Fishing in Amsterdam

Yes. Most of the city’s water is on the national list of waters, so a VISpas from any Dutch angling club covers it: the canals, the IJ, the Amstel, the Nieuwe Meer, the Gaasperplas and water across most districts.

A few Amsterdam waters aren’t on that list, including the Sloterplas, the lakes in the Amsterdamse Bos and the Westpoort harbours. There you need a permit from Amsterdam’s own angling club, the AHV.

Not every bank is open, either. Fishing isn’t allowed in nine city parks (the Amstelpark, Beatrixpark, Erasmuspark, Flevopark, Noorderpark, Oosterpark, Sarphatipark, Vondelpark and Westerpark), around the Zorgvlied, De Nieuwe Ooster and Noorder cemeteries, or at marked swimming areas. Fish from public banks only, never from private land or houseboats.

Yes, if you’re 14 or older on 1 January. The VISpas is the membership card of a Dutch angling club. Together with the list of waters (which lives in the VISplanner app) it’s your written permission to fish. The digital versions on your phone are fine.

• Buy it at vispas.nl or straight from the AHV. In 2026 an adult VISpas from the AHV costs €46.75 and runs until 31 December. Buy online and a temporary digital pass arrives by email within minutes.
• A VISpas doesn’t mean you can fish everywhere. It covers the waters on its list. In Amsterdam that’s most water, but not all of it, so check the spot in VISplanner.
• 13 or younger on 1 January? You can fish with one rod without your own pass if an adult (18+) with a VISpas is with you.

Just want to try it first?

• The Kleine VISpas (€11.50, no club membership): one rod with a single hook, from an hour before sunrise to two hours after sunset, with natural bait such as bread, dough, cheese, grains, worms or maggots. No lures, and every fish goes back. It covers the city-centre canals, the IJ, the Amstel and the Nieuwe Meer.
• AHV day permit: €5 a day or €25 a week, valid on AHV waters only.
• Fish as someone’s guest. A VISpas holder can arrange a free one-day MeeVIStoestemming for a friend without a pass. You fish together, in daylight, and release everything. Each guest can only use it once.

We don’t publish spots, and you don’t need secret ones. Around Amsterdam you’ll find roughly four kinds of water:

• City canals. The grachten in the centre and the canals running through the neighbourhoods around it: quay walls, bridges and moored boats, with plenty of people passing by.
• Rivers and open water. The Amstel, the IJ and the channels that connect them. Deeper, with more wind and boat traffic.
• Lakes. Bigger, calmer water such as the Nieuwe Meer and the Gaasperplas. The Sloterplas needs an AHV permit.
• Polder water. Ditches and small canals on the edges of the city. Who holds the fishing rights varies stretch by stretch.

Fishing rights and extra rules differ per water. VISplanner (app and website, with an English option) is the official map: look up the exact spot before you go.

The usual Dutch freshwater mix. The most common:

• Perch. The canals hold some big ones, and they’re the classic street-fishing catch.
• Zander (snoekbaars). The IJ is known for them, and bigger water like the Nieuwe Meer holds them too.
• Pike. In bigger water such as the Nieuwe Meer. On Amsterdam club water every pike goes back.
• Carp. In the canals as well as the lakes. Always released.
• Roach, bream and ide. The canals are full of whitefish, and they’re the easiest place to start.

You may also hook an eel, which must always go back, or a wels catfish in bigger water. Catfish are protected all year: release them straight away. Nothing is guaranteed, and city water can be quiet one day and busy the next.

• Street fishing. A light spinning rod and small soft plastics (or a dropshot rig), walking the quays and trying a few casts at each spot. It’s hugely popular in Amsterdam: little gear, and you can go for an hour after work.
• Spinning for pike. A heavier rod, bigger lures and a wire leader.
• Float fishing. A float rod with bread, maggots or worms for whitefish. Works on a Kleine VISpas.
• Carp and coarse fishing. Longer sessions on lakes and quiet stretches, with an unhooking mat. On Amsterdam club water, no electronic bite alarms within 100 m of buildings.

All the lure methods pause from 1 April to the last Saturday of May (see the rules below).

The ones that catch people out. This is a summary: the full conditions are on vispas.nl and in VISplanner, and they can change every year.

• Rods. Two rods at most, with up to three hooks each. Never leave a baited rod unattended.
• Closed seasons. Pike: 1 March – last Saturday of May. Zander and perch: 1 April – last Saturday of May. Any you catch then go straight back. Wels catfish are protected all year.
• Spring lure ban. From 1 April to the last Saturday of May you may not use artificial lures (only flies up to 2.5 cm are allowed), dead fish or pieces of fish. Methods aimed at zander, like dropshot or a jighead with a worm, are out too.
• Bait. Live fish as bait is banned. Since 2026 you may not carry dyed live bait, such as red maggots or coloured worms.
• Night fishing (two hours after sunset until one hour before sunrise) needs a separate night permit and is only allowed on waters marked for it in VISplanner.
• Keeping fish. Always put back eel, carp and grass carp, and on Amsterdam club water pike too. Since 2026 you may take home at most 3 perch (22–45 cm) and 2 zander (42–70 cm) a day; on Amsterdam club water zander must be 55–70 cm. Fish you keep must be killed straight away, and selling or giving away your catch isn’t allowed. Planning to eat it? Read the Voedingscentrum’s advice first.
• Gear. The national fish-welfare code says to carry a landing net, a hook remover and pliers. On Amsterdam club water an unhooking mat is required for carp and predators, and unhooking pliers and a wire cutter for predators. Keepnets aren’t allowed there outside official matches.
• Checks. Club controllers can check your pass and take it in if something’s wrong. Enforcement officers (BOAs) and police can fine you (fishing without a permit costs €160 plus admin costs in 2026), and anyone 14 or older must show them ID.

• Sort out your VISpas first and install VISplanner. It saves a lot of guessing.
• Start simple: a float rod for whitefish, or a light rod with small soft plastics for perch (outside the spring closed season).
• Bring a landing net and pliers so you can unhook fish quickly. Wet your hands before handling them.
• Be a good neighbour on busy quays: watch your backcast, make way for walkers and bikes, and don’t cast over moored boats or houseboats. Take your line, hooks and packaging home.
• Go with someone who’s done it before. You’ll learn more in one evening than in a week alone.

• Sportvisunie: the VISpas explained (partly English)
• VISplanner: where you may fish
• vispas.nl: buy a VISpas or Kleine VISpas
• AHV: the Amsterdam angling club (English)
• AHV waters and local rules (PDF, Dutch)
• VISpas conditions 2026–2028 (PDF, Dutch)
• Sportvisunie: closed seasons (Dutch)

Sportvisserij Nederland merged into Sportvisunie in 2025, so older pages may use the old name. This page is a friendly summary, not legal advice. When in doubt, VISplanner and the VISpas conditions win.