Fishing regulation

Fishing Regulation 2020 & licenses

How to fish?

The choice of the technique and tackle is free but you have to respect the fishing rules.

In 1^st category waters:

Fishing is allowed with only one rod, close to the angler, and one line equipped with 2 hooks or 3 artificial flies at most, or with 6 crayfish scoopnets at most or with a 2 Liters minnow bottle. Maggots and other dipteria grubs are forbidden.

Kruth Wildenstein Lake: Fishing is authorised with 2 rods, maggots (only as hookbait) and from non-motorised boats. For more information please contact the “Syndicat Mixte du Barrage de Kruth Wildenstein” per phone at the 03 89 82 26 46.

In 2^nd category waters

Fishing is allowed with 4 rods equipped with at most 2 hooks or 3 artificial flies, or 6 crayfish scoopnets or an at most 2 Liters minnow bottle. The rods must be close to the angler. The 50 meters upstream of a dam can only be fished with one rod. Fishing with one line is allowed through all the public waters of France.

Specific sections: Nightfishing, No kill, …

Federal no-kill ponds: The Vauban and Courtavon Lakes

• Immediate release of every catch, except non endemic harmful species.
• Access and regulation specific directly there or on our website peche68.fr 

Rhine no kill section:

From the Petit Landeau army ramp to the Ottmarsheim army ramp.

• Immediate release of every catch, except non endemic harmful species.
• Only artificial baits are allowed (lures, flies)

Recommendation: use a net to shorten the fight and to limit the fish’s stress reactions, take photos fastest, hold the fish underwater.

Night fishing for carp is allowed on:

• The Rhône au Rhin Grand gabarit canal, between the Niffer lock and the Ile Napoléon rail bridge (no kill fishing for carp night and day) ;
• The Rhône au Rhin canal in Saint-Bernard ;
• The Colmar canal in Colmar ;
• The Courtavon and Vauban lakes (Access and regulation specific directly there or on our website peche68.fr ).

Nightfishing for carp has to be catch and release:

• Immediate release of every catch, except non endemic harmful species.
• Only vegetal hookbaits and food or boilies are allowed.

 

Restrictions: prohibited techniques and baits

Only the baits mentioned in the “How to fish?” paragraph are allowed.

Following points are forbidden:

• The use as baitfish of species having a minimum legal capture size.
• Real or artificial fisheggs.
• During pike closure, dead or living fish as baits or any other bait susceptible to non-accidentally catch a pike.
• Selling fish.
• Pollute and leave trash.
• Campfires directly on the ground.

Fishing is forbidden:

• In the reserves;
• In the fish passes or any other fish passing facility, straits, watermill canals
• Special regulations emitted by the keeper excepted, fishing is allowed with one rod in the 50 meters downstream of a public work. Any other type of fishing from a dam or a lock is forbidden.

Access and parking is forbidden inside the “Security Zones” (read Arrêté Préfectoral and cahier des Charges pour l’Exploitation du Droit de Pêche de l’Etat currently effective and available on our website www.peche68.fr )

 

Where to fish?

The Haut- Rhin Departement is full of healthy rivers, mountain lakes and fishponds. You will always find the great spot to live your passion.

Check the interactive map to find your spot and access: 

 

The fishing license allows you to fish:

-1 Public waters

-2 Federal private waters

-3 The waters of the AAPPMAs: always check the local fishing regulation.

 

• The Haut-Rhin’s public waters are:

Second category waters:

• The Rhine river
• The Grand Canal d’Alsace
• The Rhône au Rhin Canal, between Montreux Vieux and Niffer, including the Nouveaux bassins from Mulhouse and the junction canal.
• The Colmar canal
• The Neuf-Brisach canal
• The Huningue Canal
• The Ill river between the Ladhof bridge in Colmar and the departmental limit between Upper and Lower Rhine
• The canal déclassé between Ile Napoléon and Kunheim
• The Rigole de la Largue river Friesen and Valdieu
• The Réservoir Nord at Montreux Vieux
• The pond between the canals at Montreux Jeune

 

First category waters: fishing only allowed on the right bank:

• The northern tourism section between Biesheim and the departmental limit with the Lower Rhine.
• The southern tourism section between Village Neuf and Rosenau.

