro amount I can expect for a fine if/when I am busted?

Thanks...

When I first got here, I was told that the fine could be up to 10k DM, but that is heresay. I do know that it is substantial, but whether substantial means 5k€ or 500€, I couldn't say.

Can someone please flag it up when they see a poster for the fishing licence exams?
They are always advertised in U-Bahn stations and I'd like to actually do the course this year. Thanks!

Katrina apologies in advance if this isn't the right thing but try this link.
http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/kvr/ordnung...erpruefung.html
I think this is the one you have to sign up by December and you do the exam in March?
And I'm not sure but don't you do the course itself through private but affiliated groups.
Again if I have misunderstood the German then apologies.

poaching? no, never. and i don't have 50m of river frontage alongside the garden which is loaded with trout and i certainly don't know how to fly fish. if i did want to, i'd go to austria for the weekend. there's a reknowned hotel in mittersill (just over the pass from kitzbuhel) who own all the local beats and lakes. i've fished on a fantastic lake way up in the mountains surrounded by sheer cliffs and waterfalls, stunning. i think you can still fish there until the end of october.

Yes that's the one! Thanks I wasn't sure if they were taking enrolments yet.
Did see a thing for doing the Jagdschein but it is 5K and you have to be a bit more responsible with it too.

Oh good,
I thought (assumed) that Jagdschein was just for hunting. Does it include fishing as well? I suppose technically fishing is a form of hunting but you know what I mean.
Keep us posted on how you get on its always good to have first hand accounts.
Its a bloody bugger that its only once a year though. Still once you have it you just have to renew it once a year and get a permit for which ever pond etc you want to 'plunder'.

Does anyone know if a fishing license is required when ocean fishing from German beaches? I know in the U.S. for example, inland lakes and streams require a permit (10-20$), but some states don´t require any permit for ocean fishing.

Just to put a few facts to an old topic:

Fishing in Germany.
For the "auslander" amongst us, a tourist licence is available, without doing the "Test" that is normally required by German Law!
But, the Laws are regional, here is a Link, including the different Regions

Fishing in Germany. In german

My Rathaus for example, did`nt know this them selves, and it took a few weeks longer, till they figured it all out!

Bayern
Ausländer erhalten den Fischereischein ohne Prüfung, wenn sie die Angelbefugnis in ihrem Herkunftsland glaubhaft machen. Sie müssen aber nicht unbedingt in einem Anglerverband organisiert sein.

this means, (for Brits) turn up at the local Rathaus, mubble a bit of Pigeon German, show em a Brit fishing Licence (can be an old one) don`t even have to be valid!!! (these are issued from the British Post office for a fee!) you then get yourself the Licence.

You don`t have to be a member of a fishing club!
BUT, You all ways have to have Permission of the Owners of the water that you are going to fish!

I recommend, that If your German is good enough, then do the German test, yes its time consumming, but the test is a piece of piss!!!

Fishing without the licence is here in Germany a "Strafftat" meaning that the fine will be decided by a court of law, it`s not just the fine there is to worry about, its the criminal record that goes with it!

Sounding a bit of a bore I know! but after 5 years of "schwarz" fishing, me legs don`t move as fast as they used too!

@gearbox

Do you know how long the "tourist license" is valid for and how much it costs? And also is there an "off-season" as in the UK here in Germany?

Cheers

BAYERN

BAYERN
the licence costs 22,50 Euros. need a passport and photo. Its Valid for 3 months, and will only be issued Once a year!

As I lived in Minden NRW, I was issued with one, that was valid for the whole year!

There is no Closed season, BUT Some fish are not to be caught at certain times of the year, depending on which water, and which region.

Example, here on my Club waters, here in Hannover:
the following Fish are not to be caught during the following times:

Pike & Zander 15.01 - 30.4
wild trout 15.10 - 31.03
Carp 1.7 - 31.7 (Rivers only)
Grayling 01.03 - 15.05 (mostly found round your way)

As said, these vary from club, and region. Of course, you might catch for example, a Carp in the river during the "closed times", Don`t worry, just return it. As long as your not going for Carp!!!

Hey,

Just wanted to see if I could get a bit more info on the fishing - sounds to me like Austria is the go. I am looking at heading to Salzburg on the Bayern tix with friends and will be away a couple of days - is there anywhere near Salzburg that anyone knows of that is good for fishing? Any help would be much appreciated!!

fly fishing - went to a great place but you'd need a car to get there. over the pass thurn beyond kitzbuhel and into the valley there is a famous fishing hotel who own all the waters around there. they have a fantastic lake way up in the mountains surrounded by 500m+ cliffs with waterfalls streaming off. even if you catch nothing, you'll likely never have fished in such an idyllic spot.

'fraid i can't recommend anything around salzburg as i've not fished there. best bet is googling.

In Reff. to Gearboxe's post..

How does one tell certain species of fish not to bite the hook and be caught... Do they sell little underwater warning signs to attach to your line

zeze are German fisch - zey know ze rulez.

don`t be silly!
you can buy different hooks for different fish! then there are certain flavours, that you can spray your maggots with, for example: fizzy milk is for roach, camel seamen for bream etc.

the "Schonzeiten" in Question, you are not to target these fish, BUT if you do happen to say catch a pike when you are fishing for gudgeon, then the pike is to be returned to the drink!

I was in germany for over a year before I would believe you had to take a test to go fishing.

It realy is big brother.

Typical Johnny Norfolk comment. The test you take is to ensure you fish in a way to not upset the ecosystems on the rivers. they want to keep the stock at sustainable levels and, therefore, educate the potential anglers.