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AUGUSTA — Maine’s ice fishing season began Jan. 1, and a copy of the state’s fishing laws is available online at mefishwildlife.com/laws.
The law book is downloadable and can be downloaded to a phone or device to use offline when out on the water.
New this year is possession of live fish as bait is now prohibited under General Fishing Law in the North Zone. The use of all other legal forms of bait (including worms and dead baitfish/smelts), artificial lures, and artificial flies is permitted All waters in the north zone where the use of live bait is permitted now have the special law code “S-11” in the 2020 open water and ice fishing laws. This change reinforces the importance of the region’s native and wild brook trout populations, and stresses the potential damage to those fisheries when bait fish are introduced where they don’t belong, according to the Deparment of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Free fishing days this year are Feb. 15 and 16 and May 20-21, and are great days to introduce children to fishing. On those days, any person (except those whose license has been suspended or revoked) may fish without a license. All other laws and regulations apply on these days.
PHOTO: Free fishing days are Feb. 15 and 16 this year. (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photos)
