Fishing News
Freshwater Anglers May Now Use Up to Three Fishing Lines.
August 17, 2011: Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill that allows New York anglers fishing in freshwater to use up to three fishing lines, with or without a rod. Prior to this change, only two lines were permitted. To ensure that New York's fish populations remain productive, this amended law does not change fishing limits, including size and bag limits, as well as seasons for freshwater fisheries.
Record Brook Trout
July 27, 2011: DEC has certified Dan Germain from Forestport, Oneida County, as the new holder of the state record for brook trout. Mr. Germain reeled in the record-breaking fish on June 15 while fishing at South Lake in Herkimer County in the southwest corner of the Adirondack Park. The new record brook trout, caught on a Lake Clear Wobbler and worm, measured 22 inches and weighed in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces, surpassing the previous state record set in 2009 by 3.5 ounces.
Mr. Germain submitted details of his winning fish as part of DEC’s Angler Achievement Awards Program. Through this program, anglers enter freshwater fish that meet specific qualifying criteria and receive official recognition of their catch and a distinctive lapel pin commemorating their achievement. The three categories that make up the program are: Catch & Release, Annual Award, and State Record.
Information about the Angler Achievement Awards Program, including past winners and a downloadable application form, can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7727.html .
Fishing Regulations Available Online
For statewide angling regulations: General Fishing Regulations by Fish Species, click here .
For special regulations by county for individual waters that have exceptions to the general regulations, click here .
2010 Annual Fisheries Report for Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Now Available
July 15, 2011: The 2010 Annual Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Report, now available on the DEC website, provides results of surveys and assessments conducted in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River including creel (angler) surveys, forage fish assessments, warm water gillnetting, lower food web monitoring, Chinook salmon marking studies, native species restoration efforts, Cormorant management and diet studies, and much more! Survey work was conducted by staff from DEC's Lake Ontario Unit and Regions 6, 7, 8, and 9, as well as staff from the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cornell University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
To view the report, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27068.html .
DEC Announces Revised Baitfish Regulations
June 29, 2011: DEC announced changes to state regulations that formerly banned the overland transport of uncertified baitfish by anglers. The changes became effective on June 29, 2011 and were made to help prevent the spread of VHS and other fish diseases into New York's inland waters.
The amended rules allow for the overland transport of personally-collected baitfish within three specified transportation corridors, provided the baitfish are used in the same water body from which they are collected. The three transportation corridors include: the Lake Erie-Upper Niagara River; the Lower Niagara River-Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River; and the Hudson River from the Federal Dam at Troy downstream to the Tappan Zee Bridge. While overland transport is allowed within these defined areas, the use of uncertified baitfish is restricted to the same water body from which it is collected. Only certified disease-free baitfish may be transported in motorized vehicles outside of the transportation corridors specified in the amended regulations.
DEC’s regulations will:
♦Allow the overland motorized transport of uncertified baitfish that are collected for personal use within the identified transportation corridor. Such baitfish may only be used in the water body from which they were collected.
♦Allow the overland motorized transport of uncertified baitfish by anglers purchasing the baitfish from licensed bait dealers located within one of the transportation corridors (provided the seller has obtained a permit from DEC to sell uncertified baitfish). The seller must provide the purchaser with a receipt that identifies the water body from which the bait was collected and can be used. That water body is the only place where the baitfish may be used.
♦ Impose no restrictions on the number of uncertified baitfish that may be collected or purchased for personal use in the water bodies associated with the transportation corridors. Also, such fish may be retained or preserved in any manner within the boundaries of the corridors. They may not be transported outside of the transportation corridors.
♦Continue to subject any commercial sale of uncertified baitfish involving overland transport to a permit issued by the Department.
Anglers should be aware that a prohibition on transport of baitfish remains in effect outside the designated transportation corridors.
Details of modifications are at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html .
Maps of transportation corridors may be viewed at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/47282.html .
Reminder for Champlain Anglers: Vermont License Required to Fish “The Gut”
The NYS Fishing Guide is incorrect; the section known as the Gut” is not a ‘Reciprocal Water’.
Lake Champlain anglers should be aware that the “The Gut,” a section of the lake at the north end of South Hero Island, is not part of the Lake Champlain reciprocal fishing license agreement between New York and Vermont. Therefore, anglers must possess a Vermont fishing license to fish that section.
DEC was recently made aware that the “New York Freshwater Fishing – 2009-2010 Official Regulations Guide” mistakenly depicts The Gut as being covered by the reciprocal fishing license agreement. The actual boundary for the reciprocal license agreement runs along the western shore of South Hero Island to Tromp Point, then, following the railroad causeway, across The Gut to Bow Arrow Point on North Hero Island.
Anglers possessing only a New York fishing license can be, and have been, ticketed by Vermont game wardens when fishing in The Gut. A revised map has been posted on the NYSDEC website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/nyvtfishlic.pdf .
Commercial and Recreational Fishing for American Shad
March 17, 2010: DEC enacted new regulations that ban commercial and recreational fishing for American Shad in the Hudson River and the Marine and Coastal District of New York, effective today. The regulations also prohibit the sale, or offering for sale, of any American shad caught in New York State. New restrictions were imposed as well for American shad in the Delaware River by reducing the daily creel limit from six fish a day to three and prohibiting commercial shad fishing in the river.
DEC states that the Hudson River shad stock has declined dramatically for more than a decade, and restrictions enacted in 2008 did not trigger a rebound. As a result, closing the fishery for now is the best way to try to prevent this historically important species from permanently vanishing from the Hudson River ecosystem.
Regulations governing the shad fishing changes are published in the New York State Register at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/register/2010.html. Click on "March 17", then on "Rule Making Activities", and scroll down to page 4.
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