Start Zoom
Image default
leisure and Hobby

Magnet fishing can be dangerous

The Bavarian police point out that these objects are often not immediately recognizable as ordnance due to soiling, rotting and rust, and that this fact alone entails a high risk potential both for the magnetic fisherman himself and for possibly bystanders and property. In addition, it must be taken into account that magnetic fishing can bring back into circulation substances from deep layers that have previously been trapped in the ground and may be harmful to flora and fauna at and in the water body. In addition, magnetic fishing always involves the risk of damaging, destroying or killing plants and animals living in the water or their developmental stages, thus affecting the population.

Anyone wishing to buy fishing magnets for sale must obtain a water-law permit from the Main-Spessart District Office.

Search for treasures and scrap in rivers and ponds: In the past two years, magnet fishing has become increasingly popular in Bavaria. But the new hobby is not without danger.

“There’s a story behind every find,” says Mario Schrader, throwing his magnet into the water again. He is standing at Würzburg’s Ludwigskai. With him is Walter Linder. For about a year and a half, the two have been sharing a hobby that is little known in Bavaria but already controversial: magnet fishing. On this day, they had to get up early for it. When they arrive on the banks of the Main, there are still light clouds of fog over the river.

Schrader attaches a shiny silver magnet weighing two kilos to a plastic rope about 20 meters long. The 22-year-old ties the other end to a metal strut anchored in the ground. He then takes the magnet in his hand, takes a swing and throws it about five meters toward the middle of the river. The two are looking for treasures and scrap metal that have been lying at the bottom of the Main River for years or even decades.