NJ Freshwater Fish Laws:
A summary for 2010 |
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It is unlawful to take or attempt to take any fish in
fresh waters by any manner except in the manner commonly know as angling
with handline or with rod and line, or as otherwise allowed by law.
The season, size and creel limits for freshwater species apply to
all waters of the state, including tidal waters.
RED text in regulations indicates a potential change for this year.
The list below is sorted by key words:
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It is unlawful to erect, permit the erection of, or maintain unlawful
contrivances for taking fish. |
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Bait Fish
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See Baitfish Regulations |
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Bow & Arrow
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Any species of fish,
except brook, brown, lake or rainbow trout, land-locked Atlantic salmon, largemouth or smallmouth bass, striped bass or
any of its hybrids, pickerel, northern pike, walley, muskellunge or any of its hybrids, may be taken at any time by
use of a long bow and arrow with line attached by the holder of a proper fishing
license (required). See regulations for Delaware River and Greenwood Lake below. See
also Spears |
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Creel Limit
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See Possession of fish |
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Dam
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It is illegal to draw off water or place screens in water without permission
of the division.
It is illegal to construct a dam in any water of this state which is
a runway for migratory fish without installing a fish ladder or other contrivance that permits fish to pass over the dam in either direction.
Report pollution or other offfenses to 877-WARNDEP or the Operation Game Thief line (800-222-0456) |
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Emergency Closure
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It is illegal to fish or attempt to catch or kill fish by any
manner or means in any waters for which the Director of the Division of
Fish, Game and Wildlife, upon approval by the Fish and Game Council, issues
an Emergency Closure Notice (see NJFG&W
for notification). Such notification is effective and /or rescinded
immediately upon public notification. Emergency closures shall be based
upon imminent threat to the well being of the fishery resources, and/or
its users, and may include any exceptions to the total ban of fishing that
the Director deems practical. |
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Explosives
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It is unlawful to use explosives to take fish. |
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Fish Ladders
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It is unlawful to fish, place any contrivance for the taking of fish,
or attempt to catch or kill fish by any manner or means in any fish ladder,
or with 100 feet (or as posted) of any fish ladder entrance or exit during
the period of March 1 through June 30. |
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Fish Stocking
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A permit is required to stock fish or fish eggs into any water which has an inlet or outlet. It is ILLEGAL to stock carp or koi into any such waters at any time. See also permits. |
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Foul Hooking
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See Snagging |
Frogs(bull
& green)
& Snapping Turtles
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See Turtle/Frog Regulations
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Ice Fishing
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| Ice fishing shall be permitted whenever ice is present. Trout stocked
areas may be fished only when the season is open. See NJF&G for trout
season closures |
| A person while ice fishing may use not more than five devices for taking
fish. The types of devices that may be used are: |
| 1. Ice supported tip-ups or lines with one
single pointed hook attached, or one burr of 3 hooks that measure not more
than 1/2 inch from point ot shaft. |
| 2. An artificial jigging lure with not more
than one burr of three hooks that measure not more than 1/2 inch from point
to point. |
| 3. An artificial jigging lure with not more
than three single hooks measuring not more than 1/2 inch from point to
shaft. |
| 4. An artificial jigging lure with a combination
of the hook limitations described in 2 and 3 above. |
| Expressly prohibited are any devices with automatic hook setting capability.
Natural bait may be used on the hooks of the artificial jigging lures.
All devices that are not hand-held must bear the name and address of the
user and cant be left unattended. |
| When ice is not present, open water regulations will be in effect.
See Greenwood Lake |
| Carp and suckers may be taken with net under the ice. Suckers may be
taken through the ice by means of hooks directly attached to rigid handle,
the hooks not to exceed three in number, between December 1 and March 1. |
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Licenses
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See Licenses |
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Permits
(in addition to license fees)
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| Water lowering |
$2.00 Lebanon Fisheries Lab 908/236-2118 |
| Fish Stocking |
$2.00 Lebanon Fisheries Lab 908/236-2118 |
| Baitfish Collecting |
$2.00 Lebanon Fisheries Lab 908/236-2118 |
| Triploid Grass Carp |
$2.00 Lebanon Fisheries Lab 908/236-2118 |
| Fish Tagging |
$2.00 Lebanon Fisheries Lab 908/236-2118 |
| Turtle & Frog Collecting |
$2.00 Trenton Office 609/292-1599 |
| Eel Weirs |
$2.00 Trenton Office 609/292-1599 |
| Scientific Collecting |
$22.00 Trenton Office 609/292-1599 |
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Pollution
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It is unlawful to directly or indirectly pollute waters of the state. Report pollution or other offfenses to 877-WARNDEP or the Operation Game Thief line (800-222-0456) |
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Possession of fish
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"Possession" refers to all fish, alive or dead, under the control of
the angler.
Only one daily creel creel limit of any fish species may be in possession. Additional fish may be caught once the creel limit is reached if immediately returned to the water unharmed.
