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N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6 § 10.1 : DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION — Fish and Wildlife — Fishing — Sportfishing Regulations — Sportfishing Regulations

(a) In accordance with Table A in subdivision (b) of this section, except as provided for in sections 10.2 and 10.3 of this Part, and Parts 11, 19, 35, 36 and 40 of this Chapter, no person shall:
(1) have in possession, take or attempt to take fish of a species listed other than during the open season specified for such species; or
(2) have in possession or intentionally kill or unnecessarily injure fish of a species listed of sizes other than those specified and allowed for such species; or
(3) possess, kill or unnecessarily injure fish of a species listed in excess of the daily limit specified for such species except that fish caught and returned to the water immediately without unnecessary injury will not be counted as part of the daily limit.
(b) Table A. Sportfishing regulations

Species

Open Season

Minimum length or slot limit

Daily limit

(1)

(a) Brook Trout

April 1 through October 15

Any size

5

(b) Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Splake in lakes and ponds

All year

Any size

5 with no more than 2 longer than 12"

(c) See 10.1(f) for inland trout streams

(2)

Lake Trout

April 1 through October 15

21"

3

(3)

Atlantic Salmon

All year

15"

3

(4)

Black Bass

June 15 through November 30

12"

5

Dec. 1 through June 14

Catch and release only; Artificial lures only

(5)

Muskellunge

June 1 through November 30

40"

1

(6)

Walleye

May 1 through March 15

15"

5

(7)

Tiger Muskellunge

May 1 through March 15

30"

1

(8)

Northern Pike

May 1 through March 15

18"

5

(9)

Pickerel

May 1 through March 15

15"

5

(10)

Lake Whitefish

All year

Any size

5

(11)

Crappie

All year

10"

25

(12)

Atlantic Sturgeon, paddlefish, sauger

Closed Fishing for and possession prohibited

(13)

American eel

All year

9"

25 for individuals 50 for party/charter boat captain and crew

(14)

American shad - in the Hudson River and tributaries north of the George Washington Bridge

Possession prohibited

American shad - all other inland waters

All year

Any size

3

(15)

Sunfish (bluegill, pumpkinseed and redbreast sunfish)

All year

Any size

25

(16)

Yellow perch

All year

Any size

50

(17)

All endangered or threatene fish species

May not be taken or possessed at any time, except pursuant to a special permit.

(18)

Bullhead, Catfish, Carp, Cisco, Rock Bass, Sucker, White Bass, White Perch, and all other fishes not listed in this table

All year

Any size

Any number

(19)

Striped Bass (in the Hudson River and tributaries north of the George Washington Bridge and all inland waters)

April 1 through November 30

18" to 28" TL (total length see ECL § 13-0339)

1

(20)

Hickory shad

August 1 to November 30

Any size

5

(21)

Anadromous River herring (Alewife and Blueback herring)

