Fish, stickleback family
Three-spined stickleback
- Origin
- Invasive species
- Fishing
- all year
About the species Three-spined stickleback
How to recognise it
A small fish (up to 8 cm) with three separate spines in front of the dorsal fin, no scales, and bony plates along the sides.
Where it lives
Shallow overgrown waters, backwaters and streams.
What it feeds on
Small invertebrates and eggs.
Spawning
In spring and summer; the male builds a nest from plants and guards it.
An invasive species under the regulation. Never release it into other waters.
Classification under the decree
Decree of the Ministry of the Environment of the SR no. 381/2018 Coll. on fisheries.
Classification
An invasive non-native species (Section 13, paragraph 2 of the decree).
Closed season, minimum size and daily limit
What the Fisheries Act says about three-spined stickleback. For guidance only; check it in the fishing regulations of the district.
Fishing all year round
§ 10 of the Decreeno closed season
Under the decree the species may be caught from 1 January to 31 December (Section 10, paragraph 3). This does not mean it may be caught in every water at any time: the closed season, the permit and the fishing rules of the district can restrict fishing.
Summary of Act no. 216/2018 Coll. and Decree no. 381/2018 Coll. (as of 6 Nov 2026). It may be out of date or contain an error, and exceptions apply on some waters. The permit and the fishing regulations of the district are binding. The fishing law, rule by rule.
Where it was recorded
Fishing districts around which a record of this species exists (GBIF).
We do not yet track where this species occurs in individual fishing districts. So far we have records from the GBIF database only for species with numerical water-temperature data.
Catches of Three-spined stickleback
Approved catches by anglers on this portal.
Nobody has logged a catch of this species yet. Be the first; once approved it will appear here and on the leaderboard.
Similar species
Photo credits
- Three-spined stickleback: Photo: Lorenz Seebauer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pumpkinseed: Photo: Raver, Duane, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Minimum sizes, protection periods and permitted fishing methods are set by the fishing regulations and the conditions of the specific fishing district. Check them before you fish.