Code of Massachusetts Regulations
321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE
Title 321 CMR 4.00 - Fishing
Section 4.01 - Taking of Certain Fish
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
In accordance with the authority vested in me by the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 4, 5 and 51, I hereby declare an open season for the taking of fish throughout Massachusetts and promulgate the following rules and regulations relating to their taking as hereinafter provided:
(1) Definitions: For the purposes of 321 CMR 4.01, the following words or phrases shall have the following meanings:
Broodstock Salmon means an Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that has been reared in a hatchery for purposes of spawning and subsequently released into the wild.
Dealer means a person who commercially handles fish, birds, or mammals protected by M.G.L. c. 131 and who is licensed as a Class 6 dealer pursuant to M.G.L. c. 131, § 23.
Director means the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his authorized agent.
Float means any device, including a toggle, floating with a line and hook attached, baited with natural or artificial bait and not under the direct control of the hand of the person fishing.
Hook means an angling device which is attached to a fishing line and which is designed to take one fish at a time, including, but not limited to, devices commonly called spinners, spoons, bait harnesses, lead head jigs, or plugs, the purpose of which is to capture the fish by enticing it to take the device into its mouth, thereby engaging the fish upon it.
Lead Jig means any lead-weighted hook which has a mass of less than one ounce.
Lead Sinker or Lead Weight means any sinker or weight made from lead and which has a mass of less than one ounce. The term lead sinker shall not include any other sinkers, weights, fishing lures or fishing tackle including, but not limited to, artificial lures, hooks, weighted flies, and lead-core or other weighted fishing lines.
Licensed Fisherman means an angler who possesses a current valid Massachusetts fishing or sporting license in any of the following classes: F1, F2, F3, F4, F6, F7, F8, F9, S1, S2, or S3.
Minimum Legal Length in Inches means the greatest length in inches measured from the anterior extremity of the snout with the mouth closed to the posterior extremity of the tail with the lobes compressed when the fish is flat and fully extended.
Resident Licensed Fisherman means an angler who possesses a current valid Massachusetts fishing or sporting license in any of the following classes: F1, F2, F3, F4, F8, S1, S2, or S3.
Sell, in all its moods and tenses, means purchasing, selling, bartering, exchanging, and taking, offering, or exposing for the purpose of purchase, sale, barter, or exchange.
Snagging means the taking of fish, not attracted by bait or artificial lures, with hooks, gangs or lures either baited or unbaited, in a manner so as to pierce and hook a fish in any part of the body other than the mouth.
Tiger Muskellunge means a sterile cross between a northern pike and a muskellunge.
Tiger Trout means a cross between a female brown trout and a male brook trout.
Transgenic Fish means any fish that possesses a new or unique combination of genetic material obtained through the use of biotechnological means. This definition does not include diploid, triploid, or hybrid-crossed fish
Words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things, words importing the plural number may include the singular, and words importing the masculine gender may include the feminine and neuter.
(2) Catch and Release Areas.
(3) Reservoirs under the Control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Quabbin Reservoir and that portion of its tributary streams within the Quabbin Reservation, Wachusett Reservoir, and Sudbury Reservoir are hereby closed to all fishing except during the open season for access as established by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
(4) Prohibitions: Except as otherwise provided for in M.G.L. c. 131 and 321 CMR, it shall be unlawful:
(5) Dukes and Nantucket Counties. The provisions of 321 CMR 4.01 shall not apply to the taking of white perch in Dukes and Nantucket Counties.
(6) Seasons, Dates, Creel and Size Limits, and Related Provisions. Open seasons, dates, provisions relative to certain waters, creel limits, minimum legal length in inches, and related provisions relative to the taking of certain fish in inland waters are set forth in Table 1.
(7) Jurisdictional Boundaries. For the purpose of determining inter-agency jurisdictional boundaries between the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Division of Marine Fisheries, a marker is hereby established on the Merrimack River. The marker shall be the first upstream or easternmost (i.e., northbound traffic) bridge of Rte. I-495 in the City of Haverhill. Waters of the Merrimack River downstream from said bridge shall be subject to the authority, rules and regulations, of the Division of Marine Fisheries. Waters upstream from said bridge shall be subject to the jurisdictional authority, rules and regulations, of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
(8) Taking, Sale, Importation and Use of Baitfish.
Baitfish means only live or dead fish of the following species. A person shall not use as bait any fish, alive or dead, including parts thereof, except the baitfish listed in 321 CMR 4.01(8)(a)1. through 10.
