Rivers and lakes: 24 · rules as of 12 October 2026
Fishing in the Carpathians
Where you can fish in the Carpathians today, which bans apply, which fish you may keep and which you must release. No guesswork: the rules follow the current Order No. 700, and the status of every water is worked out for today’s date.
- 4fishing allowed
- 5with restrictions
- 15closed, without fish or without data
Today, 12 October
Seasonal bans are in force
- Brown trout — closed until 1 MarchZakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. Each illegally caught fish costs UAH 7,225 in damages on top of the fine.
- Allowed: chub, pike, common carp, perch, prussian carp, roach, wels catfish, zander, common breamWithin the daily limit — 3 kg + 1 fish, respecting the minimum sizes.
- Red Book species — always forbiddenGrayling, Danube salmon, barbel, burbot and others: release them carefully.
Closed-season calendar
- Brown troutZakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions10 October — 1 Marchin force now
- Wintering pitsstretches set by the fisheries patrol — even from the bankfrom 1 November until spawning beginsin 20 days
- Pikeall rivers, lakes and reservoirs15 February — 31 Marchfrom 15 February
- Spawning: Zakarpattiarivers, tributaries and lakes of the Zakarpattia region25 March — 15 Mayfrom 25 March
- Spawning: Dniesterthe Dniester with all its tributaries and floodplain waters1 April — 10 Junefrom 1 April
- Spawning: other riversthe Prut, the Cheremosh and other rivers1 April — 20 Mayfrom 1 April
- Spawning: floodplain waterslakes and ponds in the floodplains of other rivers1 April — 30 Junefrom 1 April
- Spawning: reservoirsall reservoirs1 April — 10 Junefrom 1 April
During spawning you may fish only from the bank away from spawning grounds: no more than 2 hooks per angler or one spinning rod with a single artificial lure.
Waters on the map
The marker colour shows today’s status. Tap a marker to open the river or lake page.
- fishing allowed
- restricted now
- fishing banned
- no fish or no data
Rivers
Mountain trout rivers and lowland stretches with chub, pike and carp.
RiverDniesterFishing allowedWithin the daily limitThe upper Dniester flows from its source near Vovche through Staryi Sambir, Sambir, Zhydachiv and Halych. Anglers most often catch chub, pike, bream, perch and roach here, and wels catfish and zander in the deep pools.
RiverBilyi CheremoshRestrictions applyBrown trout — closed until 1 MarchThe Bilyi Cheremosh is a mountain border river between Hutsulshchyna and Bukovyna with cold clear water. Brown trout live here, and in recent years the state has been releasing grayling and Danube salmon fry here.
RiverLatorytsiaRestrictions applyBrown trout — closed until 1 MarchThe Latorytsia runs down from the Veretskyi Pass through the Svaliava area to Mukachevo and Chop. The upper reaches hold trout; below Svaliava anglers catch chub, pike and carp.
RiverLimnytsiaOut of season nowBrown trout — closed until 1 MarchThe Limnytsia is one of the cleanest rivers of the Gorgany: from its source above Osmoloda it flows to Perehinske and Kalush and into the Dniester. The water is cold and clear; the mountain course is trout water.
RiverPrutRestrictions applyBrown trout — closed until 1 MarchThe mountain Prut is a trout river with cold clear water and riffles. Further downstream, on the lowland Prut, anglers catch chub, pike and carp.
RiverVyzhenkaRestrictions applyBrown trout — closed until 1 MarchA small mountain river in Bukovyna that flows about 12 km through the Vyzhnytskyi National Nature Park into the Cheremosh.Lakes
Most high-mountain lakes have no fish or are closed to fishing — we say honestly which ones. People fish at the city lakes and the Burshtyn Reservoir.
ReservoirBurshtyn ReservoirFishing allowedWithin the daily limitThe cooling reservoir of the Burshtyn power plant on the Hnyla Lypa (1965, about 12.6 km²). The water is warm: +22…+24 °C in summer, and in winter the reservoir freezes only partly.
LakeCity Lake, Ivano-FrankivskFishing allowedWithin the daily limitA man-made lake of about 33 ha in the Ivano-Frankivsk city park, filled in 1955 from the Bystrytsia Solotvynska. People fish here from the banks and the piers.
LakeCity Lake, KolomyiaFishing allowedNo published list of fishKolomyia’s city lake in the Prut basin — a spot for quiet bank fishing right in town.
LakeLake SynevyrFishing bannedBanned by the park administrationThe largest lake of the Ukrainian Carpathians — the heart of the Synevyr National Nature Park.
LakeBanske Lake, KosivNo dataNo data on fish — check the regimeA man-made lake in Kosiv that formed in the 18th century in collapsed salt workings.
LakeDead Lake (Sheshory)No dataCheck the regime before fishingA tiny forest lake in the hills above Sheshory.
LakeLake ArshytsiaNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA mountain lake in the Gorgany near Osmoloda.
LakeLake BrebeneskulNo fishThe highest lake in Ukraine (about 1,800 m) on the Chornohora ridge, in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.
LakeLake BukovetsNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA small lake near the Bukovets Pass in the Verkhovyna area.
LakeLake HereshaskaNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA glacial lake on the Svydovets ridge, a local hydrological natural monument.
LakeLake LebedynNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA small forest lake above Sheshory, in the protected Lebedyne tract.
LakeLake MaricheikaNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA high-mountain lake below Pip Ivan Chornohirskyi, in the southern part of the Carpathian National Nature Park.
LakeLake NesamovyteNo fishA high-mountain lake below Turkul on the Chornohora ridge (1,750 m) within the Carpathian National Nature Park.
