Fishing gear in Lithuania: what is allowed and prohibited

Fishing gear must meet the current Lithuanian rules, the conditions of your angler card and the requirements for any private or leased water.

Before choosing tackle, first identify the exact water and check the permit category. A legal rod does not make fishing legal on a closed section or without the correct permission.

The short answer for ordinary inland fishing

For a normal lake or river session, one angler may use at the same time:

These are simultaneous-use limits per angler, not targets. One rod is usually easier and safer for a visitor, especially from a boat or when fishing with children.

How the hook count works

The AAD says a double or treble hook counts as one hook. Count every separate hook unit on all the tackle being used.

• One lure with one treble hook counts as one hook.
• One lure with two treble hooks counts as two hooks.
• Three such two-treble lures fished at the same time use the ordinary six-hook allowance.
• A multi-hook smelt rig must remain within the special 12-hook total.

The smelt and vendace exception concerns the number of hooks; it does not turn prohibited nets or commercial gear into legal recreational tackle. When smelt or vendace are fished other than from ice, the official guidance also requires other species caught, except flounder, to be released immediately.

Count your rods and hooks

1. Count fishing tools in use. Ordinary inland maximum: four.
2. Count separate hook units. A single, double or treble hook is one unit.
3. Add the units on every active tool. Ordinary inland maximum: six hooks in total.
4. Apply the applicable special rule. Bait-fish rigs, a moving boat, smelt, vendace and a card fishery can change the limit.

Ordinary tackle you can bring

Conventional spinning, bait-casting, fly, float, feeder and bottom-fishing rods are normal recreational equipment when used within the tool and hook limits. A landing net, unhooking tools, line cutters and a suitable fish measure are sensible supporting equipment. Their presence does not remove any species, size, season or catch limit.

A practical freshwater kit is modest:

• one or two travel rods in a protective tube;
• a small selection of lures, floats or feeder tackle appropriate to the planned water;
• spare line and leaders;
• long forceps or pliers and a line cutter;
• a landing net suitable for the target fish;
• an accurate ruler or measuring mat;
• a small hard container for used hooks and damaged line;
• weather protection and a correctly sized lifejacket for boat fishing.

Pack for the method you will actually use

The following is packing advice, not an additional legal rule. Choose one compact module for the planned method and still apply every tool, hook, bait, season and water-specific condition above.

• Lure or spinning: one ready rod, a small lure box, spare leaders, pliers and a line cutter.
• Float, feeder or bottom fishing: pre-tied rigs in labelled sleeves, only the planned floats, feeders or sinkers, and a rod rest.
• Fly fishing: one rod and reel, a compact fly box, leader and tippet material, forceps and a line cutter.
• Boat or trolling: cover hooks on unused lures, secure spare rods, and put the net, measure and release tools within reach before leaving shore.
• Ice fishing: short rods and a compact tackle case, plus the legally required rescue spikes described below and any additional safety equipment chosen for the local conditions.

One-handed and adapted handling

These are practical accessibility options, not exemptions from any fishing rule. A one-handed angler or anyone with limited grip can arrange a waist or chest pack on the working side, keep forceps, a line cutter and the measure in fixed reachable positions, carry pre-tied leaders in labelled wallets with large pull tabs, and use a stable rod support suited to the bank, boat or chair. Before casting, agree with a companion or guide who will net, unhook, measure and release or retain a fish. Cover spare hook points and practise the handover with a hookless rig. The angler and helper should count active tools and hooks together and recheck the exact permit and water conditions.

If you do not want to fly with rods and hooks, the separate shopping and equipment-rental guide covers checked retailers, local collection and what to ask a guide before accepting supplied tackle.

Barbless or debarbed hooks can make release easier, particularly on a guided salmonid trip, but a visitor should not treat that advice as a complete statement of the law. The exact water, angler-card conditions or operator can be stricter than the national summary. Ask before changing or preparing rigs.

Bait: collecting it and fishing with it are different rules

Collecting bait fish and bloodworm larvae

The current AAD gear guidance allows one mesh scoop for collecting bait fish and bloodworm larvae. Its diameter may not exceed 1 metre, and its mesh may not exceed 10 millimetres. Another type of tool may be used to collect bloodworm larvae only if fish and crayfish cannot enter it.

One angler may collect no more than 30 bait fish in one fishing session. The official guidance expressly includes crucian carp, roach and perch, and allows juveniles of some other species. Predatory, protected and specifically regulated species must not be collected for bait. On fishing waters smaller than 100 hectares, collecting bloodworm larvae can require the fishery user's consent and a permit that states that right.

If you cannot confidently identify a small fish, do not put it in the bait bucket. Buying bait from an established local tackle shop is simpler than trying to interpret the juvenile-fish list at the water.

Using bait

Several restrictions matter to visitors:

• Natural-origin bait, including worms, insects and aquatic larvae, must not be used to target grayling, brown trout, sea trout or salmon.
• Asp must not be fished with more than two baits.
• Invasive animals must not be used as bait. The AAD examples include round goby and Chinese or Amur sleeper (Perccottus glenii, Lithuanian nuodėgulinis grundalas), plus signal crayfish and spiny-cheek crayfish.
• From 2 January to 30 April, using a fish as bait is prohibited. The current rule makes exceptions for the Curonian Lagoon and for using a piece of fish.
• Protected and specified regulated fish must not be used as bait.

