Fishing

Fishing

The Bale Mountains are an ideal place for the angler who is looking for exciting wilderness trout fishing in one of Africa’s most stunning mountain retreats. The Danka, the Web and the Shaya Rivers were stocked with fry from Kenya in the 1960s. Today they have flourishing populations of beautiful brown and rainbow trout and offer truly great fly fishing. Fishing permits must be purchased at the BMNP headquarters and local fishing guides can be hired in the nearby town of Dinsho. Anyone wanting to fish in Bale is advised to bring all their own gear, as it is not yet possible to hire gear locally.

Fishing regulations in BMNP

• Fishing is only permitted by fisherman who are in possession of a valid permit and who are accompanied by a fishing guide
• The catch is restricted to 5 fish per rod per day, 15 fish per trip and a maximum weight or size limit of 225 gram and 25 cm respectively. Care should be taken to release all surplus or unwanted fish unharmed.
• The fish should be caught with a rod and line using either artificial flies and/or spinners
• The use of nets, explosives ,poisons (Biribira) or traps is strictly forbidden
• The lengths and weights, sex, and reproductive conditions of all fish (including all those returned to the river) should, where possible, be recorded and reported to the park ecological monitoring office. This will enable monitoring of the population and modification of the regulations as necessary. This information should be provided to the fishing guide at the end of each day’s fishing.

Fees
The following fees are in ETB and are applicable per rod and subject to change.