Kentucky Administrative Regulations
Title 301 - TOURISM, ARTS AND HERITAGE CABINET - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES
Chapter 1 - Fish
Section 301 KAR 1:410 - Taking of fish by nontraditional fishing methods
Universal Citation: 301 KY Admin Regs Service 1:410
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS 150.010, 150.170, 150.175, 150.235, 150.445, 150.620, 150.990
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 150.025(1) authorizes the department to promulgate administrative regulations to establish seasons for the taking of fish and wildlife, to regulate limits, and methods of take, and to make those requirements apply to a limited area. KRS 150.440 requires the department to promulgate administrative regulations for establishing open seasons and limits for rough fish by gigging, grabbing, snaring, and snagging. KRS 150.470(1) requires the department to promulgate administrative regulations for bag or daily limits for fish. KRS 235.280 requires the department to promulgate administrative regulations to govern the fair, reasonable, equitable, and safe use of all waters of the state. This administrative regulation establishes the procedures for taking sport and rough fish by nontraditional fishing methods.
Section 1. General Provisions.
(1) A person using nontraditional
fishing methods shall observe the daily limits and size limits established in
paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection:
(a) The daily limit for catfish using any
non-traditional fishing method shall not include more than one (1) trophy
catfish of each species, except as established in Section 6(3) of this
administrative regulation.
(b) The
paddlefish daily limit shall be two (2) with no size limit.
(c) The shovelnose sturgeon daily limit shall
be two (2) with no size limit.
(d)
The invasive carp daily limit shall be unlimited with no size limit.
(2) The possession limit for
paddlefish and trophy catfish shall be two (2) times the daily limit for each
species.
(3) Shovelnose sturgeon
shall not be harvested from the Mississippi River and shall be immediately
released.
(4) A person shall
release any:
(a) Lake sturgeon;
(b) Pallid sturgeon; or
(c) Alligator gar.
Section 2. Skin Diving, Scuba Diving, and Underwater Spear Fishing.
(1) Skin
diving or scuba diving shall be prohibited in all lakes owned by the
department, except as established in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this
section.
(2) Skin diving and scuba
diving shall be allowed in salvage operations if the diver receives prior
written permission from:
(a) The department's
Division of Law Enforcement; or
(b)
The local conservation officer who is assigned to the particular
department-owned lake.
(3) Skin diving or scuba diving shall be
permitted anytime without prior authorization in cases of emergency involving
the possibility of saving human life or in the recovery of a drowning
victim.
(4) Skin diving and scuba
diving shall be allowed in Greenbo Lake:
(a)
In a designated cove marked with signage and buoys;
(b) From April 1 through October 31;
and
(c) From 10:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m. daily.
(5) A person
who is skin diving or scuba diving in a designated cove as established in
subsection (4) of this section shall display an international diving flag as
established in
301 KAR 6:030.
(6) Recreational boating and angling shall be
prohibited in the designated cove marked with signage and buoys during the
times open to skin diving and scuba diving as established in subsection (4) of
this section if an international diving flag is present in the cove.
(7) Underwater spearing of fish with a
hand-held spear or mechanically propelled spear shall be legal throughout the
year in lakes 1,000 surface acres in size or larger, as measured at the normal
summer pool level as established in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
(a) An angler who is spearing fish shall:
1. Be completely submerged in the water where
spearing takes place; and
2. Only
spear rough fish.
(b)
The daily limit shall be fifteen (15) rough fish, no more than five (5) of
which shall be catfish.
Section 3. Sport Fishing Trotlines, Jugging, and Setlines.
(1) Each sport fishing trotline,
jug line, or setline shall be permanently labeled or tagged with the customer
identification number found on the current sport fishing license of the person
using it.
(2) Each trotline, jug
line, or setline shall be checked by the owner at least once every twenty-four
(24) hours, at which time the owner shall:
(a)
Bait all hooks; and
(b) Remove all
caught fish.
