Maine Fishing Laws: Licenses, Limits, and Striped Bass Rules

Maine fishing laws are set by two agencies: the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) handles inland waters under Title 12, and the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) handles the coast. If you’re 16 or older, you need an MDIFW license to fish inland and a DMR saltwater registration (or a qualifying exemption) to fish tidal waters. Seasons, bag limits, and gear rules then depend on the North or South Zone and, very often, on special rules attached to the specific lake or river you’re on.¹

Who Needs a License

Anyone 16 or older fishing inland waters needs a valid MDIFW license.¹ Kids under 16 fish free under the same rules that apply to everyone else. Maine has no separate junior license category.

Two free fishing weekends open the state to anyone without a license. In 2026 those dates are February 14–15 and May 30–31. All other fishing laws still apply, and the free pass doesn’t extend to anyone whose license has been revoked or suspended.²

Disabled veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or higher qualify for a complimentary hunting, fishing, and trapping license. The benefit is available to Maine residents and to residents of reciprocal states, including New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Texas.³

Members of Maine’s federally recognized tribes — the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Mi’kmaq Nation, and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians — fish under separate tribal licenses. State seasonal restrictions don’t apply to sustenance or ceremonial use.⁴

License Types and Fees for 2026

To qualify as a resident, you have to be a U.S. citizen domiciled in Maine (or a non-citizen domiciled here for at least a year) and have your voter registration, driver’s license, vehicle registrations, and income tax filings aligned with the state.¹

Resident options:

Season fishing: $30
1-day fishing: $18
Combination fishing and hunting: $48
Super Pack (all species, all seasons): $212

Non-resident options:

Season fishing: $83
15-day fishing: $66 (upgradeable to a season license for $17 plus the agent fee)
7-day fishing: $62
3-day fishing: $30
1-day fishing: $18
Combination fishing and hunting: $169

Fees include the agent fee. A duplicate from your original issuing agent costs $2.¹

How to Buy One

The fastest option is the MOSES portal on the MDIFW website. Have a Visa, Mastercard, or Discover card ready, along with your full legal name, physical address, date of birth, and Social Security number.⁵ Federal law (42 U.S.C. §666) requires states to collect the SSN for child support enforcement.⁶ After payment, print the confirmation or save it to your phone. Carry proof of the license while fishing. Town offices and authorized retail agents also sell licenses in person.

Be ready to show proof of residency if you bought a resident license. A resident license issued to someone who doesn’t meet the residency test is invalid and has to be surrendered on request.⁷

Seasons by Zone

Maine is split into a North Zone and a South Zone with different default seasons. South Zone waters are open to both open water and ice fishing all year, January 1 through December 31.⁸

North Zone defaults for 2026:

Lakes and ponds: open water fishing April 1 through September 30. Closed to all fishing October 1 through March 31.
Rivers, streams, and brooks: open water fishing April 1 through August 15 with any legal gear. From August 16 through September 30, open water fishing continues but only with artificial lures or flies, and the daily bag drops to one landlocked salmon and one brook trout. Closed October 1 through March 31.

These are the general rules. Hundreds of specific waters carry their own seasons under special law codes that override the defaults.⁸

Bag and Possession Limits

General-law daily bag limits for 2026 (unless a special regulation says otherwise):

Brook trout (including splake and Arctic charr): 5 fish, but only 2 may come from South Zone lakes and ponds
Brown trout: 2 fish
Rainbow trout: 2 fish
Landlocked salmon: 2 fish
Togue (lake trout): 2 fish
Bass (largemouth and smallmouth): unlimited in the North Zone; 2 fish in the South Zone
Whitefish: 3 fish
Smelts: 2 quarts
All other inland species: unlimited

Your possession limit equals your daily bag limit. You can’t accumulate fish across multiple days, which catches out anglers on longer camping trips.⁸

Bait, Tackle, and Gear

Some waters ban live fish as bait; others allow only artificial lures or flies. Even where bait is legal, you cannot transport live baitfish between different water bodies, with a narrow exception for containers holding baitfish for personal or commercial use.⁹

Selling lead sinkers and unpainted lead jigs weighing one ounce or less, or measuring 2½ inches or less in length, is prohibited. The rule is aimed at protecting loons. A first offense is a civil violation with a fine between $100 and $500, escalating to a Class E crime after three violations within five years.¹⁰

On artificial-lures-only (ALO) waters, only synthetic or manufactured lures are legal: flies, spinners, spoons, plugs, jigs, and plastic or rubber imitations. No live, dead, or preserved organic bait. Fly-fishing-only (FFO) waters are tighter still: up to three unbaited artificial flies on a fly line, no added weight, and no trolling flies.¹¹