LakeLake PolianytskeNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA mountain lake above Polianytsia near Bolekhiv, also called the Dead Lake.
LakeLake RosokhanNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA mountain lake in the Gorgany near Osmoloda, a local hydrological natural monument since 1972.
LakeLake VorozheskaNo dataCheck the regime before fishingA small glacial lake on the Svydovets ridge, a hydrological natural monument.
LakeLake ZhuravlyneNo fishA small mountain lake near Kamianka in the Skole Beskids, called the Dead Lake for its dark water.
LakeSwan Lake (Chortoryia)No dataReserve regime: check firstThe ponds near Chortoryia form the local Chortoryiskyi ornithological reserve, where birds nest and winter.Fish guide
Minimum sizes and closed seasons under the Recreational Fishing Rules. Red Book species must not be caught.
Allowed in season
Brown troutSalmo truttaclosed until 1 March- Minimum size — 20 cm
- Closed: 10 October — 1 March in the 4 Carpathian regions
ChubSqualius cephalus- Minimum size — 24 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
PikeEsox lucius- Minimum size — 50 cm
- Closed: 15 February — 31 March
Common carpCyprinus carpio- Minimum size — 30 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
PerchPerca fluviatilis- No minimum size
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
Prussian carpCarassius gibelio- No minimum size
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
RoachRutilus rutilus- No minimum size
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
TenchTinca tinca- Minimum size — 20 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
Wels catfishSilurus glanis- Minimum size — 80 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
ZanderSander lucioperca- Minimum size — 42 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
Common breamAbramis brama- Minimum size — 30 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
Grass carpCtenopharyngodon idella- Minimum size — 40 cm
- Closed during the water’s general spawning ban
Red Book — release only
Crucian carpCarassius carassiusRed Book- Closed all year round
GraylingThymallus thymallusRed Book- Closed all year round
- Compensation — UAH 14,000 per fish
Danube salmon (huchen)Hucho huchoRed Book- Closed all year round
- Compensation — UAH 14,000 per fish
BarbelBarbus barbusRed Book- Closed all year round
NaseChondrostoma nasusRed Book- Closed all year round
Common daceLeuciscus leuciscusRed Book- Closed all year round
BurbotLota lotaRed Book- Closed all year round
The rules in brief
What is allowed
Daily limit3 kg of fish + 1 fish over that weight per angler.
FeeFree within the limit, for yourself, with no right to sell. No ticket is needed; more than the limit only for a fee where that is allowed.
HooksNo more than 7 hooks per angler on all rods together. During spawning — no more than 2, or one spinning rod with a single artificial lure, from the bank only.
In winterFrom freeze-up to ice-break — hooks with a gap of no more than 10 mm from shank to point.
What is forbidden
- nets and traps, fish spears, harpoons, bows, firearms and air guns (except a speargun)
- electric fishing rods and any other electrofishing devices
- snagging — hooking a fish anywhere but the mouth
- stunning, explosives and poisons, dams, draining the water
- fishing on spawning grounds during spawning (even from the bank), on wintering pits and in power-plant discharge canals
- spearfishing in protected areas
Protected areas
- Fishing is banned in the strictly protected zones of national parks and nature reserves.
- In regulated recreation zones — only on stretches set aside by the park administration. Ask the park before you fish.
- Lake Synevyr: catching fish and crayfish is prohibited.
- Fishing is banned all year on the Rybnytsia with its tributaries (Ivano-Frankivsk region) and on the Chechva with its tributaries from the source to the Chechva Reservoir.
Fines and damages
- Trout in the closed season — UAH 7,225 per fish on top of the fine.
- Grayling and Danube salmon (Red Book) — UAH 14,000 in compensation per fish.
- If a protected fish bites, unhook it carefully and release it back into the water.
Where anglers can stay
Guesthouses, cottages and lodges with the “Fishing” service, close to rivers and lakes.
HomesteadHomestead "Albertville" OsmolodaFireplaceKitchenParkingNearby: Mt Petros Gorgansky 4.8 kmMt Studenets 4.0 km2 trails
HomesteadHomestead "Hutsulska Pisnya"BBQPetsTransferNearby: Dovbush trail in Yaremche 3.5 kmDovbush's stone 3.6 km30 trails
HomesteadСадиба "Гуцульська Гражда" Виженка (басейн, дитячий табір)Hot tubPoolSaunaNearby: Mikva waterfall 200 mDovbush's cave 3.0 km2 trails
HomesteadHomestead "U Svyatoslava" ("U Haiduka") VyzhenskaSaunaBBQKitchenNearby: Mikva waterfall 700 mUrochyshe Luzhky 100 m1 trail
HomesteadHomestead "Khrystiansky Vidpochynok" MykulychynSaunaBBQKitchenNearby: Mikva waterfall 700 mUrochyshe Luzhky 100 m1 trail
CottageКотеджі "Аркан" Микуличин (літній басейн, риболовля)PoolBBQKitchenNearby: Trinity Church 500 mDovbush trail in Yaremche 5.1 km29 trailsSprings: Recreational Fishing Rules (Order No. 700 of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy); Cabinet Resolution No. 1030: compensation for Red Book species; State Fisheries Agency, Ivano-Frankivsk: trout spawning; State Fisheries Agency, Ivano-Frankivsk: spawning ban; Law on the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine, art. 16, 18, 21; State Fisheries Agency: fish stocking, data.gov.ua (CC BY); State Water Agency: water monitoring (CC BY); Weather forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Rules may change — check the current orders of the fisheries patrol.
