Fishing places
Continental Europe
France, Iberia's Atlantic side, the Low Countries, Germany and the rivers and lakes of central Europe — big tides on the ocean coast, and a freshwater tradition unlike the British one.
Being listed here is not permission to fish. What that meansClose
Access, fishing rights, seasons, licences, local bylaws and permitted methods vary and can change. Check current access, permission, local regulations, closures and restrictions before you travel or fish. FishingHQ describes what the ground is and names who holds the answer; it does not hold the answer itself.
Find the authority for a jurisdiction · What FishingHQ does and does not cover
- 16 fishing regions and destinations
- 39 publicly documented places
Where to start
39 publicly documented fishing places across 16 coasts, islands and systems, under the 6 jurisdictions that administer them. Pick one and work down.
Every place, listed
39 publicly documented fishing places, under the jurisdiction that governs them and then the coast they belong to. This is the complete list — everything plotted on the map above is here, and nothing here needs the map to reach it.
Portugal 19 places
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in Portugal
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in mainland Portugal is licensed by the state, with separate categories for shore, boat and underwater fishing and separate arrangements again for shellfish gathering, and with quantity, size and species measures alongside. Licences, measures and closures change. Check the current position with the national fisheries directorate and with the local maritime authority before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in mainland Portugal is licensed by the state, with separate categories for shore, boat and underwater fishing and separate arrangements again for shellfish gathering, and with quantity, size and species measures alongside. Licences, measures and closures change. Check the current position with the national fisheries directorate and with the local maritime authority before going. This water is tidal and transitional, so the freshwater regime may also apply above the tidal limit: FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Inland fishing in mainland Portugal is licensed by the state nature-conservation authority, and many waters are additionally classified as concessions or reserves requiring their own permit. Seasons, methods and classifications change. Check with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests and with whoever holds the concession before going.
Portugal 19 places
A long Atlantic coast with almost no shelter, fed by the same upwelling that makes Galicia productive, and a country whose fishing culture is organised around octopus and salt cod to a degree no other European nation approaches.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: cliffs and rock platforms, moving water and currents.
19 places on this coast
- Praia da Rocha, Portimão beach · salt water · boat traffic and being seen
- Praia de Quarteira beach · salt water
- Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente headland · salt water · cliffs and rock platforms
- The Algarve offshore grounds sea area · salt water · boat traffic and being seen
- The Alvor estuary estuary · salt water
- The Fuseta channel tidal channel · salt water · boat traffic and being seen
- The Picos Herminios offshore bank · salt water · boat traffic and being seen
- The Ria Formosa estuary · brackish water · tides and being cut off
- The Vilamoura moles mole · salt water · drowning and immersion, boat traffic and being seen, cliffs and rock platforms
Armação de Pêra
Beach · Salt water
A wide south-facing sand beach between the low cliffs of the central Algarve, opening east into the flatter shore toward the Alcantarilha stream mouth.
Particular to this water: Portugal requires a recreational sea fishing licence, and separate conditions apply to spearfishing and to shellfish gathering. Minimum sizes, bag limits and closed seasons are set nationally and change. Check the current requirements with the Portuguese fisheries authority before fishing.
Cabo da Roca and Guincho
Headland · Salt water
The westernmost point of continental Europe: a granite and limestone headland falling in high cliffs to the Atlantic, with the exposed sand beach of Guincho immediately north of it and reef and boulder ground below the cliffs.
Particular to this ground: cliffs and rock platforms, cold water shock.
Ilha de Tavira
Surf beach · Salt water
A barrier island of open south-facing sand reached only by boat, with the lagoon and its channels behind and clean, gently shelving surf on the seaward side.
Particular to this water: Much of this shore lies within the Ria Formosa natural park, where access, permitted methods and protected zones are managed and differ from the open coast. Being listed here is not permission to fish: check the park authority and the national licence requirements first.
Peniche and Baleal
Headland · Salt water
A limestone peninsula projecting west from the Estremadura coast, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus, with cliffs and wave-cut ledges on the seaward side, a working fishing harbour on the south and sand beaches on both flanks of the isthmus.
Particular to this ground: cliffs and rock platforms.
Particular to this water: This is an owned and operated structure. Whether angling is allowed on it, when, from where and on what terms is the operator's decision, is frequently seasonal, and changes without notice. Underwater fishing is licensed and regulated separately from rod fishing throughout this jurisdiction, with its own age, equipment and distance requirements, and holding a rod licence is not permission to spearfish.
Portimão
Charter departure port · Salt water
The commercial and sport-fishing harbour at the mouth of the Arade, and the port the western Algarve big-game fleet works from.
Particular to this ground: boat traffic and being seen.
