Maine fishing rules
License, gear, and the statewide limits MDIFW publishes for major species. Water-specific rules replace these numbers. Last checked October 2026.
License
- Who needs one
- A valid Maine fishing license is required for anyone 16 or older to fish in inland waters or to transport fish taken from inland waters. The license must be with the angler while fishing or transporting fish, and an electronic copy may be shown. Possession of fishing tackle in the fields, forests, or on the waters or ice without a license is prima facie evidence of fishing illegally. This inland license is issued by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Marine species are regulated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and a separate saltwater registry can apply.
- Residents
- A resident is a U.S. citizen domiciled in Maine, or a person who is not a U.S. citizen but has been domiciled in Maine for one year. The person must be registered to vote in Maine if registered anywhere, must hold a Maine driver’s license if licensed to drive, must register Maine-kept vehicles in Maine, and must comply with Maine income-tax laws. A full-time student at a Maine college is a resident only if they live in Maine and meet those tests. The 2026 resident season fishing license for age 16 and older is $30. A resident and immediate family may fish without a license from open inland waters on land of 10 or more contiguous acres where they are domiciled and legally entitled to possession, if the license is not suspended. Fees in the table do not include the agent fee.
- Nonresidents
- A nonresident is a person who does not meet the resident definition. The 2026 nonresident season fishing license for age 16 and older is $83. Shorter licenses include 15-day at $66, 7-day at $62, 3-day at $30, and 1-day at $18. A nonresident age 18 through 23 enrolled full-time in a Maine college may be eligible for a resident-rate fishing license, which must be obtained at the Augusta office. Nonresidents who operate a motorized watercraft, or an aircraft with pontoons, on inland waters must display a Lake and River Protection Sticker in addition to a current boat registration sticker.
- Free fishing days
- Free fishing days are February 14–15, 2026 and May 30–31, 2026. Any person except someone whose license is suspended or revoked may fish without a license. All other laws and regulations apply.
Seasons and closures
General law zones
If a water is not listed in the special fishing laws, only general law applies. A listed water, or a special season or law code, replaces general law. North Zone lakes and ponds are open to open-water fishing April 1 through September 30 and closed to all fishing October 1 through March 31. South Zone lakes and ponds are open to ice and open-water fishing January 1 through December 31. Rivers, streams, and brooks in both zones are open April 1 through August 15, then artificial lures or flies only from August 16 through September 30, and closed October 1 through March 31. All inland waters are closed to ice fishing unless a rule opens them. Open waters are open 24 hours a day unless a rule says otherwise.
Which agency sets the rule
MDIFW sets inland seasons, bags, and gear above the rise and fall of the tide. The Department of Marine Resources sets recreational rules for marine species in territorial waters, including striped bass, groundfish, and halibut. DMR Chapter 55 lists gear restrictions and closed areas in tidal river sections. The area within 150 feet of an operational fishway is closed to fishing, and that closure does not restrict alewives and smelts taken under marine-resource laws. Sea-run Atlantic salmon are endangered or threatened and no fishing is permitted. Tribal waters in Passamaquoddy or Penobscot territory use the tribal rules even when the water is not listed in the state special-law pages.
Legal gear
Hooks and barbless rules
MDIFW’s general inland rule does not require barbless hooks. Except as otherwise provided, it is unlawful to fish other than with a single baited hook and line, artificial flies, or artificial lures and spinners. That limit does not apply to hook-and-line smelt fishing, and an unlimited number of baited hooks may be used while fishing for smelts. A hook is a single hook with one, two, or three points. Fly fishing is limited to three unbaited artificial flies. A gaff is unlawful. The 2026 inland book does not set a statewide barbless rule. Marine striped bass, set by the Department of Marine Resources, require a circle hook when bait is used.
Rods per angler
Unless a rule says otherwise, an angler may fish two lines while open-water fishing and five lines while ice fishing, and never more than five lines. All lines must be under the immediate supervision of the person who set them. Lines set through the ice at night for cusk must be checked at least once an hour. It is unlawful to open-water fish while positioned on the ice. Set lines are unlawful. A listed water marked S-8 is restricted to two lines.
Nets
It is unlawful to possess a grapnel, trawl, weir, seine, gill net, trap, set line, or drop net on or next to inland waters, and unlawful to fish with a grapnel, spear, spear gun, trawl, weir, gaff, seine, gill net, trap, or set line, except as the law otherwise provides. A dip net may be used for smelts in inland waters that are naturally free of ice, from noon to 2 a.m., where smelt dipping is not closed, and the net must meet the statutory dip-net definition. River herring may be taken by hook and line or dip net, up to 25 fish, by a licensed angler for personal or family use. Baitfish traps may not exceed 50 cubic feet. Marine species follow Department of Marine Resources gear, which allows a hand dip net and a minnow trap unless a species rule is tighter.
Snagging
Snagging means manipulating a hook so that it pierces a fish somewhere other than the mouth. It is unlawful to fish for any fish except suckers by snagging. Licensed anglers may take suckers for their own use from April 1 through June 30 in rivers, streams, and brooks that are open to fishing, by hand spear, archery equipment, or snagging. An arrow or bolt used for suckers must have a barbed or pronged point and must be attached to the archery equipment with a line.
