nicepix
Well-known member
I know that some of you may be thinking of visiting France this summer and could be tempted to bring a rod or two along. There is more to fishing in France than the 'fly and survive' packages to British owned carp and catfish lakes so I thought that I'd give a few pointers for those who prefer less organised fishing and maybe answer a few questions that you might have.
To fish any river or public lake in France you must be in possession of a rod licence or Carte de Peche (CdP) issued by the Department where you are fishing, or by another Department with a reciprocal arrangement, more of which later. You can buy a CdP from many Tabacs, Post Offices and of course fishing shops. A lot of supermarkets also issue them as do Tourist Information Offices and usually there is an English speaker on the staff.
Annual licences run from Jan to Dec and cost around 90 euro. You can also buy weekly (Hebdomadaire) or daily (Journaliere) permits at 30 & 15 Euro respectively. The weekly and annual ones require a passport type photograph in many Departments. You can check the costs and requirements using this link and follow it to the Department where you intend to fish.
F�d�ration Nationale pour la P�che en France
Each Department is responsible for managing the fisheries and issuing rod licences in their area. A CdP for my Department, Charente, also enables me to fish other Departments by a reciprocal arrangement. If I wished to fish in a Department without such an arrangement with the issuing Department an additional stamp is required. You can check whether your CdP allows you to fish elsewhere by checking in at Tourist Information Offices or tackle shops.
Fishing private lakes does not require a CdP. What is and is not private is up to you to find out before fishing. There are hefty fines for those caught without a CdP where one is required. Usually, a public lake will have a Plan d'Eau or map of the water situated at various points around the lake. These give useful information about restrictions and species to be caught. Many of the public lakes and some stretches of river also require a Club Halieutique stamp and additional fee if it is not already included in your CdP. Information about this is contained in a booklet that accompanies your CdP. This booklet contains all local regulations, details of close seasons and other necessary and useful information.
Rivers are classified as Category 1 - game fish and Category 2 - coarse fish. Sometimes you will see the category listed on the river name sign on road bridges, but if in doubt consult the booklet issued with your CdP. It is worth mentioning that many Departments do not allow maggots as bait on any Category 1 water and other Departments have restrictions on the type of bait and lures you can use.
There are other common restrictions including the pike and zander close season; Feb to Apr inclusive when you cannot use fish baits live or dead and their are restrictions on lure fishing. Crayfish and some nuisance non-native species may have to be killed and not returned alive in many areas. Also these cannot be used as bait. Fishing for eels, salmon and grayling is not allowed in my Department and some others. All these restrictions and rules are in the booklet or on the website of the Departmental Fisheries Office. To find this site do an Internet search using the word string "www.unpf.fr/**/" putting the Department number instead of asterisks. Example: "www.unpf.fr/16/" will give the Charente site.
Generally you can fish most rivers other than private stretches just by having a CdP and CH stamp where necessary, but in practice access can be restricted by fences or other obstructions. The land owner should leave a 3 metre corridor for anglers, but as many French rivers aren't fished much if at all this has fallen into disuse in many rural areas. In summer when crops have been harvested it doesn't pose much of a problem. But when faced with a Limousin bull or group of cows and calves discretion rather than valour is recommended.
My advice is to forget maggots as a bait. A pint would cost you more than a meal for two, assuming you could find them. Sweetcorn or bread will catch anywhere. Conventional groundbaits, boilies, pellets and tackle can be purchased from any Decathalon store at reasonable prices. Check on the location and stocks of the nearest store here:
http://www.decathlon.fr
Local tackle shops can be hit and miss where baits and accessories ar concerned.
The final thing to remind you is that on rivers and public lakes you can only night fish in designated areas (marked Carpe de Nuit) and then only for carp. Details of these areas are contained in the booklet or should be marked on the Plan d'Eau. Fishing starts 30 minute before dawn and ends 30 minutes after dusk. Again times for each day are in the booklet that accompanies your CdP.