This is one reason to describe the planned technique to a guide or tackle shop, not merely name the target species. “Bait fishing” can mean legally different things.

Gear that is allowed only in a particular situation

Fishing from a boat

A moving watercraft changes the ordinary inland limit: one angler may use no more than two rods. Once the craft is anchored or otherwise stopped, the ordinary conditions apply. Trolling therefore does not give each passenger four rods.

Boat legality is a separate question from tackle legality. Engine type, power, season, protected area and the named water can all affect whether a craft may be used. Lake Plateliai, the Curonian Lagoon and protected lakes should be checked individually. A hire boat should include correctly sized lifejackets, but confirm this before accepting it.

Fish finders and sonar

The AAD FAQ says fish-finding devices are not prohibited as a general rule. There is an important conservation condition on waters listed for ecological improvement: when an angler uses or possesses fish-finding equipment on those waters, all pike and pikeperch caught must be released immediately.

The list of affected waters can change. Check the current AAD water-specific restrictions before packing sonar, and ask a rental operator whether a fitted sounder changes the catch-and-release requirement on the planned lake.

Fishing from ice

Free-floating hooked devices that are not attached to a rod are generally prohibited, but the official gear page makes an exception when fishing from ice. The ordinary tool, hook, bait and seasonal limits still apply.

Every person fishing from ice must have two rescue spikes joined by a flexible connection and keep them ready and easily reachable. The AAD's safety guidance says ice thicker than 7 cm is considered safe for one person and at least 12 cm for a group, but these measurements are guidance, not a guarantee. Currents and flowing water can weaken ice; thawing, snow-covered or discoloured ice can also be unsafe. A visiting angler should go with a local guide and never assume that winter dates mean safe ice.

Read the full water and ice safety guide.

Use the winter fishing trip, equipment and rules planner.

Crayfish traps and scoops

Under the ordinary gear rule, an angler may use no more than five crayfish traps or scoops at once. The detailed crayfish rules then depend on the species:

• Noble or broad-clawed crayfish are protected and may not be caught.
• Narrow-clawed crayfish may currently be caught from 16 July to 14 October, with a 10 cm minimum size, a 50-crayfish limit and no more than five traps or scoops.
• Invasive signal and spiny-cheek crayfish may currently be taken year-round without size or number limits. The AAD states that the trap or scoop number is also unlimited for these invasive species, and they may be taken by hand or landing net. Any accidentally caught native crayfish or fish must be released immediately.

A recreational permit is still required, and closed waters and periods still apply. A crayfish trap may be no longer than 100 cm, no wider than 50 cm and no higher than 50 cm; for a round-base design, the base diameter may be no more than 100 cm and the height no more than 50 cm.

Do not use an invasive crayfish as bait or move it alive to another water. Open the AAD's illustrated crayfish page at the waterside if identification is uncertain.

Palanga Pier lift-net fishing

Palanga Pier has a narrow special arrangement for catching smelt with a lift net. It is not general permission to use a net elsewhere. The current AAD FAQ states that the angler needs the relevant angler card and may use one lift net with a diameter no greater than 3 m and mesh from 10 to 20 mm, from 1 November to 1 June. The smelt limit is 15 kg per fishing session.

The net must not be left unattended. Metal lifting equipment must not be attached to the pier's wooden railings. Check the card conditions again before travelling because this is a limited fishery.

Underwater fishing

Underwater spearfishing is a specialist exception, not a general right to carry a speargun beside any lake. In inland water it is currently limited to 1 April-30 November, between sunrise and sunset, on a short official list of waters and with the relevant angler card. A bright, clearly visible buoy and a knife are required. The speargun may be no longer than 120 cm and the arrow tip no wider than 10 cm. Except when targeting eel, double- and multiple-point arrowheads are prohibited.

It is prohibited within beaches and 50 m of them. Fish must not be shot from a boat, while wading or while walking the shore. Scuba gear and other self-contained breathing apparatus may not be used.

In Baltic coastal waters, an ordinary angler ticket is required and the AAD publishes separate species and recreation-zone restrictions. A visible buoy is required, fishing is allowed only during daylight, and the arrow-tip limit applies. Anyone considering this activity should use the complete current AAD underwater-fishing page and a qualified local operator.

Equipment you must not use

The AAD's current list prohibits:

• electrofishing devices;
• longlines (ūdos);
• fish spears or forks (žeberklai);
• floating hooked devices such as skrituliai or popkės when they are not attached to a rod, except for the ice-fishing exception;
• firearms and pneumatic weapons, except lawful underwater spearguns used under the specific rules;
• elastic rubbers longer than 40 cm when attached to recreational fishing equipment;
• non-recreational net gear, including trawls, drawn or seine nets, set nets, drifting or floating nets, traps, fyke nets and other commercial net tools.