Spearing and bow
Spear and spear-gun fishing are unlawful in inland waters except the sucker season above and any other exception the statute names. Bowfishing for suckers is limited to that April 1 through June 30 season and those open rivers, streams, and brooks. Department of Marine Resources general saltwater guidelines allow speargun or harpoon for personal use unless a species rule says otherwise. Striped bass may be taken only by hook and line, and a gaff may not be used to land one. Atlantic halibut in territorial waters must be taken on 14/0, 15/0, or 16/0 circle hooks.
Bait and live transport
In the North Zone, use or possession of live fish as bait is prohibited. Worms, dead baitfish, dead smelts, artificial lures, and flies are allowed. In the South Zone, live baitfish and live smelts are allowed unless a special law closes them. Advance baiting with meat, bones, dead fish, or other food is unlawful, except food particles in a baitfish trap. Importing live freshwater fish or eggs requires a permit. The only live fish that may be transported in the state without special permits are legal live baitfish and smelt. Live baitfish and smelt must be bought from licensed retailers, and dumping them into inland waters is illegal. Commercially prepared eggs from species that do not occur in Maine may be used as bait. Lead sinkers, and unpainted lead jigs, of 2.5 inches or less or one ounce or less may not be used, sold, or offered for sale in inland waters. Use of painted lead jigs of that size is prohibited effective September 1, 2026.
Bag and size limits
These are the statewide or default limits. A named lake, river, or marine area can replace every figure below.
Brook trout
Under general law, brook trout, including splake and Arctic charr, have a daily bag of 5, but only 2 of those fish may come from South Zone lakes and ponds. The minimum is 6 inches in lakes and ponds and in rivers, streams, and brooks. A listed water with an S-code replaces this bag or length. Any fish killed, other than baitfish and smelts, becomes part of the daily bag. Possession may not exceed one day’s bag.
Brown trout, rainbow trout, and salmon
Brown trout are 2 a day, with a 14-inch minimum in lakes and ponds and a 6-inch minimum and 25-inch maximum in rivers, streams, and brooks. Rainbow trout are 2 a day, 12 inches in lakes and ponds and 6 inches in rivers. Landlocked salmon are 2 a day, 14 inches in lakes and ponds and 14 inches minimum with a 25-inch maximum in rivers. From August 16 through September 30 on rivers, streams, and brooks, the general-law daily bag is one landlocked salmon and one brook trout, and only artificial lures or flies may be used. Special-rule waters replace these numbers.
Lake trout and bass
Togue, which is lake trout, are 2 a day with an 18-inch minimum in lakes and in rivers. In the North Zone, largemouth and smallmouth bass have no general-law bag and no minimum length. In the South Zone the bass bag is 2, there is no minimum length, and only 1 may exceed 14 inches. Where a special rule removes the bass bag, the bass season and method follow the trout and landlocked salmon rules. Whitefish are 3 a day with no minimum. Smelts are 2 quarts.
Striped bass
The Department of Marine Resources sets striped bass rules in territorial waters. The daily limit is 1 fish, which must be at least 28 inches and no longer than 31 inches total length, and it must stay whole with the head on. Sale is prohibited. From December 1 through June 30, retention is closed in the tidal Kennebec, Sheepscot, Androscoggin, Sasanoa, and Merrymeeting Bay waters described in Chapter 42. From May 1 through June 30 that area is open only to hook-and-release with single-hook artificial lures, and bait may not be possessed or used while hook-and-line fishing for any finfish there. Above the head of tide, MDIFW rules apply. Striped bass, shad, river herring, American eel, and sturgeon in inland waters are directed to the inland book’s marine cross-reference rather than the inland bag table.
Cod, haddock, and halibut
The Department of Marine Resources 2026 saltwater sheet, current as of July 1, 2026, lists Atlantic cod at a 23-inch minimum, 1 fish a day, open September 1 through October 31. Haddock are 17 inches, 15 a day, and may not be possessed from March 1 through March 31. Atlantic halibut in Maine territorial waters are 41 inches minimum. Recreational vessels may land no more than 5 a year and charter vessels no more than 25 a year, each retained fish must be tagged, and the open period is sunrise May 18 through sunset June 13, with no fishing on Wednesday or Thursday. Federal waters are a separate 1-fish daily rule with no season on that sheet. All lengths on the sheet are total length.
Saltwater
Marine recreational fishing is set by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, not by the inland fishing license alone. The 2026 saltwater sheet says a Maine law may require registration in the Maine Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry. Unless a species rule is tighter, fish may be taken for personal use by speargun, harpoon, minnow trap, hand dip net, or hook and line. Sale of recreational catch is prohibited. The sheet was current as of July 1, 2026 and says the rules can change.
- Striped bass, DMR Chapter 42: hook and line only, no gaff, no more than two treble hooks on an artificial lure, and a circle hook is required when using bait. The slot is 28 to 31 inches total length and the bag is one fish.
- Black sea bass on the 2026 sheet: 13-inch minimum, 10 a day, hook and line only, open May 19 through September 21 and October 18 through December 31.
- Winter flounder: 12-inch minimum and 8 a day. Atlantic mackerel: no minimum and 25 a day. Pollock have no size or bag limit in Maine territorial waters.
- Atlantic cod are open September 1 through October 31 with a 23-inch minimum and a bag of 1. Haddock may not be possessed March 1 through March 31.
- Coastal sharks, including shortfin mako, may not be taken in Maine territorial waters. Anglers may not possess Atlantic wolffish.