Special Law Codes for Specific Waters

General law is the baseline. Individual lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams often carry special regulations identified by alphanumeric codes in the MDIFW law book and the department’s online searchable table. If a waterbody isn’t listed, general law applies. If it is listed, the special code controls.¹²

Common codes include:

ALO: artificial lures only
FFO: fly fishing only
S-1: closed to the taking of smelts
S-4: live fish as bait prohibited (dead fish, salmon eggs, and worms still allowed)
S-7: all trout, landlocked salmon, and togue must be released alive immediately
S-8: limited to two lines per person
S-9: open only to anglers under 16 or holders of a complimentary license
S-10: closed to all fishing December 1 through March 31
S-13: no size or bag limit on bass
S-22: daily bag limit on landlocked salmon reduced to one fish

Check your destination before you go. A lake that looks like general law might carry an S-16 (two brook trout, minimum 12 inches, only one over 14 inches) or S-18 (one brook trout, minimum 18 inches) code.¹²

Saltwater Fishing

Saltwater recreational fishing runs through DMR on a different model. Instead of a license, you register annually with the state. You’re exempt if you already hold a valid Maine freshwater fishing license (other than a Lifetime License), if you’re under 16, if you’re a Maine resident fishing only on Memorial Day weekend, July 4th, or Labor Day weekend, or if you’re a passenger on a licensed charter vessel.¹³ Note that a Maine Lifetime License does not cover saltwater; you still register annually or qualify through another exemption.

Maine and New Hampshire have a saltwater reciprocity agreement. A valid Maine registration lets you fish New Hampshire’s tidal and estuarine waters, and vice versa.

Striped Bass Rules for 2026

You may keep one striped bass per day, and it must measure between 28 and 31 inches total length, measured in a straight line from the lower jaw to the tip of the pinched tail. No gaffing.¹⁴

Terminal tackle rules are strict. When using bait, you must use a non-offset circle hook. The only exception is a rubber or latex tube lure at least 8 inches long with a single hook protruding from the end. Treble hooks are limited to two per lure, and no bait is allowed with treble hooks. Any striped bass caught on unapproved gear has to be released immediately.¹⁴

Invasive Species Transport Rules

The transport rules apply to everyone with a boat, personal watercraft, or trailer, not just anglers. Before launching and after pulling out, remove any aquatic plants (including roots, stems, leaves, and seeds) from the outside of your vehicle, boat, trailer, and equipment. Remove or open all hull drain plugs, bailers, live wells, ballast tanks, and other drainage devices both before launching and before leaving the ramp.⁹

You cannot release water from one body into a different one if your watercraft transported it. Containers holding live baitfish for personal or commercial use are exempt from the drainage requirements, as are emergency response vessels. A first violation is a civil penalty up to $500. Subsequent violations can reach $2,500.⁹

Penalties

Fishing without a valid license carries a mandatory fine of $50 plus twice the cost of the license you should have bought.¹⁵ For a non-resident who skipped the $83 season license, that’s $216 before any court costs.

Exceeding bag limits or keeping fish outside the legal size range is a Class E crime. On top of any sentence, there’s a mandatory fine of $20 for each fish illegally possessed, and the court can’t waive that per-fish amount. For smelts, the fine is $20 per quart over the limit.¹⁶ A Class E crime in Maine carries a maximum fine of $1,000.¹⁷

The MDIFW commissioner can suspend or revoke your license after a conviction, which may block future licenses in Maine and, through interstate compacts, in other states.

Night Fishing for Cusk

Maine doesn’t ban night fishing outright, but cusk (burbot) lines set through the ice at night come with a specific requirement: between sunset and sunrise, every line has to be checked at least once per hour by the person who set it.¹⁸ The rule keeps unattended lines from killing non-target species like salmon and trout.

1
Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. License Requirements and Fees
2
Maine Tourism Association. Free Fishing Weekend
3
Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services. Recreational Licenses and Privileges
4
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 6302-A – Taking of Marine Organisms by Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
5
Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. IFW Hunting and Fishing Licenses
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures
7
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 10753 – Proof of Residency
8
Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Statewide General Fishing Laws
9
Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 38 419-C – Prevention of the Spread of Invasive Aquatic Plants
10
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 12663-B – Unlawful Sale of Lead Sinkers and Lead Jigs
11
Cornell Law Institute. 94-409 CMR ch 201 2 – General Provisions
12
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Special Fishing Laws
13
Maine Department of Marine Resources. Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry
14
Maine Department of Marine Resources. 2026 Maine Striped Bass Regulations
15
Maine State Legislature. Mandatory Fines – Set Amount
16
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 12602 – Violation of Number, Amount, Weight or Size Limits
17
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 1704 – Maximum Fine Amounts Authorized for Convicted Individuals
18
Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. General Fishing Laws and Definitions