A year of fishing seasons, by country

Published 2026-09-25

"Best time to fish" only makes sense per country, because the calendar underneath it changes completely depending where you're standing. Northern-hemisphere salmon rivers run to the midnight sun. Southern-hemisphere countries flip everything six months out of phase. The tropics run on wet and dry rather than summer and winter at all.

This groups the year into windows and places each of the 19 countries we cover into the one (or several) that fits, drawn from the same researched seasonal detail already on each country hub.

December–March: the southern hemisphere's best months

While the north is shut down for winter, the south is at its best. New Zealand's Bay of Islands runs its game-fishing season from January to May over the southern summer. South Africa's False Bay has yellowtail running November to April. Argentina's Río Grande sea trout peak January to March, fished in the evening as the wind eases. Mexico's Cabo San Lucas fishes striped marlin from October clean through to June, so it straddles this window rather than sitting inside it. Northern Australia is transitioning here too — the barramundi build-up runs October to December, ahead of the true wet-season run-off from February to April.

Official sources: NSW DPI — Recreational fishing · NSW recreational fishing fee — exemptions · NT Government — about recreational fishing · Fish & Game New Zealand — licences and regulations · DOC — buy a Taupō fishing licence · DOC — Lake Rotoaira licences · DFFE — recreational fishing permits (online) · DFFE — forms and permits · DFFE — recreational fishing permit guideline · Santa Cruz — SIPESQ sport fishing permits · Tierra del Fuego — Ministerio de Producción y Ambiente, pesca deportiva · Reglamento General de Pesca Deportiva Continental Patagónica · CONAPESCA — permiso de pesca deportiva · CONAPESCA-01-016 — sport and recreational fishing permit

Fishing in Australia · Fishing in New Zealand · Fishing in South Africa · Fishing in Argentina · Fishing in Mexico

April–June: two hemispheres in transition

Europe's spring salmon runs open here — the Spey from April to May, Sweden's Mörrum from April to June — while France's Loire pike season opens once its closed season ends in spring. New Zealand's trout fishing flips the other way, its Tongariro rainbow run climbing from May onward. South Africa's Sodwana couta season starts in April. And in Brazil, this window sits inside the piracema spawning closure in most states, so it's the one country here where these months mean fishing is restricted rather than opening up — the Pantanal's dry season, and the fishing that comes with it, doesn't properly start until June.

Official sources: GOV.UK — rod fishing licences · Svenska fiskeregler — recreational fishing rules (county boards and SwAM) · Havs- och vattenmyndigheten — Fiskekartan (fishing permit map) · Svenska fiskeregler — recreational fishing · Fédération Nationale de la Pêche en France — cartedepeche.fr · Ministère de la Mer — pêche de loisir en mer · Légifrance — Code rural et de la pêche maritime, pêche maritime de loisir (R921-83 à R921-93) · Légifrance — arrêté du 7 novembre 2025, conditions d'exercice de la pêche de loisir en mer · Fish & Game New Zealand — licences and regulations · DOC — buy a Taupō fishing licence · DOC — Lake Rotoaira licences · DFFE — recreational fishing permits (online) · DFFE — forms and permits · DFFE — recreational fishing permit guideline · Governo Federal — solicitar licença de pescador amador · Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura — amateur and sport fisher registration · IEF Minas Gerais — piracema

Fishing in United Kingdom · Fishing in Sweden · Fishing in France · Fishing in New Zealand · Fishing in South Africa · Fishing in Brazil

June–August: peak northern summer, and the midnight sun

This is the far-northern window, and it's short and intense rather than a long summer season. Norway's Alta salmon peaks in June and July, fished through the night under a sun that never sets. Finland's Tornio runs the same window, June to August. Russia's Kola Peninsula salmon peak in June and July too, and Kamchatka's rainbow trout season runs July to September. In North America, Canada's Miramichi has its first salmon wave in June and July, and Alaska's Kenai River runs its heaviest sockeye push through July and August. Japan's Lake Yunoko fishes this stretch as its core season, April through September, with these months at the middle of it.

