Fishing in Denmark – for tourists

So you’re planning a holiday or trip to Denmark – great!

Maybe you want to enjoy a little fishing while you’re here? That’s even better and you won’t regret it, I promise you. Denmark is well known throughout Europe for great fishing opportunities – especially for some great sea trout fishing.

This will be a guide for fishing in Denmark, what you should know before you start about licenses and regulations. Where you want to fish and what to expect to catch. Lots to cover – lets get started!

Rules and regulations

First of all you want to get a fishing license. Everyone between the age of 18 and 65 is obligated to buy a license. If you’re younger or older you wont need to get one – but keep some ID stating your birthday on you when you’re fishing, should you be asked to show it by Fiskerikontrollen (Fishing authorities).

You could meet the fishing authorities pretty much everywhere. Usually pretty nice folks as long as you have your license. If you fail to show a license when you’re required to have one, you will be fined. The fine is about DKK 500 / € 67.

A fishing license is valid for 1 day DKK 40 / € 5,40, 1 week DKK 130 / € 17,50 or 1 year DKK 185 / € 24,90. You choose this when you pay for it. It can be bought at local postoffices, touristoffices and some fishing and tackle shops. You can also buy one online here.

Revenue from sale of licenses goes towards maintaining a good and healthy fishing environment, release of fry and support to local initiatives. So you could say that we all benefit from it.

Where to fish?

So you have your fishing license and just want to do some fishing. Where do you go? Depends on what you want to catch.

If you’re looking for some deep sea fishing from charter boats, you’ll have good luck from pretty much every region. The charter boats will often hunt for cod, flatfish, garfish, herring and mackerel, depending on what time of the year you fish. Naturally the species change with the seasons.

Trips are usually a half day long.

This is a video of a typical fishing trip. It’s filmed on the boat Skjold on the Sound. Apparently a cod/herring trip:

If fishing from the coast or piers is more your thing, you have great opportunities all over the country. Territorial seas are free of charge when you have your fishing permit.

You should know when fishing in these places, that there is a 100 meter net-free zone along all coastlines in Denmark. This is to protect migrating fish, which also apply for 150 meter no-fishing zone to each side of all stream- and river mouths that meets the sea.

If you’re specifically targeting sea trout fishing, Funen island is the place to be. You’ll find the best sea trout fishing in northern Europe here, thanks to a decade long effort to create and protect habitats, release of small fry and very clean water. The efforts have been very successful and the sea trouts are flourishing here.

If you’re looking for a map with fishing spots for this kind of fishing, you’re in luck – its right here! Avoid the pink areas on the map, that’s usually bird reservations or areas where fishing is prohibited.

Inland and freshwaterfishing

Denmark can offer some great freshwater fishing as well. Typically you’ll catch pike and perch as the common predatory fish. Roach, walleye, crayfish, eel and trout can be found lots of places too.

You should know that most inland streams, rivers and lakes are private or controlled by local angling societies. Therefor you will have to buy a pass to fish there, in the same way you would do at a put and take lake. Usually the passes are valid for one day.

You’ll also find a great number of put and take lakes all over the country. If you need to find one near where you’re staying, we have a list here or use the drop down in the menu to sort by region. Prices and what to catch are also shown on these pages.

These lakes usually has rainbow trout as the main fish, but many also have other trout and even exotic species, like sturgeon, that isn’t naturally occurring in Denmark.

Salmon fishing

Fishing for salmon is also possible, but only in certain areas. Salmon is typically found around Bornholm island, or in the south-eastern part of Zealand.

TMB (Trolling Master Bornholm) is a yearly event, with hundreds of boats participating. This is a multinational event, with participants from different countries like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany – even USA, Ukraine, Poland and Switzerland is represented.
This is a very popular event, followed by national news.

So we wish you a nice stay here in Denmark, and a great fishing experience. The country has lots to offer, and Danes are nice and polite people happy to talk about fishing, and maybe share a few secret spots or tackle suggestions.

Knæk & bræk (Break a leg)