Maine's 2023 Fishing Laws now available online - download a copy today!

mefishwildlife.com

Being a responsible user of the Maine outdoors means staying informed of, and complying with, the current laws and rules.    It's easy, just visit mefishwildlife.com/laws   Search Maine Fishing Laws 2023 Summary of Maine Fishing Laws (PDF)   Have questions about Maine's ice fishing laws? Check out these answers to frequently asked questions.

Please note the printed 2023 Inland Fishing Law Book has errors in the Special Fishing Law section for three waters: Chain of Ponds in Chain of Ponds Twp, Lincoln Pond in Parkertown Twp., and Great East Lake in Acton. The online law book has been corrected, and public access points at all three waters will be posted with signs alerting anglers of the errors. We apologize for any inconvenience and have corrected the database issue to prevent this error from happening again.

New ways to find the special fishing laws The FLOAT tool will be updated at midnight on December 31. You will see the year in the upper left corner of the screen. You may need to refresh the page or clear your browser's cache to see 2023 laws. Check out the Fishing Laws Online Angling Tool (FLOAT), a map-based online tool to give you a quick and easy way to see which of Maine’s thousands of inland waters have special fishing laws. Or use the new searchable database of special fishing laws. Remember, you still need to view the general fishing laws in addition to the special fishing laws for the specific water body.

No cell coverage on the water? No problem.

Just visit mefishwildlife.com/laws and browse by activity. Before you head to the water, follow these instructions to save an offline law book or quick reference guide to your mobile device, save a copy to your computer or print the pages you need for reference.

From your iPhone In Safari, go to: mefishwildlife.com/laws. Click the link for the PDF you want to download. When it opens, tap on the share icon in the bottom center of the screen, then tap the orange ‘Books’ icon. The file is now saved in your Books app for offline viewing.

From your Android 1.In Chrome, go to: mefishwildlife.com/laws. 2. Select the link for the PDF you want to download. 3.Choose to download the file to your Downloads folder OR 4.Download the Adobe Acrobat Reader app and open the PDF.

More information

Buy a fishing license
Monthly fishing report
Beginner’s guide to ice fishing in Maine
Ice safety tips
Search Maine fishing laws
Fishing Laws Online Angling Tool (FLOAT)
Protect our Waters from Invasive Species
Fishing resources
Current stocking report
Maine Fishing Guide
Fishing with soft plastic lures
Learn how to be a good land user
Hire a registered Maine guide