See section 10.9 of this Part

(c) Additional special fishing regulations. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Part:
(1) no person when fishing in waters of the State other than the marine and coastal district may use or possess gaff hooks, except when fishing through the ice or while bowfishing;
(2) a single, uninjured black bass that is being landed, measured or is in the process of being released from a recirculating or aerated livewell will not be counted as part of the daily limit;
(3) no person when fishing in the waters of the State shall use or possess as bait round goby, Neogobius melanostomus, or European Rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus;
(4) no person shall possess more than one quart total of fish eggs from trout, lake trout or Atlantic salmon while on the waters of the State or the shores thereof. Fish eggs, which are still inside the carcass of an intact legally caught and possessed fish, shall not be counted towards the one quart total; and
(5) no person shall take or attempt to take any fish by means of chumming with fish eggs. For the purposes of this section, chumming means depositing fish eggs, not attached to a hook, in the waters of the State of New York other than in the marine and coastal district;
(6) any snakehead fish, as defined in section 180.9(b)(1)(iv) of this Title, caught while angling shall not be returned to the water, and shall be immediately euthanized and reported to DEC;
(7) incidentally caught threatened or endangered fish species, or species caught during closed seasons, must be unhooked and released immediately. Such fish may not be removed from the water or otherwise handled for any purpose other than removing the hook and placing the fish back into the water. Intentionally angling for threatened or endangered fish, or for fish during the closed season for that species, is prohibited.
(8) catch and release angling (i.e. catching and returning a fish to the water without causing it harm) is only permitted during the open season for a particular fish species. Measuring, weighing and photographing the fish are permitted as long as the fish is not removed from the water for an extended period or handled in a manner that could cause harm such fish may not be held on a string, or placed in a bucket, tub, livewell, or any other holding device.
(9) A non-offset circle hook, as defined in 19.1(a)(4) of this Title, is required when fishing for striped bass when using any natural bait, as defined in paragraph 19.1(a)(2) of this Title. Striped bass caught on any other type of hook baited with natural bait must be returned to the water immediately without unnecessary injury.
(d) Special regulations for the cleaning of fish. No person, while upon waters of the State, excluding the marine and coastal district, shall possess:
(1) walleye, black bass, brook trout, lake trout or landlocked Atlantic salmon that have been dismembered or otherwise prepared for cooking or consumption beyond removal of the gills and viscera;
(2) other species of fish that have been dismembered or otherwise prepared for cooking consumption, except that the gills and viscera may be removed and such fish may be filleted, provided the skin is not removed from the fillet.
(e) Definition of black bass. For purposes of this Part, black bass shall mean largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.
(f) Special regulations for bait fish (personal use).
(1) Bait fish taken for personal use from any water body shall only be possessed or used in the same water body from which such bait fish were taken, and shall not be possessed or used in any other water body, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subdivision.
(2) Bait fish taken for personal use in the marine and coastal district, as defined in Environmental Conservation Law, section 13-0103, shall only be possessed or used in waters of the marine and coastal district and the Hudson River as defined in subparagraph (7)(ix) of this subdivision, and shall not be possessed or used in a water body outside the marine and coastal district, except the Hudson River as defined in subparagraph (7)(ix) of this subdivision.
(3) Bait fish taken for personal use from any water body shall not be transported overland, except:
(i) bait fish taken for human consumption pursuant to section 10.5 of this Part, suckers taken for human consumption pursuant to section 10.7 of this Part, and smelt, suckers, alewives and blueback herring taken for human consumption by angling may be transported overland. Such fish shall not be used as bait;
(ii) bait fish taken for personal use in the marine and coastal district, as defined in Environmental Conservation Law, section 13-0103, may be transported overland only for use in waters of the marine and coastal district and only within the following counties: Queens, Kings, Richmond, New York, Bronx, Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland and Westchester;
(iii) bait fish taken for personal use from the defined water body adjacent to or a water body within the following overland transportation corridors may be transported overland only within that designated overland transportation corridor. Such bait fish must be used in the same water body, as defined in paragraphs (6) and (7) of this subdivision, from which the bait fish were taken;
