Weser

River

The Weser is formed by the Werra and Fulda and reaches the North Sea at Bremerhaven.

River system: Weser
Length: 744 km
Species: 42
Threatened (Red List): 10

Federal states

Lower Saxony Hesse North Rhine-Westphalia Bremen

Map: Natural Earth (public domain); © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)

Fishing here

Besides a fishing licence (Fischereischein) you need a permit (Angelkarte) from whoever holds the fishing rights for the water.

Lower Saxony

No licence required

No statutory licence: an ID card and a permit from the rights holder are enough. Many clubs still require the angling exam.

Fishing licence Nds. FischG BiFischO

Hesse

Guest licence for non-residents

Visitor licence without the exam for people not resident in Germany, one month per year.

Fishing licence HFischG HFischV

North Rhine-Westphalia

Guest licence for non-residents

Licence without the exam for people registered in Germany for no more than a year; available online.

Fishing licence LFischG LFischVO

Bremen

No tourist licence

No tourist licence. Licences from other German states and EU countries are valid.

Fishing licence BremFiG Bremische Binnenfischereiverordnung

Species	Lower Saxony	Hesse	North Rhine-Westphalia	Bremen
Common Carp	no rule	45–60 cm · 15 Mar – 31 May	35 cm	no rule
European Eel	35 cm	50–70 cm · 15 Sep – 1 Mar	50 cm	45 cm
European Perch	no rule	no rule	no rule	15 cm · 1 Feb – 15 May
Grayling	30 cm · 1 Mar – 15 May	30–45 cm · 1 Mar – 15 May	30 cm · 1 Mar – 30 Apr	35 cm · 1 Mar – 15 May
Northern Pike	40 cm · 1 Feb – 15 Apr	50–90 cm · 1 Feb – 15 Apr	45 cm · 15 Feb – 30 Apr	60 cm · 1 Feb – 15 May
Pike-perch (Zander)	35 cm · 15 Mar – 30 Apr	50 cm	40 cm · 1 Apr – 31 May	40 cm · 1 Feb – 15 May
Wels Catfish	50 cm	no rule	no rule	no rule

Minimum size · closed season, per state; a range is a harvest slot. Statewide rules for anglers as of 24 Oct 2026, without guarantee. Clubs and waters can set stricter rules; the ordinance text is binding.

Fish species in this water body

Expected occurrence, modelled from the fish zones of this water (grayling zone, barbel zone, bream zone, and estuary (ruffe–flounder zone)), habitat type and the federal states a species lives in, and checked against GBIF records — not a record of observations here.