 

 

• Privat federal waters are:

 

• The Vauban lake in Algolsheim (Access and regulation directly there or on our website peche68.fr ).
• The Kruth Wildenstein lake: fishing allowed from Friday 19/04/2019 to Sunday 06/10/2019.
• The Courtavon lake (Access and regulation directly there or on our website peche68.fr ).

 

• AAPPMA’s fishing sections

 

• For 100% reciprocal AAPPMAs: all the reciprocal fishing sections of the department.

INFORMATION: with the interfederal license you can fish in every reciprocal section in 91 French departements. That includes the CHI, EHGO and URNE reciprocal agreements.

• For non-reciprocal AAPPMAs: the AAPPMAs private fishing sections (more information directly at the federations).

Which license?

Every fisherman has to be member of an AAPPMA (fishing association), has to pay a fishing fee (CPMA) and has to have the permission from the owner of the fishing right by being the owner of an actual fishing license:

• Adult fishing license, reciprocal or not
• Discovery license for women (fishing only with one rod)
• Minors fishing license (12 to 18 years old)
• Discovery minors license (less than 12 years old, fishing with only one rod)
• Dayticket
• Weekly licence (from day to day, valid 7 days in a row).

 

 

How to buy the licence?

2020 Prizes

Yearly Interfederal License	For people elder than 18 / Allows fishing in every URNE, EGO or CHI reciprocal AAPPMA in France.	100.00€
Yearly adult license	For people elder than 18 / Allows fishing in every AAPPMA included in the Haut Rhin reciprocal agreement.	80.00€
Discovery license for women	Women elder than 18 / Allows fishing with one rod	35.00€
Teenager licence	For people between 12 and 18 at the first January of the concerned year. / Allows fishing with one rod	21.00€
Discovery licence for children	For people younger than 12 at the first January of the concerned year. / Allows fishing with one rod	6.00€
Dayticket	Allows fishing during one chosen day	18.00€
Weekly license	Allows fishing seven days in a row, during the same year	33.00€

Where to buy a license?

You have 2 possibilities to buy a fishing license:

• Directly on the website cartedepeche.fr
• At a fishing license retailer

The different retailers are mapped on the interactive Web Map: Click here to visit our License retailer Map.

 

When to fish?

Fishing is allowed the whole year, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, in the Upper Rhine.

Fishing open season:

• 1^st category from the 14/03/2020 to the 20/09/2020 included
• 2^nd category from the 01/01/2020 to the 31/12/2020 included
• Mountain lakes: From the 14/03/2020 to the 11/10/2020, excepted the Kruth Wildenstein lake, open until the 10/04/2020
• Pike in 2^nd category waters from 01/01/2020 to 26/01/20 and from 25/04/2020 to 31/12/20 included
• Zander in 2^nd category waters from 01/01/20 to 26/01/2020 and from 06/06/2020 to 31/12/2020 included
• Largemouth bass in 2^nd category from 01/01/20 to 26/01/2020 and from 27/06/2020 to 31/12/20 included
• Eel : fishing forbidden
• Crayfish other than American: fishing forbidden
• Frogs: fishing forbidden

 

What to fish?

The Upper Rhine rivers have got an ecological richness, the following rules are made to maintain this richness and to preserve and develop this natural patrimony.

Minimum fish length:

• Trout: 23 cm; Rhine and Grand canal d’Alsace: 40 cm.
• Largemouth bass in 2^nd category waters: 40 cm
• Pike : 60 cm
• Zander in 2^nd category waters: 50 cm
• Grayling: fishing forbidden.
• Whitefish: 30cm
• Arctic char: 23 cm
• Brook : 23 cm; 
• Other species: No legal size
• Crayfish other than American: fishing forbidden
• Seetrout and salmon: fishing forbidden
• Carp: transport of living carp over 60 cm length is forbidden.

 

The length of a fish is measured from head to tail. Every fish below the legal size has to be immediately released, dead or alive. Non endemic, harmful species can neither be released, nor being transported alive.

 

Daily limit bags:

• In every water: 4 salmonids at most per day and per fisherman.
• 3 predator fishes (zander, pike or largemouth bass), per day and per fisherman with at most 1 pike.
• Private federal waters: Access and regulation directly there or on our website peche68.fr

Please be aware that… This fishing regulation is a simple version containing the mean information. You will always have to refer to the Arrêté Préfectoral (Check our website www.peche68.fr).