Presentation of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations

The Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations currently operates as a public benefit civil organization, with the right to fish management in 43 fishing waters in Vas and 6 in Zala, covering an area of 1,363.41 ha.

Last year, the number of our fishing community started to grow again, as a result of which we already had 11,700 members in 2024. In 2023, a total of 11,570 people exchanged valid fishing licenses in our community, which means a total increase of 130 people in the total number of members compared to 2023. This result not only reflects the commitment of our community, but also that fishing continues to serve as a popular and accessible leisure activity for wide segments of society. We are particularly pleased that 1,765 children exchanged state tickets last year, while this year this number has increased to 1,903. This is an increase of 138 people compared to the previous year, which is a remarkable result in the world of technical gadgets. They are the anglers of the future, and the increase in their number is the most important pledge of the long-term sustainability and recruitment of our community. Involving and supporting young people remains our priority goal, as they are the ones who carry forward the traditions and values of fishing. In addition to creating the conditions for sport fishing, the main emphasis in the organization's operations is on nature conservation, the protection of fish and their habitats, and the education of young people. The organization carries out its advocacy activities as a member of the Hungarian National Fishing Association.

Taking into account family members and relatives, our Association keeps in mind the interests of more than 40,000-50,000 nature-loving residents of Vas and Zala counties.

Initially, the fishing associations belonged to the Hungarian National Fishing Association, which was founded in 1946. However, by the end of the 1950s, the number of fishing associations and the number of association members had increased several times, which the Budapest-based association could no longer handle. Regional associations were formed one after another, including the MOHOSZ. Rába Rural Administrative Committee, which included associations from our county as well as from Győr, Veszprém and Zala. The first chairman of the MOHOSZ. Rába Rural Administrative Committee was József Németh, and later Dr. Miklós Andor held the position.

In 1979, due to the further increase in the number of anglers, Management Committees were established in each county, modeled on the county system, which operated as the county Management Committee of the MOHOSZ. This is how the Vas County Management Committee of the MOHOSZ. was formed, which exclusively included the fishing associations within the county. The chairman of the Management Committee was Alajos Kiss, then Dr. József Kovacsics. After the change of regime, the general assembly of the national association did not consider it good that the fishing movement should be determined by control from above, so they thought that building from the bottom up would be the most appropriate. The entire fishing association was fundamentally reorganized in this regard, and from May 13, 1993, it continued to operate as an association of associations. This meant that the county associations established the county associations, and the delegates of the county regional associations established the MOHOSZ. The Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, founded in 1993, was chaired by József Horváth, and then from 1998 to 2013, István Csiszár held the position of chairman. Miklós Seregi currently heads the Association until 2028. The executive chairmanship was held by Ottó Fürstinger between 1993 and 2003, Sándor Csécs between 2003 and 2011, and since July 2011, Norbert Puskás has held the position to this day.

Our association carries out and performs environmental protection, fish protection and fish management tasks in the areas of state-owned lakes and rivers under its management. The association understands nature protection not only as the protection of protected natural values, but also as the preservation of the natural environment of unprotected species and areas, and the reduction of invasive species.

The Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, in line with the European Union Water Framework Directive, intends to continue the rehabilitation of water areas that have been started in recent years in order to maintain the good status of surface waters - with the involvement of professional partners. Today, the expectations and needs of residents living around the lakes and the anglers and tourists who regularly visit them (cyclists, nature photographers, hikers, etc.) have also changed significantly. The environmental condition of our association's fishing lakes has undergone remarkable development in recent years, thanks to numerous public welfare investments. We have been continuously working on maintaining these conditions throughout the year, so that everyone can find a cultured waterfront environment for their recreational activities, if possible.

Our project entitled “Renewable fishing tourism locations in Vas County” was launched in 2024, and is being implemented within the framework of the TOP Plusz program with a non-refundable grant of HUF 199.92 million from the European Union. The project aimed to develop the environmental and tourism infrastructure of seven fishing waters: the Bük fishing lake, the Kőszeg Boating Lake, the Kőszeg Brick Factory Lake, the Vassurányi Lake, the Sárvár-Rábasömjén fishing lake, the Ikervár section of the Rába River and the Vasvári II fishing lake. The planning and regulatory coordination of the investments have been fully completed, and the public procurement procedure can begin after the final technical content of the tender project has been approved. We hope that the actual developments can begin next year, and due to time delays, the project is expected to be completed by mid-2026. The developments will bring significant progress to the county's community fishing opportunities.