Seperate Stringers or buckets must be used for each anglers catch. On board containers in boats may contain only the combined
daily creel limit of any fish for each legal angler. |
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Posted Property
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It is unlawful to trespass on posted property to fish without permission
from the landowner. A fishing license doesn't authorize trespass on private
property. |
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Multiple hooks
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It is unlawful to possess or use any contrivance in fishing with more
than nine hooks or more than three burrs of three hooks. When fishing from the shoreline, no more than three fishing rods, handlines or combination thereof maybe used. |
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Nets & Seines
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It is unlawful to use cast nets in freshwater lakes, but they can be used under certain conditions. See BAITFISH Regulations for additional information. |
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Sale of fish
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It is illegal to sell any freshwater fish species except under commercial permits as prescribed in the Fish and Game Code. It is illegal to sell striped bass. Artificially propagated trout, if properly tagged, may be sold for food. |
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Set Lines
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It is unlawful to use set lines in waters inhabited by pickerel, walleye,
bass or trout. |
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Snagging
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The foul hooking of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass,
chain pickerel, northern pike, muskellunge, walleye, alewife & blueback herring (anadramous & landlocked), brook trout, brown
trout, lake trout and rainbow trout or any of the hybrids there of, is
prohibited in open waters. Any of the aforementioned fish so hooked
must be immediately returned to the water. This does not apply to fish
taken through the ice during the ice fishing season. Snagging of any species
is prohibited in Swartswoot Lake and its tributaries, including Neldon Brook, plus Monksville Reservoir and its tributaries, including the
Wanaque River Upstream of the reservoir. |
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Spear Fishing
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It is unlawful to spear fish in fresh waters in NJ
Exception: Delaware River (see Boundary
Waters) Spears (not mechanically propelled) and longbows my be
used to take shad, eels, carp, suckers, herring and bullheads by properly
licensed anglers except within 825 ft of an eel weir. A valid fishing license is required. |
| Striped Bass
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It is illegal to take, catch or kill any striped bass from or in any
fresh waters of this state by means of a net of any description or by any
method other than angling with a hook and line.
It is illegal to possess any striped bass, or parts of a striped bass
from which the head and/or tail has been removed (other than while in preparation
or being served as food), which is less than the legal minimum size.
Stripers may not be taken or possessed during the closed seasons shown
in sizes and limits section.
See Sizes/Limits
See the Striped
Bass Bonus Fish Progam |
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Tagging of fish
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No
person may tag or mark and release a fish without first obtaining a special permit issued by the Division at is discretion. Fish stocking permits will be accepted as an alternative to this permit. This requirement does not apply to tags issued by the Division. See Permits
for application information. |
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Trout
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 See
NJ
Fish and Game
Website for Complete Trout seasons and limits information,
or pick up a copy of the Freshwater Digest at our store.
BASIC Info: (this is not complete listing)
The trout season for 2010 begins at 8:00 a.m., April 11. See the Additional Info Page for additional information.
No person between the ages of 16 and 69, inclusive, shall take, attempt to take, possess or kill trout without a valid fishing license and trout stamp.
Only one creel limit of trout may be in possession. Trout may be caught once the creel is reached if they are immediately returned to the water unharmed. Separate stringers or buckets must be used for each person's catch; two people may not share a stringer or a bucket. On board containers in boats may only contain the combined daily creel limit for each legal angler on board.
Size limits and creel limits on species other than trout are in accordance
with statewide regulations. See Sizes/Limits.
The division reserves the right to suspend stocking when emergency
conditions prevail. |
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Waste of fish
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Fish of any species, which are purposely killed, will become part of
the fisherman's daily bag limit and must be removed from the waters they
were taken from, as well as any adjacent lands, and either used or otherwise
properly disposed of. This does NOT apply to fish that are released while
still alive. |
BOUNDARY WATERS
Delaware River and Greenwood Lake info Below
See also the Additional Info Page
Delaware River
New jersey or Pennsylvania fishing licenses are both
recognized when fishing the Delaware River from a boat or either shoreline. This applies to the main stem of the river only.
Anglers may launch a boat from either shore and return, may have in possession any fish which may be legally taken according to the regulations of the state where the landing is made.
Angling may be done with no more than 2 rods, each with one line, or 2 handlines,
or 1 of each. Not more than 3 single hooks or 3 burrs of hooks (treble hooks) may be
used on each line.
To protect spawning striped bass, from the Calhoun Street bridge near trenton downstream to the Commodore Barry Bridge at Bridgeport, non-offset circle hooks must be used when using bait with a #2 sized hook or larger, from April 1 to May 30.
A Delaware fishing license is now required for anglers aged 16 and over fishing the Delaware Bay and Delaware River between the upstream tip of Artificial Island and the Delaware-Pennsylvania state line. In that section of the river, the Delaware state boundry extends to the New Jersey shoreline. However, when fishing from shore in New Jersey along that section of the river, a Delaware fishing license is not required. Delaware fishing license information can be found at http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries/Pages/NewFishingLicense.aspx.
See sizes & limits: American
shad
See sizes & limits Trout
The trout season for the Delaware River extends from April 15 through September
30 with no minimum size limit and a daily bag of 5 trout.
See sizes & limits: Striped
Bass
See Spear Fishing
Greenwood Lake
New York and New Jersey licenses are legal anywhere on the lake from
a boat only.
Fishing is permitted 24 hours a day.
In compliance with New York regulations, only certified virus-free baitfish may be transported to, or used on, the portion of Greenwood Lake owned by the State of New York. Anglers are urged to use only certified virus-free baitfish when fishing any portion of Greenwood Lake.
Bow and arrow fishing
for carp, suckers, herring , catfish and eels is permitted.
Ice fishermen
my not use more than five tip-ups and two hand held devices. All ice fishing
devices that are not hand held must be plainly marked with the name and
address of the angler.
Additional information is availabel at the New York DEC's Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Web site at www.dec.ny.gov.
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Report pollution or other offenses to 609-292-7172
Operation Game Thief Line 800-222-0456
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICES:
Northern Region: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic,
Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties
........................................................................................908-735-8240
Central Region: Burlington, mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and
Ocean counties
........................................................................................609-259-2120
Southern Region: Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester
and Salem counties
........................................................................................609-629-0555
SeeNJ
Fish and GameWebsite for additional information and contacts.
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