NaCzarter Team
· Updated
Where to buy a fishing permit in Masuria
There is no single permit for the Great Masurian Lakes. The main lakes on the route are leased by four entities: Gospodarstwo Rybackie w Giżycku, Gospodarstwo Rybackie Mikołajki, Gospodarstwo Rybackie Śniardwy (fish farms) and PZW (the Polish Angling Association). You buy the permit from whoever manages the lake you want to fish on. A day's fishing from a boat cost 45 to 60 PLN in 2026.
The lakes are owned by Wody Polskie (the Polish water authority), but in 2024 it leased out the main waters of the route for 15 to 20 years. A permit from the Wody Polskie app (WIR) therefore covers neither Niegocin, nor Mamry, nor Śniardwy. A week's cruise from Giżycko via Mikołajki to Śniardwy takes you through the waters of three or four fisheries, which is why you buy a permit for a specific lake or group of lakes. On top of that you need a fishing card, because the Inland Fisheries Act requires both documents at the same time.
Who leases which lake and how much a permit costs
| Lakes | Fishery | Where to buy | From a boat, 1 day / 7 days (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niegocin, Kisajno, Dargin, Dobskie, Jagodne, Boczne, canals near Giżycko | Gospodarstwo Rybackie w Giżycku | Only in person: head office in Piękna Góra, angling shops and petrol stations in Giżycko, in summer also the reception desks of the Nowy Sztynort port and Wioska Turystyczna in Wilkasy, among others | 45 PLN / 250 PLN |
| Tałty, Ryńskie, Mikołajskie, Bełdany | Gospodarstwo Rybackie Mikołajki | Online at gospodarstwomikolajki.eparki.pl (5% fee), by bank transfer or at the head office at ul. Mrągowska 14 in Mikołajki | 45 PLN / 200 PLN |
| Śniardwy, Seksty, Tyrkło, Tuchlin | Gospodarstwo Rybackie Śniardwy | Online at sniardwy.eparki.pl and at sales points in Mikołajki, Ruciane-Nida, Wejsuny, Pisz and Orzysz | 45 PLN / 200 PLN |
| Mamry, Święcajty, Kirsajty, Tajty, Nidzkie, Guzianka, Roś | PZW (Gospodarstwo Rybackie PZW w Suwałkach) | Online only for 1 and 3 days (zezwolenia.pzw.suwalki.pl), 7 and 14 days at the fishery offices in Węgorzewo and Ruciane-Nida and in shops | 50 PLN / 180 PLN for PZW members, 60 PLN / 260 PLN for others |
Sources: the fisheries' price lists for the 2026 season and the Wody Polskie list of fishing districts from October 2026. Check the 2027 rates before you travel.
In Giżycko the easiest option is the angling shop at ul. Daszyńskiego 28B, which sells both GR Giżycko and PZW permits. You can also buy a GR Giżycko permit at the 24-hour petrol station on ul. 1 Maja. In Mikołajki, permits for Śniardwy are sold by the “Okoń” petrol station on ul. Mrągowska and the angling shop at ul. Szkolna 4c. A GR Mikołajki permit bought online arrives as a personal file that you can print or show on your phone. If you buy a PZW permit online, at the fishing spot you must show the printed e-permit (on paper or as a file), your fishing card and the bank transfer confirmation, unless you paid by card. PZW period fees cover fishing from a boat, spinning and trolling, but no reductions apply to them.
The port where you pick up the yacht decides which permit you will need first. On a charter from Mikołajki you start on GR Mikołajki waters, from Giżycko on GR Giżycko waters, and from Węgorzewo on Mamry, i.e. PZW waters.
The fishing card and who can fish without one
The fishing card is issued by the district authority (starosta) for your place of residence, after an exam before a committee of a civic organisation. In practice the exams are run by PZW. The card is issued to people aged 14 and over, and it costs 10 PLN. Neither the act nor the regulation sets an expiry date, so the card is valid indefinitely. You cannot sort it out at the port, so do it before you travel.
Children up to 14 can fish without a card, but only under the supervision of an adult who has one. Also exempt are foreigners temporarily staying in Poland, provided they have a permit from the fishery, and people fishing at ponds and fish-farm fisheries. The current act does not provide an exemption for float rods. The fisheries add their own rules. GR Mikołajki considers a permit held by a Polish citizen without a card to be invalid, and requires foreigners to show proof of identity. Children up to 14 fish there within the supervising adult's licence and catch limit. With GR Śniardwy, a spouse or a person up to 14 may also fish on one permit, within that permit's limits.