The aim remains that the developments will make the affected fish farming water areas and their surroundings even more suitable for visitors' recreational needs, providing a more orderly environment for spending free time. The planned investments – such as roads, parking lots, fishing spots, rest areas, places for people with disabilities, event spaces and camp toilets – will serve not only anglers, but also the local population and tourists, contributing to the improvement of the settlement image and the development of the region.

In addition to the continuous growth of fishing membership, we strive every year to have as many people as possible buy regional fishing tickets for the waters we manage. We are pleased to report that this year the sale of the important adult annual regional tickets (complete county, 3 lakes + rivers, river, partial tickets) increased: a total of 2,664 people bought annual tickets. A total of 3,331 adult anglers bought some kind of federal annual regional ticket, which also increased compared to last year. Moreover, the number of daily fishing tickets also increased, so the losses and price increases experienced in other areas were compensated for while continuing to maintain fishing. More and more people continue to find the opportunity to relax and recharge on the banks of the Vásárhely waters, which is a real pleasure and recognition for us. Although the increase in ticket prices in January and the decline experienced in 2023 were cause for concern, this year's results show that enthusiasm for fishing is unwavering.

In 2024, our Association organized numerous events in the field of competitive fishing, we were the main or co-organizers of nearly 20 events. The competitions were almost all full, and based on the positive feedback from the anglers, they were implemented without any problems. This year, the "Best Sport Angler of Iron Waters" competition series was successfully held again, the title sponsor of which is the Garbolino - TackleBait company for the third year, and the partnership will continue in 2025.

548 participants participated in the MOHOSZ IX. Freestyle Method Feeder OB final championship, and we organized one of the semi-finals and semi-finals on Lake Abert in Vas County. In our spring season, we launched the XIX Vasi Vizeken Primary School Competition with 12 teams and 48 participants, and with the involvement of volunteers and colleagues from all over the county, we ensured the education of the county's fishing youth with several fishing clubs, schools, and youth programs. At the beginning of August, 33 children from all parts of the county participated in our fishing camp in Vaskeresztes - at a discounted price - in a boarding and day care system. Our youth programs were implemented with the partial support of the MOHOSZ Fishing Youth Education and Training Program. The integrated fishing afternoon was held for the sixth time, and was jointly organized by the Vas County ÉFOÉSZ Association and the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations on the Szombathely Boating Lake. The integrated fishing afternoon continues to aim at community building, with 14 teams of experienced anglers “working” together with two disabled competitors.

Our Association organized the Pinka Valley Fish Day for the tenth time in mid-July, which initially started as a program to promote the consumption of fish dishes, but has now become a real gastronomic specialty in the county's program palette. The Fish Day included traditional fishing competitions, a fish dish preparation competition, a children's fishing competition, fishing demonstrations, and numerous regional cultural programs. The estimated number of participants at the event: 1000-1200 people.

Central education and professional days on fishing and fish management laws and regulations were implemented periodically, as well as with the Department of Agriculture of the Vas County Government Office. In recent years, the renewal of the fish guard system has also begun, in accordance with the legislative changes, as a result of which a significant number of arrests have been made in cases of unauthorized fishing or fishing violations. We ensure that our association's 38 social fish guards are provided with documents and are further trained. Our 13 professional fish guards successfully completed the training and exam required for law enforcement tasks, thus successfully exceeding the expectations arising from the legal regulations regarding the number of fish guard personnel. In the past period, we also managed to acquire four TOYOTA HILUX fish guard off-road vehicles. Currently, a total of 5 service SUVs, two boats + boat motors and two large trailers are available for fish guarding tasks, and several waterfront maintenance tools.