Particular to this water: A departure port, not a fishing mark. The offshore ground the fleet works is forty-five nautical miles away and is recorded separately.
Praia de Faro
Surf beach · Salt water
The seaward face of the barrier spit carrying the Faro road, open sand facing south-west with the Ria Formosa lagoon immediately behind it and the airport channel at its western end.
Particular to this water: Much of this shore lies within the Ria Formosa natural park, where access, permitted methods and protected zones are managed and differ from the open coast. Being listed here is not permission to fish: check the park authority and the national licence requirements first.
Sesimbra and Cabo Espichel
Harbour wall · Salt water
A working fishing harbour under the limestone wall of the Arrábida range, sheltered from the north, with quay walls, deep water close in, and the exposed cliffs and platforms of Cabo Espichel a few kilometres west.
Particular to this water: This is an owned and operated structure. Whether angling is allowed on it, when, from where and on what terms is the operator's decision, is frequently seasonal, and changes without notice. This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water.
The Albufeira cliffs and coves
Cliff coast · Salt water
Soft yellow limestone cliff cut into arches, stacks and small coves between Albufeira and Praia da Falésia, with rock ledges at the foot of the cliff and clean sand in the bays.
Particular to this ground: cliffs and rock platforms, drowning and immersion.
Particular to this water: Portugal requires a recreational sea fishing licence, and separate conditions apply to spearfishing and to shellfish gathering. Minimum sizes, bag limits and closed seasons are set nationally and change. Check the current requirements with the Portuguese fisheries authority before fishing. The cliffs here are actively eroding soft limestone and rockfall closures are common.
The Tagus estuary
Estuary · Brackish water
One of the largest estuaries in western Europe: a narrow deep entrance past Lisbon opening into a wide shallow basin with extensive mud and sand flats, salt marsh and reclaimed land, and a working commercial port throughout.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision. This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water.
Vilamoura marina
Charter departure port · Salt water
A large purpose-built marina on the central Algarve coast, and the main departure point for the region's offshore and big-game charter fleet.
Particular to this ground: boat traffic and being seen.
Particular to this water: A departure port, not a fishing mark. What the fleet catches is recorded against the offshore grounds. A recreational licence is required and is commonly arranged through the operator; confirm with the skipper and the authority.
France 9 places
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in France
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in France is not generally licensed for shore angling, but national and European measures on species, sizes, quantities and gear apply, some species carry a declaration or marking requirement, and access to structures, beaches and shellfish grounds is governed locally. All of it changes. Check the current position with the maritime prefecture or the departmental directorate for the sea, and with the commune, before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in France is not generally licensed for shore angling, but national and European measures on species, sizes, quantities and gear apply, some species carry a declaration or marking requirement, and access to structures, beaches and shellfish grounds is governed locally. All of it changes. Check the current position with the maritime prefecture or the departmental directorate for the sea, and with the commune, before going. This water is tidal and transitional, so the freshwater regime may also apply above the tidal limit: FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Inland fishing in France runs through membership: an angler joins an approved local fishing association, which is affiliated to a departmental federation, and pays the national levy alongside it — so the permission and the licence arrive together and are bought from the association rather than from a state counter. Waters, seasons, methods and reciprocity arrangements differ by department and change. Check with the departmental fishing federation and the local association before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Inland fishing in France runs through membership: an angler joins an approved local fishing association, which is affiliated to a departmental federation, and pays the national levy alongside it — so the permission and the licence arrive together and are bought from the association rather than from a state counter. Waters, seasons, methods and reciprocity arrangements differ by department and change. Check with the departmental fishing federation and the local association before going.
Brittany and the French Atlantic coast 4 places
A granite peninsula thrown out into the Atlantic between the Channel and Biscay, carrying the largest tidal ranges in Europe, ferocious races around its headlands and islands, and the continental heartland of bass fishing.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: tides and being cut off, moving water and currents, cliffs and rock platforms.
4 places on this coast
- Pointe du Raz headland · salt water · cliffs and rock platforms, moving water and currents
- The Baie de Douarnenez bay · salt water
- The Côte Sauvage, Quiberon rock mark · salt water · cliffs and rock platforms, cold water shock
- The Golfe du Morbihan tidal channel · brackish water · tides and being cut off
France 4 places
Three coasts on two seas plus one of Europe's largest inland fisheries, governed by a licensing system that treats fresh water and salt water as almost unrelated activities — and a shore-gathering tradition with no British equivalent.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: tides and being cut off, moving water and currents.
4 places on this coast
- The Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel bay · brackish water · tides and being cut off, drowning and immersion
- The Gironde estuary estuary · brackish water · cold water shock
Lac du Der
Reservoir · Fresh water
One of the largest artificial lakes in western Europe, built to regulate the Seine, with a shallow shelving bed over former farmland, standing dead timber in places, extensive shallow bays and a level drawn down substantially through the year.