(3) A
trotline, setline, or jug line shall be confiscated if it is not:
(a) Properly labeled or tagged; or
(b) Checked or baited at least once every
twenty-four (24) hours.
(4) An angler shall not use more than:
(a) Two (2) sport fishing
trotlines;
(b) Twenty-five (25)
setlines; or
(c) Fifty (50) jug
lines.
(5) Multiple
anglers in one (1) boat shall not use more than fifty (50) jug lines per
boat.
(6) An angler using a sport
fishing trotline shall:
(a) Set the trotline
at least three (3) feet below the water's surface;
(b) Not have more than fifty (50) single or
multi-barbed hooks; and
(c) Have
all hooks at least eighteen (18) inches apart on the trotline.
(7) A person shall not use a jug
line or setline with more than one (1) single or multi-barbed hook.
(8) A sport fishing trotline, jug line, or
setline shall not be used in the waters established in paragraphs (a) through
(d) of this subsection:
(a) In the Tennessee
River within 700 yards of Kentucky Lake Dam;
(b) In the Cumberland River below Lake
Barkley Dam to the Highway 62 bridge;
(c) In any lake less than 500 surface acres
owned or managed by the department, except:
1.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area lakes, Ballard County;
2. Peal Wildlife Management Area lakes,
Ballard County; and
3. Swan Lake
Wildlife Management Area lakes, Ballard County; or
(d) In the areas of the Ohio River
established in subparagraphs 1. through 8. of this paragraph:
1. Smithland Dam downstream to a line
perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall;
2. J. T. Meyers Dam downstream to a line
perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall and that portion of the split
channel around the southern part of Wabash Island from the fixed weir dam to
the first dike;
3. Newburgh Dam
downstream to a line perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall;
4. Cannelton Dam downstream to a line
perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall;
5. McAlpine Dam downstream to the K & I
railroad bridge;
6. Markland Dam
downstream to a line perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall;
7. Meldahl Dam downstream to a line
perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall; or
8. Greenup Dam downstream to a line
perpendicular to the end of the outer lock wall.
(9) An angler using a trotline,
jug line, or setline shall follow all sport fish daily limits and size limits
as established in
301 KAR 1:201.
Section 4. Temporary Aquatic Areas and Temporary Pools.
(1) The department, with
consent of the landowner, may delineate temporary aquatic areas and temporary
pools where anglers may take rough fish by any method except:
(a) Poison;
(b) Electrical devices;
(c) Firearms; or
(d) Explosives.
(2) The department shall be authorized to
establish the exact dates and times when rough fish may be taken in temporary
aquatic areas and temporary pools.
(3) A person with a valid commercial fishing
license may use nets and seines if the nets and seines are appropriately
tagged, as established in
301 KAR 1:146.
(4) A person shall first obtain the
permission of the landowner before taking rough fish from a temporary
pool.
Section 5. Gigging and Snagging.
(1) Gigging and snagging season
shall be February 1 through May 10, except as established in subsections (7)
and (9) of this section.
(2) A
person shall not:
(a) Gig or snag a sport
fish, as established in
301 KAR 1:060, except as
established in subsections (7) and (9) of this section;
(b) Gig or snag from a platform;
(c) Gig from a boat in any lake less than 500
surface acres;
(d) Gig at night
from a boat; or
(e) Snag from a
boat.
(3) A snagging rod
shall be equipped with:
(a) Line;
(b) Guides;
(c) A reel; and
(d) One (1) single hook or treble hook
attached to the line, except that five (5) hooks, either single or treble, may
be used while snagging in:
1. The Green River
and its tributaries; or
2. The
Rolling Fork River and its tributaries.
(4) A person who accidentally gigs or snags a
sport fish shall immediately return the fish to the water, except as
established in subsections (7) and (9) of this section.
