>>2806654I got my fishing loicence about 10 years ago here.
I'd say it is definitely worth it, the "paperwork" is all the initial test you have to take (which while not trivial to pass is basically on the level of a drivers licence theoretical test, so you can intuit like 80% of the questions, plus it's multiple choice). There's some stuff you have to learn that you will never need again (which fish can be crossbred with which other fish), but also stuff that is good to know (how to identify common diseases on caught fish) and a shitload of questions like "where do you leave the trash? options: the trashcan, the water, the riverbank).
As for costs once the intial test is done, there's two ongoing legal costs: Your licence and your Fischereierlaubnisschein usually called Gewässerschein in common parlance. The licence has to be renewed every 5-10 years depending on the bundesland. You also need a Behördenführungszeugnis in some places to get that licence, so make sure to check online what you need to have with you. The first time getting it from a agency is annoying, after that it's just going there once, paying the fee and them checking you haven't become a terrorist since.
Cost for the licence is around 80-90€, so let's say 8€ a year.
Then there's the Gewässerschein, which is dependent on the body of water, as
>>2806842 said. Prices are decided by the owner of the body of water, so private ones can be quite expensive. For government owned ones like larger rivers, prices are lower often. That money goes into conservation mostly, and breeding projects upstream to keep fish population lively.
For where I live, that's about 50€ for a 1 year one. 25€ if you're either a retiree or disabled with above 50 GDB.
So really you're looking at about 55€ yearly, where you can fish when you want and how much you want.
From a boat it'll be more expensive (different Gewässerschein needed as the effect on the ecosystem is larger) but you'll probably end up around 75€.
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