Strange Fishing Laws and Customs Around the World

I did a quick Google search and found a handful of quirky international fishing laws and dozens of outdated North American ones, most void of reference or proof. Not one to fuel rumors, I phoned various fish and game offices in search of answers—only to find out that many of those folks didn’t know the answers either!

Since I couldn’t get to the bottom of most of the outlandish reports I found online, I dug into my own experiences and resources. Here are a few fishing rules and traditions you might not know about.

Enforced Regulations
Some weird and inconvenient fishing regulations date back centuries, while others are born of modern-day concerns about animal cruelty and over-fishing. Whatever the reasoning, they can obstruct anglers who just want to get on the water.

Germany
In Germany, it’s illegal to release a fish that falls within legal retention limits. This is a relatively new regulation, passed in the 1998 Animal Welfare Act, with underpinnings in concerns over animal cruelty. Switzerland followed suit with a similar law in 2008. In these countries, it’s even technically illegal to go fishing without the intent of keeping a fish. But, on a recent trip to Europe, I asked a dozen or so German anglers what they thought of the rule—each of them just rolled their eyes.

British Columbia
In British Columbia, it’s illegal for a licensed fishing guide to fish with, accompany, or even drive a non-resident to a Classified River. The law applies whether the non-resident is a friend, partner, or fellow Canadian (sorry, Alberta). In an attempt to crackdown on illegal guiding in the 1990s, the B.C. government mandated that any fishing guide spending time with a non-resident of B.C. on a Classified river must be doing so as part of an allocated rod day (the means of reserving guided access to a river). But, the vast majority of licensed fishing guides, like myself, don’t own rod days or even guide on systems that require them! The only way past this outdated law is through written permission from the government with proof that the applicants are related by blood or marriage. Admittedly, years of denied requests from the government pushed me to marry my Australian husband about a year sooner than we’d planned.

Australia
It’s illegal to tickle trout Down Under—down under their belly, that is . This practise requires a stealthy angler to sneak up on a trout and rub its belly until the fish (hopefully) goes into a trance-like state, making it easy to lift it from the water to toss on the bank—presumably for dinner. The ancient technique has been around for centuries but is still used by a significant number of anglers around the world. It’s now banned in Australia, though.

New York
In the Empire State, you need a fishing license to even net a fish for another angler. In fact, any attempt to help a friend land their fish, without a license, is illegal. It’s called “illegally assisting another angler” and can result in a fine. I spoke with David Lemon from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, who confirmed this and referenced the definition of fishing in their 2019 synopsis. As per page 54, “Fishing means the taking, killing, netting, capturing or withdrawal of fish by any means. This includes every attempt to take fish, plus assisting another person in taking or attempting to take fish.” New Yorkers beware, even if you’ve never touched a fishing rod in your life, steer clear of struggling anglers asking you to help bring their catch to hand.

Peculiar Customs
In North America, we often trust the law to help us determine the best etiquette, quotas, and methods for our fisheries. Superstition and culture occasionally come into play, but they’re usually second to government-enforced restrictions. One of the things I’ve learned while fishing internationally is that the cultures and traditions of certain communities hold even more merit than the laws set out by the government. Some fisheries are even managed and delegated by these communities themselves—independent of authority outside of their circle. In such cases, it’s especially important to understand and abide by the rules—and mythos—set out by property owners and outfitters.

Mongolia
On a trip to Mongolia several years ago, Mark Johnstad, founder of Mongolia River Outfitters, got me up to speed on local etiquette and practices. Nature is sacred and, while it’s not a written law, it is considered highly disrespectful to urinate in rivers there. Mongolians also believe that if you drop your hat on the ground, it should be disposed of rather than worn again. The rationale behind this is that our heads are closer to the heavens and therefore considered holy, while our feet are less holy because they touch the ground.

Iceland
The strangest superstition I’ve encountered while fishing internationally involved throwing rocks. My guide in Iceland explained that a portion of the population believes in the Huldufólk—invisible elves that live in a parallel world—who you might injure with an errant stone skip. While a ban on throwing rocks on or off the water isn’t enforced, it is something to consider if you’re trying to mesh with the locals.

Québec
Years ago, while fishing in Québec, Two guides accompanied me on the province’s famed Grand Cascapedia, double the guide ratio I anticipated. One walked me through the run, while the other waited nearby with the net. Glenn LeGrand, longtime manager of Salmon Lodge, informed me that every client must fish with two guides. He explained that this stipulation came about in the 1980s in an attempt to create more local jobs and that all camps and outfitters on the river follow this rule. Because the Grand is managed on a beat system, anglers wanting to fish for the river’s world-class Atlantic salmon need to get used to a lot of hired help.

England
On some of England’s revered chalk streams, it’s obligatory that an angler cast only upstream. While this isn’t a government-enforced law, it may as well be. All quality rivers in the U.K. are privately owned, so what the owner says, goes. The idea that a drag-free, dry fly drift is the only ethical and gentlemanly way to fish began in the Victorian era, soon after the advent of fly fishing. By the late 1800s, it was adopted as mandatory practice on the rivers Test, Itchen, and many other chalk stream beats.

Bygones, Fakes, and Hoaxes
When trying to find out about crazy fishing laws, I encountered mention of rules that seemed too weird to be true. Turns out, most of them are.

Idaho
Online reports claim it’s illegal to fish from a camel’s back in Idaho. Curious, I phoned the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to assess the validity of these claims. I was informed this all stems from a hoax and has no merit. After a little pressing, I found out that there was once a law against fishing while on horseback, which is likely where the camel rumour started.

Montana
Of all the peculiar laws I heard about, one Montana law came up most. Rumor has it that unmarried women in Montana can’t fish alone, and married women can’t fish alone on Sundays. I combed through the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks official rules and couldn’t find any mention of this, but I was determined to hear from the department directly. After nearly two months of trying to track down a concrete answer, I finally heard back from FWP spokesman, Greg Lemon. He explained that he couldn’t find a statute confirming the law, but that he’d continue looking for a definitive answer.

“Regardless, if it exists, we don’t enforce it,” Lemon said. “It would be counter to who we are as an agency and to our deeply held belief that the outside is in us all, to rob anyone of the opportunity to fish in Big Sky Country, be they married, single, man, woman or child.”

You just never know what you’ll encounter when fishing abroad. Have you experienced a regulation or cultural norm that surprised you while fishing? Let us know at themeateater@themeateater.com.