Fly Fishing in
The Netherlands 🇳🇱

Capital

Amsterdam

Region

Europe

Sub-region

Western Europe

Currency

EUR (€)

The phrase "Fly Fishing"

Vliegvissen

The Netherlands might not be the first country that comes to mind when thinking about fly fishing destinations. Yet the fishing here is incredibly diverse. From pike and carp in the beautiful polder landscape to bass in the big rivers to seabass in the Rotterdam harbour.

Another huge advantage of fly fishing in the Netherlands is that a license is easy to get online, affordable and it will give you access to a vast amount of water.


Did you know?

With the offical license that costs just €40 per year, you can fish in 90% of all the water in the Netherlands.

For the creative ones

Fly fishing in the Netherlands requires some creativity, because it's not the more well known 'go to the river and catch brownies' type of thing. But ones you've figured things out the possibilities are endless: one fifth of the country's surface area is water.

Where to go fly fishing in The Netherlands

Although the country is primarily flat, the diversity of water to fly fish in will give you a huge range of options. From fresh to salt, from canal to sea, there is a lot to explore.

Oostvoornse Meer

No big trout in the Netherlands? Think again

Brown Trout

European Flounder

Rainbow Trout

Maasvlakte

Fly fish in the largest harbour of Europe

Sea bass

Sea Trout

Twaid shad

Predators in the Polders

Big predator fish in the iconic Dutch landscape

Perch

Pike

Pike-perch

Do you have a location you want to share? Let us know.

Fishing license in The Netherlands

Saltwater

For fishing in saltwater in the Netherlands you do not need a license.

Freshwater

The official license is called the VISpas ('vis' means 'fish' and 'pas' means 'card' in Dutch). With just this one license that costs €40 per calendar year you're all set!

The only thing that you need to do is to check if the water where you want to go fishing is covered by the VISpas. To do that, go to visplanner.nl. Please note: some waters require an additional license from a local association. The Visplanner will indicate if this is the case.

How to use visplanner.nl

Zoom in on the map, or use 'Plaats of postcode' (city or zipcode) to fill in where you want to go fishing, then click on 'Ververs gegevens' (refresh data). All the water that shows up dark blue is water where you can fish, the possibilities are endless!

Make sure to download the Visplanner app. If your license is being checked by an official, you need to show proof that you've checked the water. For this having the Visplanner app is sufficient.

Just €40 for a full calendar year
Easy to buy online
Access to a lot of water throughout the country
Make sure to double check if the license is valid for the water you want to go fishing using the Visplanner
More information about Vispas Buy a Vispas online

Species to fly fish for in The Netherlands

Almost all species that you can find in the Netherlands you can fly fish for. Some require more creativity than others, but almost all have them have been caught on the fly!

Arctic Char

Atlantic Mackerel

Barbel

Bream

Brown Trout

Chub

Common Carp

European Flounder

Garfish

Ide

Perch

Pike

Pike-perch

Rainbow Trout

Roach

Rudd

Sea bass

Sea Trout

Tench

Twaid shad

Is your favorite fish not listed? Let us know.

The official Fly Fishing Association (VNV)

The VNV (Vereniging Nederlandse Vliegvissers, which means Association of Dutch Fly Fishers) is the national fly fishing association.

They actively help protect the fish stock in the Netherlands, promote fly fishing and publish a magazine 4 times a year.

Visit vnv.nu (Dutch)

Weather in The Netherlands

The Netherlands enjoys a moderate maritime (or oceanic) climate. This type of climate generally features mild winters and cool summers. Precipitation, such as rain, is common throughout the year.

Average max
Average min
Average
Temperature in °C

Guides, workshops and more in The Netherlands

These are the organizations that can help you exlore new waters while learning a thing or two.

Hooked on Fly Fishing

Guiding

Workshops

Fly tying

Country trips

Steef Meijers

Guiding

Meindert Kap

Guiding

Mike Dijkstra

Guiding

Country trips

LTS Fly Fishing

Workshops

Discover fly fishing around the world

Unfortunately it's still difficult to find the right information to go fly fishing in another country.

Things like: Where do I go? What species to fish for in what months? How do I get a local permit? What gear works best?

FlyFish Circle aims to solve this problem.

New info about fish, locations and countries
Upskill with tips and tricks
Save your favorite species, locations and more
Join now

Flyfish webshops in The Netherlands

Webshops where you can find all your fly fishing gear.

Dyckers

dyckers.com

E10 Flyfishing

e10-flyfishing.com

Exclusive Fly Fishing

exclusiveflyfishing.shop

Exclusive Fly Fishing

exclusiveflyfishing.shop

Fauna Hengelsport

hengelsportfauna.nl

Fly Fishing Dutchman

flyfishingdutchman.nl/index.php/en

Fly Supply

flysupply.nl

Peeters Hengelsport

peetershengelsport.nl

Poseidon Fly Fishing

poseidonflyfishing.nl

Qflyshop

qflyshop.com

Smartlures

smartlures.nl

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Fly fishing in other countries

🇦🇹 Austria

🇧🇪 Belgium

🇩🇰 Denmark

🇫🇮 Finland

🇫🇷 France

🇩🇪 Germany

🇮🇸 Iceland

🇮🇹 Italy

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🇳🇴 Norway

🇸🇪 Sweden

🇨🇭 Switzerland

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Is your country not listed? Let us know.