Official sources: Norwegian Environment Agency — national fishing fee · Miljødirektoratet — pay the fishing fee · Norwegian Environment Agency — rules for recreational fishing in rivers and lakes · Metsähallitus Eräluvat — fishing permits and the fisheries management fee · Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) — amateur and sport fishing · Rosrybolovstvo — fishing rules for the Northern fishery basin · Fisheries and Oceans Canada — recreational fishing licences (Pacific) · DFO — salmon conservation stamps · U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — purchase a fishing license · NOAA Fisheries — recreational fishing resources · Japan Fisheries Agency — recreational fishing by foreign nationals · Japan Fisheries Agency — inland water recreational fishing system · Japan Fisheries Agency — basic rules for recreational and coastal fishing

Fishing in Norway · Fishing in Finland · Fishing in Russia · Fishing in Canada · Fishing in United States · Fishing in Japan

September–November: the second big flip

The calendar turns again here. Scotland's Tweed has its famous autumn run, September to November. Australia's Cairns marlin season is a defined heavy-tackle window from September to December. Louisiana's redfish run September to November. Canada's Miramichi has its second salmon wave here too, September and October, alongside Sweden's Stockholm archipelago pike (September to November) and its Mörrum autumn sea trout (September and October). Germany's Müritz lakes and Poland's Masurian lakes both fish pike best in this window. Argentina's Paraná dorado run September through April, so this is where that season opens.

Official sources: GOV.UK — rod fishing licences · NSW DPI — Recreational fishing · NSW recreational fishing fee — exemptions · NT Government — about recreational fishing · U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — purchase a fishing license · NOAA Fisheries — recreational fishing resources · Fisheries and Oceans Canada — recreational fishing licences (Pacific) · DFO — salmon conservation stamps · LALLF Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — Touristenfischereischein · LALLF M-V — fishing documents overview · LALLF M-V — Fischereischein examination · Wody Polskie — angling permits (e-zezwolenia) · gov.pl — issue of a fishing card (karta wędkarska) · Santa Cruz — SIPESQ sport fishing permits · Tierra del Fuego — Ministerio de Producción y Ambiente, pesca deportiva · Reglamento General de Pesca Deportiva Continental Patagónica · Svenska fiskeregler — recreational fishing rules (county boards and SwAM) · Havs- och vattenmyndigheten — Fiskekartan (fishing permit map) · Svenska fiskeregler — recreational fishing · Metsähallitus Eräluvat — fishing permits and the fisheries management fee

Fishing in United Kingdom · Fishing in Australia · Fishing in United States · Fishing in Canada · Fishing in Germany · Fishing in Poland · Fishing in Argentina · Fishing in Sweden · Fishing in Finland

The ones that run on their own clock

A handful of fisheries don't fit the four windows above at all. Norway's Lofoten skrei — migrating Arctic cod — arrive from January to April, making Lofoten a genuine winter destination while the rest of the country is closed down. Finland's Lake Saimaa becomes an ice fishery in February and March. Brazil's two fisheries run on dry-season water levels rather than temperature: the Pantanal from June to October, the Rio Negro from September to March. New Zealand's snapper and South Africa's False Bay tuna are both described as available essentially year-round, weather permitting, rather than keyed to a single run.

Official sources: Norwegian Environment Agency — national fishing fee · Miljødirektoratet — pay the fishing fee · Norwegian Environment Agency — rules for recreational fishing in rivers and lakes · Metsähallitus Eräluvat — fishing permits and the fisheries management fee · Governo Federal — solicitar licença de pescador amador · Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura — amateur and sport fisher registration · IEF Minas Gerais — piracema · CONAPESCA — permiso de pesca deportiva · CONAPESCA-01-016 — sport and recreational fishing permit · Fish & Game New Zealand — licences and regulations · DOC — buy a Taupō fishing licence · DOC — Lake Rotoaira licences · DFFE — recreational fishing permits (online) · DFFE — forms and permits · DFFE — recreational fishing permit guideline

Fishing in Norway · Fishing in Finland · Fishing in Brazil · Fishing in Mexico · Fishing in New Zealand · Fishing in South Africa

Season isn't the only thing to plan around

A country's best window only answers half the question. On rivers with lottery or booked-beat access — the Alta, Mörrum, and the private beats on the Spey and Tweed — the booking has to happen long before the season does, sometimes years ahead, independent of when the run actually peaks. Turning up at the right time of year on one of those rivers with no beat booked gets you nowhere. Elsewhere — New Zealand's snapper, South Africa's False Bay tuna, most saltwater flats fishing — access isn't the constraint and the season window above is genuinely the only thing to plan around.

The other thing worth factoring in: several of the closures and quotas mentioned above are reset annually rather than fixed on a calendar — Sweden's Mörrum, Finland and Norway's biosecurity rules, Brazil's piracema dates, Argentina's provincial seasons. A window that was open last year isn't a guarantee for this one.

Quick reference

These are typical windows, not guarantees — weather, water levels and, on several rivers here, annually reset quotas all move the real dates. Check the country hub and the current season before booking.

Licence requirements and closed seasons change regularly. Always confirm with the relevant fisheries authority before you fish.

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