We will protect the Vásárlón waters in the future with MOHOSZ fish patrol vehicles

Our Association submitted a grant application for the tourism development application of the Regional Development Operational Program entitled “Fishing Tourism Developments in Vasi Vizes” on April 26, 2016, the results of which were announced just before Christmas 2016. To our great joy, under the Association’s imaginary Christmas tree, we received a notification of the approval of a grant of HUF 109,999,914 with the support of the Hungarian Government and the European Union, the implementation of which application is currently underway.

In accordance with the Vas County Regional Development Strategy, within the framework of our TOP tender project, the development of the tourist infrastructure of Lake Magyarszecsődi, Lake Gencsapáti gravel pit, the Pinka backwater of Vaskeresztesi, and the Vaskeresztes Fishing Tourism Center, Lake Sárvíz of Gersekaráti, Lake Püspökmolnár gravel pit, Lake Csepregi, Lake Pinkamindszent mine pit, and Lake Merseváti was implemented in 2017-2018. In addition to the listed fishing waters, the maintenance of roads, parking lots, slopes, structures, as well as benches, resting places, fishing spots for the disabled, camp toilets, event spaces, bacon grills, information boards, and other welfare developments were carried out within the framework of our project. A total of 259 outdoor elements were placed and the renovation of the lake shores will also result in the renewal of several thousand square meters of natural fishing spots and shorelines.

The further development of our existing fishing waters is also a priority task for us, and for many years our key partner in achieving this goal has been the Vas County Government within the framework of the Regional and Settlement Development Operational Program. TOP-1.2.1-15-VS1-2019-00009. Our application No. 136, entitled "Fishing Tourism Developments in Vas County", received a gross grant of 136 million forints at the end of 2020, in which the implementation of the planned developments began in the spring of 2021. During the project, the surroundings of the Abért Lakes, the Hársas Lake in Máriaújfalu, the Vasvári Boating Lake and the Celldömölk Lake were renewed. In order to develop the fishing tourism of the waterfronts, roads, parking lots, slopes, walkways were maintained, as well as benches, resting places and information boards. Based on the project plans, a total of 162 outdoor elements were placed on the shores of the lakes and approximately 7 thousand square meters of shoreline were renewed. We are in the final stage of the project, and the final handover of the developments took place in the spring of 2022.

In addition to the previously listed developments, we also renovated the accommodation facilities operating in our 17-year-old Vaskeresztes Fishing Tourism Center, together with the company operating the Alpesi Fogadó, with the accommodation development support of the Kisfaludy tender. Through the complex performance of our tasks and the accumulation of fifteen years of rural development experience, our association was given the opportunity to implement the project entitled "Promotion of local values and experiences in the area of the Pannon Regional Development Association", which ended on June 30, 2023. We have prepared and won several successful tenders, which have also been implemented properly >>>

In December, a fishing and fishing tourism agreement was concluded between Dr. Lajos Szűcs, the president of MOHOSZ, and Miklós Seregi, the president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations. According to the agreement, the Döröskei Reservoir will be available to Vas County anglers from January 1, 2025, and daily, weekly and annual fishing tickets issued for Vas waters will be valid in the area. (We wrote about this in detail here>>>) . It is important to mention that in 2025, Vas regional tickets will not increase in price and thus the number of fishing areas will not decrease, despite the fact that the Gersekarát Sárvíz Lake will be utilized by the local government itself from February 1, 2025.

Our new tourism, rural development and environmental protection projects are currently being developed to make the highest quality environment available to everyone on the banks of the Vas waters. Our plans include, in parallel with the renewal of the lakes, implementing welfare developments along natural watercourses in phases, and, in collaboration with the nature conservation and water management authorities, preparing and implementing habitat development projects along major watercourses (Rába, Pinka, Kerka…etc.) in the coming years within the framework of the MAHOP Plusz program. We would like to thank the Hungarian National Anglers’ Association, the Vas County Municipality and the region’s members of parliament and mayors for their active support and cooperation in achieving our development goals.

The Vas County Fishing Association strives to protect, develop, expand and continuously increase the natural values of the water areas under its management, both in Hungary and abroad. We are working to make our Vas fishing waters popular and accessible to a wide group of people, rich in fish, and thus provide pleasant, cultured recreation for all anglers.