Commercial Baitfish means only live or dead fish of the following species lawfully imported into the Commonwealth, or propagated within the Commonwealth for purposes of sale as baitfish:
Baitfish taken from any inland waters of the Commonwealth shall not be considered commercial baitfish, and shall not be sold or offered for sale.
TABLE 1
SPECIES |
DAILY CREEL |
MINIMUM LENGTH (INCHES) |
OPEN SEASON (ALL DATES INCLUSIVE |
|
Brown Trout |
Special Management Lakes/Ponds (as listed)1 |
1 |
15 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
Total daily creel not to exceed one brown trout |
||||
Brook, Brown, Tiger & Rainbow Trout |
Other Lakes/Ponds |
3 |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
Total daily creel not to exceed three trout in any combination |
||||
Brook, Brown, Tiger & Rainbow Trout |
Major Rivers (as listed)2 |
3 |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
Total daily creel not to exceed three trout in any combination |
||||
Brook, Brown, Tiger & Rainbow Trout |
Other Rivers and Streams3 |
8 |
None |
Apr. 1 - Sep. 10 |
Total daily creel not to exceed eight trout in any combination |
||||
Brook, Brown, Tiger & Rainbow Trout |
Other Rivers and Streams3 |
3 |
None |
Sep. 11 - Mar. 31 |
Total daily creel not to exceed three trout in any combination |
||||
Lake Trout (Wachusett Res.) |
3 |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Lake Trout (Quabbin Res.) |
2 |
18 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Landlocked Salmon |
2 |
15 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Broodstock Salmon4 |
2 |
15 |
See Note # 4 |
|
Atlantic Salmon4 |
2 |
15 |
See Note # 4 |
|
Smelt5 |
- |
None |
May 16 - last day of Feb. |
|
Sturgeon |
- |
- |
No Open Season |
|
Black Bass (Largemouth or Smallmouth) |
5 |
12 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Chain Pickerel |
5 |
15 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Northern Pike |
1 |
28 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Tiger Muskellunge |
1 |
28 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Walleye |
5 |
14 |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
American Shad (Connecticut River and tributaries and Merrimack Rivers and tributaries) |
3 |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
American Shad (All Other Waters) |
0 (Catch and Release Only) |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
|
Striped Bass6 |
See 322 CMR |
|||
Herring |
See 322 CMR |
|||
All Other Species |
- |
None |
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 |
1 Special Brown Trout Management Waters: South Pond (Quacumquasit), Brookfield.
2 Major Trout Rivers: Childs River (Falmouth, M ashpee), Coonamesset River, Deerfield River, East B ranch Swift River, East and West Branches Tully River, East Branch Ware River, Farmington River, Green River (Colrain), Green River (Great Barrington), Jones River (Kingston, Plympton), Ipswich River, Mashpee River, Millers River, Nissitissit River, North River (Colrain), Parker River, Quaboag River, Quinebaug River, Quinapoxit River, Santuit River, Scorton Creek, Seven Mile River, Shawsheen River, Squannacook River, Stillwater River, Swift River (Winsor Dam to Ware River, except as posted), Ware River, West Branch North River, Westfield River (all branches).
3 Exclusive of the areas set forth in 321 CMR 4.01(2)(j), in the area from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield to the Connecticut border in Sheffield, the total daily creel (January 1st through December 31st) shall not exceed one trout (minimum length of 20 inches).
4 Atlantic Salmon and Broodstock Salmon: The harvest of Atlantic salmon, including broodstock salmon, and broodstock is lawful in all inland waters of Massachusetts, except:
No person shall possess an Atlantic salmon (including broodstock salmon) while fishing in the Connecticut River and all its tributaries, or in the Merrimack River downstream of the Essex Dam in the City of Lawrence, or in any tributary of the Merrimack River downstream of the Essex Dam in the City of Lawrence.
5 Smelt may be taken in all inland waters by hook and line only from May 16th to the last day of February, excepting Quabbin Reservoir, where smelt may only be taken in open water where legal fishing is permitted from May 16th to the end of the Quabbin fishing season. There is no daily or seasonal limit for smelt on these waters. The possession of smelt or their use as bait in inland waters other than during the established open season on smelt is prohibited.
6 Sale of striped bass from inland waters is prohibited.
No person shall take more than eight brook, brown, tiger, or rainbow trout in any one day in the aggregate from all waters.