<Edit> Please do not contact me by Personal Message. I have received lots of messages from total strangers who have no posting history and seemingly only joined FM to be able to send me a PM, never to be heard of again. I will not respond to messages from people with no posting history. Thank you.
To fish any river or public lake in France you must be in possession of a rod licence or Carte de Peche (CdP) issued by the Department where you are fishing, or by another Department with a reciprocal arrangement, more of which later. You can buy a CdP from many Tabacs, Post Offices and of course fishing shops. A lot of supermarkets also issue them as do Tourist Information Offices and usually there is an English speaker on the staff.
Annual licences run from Jan to Dec and cost around 90 euro. You can also buy weekly (Hebdomadaire) or daily (Journaliere) permits at 30 & 15 Euro respectively. The weekly and annual ones require a passport type photograph in many Departments. You can check the costs and requirements using this link and follow it to the Department where you intend to fish.
F�d�ration Nationale pour la P�che en France
Each Department is responsible for managing the fisheries and issuing rod licences in their area. A CdP for my Department, Charente, also enables me to fish other Departments by a reciprocal arrangement. If I wished to fish in a Department without such an arrangement with the issuing Department an additional stamp is required. You can check whether your CdP allows you to fish elsewhere by checking in at Tourist Information Offices or tackle shops.
Fishing private lakes does not require a CdP. What is and is not private is up to you to find out before fishing. There are hefty fines for those caught without a CdP where one is required. Usually, a public lake will have a Plan d'Eau or map of the water situated at various points around the lake. These give useful information about restrictions and species to be caught. Many of the public lakes and some stretches of river also require a Club Halieutique stamp and additional fee if it is not already included in your CdP. Information about this is contained in a booklet that accompanies your CdP. This booklet contains all local regulations, details of close seasons and other necessary and useful information.
Rivers are classified as Category 1 - game fish and Category 2 - coarse fish. Sometimes you will see the category listed on the river name sign on road bridges, but if in doubt consult the booklet issued with your CdP. It is worth mentioning that many Departments do not allow maggots as bait on any Category 1 water and other Departments have restrictions on the type of bait and lures you can use.
There are other common restrictions including the pike and zander close season; Feb to Apr inclusive when you cannot use fish baits live or dead and their are restrictions on lure fishing. Crayfish and some nuisance non-native species may have to be killed and not returned alive in many areas. Also these cannot be used as bait. Fishing for eels, salmon and grayling is not allowed in my Department and some others. All these restrictions and rules are in the booklet or on the website of the Departmental Fisheries Office. To find this site do an Internet search using the word string "www.unpf.fr/**/" putting the Department number instead of asterisks. Example: "www.unpf.fr/16/" will give the Charente site.
Generally you can fish most rivers other than private stretches just by having a CdP and CH stamp where necessary, but in practice access can be restricted by fences or other obstructions. The land owner should leave a 3 metre corridor for anglers, but as many French rivers aren't fished much if at all this has fallen into disuse in many rural areas. In summer when crops have been harvested it doesn't pose much of a problem. But when faced with a Limousin bull or group of cows and calves discretion rather than valour is recommended.
My advice is to forget maggots as a bait. A pint would cost you more than a meal for two, assuming you could find them. Sweetcorn or bread will catch anywhere. Conventional groundbaits, boilies, pellets and tackle can be purchased from any Decathalon store at reasonable prices. Check on the location and stocks of the nearest store here:
http://www.decathlon.fr
Local tackle shops can be hit and miss where baits and accessories ar concerned.
The final thing to remind you is that on rivers and public lakes you can only night fish in designated areas (marked Carpe de Nuit) and then only for carp. Details of these areas are contained in the booklet or should be marked on the Plan d'Eau. Fishing starts 30 minute before dawn and ends 30 minutes after dusk. Again times for each day are in the booklet that accompanies your CdP.
<Edit> Please do not contact me by Personal Message. I have received lots of messages from total strangers who have no posting history and seemingly only joined FM to be able to send me a PM, never to be heard of again. I will not respond to messages from people with no posting history. Thank you.
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