(a) Upper Niagara River/Lake Erie overland transportation corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with the water body as defined in subparagraph (7)(ii) of this subdivision west of and including a line starting at I-90 at the Pennsylvania border, then continuing east to its intersection with I-290, then continuing north along I-290 to its intersection with State Route 62, then continuing west to its intersection with I-190, then north to its intersection with the Lower Niagara River;
(b) Lower Niagara River/Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River overland transportation corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with the water body as defined in subparagraph (7)(i) of this subdivision starting at the intersection of I-190 and the Lower Niagara River, then continuing eastward to its intersection with State Route 104, then continuing eastward to its intersection with State Route 3, then continuing east on State Route 3 to its intersection with State Route 104, then continuing eastward on State Route 104 to its intersection with State Route 11, then continuing north on State Route 11 to its intersection with State Route 56, then continuing north along State Route 56 to its intersection with State Route 37, then continuing east along State Route 37 to its intersection with Racquette Point Road, then continuing north on Racquette Point Road to its intersection with Ransom Road, and then continuing west on Ransom Road and terminating at the St. Lawrence River;
(c) Hudson River overland transportation corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with the water body as defined in subparagraph (7)(ix) of this subdivision starting at the eastern shore of the Hudson River at the Federal Dam in Troy, continuing east on W. Glenn Avenue in Troy to its intersection with State Route 4, then continuing south on State Route 4 to its intersection with State Routes 9 and 20, then continuing easterly to its intersection with State Route 9, then continuing east on State Route 82, then continuing east on State Route 82 to its intersection with the Taconic State Parkway, then continuing south on the Taconic State Parkway to its intersection with the Sprain Brook Parkway, then continuing south on the Sprain Brook Parkway to its intersection with I-287, then continuing west on I-287 across the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to I-87 North, then continuing north on I-87 to where State Route 9W crosses I-87 in Greene County, then continuing north on State Route 9W to where State Route 9W crosses I-87 in Albany County, then continuing north on I-87 to its intersection with State Route 7, and then continuing east on State Route 7 to its intersection with I-787, and then continuing north on I-787 to its intersection with Tibbets Avenue, and then continuing east on Tibbets Avenue to its intersection with Delaware Avenue, then proceeding in a straight line to the west edge of the Troy Dam.
(4) Environmental conservation officers may seize any bait fish possessed in violation of this subdivision. No action for damages shall lie for such seizure, and disposition of seized bait fish shall be at the discretion of the department.
(5) For purposes of this subdivision, transported overland shall mean transport by motorized vehicle other than on the water body where the fish were taken.
(6) For purposes of this subdivision water body shall mean any lake, river, pond, stream or any other distinct mass of water existing in the State of New York, whether publicly or privately owned, including the banks and shores thereof. A water body shall also include all tributaries upstream to the first impassable barrier including the banks and shores thereof. For the purposes of this subdivision, locks and dams shall be considered impassable barriers.
(7) Notwithstanding the definition of water body in paragraph (6) of this subdivision, each of the following combined water bodies, including all tributaries up to the first barrier impassable by fish, shall be considered the same water body for purposes of this subdivision, except that where a combined water body is divided by a state or international boundary, the combined water body shall only include those portions existing within New York State:
(i) Lake Ontario in combination with the Lower Niagara River and the St. Lawrence River;
(ii) Lake Erie in combination with the Upper Niagara River, Black Rock Canal, and waters of the Erie Barge Canal from the Upper Niagara River to Lock E-35 in Lockport;
(iii) Onondaga Lake and the Three Rivers complex including the Seneca River downstream of the Erie Barge Canal Lock E24 and dam in Baldwinsville, the Oneida River downstream of the Caughdenoy Dam and Erie Barge Canal at Lock E23, and the Oswego River upstream of Lock 1 and the dam in Phoenix.
(iv) Oneida Lake and Erie Barge Canal downstream to Lock E23 and upstream to Lock E22, and the Oneida River downstream to Caughdenoy Dam;
(v) Mohawk River from Barge Canal in Rome upstream to Delta Dam;
(vi) Erie Barge Canal from Lock E22 east to Lock E6;
(vii) Hudson River from the Federal Dam at Troy to Bakers Falls in the City of Hudson Falls, and the Champlain Canal up to but not above Lock 7 in Fort Edward, and the Erie Barge Canal up to but not above Lock E6 in Waterford;
(viii) Lake Champlain including the Champlain Canal up to, but not above Lock 12;
(ix) Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island;
(x) Susquehanna River downstream of dam in Oakland, Pennsylvania and Chenango River;
(xi) Saranac Chain of Lakes from Lake Flower upstream to Barlett Carry Dam.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 § 10.1

Amended New York State Register August 5, 2015/Volume XXXVII, Issue 31, eff.8/5/2015
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