How to Fish in Finland
““Give a man to fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, or don’t teach him. Fishing isn’t that hard and he is a grown man””
“Angling” is covered by Everyman’s Rights and as a result you do not need a license to fish with just a stick, string and bait. You can literally use a stick or like most people, a telescoping pole that you can buy at any shop like Motonet or whatever. Once you have one of these, head down to the water and throw your line and bait in and see what happens. This is the easiest and most cost effective way to fish in Finland.
However if you want to increase your chances, then you need a proper fishing rod and reel. This allows you to cast farther and with different kinds of lures like jigs, spoons and spinners. In order to use a rod and reel in Finland, you need to pay your fisheries management fee, which is 65 euros per year and can be purchased online here: https://www.eraluvat.fi/en/fishing/fisheries-management-fee.html
Once you have that, you are able to fish in the sea and in the lakes around Finland, providing you purchase your permit for the year and have the correct equipment. A basic rod and reel is probably around 120 euros and a good selection of lures like lotto bette, kuusamo and jigs will probably run you another 30 or 40 euros. With that, you can probably fish everything in Finland. I won’t get into how to jig, or trawl or whatever because there are a million youtube videos that show it better than I ever could.
However where you cannot fish with this just this permit, is many rivers and streams. Rivers and streams can require an additional day permit and the information is usually listed at the fishing place in question. So if you want to fly fish, then you need the permit for the place you want to fly fish.
“Fly fishing is tough to learn, incredibly frustrating and magnificently rewarding. I do not believe there is a finer way to fish but be prepared for a steep learning curve. ”
If you want to ice fish, or as I call it, “socially acceptable day drinking by yourself”, then you don’t need a permit. Why would you need a permit to get hammered alone in the dark? It doesn’t make sense. You can either say, “Babe, im going ice fishing” or “Babe, im drinking by myself from 7 am to 7 pm on a frozen hellscape”. Which one sounds better? You either have a problem, or you are a sportsman!Just buy an ice fishing rod, a drill, and a box of maggots or worms and just sit there contemplating all your past mistakes and occasionally pulling up a perch.
As far as I know, there are no size limits for perch, but there are size limits for things like trout, salmon, whitefish and zander or often they are protected in certain stretches of water. Thats up to you to find out depending on where you are fishing.
But basically, pay the fisheries management fee, buy a rod and reel, get some lures and walk out to any dock in Finland and start casting. If you have access to a boat, you probably have access to a guy who knows how to fish and can show you how to jig and trawl. It is incredibly easy to get into fishing in Finland, far easier than hunting and a wonderful way to spend time outdoors. If you have any questions or need a guide, feel free to reach out.
