More than Two Rods
Third-rod permit
Order your Night Fishing and/or Third-rod permit online directly:
- Order here. You can pay with iDeal or credit card. You will immediately receive a Provisional Permit (also by e-mail). With this you may fish for one month right away. The Sportvisunie will send the sticker(s) within a month. The sticker(s) are valid for the current calendar year.
Note: you must already be in possession of a VISpas from an angling association that is affiliated with the Sportvisunie.
What does the law say?
The Fisheries Act 1963 does not regulate the number of rods you may use. The fishery rights holder decides that themselves. It is customary for the permit to state that you may fish with a maximum of two rods. That condition applies, for example, to holders of the VISpas and the JeugdVISpas.
If an angling association wants to allow fishing with more than two rods on its waters, it issues an additional written permission for that. We often call that permission a "Third-rod permit." That written permission must meet the requirements of Article 23 of the Fisheries Act 1963. Among other things, the permission must include the angler's name and date of birth.
National Third-rod permit
As of 1 January 2013 the Sportvisunie, together with its partners, introduced a national Third-rod permit. With this Third-rod permit you may fish with 3 rods in waters listed on the Joint List of Dutch Fishing Waters where the symbol
is shown.
The bait does not matter; if you are allowed to fish with 3 rods somewhere, you may also use three rods for predator fishing. In 2014 the Third-rod permit cost €25. The permit produced a hologram sticker that had to be placed on the back of the VISpas. When ordering you immediately receive a Provisional Third-rod permit digitally so you can fish with three rods right away.
Note: with the Small VISpas you are, according to the terms, only allowed to fish with one rod.
Having spare rods and fishing gear on hand
Article 10 of the Regulations for Inland Fisheries 1985 prohibits having fishing gear in your possession that you are not allowed to use directly. Suppose: you are allowed to fish with a maximum of two rods and you are fishing with two rods, but you place an additional complete rod with a hook on the bank. Then you violate that prohibition.
Article 10 paragraph 2 mentions an exception. You may have spare rods with you if you store them or keep them in such a condition that direct use is not possible. A rod case or sleeve usually suffices. If you want to be certain, remove the hook from your spare rod(s). Without a hook that set does not fall under the definition of "rod" in Article 1 of the Fisheries Act 1963.
Competitions
Competition anglers often use multiple topsets (rod tip with line, float and hook) to switch quickly. According to Article 1 of the Fisheries Act 1963 such a topset is considered a rod.
If a competition participant may fish with a maximum of two rods according to their permit, they may not have multiple topsets ready. The solution: the fishery rights holder gives the competitors written permission to fish with more rods or issues a collective permission with a list of participants. Usually the competition organizers determine how many rods you may actually use.
Most permissions for competitions also link a separate competition fee and conditions for the use of the water. This prevents overlapping competitions at the same location and allows the fishery rights holder to set conditions.
Practical tips
- Always check your written permission before fishing with more than two rods or at night.
- Order your Third-rod or Night Fishing permit online via the Sportvisunie and bring the Provisional Permit with you.
- To be safe, remove the hook from spare rods if you are unsure about the situation.
Always check the rules of the fishery rights holder and your VISpas status before fishing with more rods or at night.