The safest rule for a tourist is simple: do not bring a fishing net other than an ordinary landing net, the precisely specified bait scoop, a lawful crayfish trap or the Palanga lift net for which you already hold the correct card. A device sold legally in another country is not necessarily legal recreational gear in Lithuania.

Methods that remain prohibited even with a legal rod or permit

Fishing may not use:

• electricity;
• poison or explosives;
• firearms or pneumatic weapons outside the lawful underwater-fishing exception;
• scuba or another autonomous breathing device;
• stabbing, striking or other non-recreational capture methods;
• deliberate snagging, described by the AAD as catching a fish with a hook or gaff in a body part other than the head.

An ordinary fishing permit never authorises these methods.

Possession near the water can itself be a problem

Lithuanian guidance does not look only at a fish being caught. If fishing is prohibited on a water at that time, or you do not have the permit or free-fishing right required there, you must not be in the water or within 25 metres of it with recreational fishing gear.

Likewise, where underwater fishing is not allowed, you must not be in the water or within 25 m of it with an underwater speargun. Electrofishing devices, fish spears, longlines and non-recreational net tools may not be stored or transported except for lawful commercial, special, scientific or training use.

For a road trip, this means “I was only carrying it” may not solve the problem. Keep prohibited equipment out of the holiday vehicle, and do not walk a closed shore with assembled fishing tackle while looking for another access point.

The Baltic Sea uses different numbers

The AAD FAQ states that a recreational angler in Baltic Sea waters may use up to five recreational fishing tools with no more than 15 hooks in total. An angler ticket or proof of a free-fishing right is required, and recreational sea catches must be reported through eLaimikis under the current system.

Do not apply the sea limits to the Curonian Lagoon: the lagoon is not simply the Baltic for gear and catch rules. Confirm whether the boat will fish the sea, the lagoon or both, and who will complete the required reporting.

Read the Baltic coast and reporting guide.

Before you pack

Use this order; it prevents most expensive mistakes:

1. Choose the region and the kind of fishing.
2. Get the exact water name, river section or sea departure area.
3. Check whether it is state, leased, private or a limited fishery.
4. Read the current permit or angler-card conditions.
5. Check species dates, sizes, catch limits and water-specific rules.
6. Choose tackle within the tool, hook, bait and method limits.
7. Confirm boat, sonar, access and protected-area restrictions separately.
8. Pack identity, permit details, measuring and release tools, and safety equipment.
9. Recheck the AAD pages shortly before fishing.

Use the fish species and limits table for the ordinary inland numbers, then return to the exact card or water conditions.

If a guide supplies tackle, ask for the exact method and what is included. “All equipment supplied” should cover legal rods and rigs, landing and unhooking tools, lifejackets for the actual passengers, and any specialist card, not merely rods on the boat.

Printable waterside tackle checklist

Print or save this list, then complete it only after the exact water and method are known:

• Exact water, river section or sea area confirmed.
• Correct permit or free-fishing evidence saved offline.
• Tool, rod and hook totals counted across every active rig.
• Bait and method checked for the date and target species.
• Measure, landing net, forceps, line cutter and waste container packed.
• Correctly sized lifejacket packed or confirmed for every boat passenger.
• Ice-rescue spikes packed and current local ice assessment obtained, if applicable.
• Sonar, engine, protected-area and access restrictions checked separately.
• Current AAD memo and any angler-card conditions saved for the session.

Official sources

• AAD fishing tools and methods
• AAD current fishing periods, sizes and catch limits
• AAD frequently asked questions, including sea gear, sonar and Palanga Pier
• AAD underwater-fishing guidance
• AAD crayfish guidance
• AAD invasive-species identity and handling guidance
• AAD water-specific restrictions
• AAD ice-fishing safety

Frequently asked questions

Can I fish four rods with bait fish?

No. The ordinary inland maximum is four recreational tools, but no more than two of those may fish with a bait fish or piece of fish. Seasonal bait-fish restrictions also apply.

Does a treble hook count as three hooks?

No. The AAD counts one double or treble hook as one hook. A lure with two separate treble hooks therefore counts as two hooks.

Can I bring my own fish finder?

Generally yes, but water-specific conservation rules matter. On listed ecological-improvement waters, possessing or using fish-finding equipment means all pike and pikeperch caught must be released immediately.

Are fishing nets legal for tourists?

Commercial-type net gear is prohibited for recreational fishing. Narrow exceptions exist for the specified bait scoop, lawful crayfish equipment and the Palanga Pier smelt lift net with its angler card. An ordinary landing net used to land a hooked fish is not a substitute capture method.

Can I keep rods in the car beside a closed lake?

Do not rely on that assumption. The official guidance prohibits being in the water or within 25 m of it with recreational fishing tools when fishing there is prohibited or you lack the required right. That gear-possession rule is separate from the vehicle rule: an existing lawful road or parking area may be within 25 m of the shore, but lawful parking does not create permission to keep fishing gear beside a closed water. Store the tackle outside the prohibited zone.

Next: compare seasons and choose travel dates

Fish photograph catalogue

Licensed reference photographs for identification and trip planning. A photograph does not show that a species may legally be targeted, retained, transported or used as bait; check the current rule beside the relevant written guidance.