Fishing from a yacht has its own seasons
For the fisheries a yacht is a boat, so the boat fishing seasons apply. GR Giżycko and PZW allow fishing from a boat from 1 May. GR Mikołajki on Tałty, Mikołajskie and Bełdany allows it every day from 1 June to 31 October, and in May only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. GR Śniardwy only opens boat fishing on 1 June. The boat fishing season ends on 30 November with GR Giżycko and GR Śniardwy, and at the end of the year with PZW.
You may not fish from a boat at night anywhere on the route. GR Giżycko allows fishing only during the day, GR Mikołajki from dawn to dusk, GR Śniardwy from sunrise to sunset, and PZW prohibits fishing from a boat from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. On PZW waters you are also not allowed to anchor or fish on the marked navigation channel, from bridges or from islands, for example on Mamry, Nidzkie and Guzianka. So in the evening at anchor you reel in your rods as the day ends, and wild mooring itself has its own rules.
GR Mikołajki and GR Śniardwy prohibit fishing from unregistered vessels. Registration applies to yachts from 7.5 m in length or with engines from 15 kW, so if you have a small unregistered boat, ask the fishery before buying. From 2026 GR Giżycko bans echo sounders and sonars with live imaging, such as LiveScope or Active Target. Classic 2D echo sounders, Down Scan and Side Scan are allowed. On Jezioro Dobskie the fishery additionally specifies no-go zones around the cormorant island and the gull and tern colonies.
Closed seasons and minimum sizes according to the regulations
The national minimum is set by the regulation of the Minister of Agriculture of 12 July 2023. Under it, pike have a minimum size of 45 cm and a closed season from 1 January to 30 April, zander 45 cm and protection from 1 March to 31 May, eel 50 cm and protection from 1 December to 31 March, and catfish 70 cm and protection from 1 January to 31 May. The regulation sets no minimum size for perch.
The fisheries' own regulations are mostly stricter, and it is these that apply on their waters. Pike must be 50 cm along the whole route. GR Giżycko protects zander until 30 June and requires 55 cm, while PZW and GR Mikołajki prohibit fishing for it from 1 January to 31 May. GR Mikołajki also has an upper size limit of 80 cm for pike and zander, meaning you release a larger fish. Perch must be 15 cm, and 18 cm on PZW waters. Daily limits are low, e.g. with GR Mikołajki two pike and zander in total. The permit specifies sizes, limits, times and fishing methods, so read it before your first cast.
Trolling and contradictions in the regulations
Trolling causes the most confusion. With GR Giżycko, trolling with one rod is allowed from 1 June to 31 October, for a supplement of 50 PLN per day or 500 PLN for the 2026 season. GR Śniardwy sells a trolling supplement, while at the same time its regulations and website prohibit trolling. The GR Mikołajki regulations forbid this method in one clause and allow it at weekends and on public holidays from 1 May to 31 December in another, while the price list sells supplements. The same fishery sells licences for the lakes Szymon and Wygrynek, even though its regulations forbid fishing there.
Where there are discrepancies like this, ask the fishery before buying and request an answer by email. GR Śniardwy operates as a company in liquidation, and its lease runs until 2044, so it is not yet known who will be selling permits for Śniardwy in 2027. If you are still choosing a fishing spot and bait, take a look at our guide to fishing in Masuria.
Frequently asked questions
Is one permit enough for a whole cruise on the Great Lakes? No. The lakes on the route are leased by four entities, and each sells permits only for its own waters. If you want to fish along the whole route from Giżycko to Śniardwy, you need three or four permits.
Can I buy a permit online? From three of the four fisheries, yes. GR Mikołajki and GR Śniardwy sell online through the eparki service, and PZW only 1- and 3-day permits. GR Giżycko has no online sales; you buy its permits in person.
Does a foreigner need a fishing card? No, if they are staying in Poland temporarily and have a permit from the fishery. However, a fishery may ask for proof of identity, as GR Mikołajki does.
Can I fish from a yacht at night? No. On all waters along the route, fishing from a boat is only allowed during the day, and PZW prohibits it from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
How much does a week's permit cost? In 2026 a week from a boat cost 250 PLN with GR Giżycko, 200 PLN with GR Mikołajki and GR Śniardwy, and 180 PLN for PZW members or 260 PLN for others. Check the 2027 prices in the fishery's price list; other questions crews ask in port are collected in our questions to ask the harbour master.
Cover photo: NaCzarter.pl