Particular to this ground: cold water shock.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision. This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water.
The Loire at Nantes
River reach · Brackish water
The lowest freshwater and upper tidal reach of France's longest river as it passes through Nantes: a wide, sandy, heavily engineered channel with quay walls, islands and slack water behind training works.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision.
The Bay of Biscay 1 place
A wide shelf, a very abrupt canyon-cut edge, and a fetch open to the whole North Atlantic. Those three facts explain the tuna, the swell and the fisheries of two countries.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: moving water and currents.
1 place on this coast
- The Bassin d'Arcachon bay · brackish water · tides and being cut off
The Netherlands 5 places
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in The Netherlands
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Dutch inland angling runs through a single document issued by the angling federation and its member associations, which functions as both the licence and the permission for the waters listed with it — and a water not on that list needs its own arrangement. Methods, seasons and the night-fishing and third-rod permissions are separate again, and all of them change. Check with the national angling federation and the local association before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Shore angling on the Dutch coast is largely open, but species and size measures apply, sea bass in particular is managed tightly and changes year to year, and access to dikes, piers, sluices and the Delta works is controlled by the authority that owns the structure. Check the current position with the national angling federation and with the water authority before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Shore angling on the Dutch coast is largely open, but species and size measures apply, sea bass in particular is managed tightly and changes year to year, and access to dikes, piers, sluices and the Delta works is controlled by the authority that owns the structure. Check the current position with the national angling federation and with the water authority before going. This water is tidal and transitional, so the freshwater regime may also apply above the tidal limit: FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Dutch inland angling runs through a single document issued by the angling federation and its member associations, which functions as both the licence and the permission for the waters listed with it — and a water not on that list needs its own arrangement. Methods, seasons and the night-fishing and third-rod permissions are separate again, and all of them change. Check with the national angling federation and the local association before going.
The IJsselmeer 1 place
An arm of the North Sea closed off by a dam in 1932 and turned fresh — now the largest lake in western Europe by area, where every feature of the habitat, from the depth to the fish community, is an engineering consequence.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: boat safety.
1 place on this coast
The Markermeer
Lake · Fresh water
The southern basin of the former Zuiderzee, cut off from the IJsselmeer by a dike and from the sea by another: a very large, very shallow, wind-stirred freshwater lake with a soft silt bed and stone-revetted dikes around most of its edge.
Particular to this ground: cold water shock, weather and lightning.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision.
The Netherlands 3 places
A country largely built out of water, where the fishing licence is issued by the anglers' own federation and one document covers both the permission and the water it applies to.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: drowning and immersion, moving water and currents, tides and being cut off.
3 places on this coast
- The Oosterschelde estuary · salt water · cold water shock, moving water and currents
The Amsterdam canals
Canal section · Fresh water
A seventeenth-century ring of urban canals with vertical stone quay walls, moored houseboats, bridges and a controlled level flushed periodically by the water authority, holding a genuine predator population in the middle of a city.
Particular to this ground: drowning and immersion.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision.
The Grevelingenmeer
Lake · Salt water
A former sea arm dammed at both ends and left salt: the largest saltwater lake in western Europe, with no tide at all, sand and mud bottom, eelgrass, and a sluice providing a controlled exchange with the sea.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision. This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water.
The Wadden Sea 1 place
Five hundred kilometres of tidal flat behind a chain of barrier islands, running across three countries: the largest unbroken intertidal system on earth and the nursery for a very large share of the southern North Sea.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: tides and being cut off, drowning and immersion, moving water and currents.
1 place on this coast
Texel
Island · Brackish water
The largest of the Dutch Wadden barrier islands, with a long open North Sea beach and groyne field on the west, dunes behind it, and drying flats, mussel beds and deep tidal channels on the landward side towards the mainland.
Particular to this ground: tides and being cut off, cold water shock.
Particular to this water: This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water. Shellfish harvesting areas are classified for food safety and are opened and closed on monitoring results a gatherer cannot see. Neither cooking nor appearance removes a biotoxin. Check the current classification with the responsible authority before taking anything.
Galicia 3 places
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in Galicia
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in Galicia is licensed by the autonomous community, separately from the Spanish state, with distinct licences for shore, boat and underwater fishing, and with shellfish gathering regulated separately again. Measures, seasons and closures apply and change. Check the current position with the Xunta de Galicia's fisheries administration before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Recreational sea fishing in Galicia is licensed by the autonomous community, separately from the Spanish state, with distinct licences for shore, boat and underwater fishing, and with shellfish gathering regulated separately again. Measures, seasons and closures apply and change. Check the current position with the Xunta de Galicia's fisheries administration before going. This water is tidal and transitional, so the freshwater regime may also apply above the tidal limit: FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Inland fishing in Galicia is licensed by the autonomous community, and many waters additionally require a separate permit issued per water and per day. Seasons, sizes and methods are set regionally and change. Check with the Xunta de Galicia's inland fisheries administration before going.
