Rules and fishing culture
All fishing must always take place in compliance with the currently valid laws and regulations. Please remind yourself of the key rules for fishing by reading this and learn about ways of fishing that support a sustainable fishing culture.
Key rules
- The fishing rights holder’s permission is required for lure fishing.
- The state fisheries management fee must be paid in full before starting fishing.
- The fishing licences being sold entitle the buyer to fish only with a rod.
- The fishing period is a calendar month, excluding the following protection periods: autumn protection of salmon, trout and powan from 1 September to 30 November and spring protection of grayling from 1 April to 31 May.
- The shortest allowed length for a caught salmon is 50 cm, for a trout 60 cm, for a trout with a clipped adipose fin 50 cm and for a grayling 35 cm.
- A one day licence entitles you to take 3 salmonoid species, of which 1 can be a salmon. A season licence entitles you to take 3 salmonoid species per day, of which 1 can be a salmon.
- Weekly protection: all fishing, excluding fish traps by a fishing rights holder, is prohibited between Monday 19:00 and Tuesday 19:00 from 15 June to 31 August.
- Fishing methods that aim to catch fish by hooking it from the area outside its mouth are absolutely forbidden.
- If you catch a parr, you must release it back into the water immediately.
- Fishing from an anchored boat is prohibited at the top of the rapids in Mertakoski and Hanskankoski.
- Camping in a tent is prohibited near Lean-to shelters and on the private land. Camp or take lodgings at one of the local businesses offering accommodation.
- Simojoki is a river containing migratory fish. Angling and ice fishing is prohibited in its areas of rapids and currents.
- After you have finished fishing, make sure to submit a catch declaration to Metsähallitus at www.tuikki.fi. Released fish must also be declared.
- The catch declaration on the simojoki.com website is voluntary in nature.
- Fishing rights holders have a right to net fishing between 1 June and 14 August, but only with a net whose monofilament nylon string is no more than 0.17 mm thick and the distance between knots is no more than 45 mm. The permitted catch period is two days a week, from Thursday at 18:00 to Saturday at 18:00. Net fishing rights excludes salmon.
- Fishing licences and behaviour are supervised.
Please note: The administrator of this website shall not be responsible for the rules presented on the website being up to date. It is possible that definitions of policies/changes to rules and regulations do not come to the administrator’s knowledge in full. Up-to-date regulations can be found in the acts and decrees on which also rest the right of local authorities, holders of fishing rights and local administrators of fishing areas to set rules in their regions.
Sustainable fishing culture
Please comply with the following instructions to promote and strengthen a sustainable fishing culture.
- When fishing from the shore, we recommend you focus on the rapids sites presented on this website. You will find the best setting for fishing at these sites. In addition, these sites are located in places that have proven to yield catch.
- Avoid fishing and walking in the immediate vicinity of cottages, houses, saunas and jetties.
- With rubbish, follow the traditional Lapland custom of “take away what you brought with you”. Burn any material that can be cleanly burnt if you are staying at a fishing site with a campfire site.
- Do not harm or destroy nature. For example, ripping birch bark off live trees is not allowed.
- Lean-to shelters and car parks must be available for all fishers. If you are staying for more than one day and night, camp or take lodgings at one of the local businesses offering accommodation.
- When you arrive at the shore and find other fishermen waiting their turn for a certain stretch of the river, ask them who is last in line or last in the loop. Your turn comes after that person. When it is your turn to fish, take a large step downstream after every cast of your line. If the terrain forbids this, cast in the same place for 5 minutes, then move 5 metres downstream.
- If you are heading outside the fishing sites presented on this website, please be especially careful and considerate. Always park your car in a safe place by the side of a main road and walk to the riverside – the walk from the roads on both sides of the river to the shore is only a few hundred metres. Never park on side roads that lead to houses. Avoid parking on farm or forest roads. Take all your rubbish with you when you leave. Do not make a fire.
