Paid ponds (copes dīķi) in Latvia: count and landscape

Part of the «Waze для рыбалки» wiki · Fact-check, 2026-07-02 · Status: complete
Related: Hub integrations · Roadmap Phase 3

Count

~20 named, verifiable dedicated commercial paid ponds; likely 25–40 total operating dedicated venues; 60+ counting agrotourism guesthouses and fish farms with stocked fishable ponds. The "9 with websites" figure is the web-visible core only.

lielaisloms.eu curated directory: 7 entries (all within the 9-websites set)
fishing.lv legacy list (2007-era): 13 venues, several still active, several stale
ss.com "Makšķerēšanas vietas" classifieds (live, 2026): ~30 ads mixing paid ponds, leased lakes, boat rentals — the no-website long tail
Lauku ceļotājs (celotajs.lv): 119 fishing-tagged rural accommodations; db.lv: 168 of ~700 network guesthouses near fishable waters
Market size datum (db.lv): ~10% of Latvia's ~80,000 annual card-buyers fish private ponds/lakes ≈ 8,000 customers/year

Named venues (deduplicated)

Core 9 with own sites (confirmed live 2026):
1. Kalna Spuļļu dīķi — Upesciems, Ropažu nov. (Pierīga) — kalnaspulles.lv
2. Alberta dīķi — Upesciems, Ropažu nov., 5 km from Riga — albertadiki.lv, €15–20/12h carp
3. Sillakas — Liepas pag., Cēsu nov. — sillakas.lv, 12 ponds, trout/salmon/carp
4. Pērtnieki — Sakstagala pag., Rēzeknes nov. — pertnieki.lv, trout + carp/sturgeon
5. Ūdensrozes ("Milmēni") — Stalbes pag., Cēsu nov. — udensrozes.lv, €11–14/day
6. Pļavnas — Drustu pag., Smiltenes nov. — plavnas.lv, €3 entry + €1.5–7/kg
7. Vipēdis — Zebrenes pag., Dobeles nov. — vipedis.lv, €10–15/day
8. Draudziņu dīķis — Cēres pag., Tukuma nov. — dikis.lv, trophy-carp C&R + cabins
9. Berga dīķi — Salgales pag., Jelgavas nov. — bergadiki.lv, 7 ponds, €5–20 + carp €5.70/kg

Additional named & verifiable (no/minimal web presence):
10. Makšķernieku paradīze — Valle, Bauskas nov. (db.lv top-3 most popular)
11. LFL Parks / Voldemāra dīķi — Tomes pag., Ogres nov. — trout ~€8/kg, hosts LMSF competitions
12. Ciemupes foreļu dīķis "Ceri" — Ogresgala pag., Ogres nov. — trout €8/kg
13. Mazais Ansis / Rubenes dīķi — Rubene, Valmieras nov. — €5/day
14. Ķīsis — Matīši, Valmieras nov. — €15/day
15. Zive — Pētertāle, Irlavas pag., Tukuma nov. — zive.lv, €20/day incl. 5 kg
16. Ziedkalnu dīķi — Vānes pag., Tukuma nov.
17. Kazukalnu dīķi — Zantes pag., Tukuma nov.
18. Kvāpānu dīķi — Nagļu pag., Rēzeknes nov. (Lake Lubāns) — fish-farm ponds with angling
19. Dzirnavu dīķis — near Liepāja — €5 (ss.com live ad)
20. "Paradīzes" guest house — Balvu nov. — 17 ponds

Uncertain/legacy (fishing.lv 2007; unverified): Z/S Smilgas, Z/S Avotiņi (Tukums), Jaunmedņi (Džūkste), Lido bāze Viešūrs, Zivjaudzētava Krāces (Ape), Dzirnavas pie Kaives, Pudula ezers.

No register exists

PVD register of recognized aquaculture enterprises: 156 recognized (2018), ~80+ active now — mostly carp farms. Paid angling is permitted at these and many offer it as side income, but the register doesn't flag which. Ceiling for "farm-type" venues.
Licencētā makšķerēšana (likumi.lv/ta/id/279203): applies to public/leased waters via municipal rules, per water body. Legally distinct: a private pond on private land needs no state fishing card — the owner just charges entry. All 20 venues above are the private-pond type.

Regional pattern: clusters in Pierīga (two venues in Upesciems alone), Vidzeme (Cēsis–Valmiera–Smiltene), Tukums (3), Ogre (2 trout), Latgale (Rēzekne ×2). Pricing: €5–20/day entry, often two-part (entry + €1.2–5.7/kg keep fee, trout €7–8/kg), per-rod surcharges. Carp dominates; trout at specialists; sturgeon at Pērtnieki.

Implications for the app

Directory must be built manually/crowdsourced — nothing to import. ~20 anchor venues is a tractable cold start; the long tail is where crowdsourcing beats the static lists.
Booking = "notify owner" flow, not calendar slots — venues price entry + per-kg + per-rod and want a phone call first.
Label the legal regime per venue — private pond (no card, family-friendly) vs licensed water (card + license). Real user confusion; also a discovery/growth story (only ~8k of 80k anglers use private waters today).

Sources

lielaisloms.eu directory · lielaisloms.eu article · fishing.lv 2007 · ss.com fishing places · db.lv · latvia.travel · latgale.travel · viss.lv · celotajs.lv · zm.gov.lv aquaculture · likumi.lv