Galicia and the Iberian ria coast 3 places
Drowned river valleys open to the Atlantic, flushed by one of the world's strongest upwelling systems, producing a coast whose shellfish culture is unmatched in Europe and whose exposure is easily underestimated.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: moving water and currents.
3 places on this coast
- Cabo Fisterra and the Costa da Morte headland · salt water · cliffs and rock platforms, cold water shock
- The Ría de Arousa estuary · brackish water
The Ría de Vigo
Estuary · Brackish water
A deep drowned valley behind the Cíes islands, with a major commercial port and quay walls on the southern shore, rock and kelp on the flanks, sand beaches in the bays and deep water through the middle.
Particular to this water: This ground lies in or beside a marine protected area whose zoning constrains fishing, diving, anchoring and collection independently of any licence, with rules that differ between zones and boundaries that are not visible from the water. Underwater fishing is licensed and regulated separately from rod fishing throughout this jurisdiction, with its own age, equipment and distance requirements, and holding a rod licence is not permission to spearfish.
Spain 2 places
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in Spain
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here, and in Spain the first question is which administration to ask. Recreational sea fishing, underwater fishing and shellfish gathering are licensed by the autonomous community rather than by the state, with separate licences for each and different validity in each community, and state and European measures apply on top. Everything changes. Establish which autonomous community this water belongs to, and check the current position with its fisheries administration, before going.
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here, and in Spain the first question is which administration to ask. Recreational sea fishing, underwater fishing and shellfish gathering are licensed by the autonomous community rather than by the state, with separate licences for each and different validity in each community, and state and European measures apply on top. Everything changes. Establish which autonomous community this water belongs to, and check the current position with its fisheries administration, before going. This water is tidal and transitional, so the freshwater regime may also apply above the tidal limit: FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Inland fishing in Spain is licensed by the autonomous community, and a great many waters additionally require a separate permit issued per water and frequently per day, often by ballot on the better rivers. Seasons, methods and permit systems differ between neighbouring communities and change. Establish which community administers this water and check with it before going.
Spain 2 places
Two seas, seventeen fishing administrations and one of Europe's largest shore and spearfishing cultures — where the first question is never what the rule is but which government sets it.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: cliffs and rock platforms, shallow water blackout and breath-hold loss of consciousness, boat traffic and being seen.
2 places on this coast
Cabo Peñas
Headland · Salt water
The northernmost point of Asturias: a quartzite headland with vertical cliffs, wave-cut platforms at their foot and reef running offshore into deep water on the Cantabrian shelf.
Particular to this ground: cliffs and rock platforms, cold water shock.
Zurriola and the Urumea mouth, San Sebastián
Beach · Brackish water
An urban surf beach on the Basque coast beside the mouth of the Urumea, with a rock breakwater on its western side, clean sand in front and the sheltered shell-shaped bay of La Concha immediately west of the river.
Particular to this ground: cold water shock.
Germany 1 place
Who to ask before fishing anywhere in Germany
FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. German inland angling needs two separate things: the state fishing licence, which in most states follows an examination, and a permit for the specific water, which is sold by whoever holds the fishing right — usually a club, a commune or a private owner. Neither substitutes for the other, both differ between the sixteen states, and both change. Check with the state fisheries authority and with the water's rights-holder before going.
The Rhine 1 place
Western Europe's most industrially important river: an Alpine torrent turned into a shipping canal, biologically destroyed by a single chemical spill in 1986, and deliberately rebuilt in one of the largest river restoration programmes ever attempted.
Severe hazards of this coast, inherited by every place under it: boat traffic and being seen, drowning and immersion, moving water and currents.
1 place on this coast
The Rhine at Cologne
River reach · Fresh water
A heavily engineered reach of Europe's busiest commercial river as it passes through Cologne: a fast deep navigation channel confined by continuous groyne fields, with slack water and slower flow in the bays between the groynes and a hard revetted bank throughout.
Particular to this ground: moving water and currents.
Particular to this water: This is working water-management or navigation infrastructure, operated to a schedule set by its authority rather than by anything happening in the fishing, and access to it is that authority's decision.
Also covered, with no individual places under them yet
Full guides to coasts, islands and systems in Continental Europe whose places are catalogued under a finer coast above, or not yet catalogued at all.