Family Fishing Holidays In France (carp fishing france)

carp fishing france

You must have a fishing licence to fish in rivers, streams and lakes throughout France unless these are privately owned or booked as a fishing holiday where the fishing licence requirements are normally included, but it is advisable to check this out before you travel!

If you need to obtain your own fishing permit, these can usually be obtained from the local fishing tackle shop or alternatively from the local bar or tobac. But if you are not sure on what is required then you can get advice from the local tourist information board, which can also provide maps of where you can and cannot fish.

If you are only going to be on holiday in France for a short time, then you can get what is known as The Carte de Peche de Vacances, which covers an angler for up to fifteen consecutive days and can be used between 1st June and 30th November. However, outside of these dates an annual fishing licence is mandatory.

An annual permit may be used for the whole year but bear in mind that this will only be for one department unless you get it stamped for different areas that you may go to and this is something that you will need for all fresh water fishing.

When it comes to catfish and carp fishing, you can get a licence to do this in the local rivers or public lakes, but the majority of people will want to opt for a carp fishing holiday on a dedicated lake. And when you go to a dedicated privately owned lake for carp fishing, cat fishing, etc, then you will not normally have to worry about getting your own individual licence as this will already have either been sorted out by the travel agency or the owner under their regulations.

Boats are allowed to be used quite a bit in France, but you may need to have a separate part to your licence to enable you to use a boat, even if it is only for baiting. But be careful if you have an echo sounder in your boat, as you are not allowed to have both this and your tackle in the boat at the same time!

Also, night fishing is prohibited in a lot of places in France, but when on a private fishing lake, or if with the correct licence on certain waters, this can be allowed. If not, then you can only fish half hour after sunrise to half hour before sunset. Some places on the rivers seine, Rhone, Moselle, Oise, Madine and Rhine, etc do allow night fishing, but there are many places that do ban the use of a bivvy or tent even if night fishing is allowed and you may only get away with a brolly!

carp fishing france



By Martyn Davis