Fishing

What do you need to know about fishing in the Baltics?

The favourite ways to fish in the Baltics

• Fishing with float – the easiest way to fish, suitable for all ages and feasible in almost all waters. Catch: carp, tench, bream, catfish, roach, perch and others.
• Fishing with down ridger - the most exciting way in the summertime, from dawn till dusk. Catch: bream, chub, white fish, perch, eel, burbot, Daugava and Aieviekste also hold catfish, and flounder, turbot, and eel can be caught inshore.
• Fly-fishing – the most effective method to catch trout, grayling, chub in streams and fast flowing rivers with clear water.
• Spinning – the most sportsman-like fishing method. Pike, perch, pickerel, asp, can be caught this way. In the summer of 2003, a 58.2 kg catfish was caught by someone spinning from Daugava’s shoreline, setting a new Latvian record. With the right equipment and expertise one can also catch chub and trout.
• Salmon-trout and salmon can only be fished with a special license during specified periods in specially designated river sections.
• Trolling - usually in the larger lakes and rivers, but also in the sea. In the autumn, trolling over a shelf usually yields a 5-10 kg pike.
• Ice fishing – favourite locations are Lake Peipsi and Pernava Bay in Estonia where a day’s catch often exceeds several dozen kilograms. Catch: perch, salmon-trout, smelt and others.
• Fishing in privately stocked reservoirs where the owners are paid per kilogram of fish caught or per day of fishing, within a pre-set limit. Most often, fishing for carp and trout is being offered.