(5) A person shall not gig or snag in the
areas or bodies of water established in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this
subsection:
(a) The Cumberland River below
Wolf Creek Dam downstream to the Tennessee line, including Hatchery
Creek;
(b) Any tributary of the
Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam to the Tennessee line from the junction
of the tributary with the Cumberland River to one-half (1/2) mile
upstream;
(c) The Cumberland River
below the Lake Barkley Dam to the U.S. 62 bridge;
(d) The Middle Fork of the Kentucky River,
from Buckhorn Lake Dam downstream to the Breathitt County line in Perry
County;
(e) The Rough River, below
Rough River Lake Dam downstream to the State Highway 54 bridge in Breckinridge
and Grayson counties;
(f) Cave Run
Lake; or
(g) Within 200 yards of
any dam on a river or stream, except as established in subsection (7) of this
section.
(6) A person
shall not gig in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam.
(7) A person may snag sport fish or rough
fish in the Tennessee River below the Kentucky Lake Dam to the U.S. 62 bridge:
(a) For twenty-four (24) hours a day from
January 1 through May 31; and
(b)
From sunset to sunrise from June 1 through December 31.
(8) A person shall not snag in that section
of the Tennessee River from the U.S. 62 bridge to the Interstate 24
bridge.
(9) A person may snag sport
fish or rough fish year-round in the section of the Tennessee River from the
Interstate 24 bridge to the Ohio River.
(10) A person shall not snag on the Tennessee
River:
(a) Under the U.S. 62 bridge;
(b) Under the P & L Railroad bridge;
or
(c) From any fishing pier or
jetty.
(11) There shall
not be a daily limit for rough fish except the daily aggregate limit for
snagging of rough and sport fish in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam
shall be eight (8), except there shall not be a daily limit on invasive
carp.
(12) There shall not be a
size limit for sport fish snagged in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake
Dam.
(13) A person shall
immediately retain, and not release or cull, any gigged or snagged
paddlefish.
(14) All snagged fish
in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam shall be immediately retained,
and not released or culled, except for invasive carp, shad, or
herring.
(15) All gigged or snagged
rough fish in the Cumberland River below Lake Barkley Dam shall be immediately
retained, and not released or culled, except for invasive carp, shad, or
herring.
(16) A person shall
immediately cease snagging if:
(a) A daily
limit of paddlefish is reached;
(b)
A daily limit of shovelnose sturgeon is reached;
(c) A daily limit of sport fish has been
caught in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam, even if the daily limit
for that sport fish is less than eight (8); or
(d) A trophy catfish is snagged.
Section 6. Grabbing.
(1) The grabbing season for rough fish shall
be June 1 to August 31 during daylight hours.
(2) Grabbing shall be permitted in all
waters.
(3) The daily limit for
grabbing shall be fifteen (15) fish, no more than five (5) of which may be
catfish, except anglers grabbing at Barren River Lake, Carr Creek Lake, Dewey
Lake, Fishtrap Lake, Taylorsville Lake, or Yatesville Lake may only harvest one
(1) blue or channel catfish over twenty-five (25) inches.
Section 7. Bow Fishing.
(1) An angler using archery equipment, a
crossbow, or a pneumatic arrow launching device shall not take:
(a) Sport fish;
(b) Alligator gar;
(c) More than five (5) catfish daily;
or
(d) Lake sturgeon.
(2) Any paddlefish, shovelnose
sturgeon, or catfish shot with archery equipment, a crossbow, or a pneumatic
arrow launching device shall:
(a) Be
immediately retained, and not released or culled; and
(b) Count toward a person's daily
limit.
(3) Bow fishing
shall be open statewide, except:
(a) In the
Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam downstream to the Tennessee line
including Hatchery Creek;
(b) In
any tributary of the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam to the Tennessee
line, from the junction of the tributary with the Cumberland River to one-half
(1/2) mile upstream;
(c) In:
1. Carpenter Lake (Daviess County);
2. Clear Creek Lake (Bath County);
3. Greenbo Lake (Greenup County);
4. Lake Carnico (Nicholas County);
and
5. Lake Reba (Madison County);
or
(d) From a boat in
restricted areas below navigation, power generating, or flood control
dams.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 150.025(1), 150.440, 150.470, 235.280
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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