§ 4601. Taking fish; possession
A person shall not take fish, except in accordance with this part and regulations
of the Board, or possess a fish taken in violation of this part or regulations of
the Board. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961.)
§ 4602. Unintentional taking; return to water
When a fish is unintentionally taken contrary to a provision of this part or of regulations
of the Board, such fish shall be immediately liberated and returned to the water from
whence taken, without unnecessary injury. The person so returning such fish shall
not be subject to the penalty for taking same. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961.)
§ 4603. Catch limit; exception
When it is unlawful to take more than a specified number of pounds of any fish in
one legal day, the taking of one fish additional by a person having less than the
number of pounds specified when taken shall not be regarded as a violation of the
provision fixing such limit. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961.)
§ 4604. Ice fishing
A person who holds a fishing license and a person who is allowed to take fish without
such a license shall not take fish through the ice except in accordance with regulations
of the Board. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961.)
§ 4605. Placing fish in waters; fish importation permits
(a) A person shall not introduce or attempt to introduce any fish into any waters except
private ponds lacking access to other waters of the State without a permit issued
by the Commissioner under this section or rules adopted by the Commissioner under
subsection (c) of this section.
(b) A person shall not bring into the State for the purpose of planting or introducing,
or to plant or introduce, into any of the inland or outlying waters of the State any
live fish or the live spawn thereof, unless, upon application in writing therefor,
the person obtains from the Commissioner a permit so to do.
(c) The Commissioner may, by rule:
(1) Require a permit to introduce or attempt to introduce specific fish species into a
specific water of the State based on management purposes.
(2) Prohibit the introduction or attempt at introduction of fish to specific waters of
the State based on management purposes, ecosystem considerations, or the health and
safety of Vermont’s fish population.
(3) Adopt a list of fish that if introduced into Vermont waters, have the potential to
cause harm to the fish population of the State. A person shall not possess or bring
into the State any fish on the list unless the person has received a permit issued
pursuant to this subsection. The Commissioner may issue a permit allowing importation
and possession of a fish on the list, provided the fish is to be kept in a controlled
situation and used for a public purpose such as research or education.
(d) Applicants shall pay a permit fee of $50.00. The Commissioner or duly authorized agents
shall make such investigation and inspection of the fish as they may deem necessary,
and then the importation permit may be granted pursuant to regulations that the Board
shall prescribe. The Commissioner may waive the permit fee required under this subsection
for organizations cooperating or partnering with the Department. The Commissioner
or duly authorized agents shall make a determination on the permit within 10 days
of receiving the application. The Department may dispose of unlawfully imported fish
as it may judge best, and the State may collect damages from the violator of this
subsection for all expenses incurred.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Board, the Commissioner, or their duly
authorized agents from bringing into the State for the purpose of planting, introducing,
or stocking, or from planting, introducing, or stocking any fish in the State.
(f) In any permit issued under this section, the Commissioner may include conditions that
ensure the health and safety of Vermont’s fish population. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1981, No. 85, § 7; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 44, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; 2005, No. 42, § 2; 2015, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.)
§ 4606. Taking fish by unlawful means
(a) A person shall not take fish by means of explosives, or use explosives in any waters,
or have the same in his or her possession upon any waters, the shores thereof, or
islands therein, except for mining or mechanical purposes.
(b) A person shall not place in any waters lime, creosote, coculus inducus, or other drug
or poison destructive to fish.
(c) A person shall not take or kill fish by shutting or drawing off water.
(d) A person, except as otherwise provided, shall not use or have in his or her possession
for use or furnish for another’s use, for taking fish, a pound net, trap net, seine,
snare, gill net, set net, fyke net, set line, fishing otter, trawl or grapple, or
similar device for killing fish or have in his or her possession such device on any
waters or the shores thereof or the islands therein. Such devices may be summarily
seized and destroyed by a game warden. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the
taking of fish with, or the possession of, a spear or artificial light or the taking
of eels with eel pots in designated areas of Lake Champlain.
(e) In Lake Champlain pickerel, northern pike, carp, garfish, bowfin, mullet, shad, suckers,
bullhead, and other cull fish may be taken from March 25 to May 25 by shooting and
spearing in other than spawning areas designated under section 4140 of this title. For the purposes of this subsection, Lake Champlain includes all connected waters
at the same level.
(f) Except as authorized in chapter 105, subchapter 2 of this title and as utilized by
the Department of Fish and Wildlife, electrofishing is prohibited in all waters of
the State.
(g) A person shall not use a lead sinker for taking of fish in any State waters. In this
section, “sinker” means any device that weighs one-half ounce or less and is attached
to a fishing line for the purpose of sinking the line, and does not include other
lead fishing-related items such as weighted fly line, lead-core fishing line, downrigger
cannon balls, weighted flies, lures, spoons, or jig heads. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1969, No. 110, eff. April 19, 1969; 1979, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. April 24, 1980; 1981, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3, eff. April 26, 1982; 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 2003, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.)
§ 4607. Obstructing streams
(a) A person shall not unless authorized by the Commissioner prevent the passing of fish
in a stream or the outlet or inlet of a natural or artificial pond on a public stream,
by means of a rack, screen, weir, or other obstruction, and shall comply with the
terms of the notice provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The Commissioner may order such an obstruction removed by the person erecting the
same or by the owner of the land on which it is located, by serving on such person
or owner a written notice requiring the removal of such obstruction within 10 days
after service thereof. When such person fails to remove any such obstruction within
the time required in such notice, the Commissioner may remove the same and recover
the expense thereof in a civil action on this section. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961.)
§ 4608. Repealed. 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(7).
§ 4609. Connecticut River; Lake Champlain
(a) Persons holding a New Hampshire fishing license may take fish from the Connecticut
River, provided the State of New Hampshire grants the same right to persons holding
a Vermont fishing license. Such taking shall be only in accordance with rules and
regulations adopted by the State of New Hampshire relative to open and closed seasons,
limits of catch, minimum sizes of fish caught, and methods of fishing and upon agreement
between the Commissioner and the Director of Fish and Wildlife of the State of New
Hampshire and the approval of the Secretary. Whereupon the laws of this State covering
such matters shall be suspended as to the waters described in this subsection. Any
violation of said provisions shall be punished as provided in section 4515 of this title.
(b) A person holding a New York fishing license may take fish from the Vermont portion
of Lake Champlain provided the State of New York grants the right to fish in the New
York portion of the lake to a person holding a Vermont fishing license. In this case,
a person holding a New York license may take fish in the Vermont portion of the lake
in accordance with rules adopted under this part and shall be fined pursuant to section 4515 of this title for violation of the rules while fishing in the Vermont portion of the lake. In this
section, the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain means the portion of Lake Champlain
which lies within Vermont waters up to the mouth of any tributary river or stream,
and shall not include any waters on the east side of the railroad fills at Malletts
Bay, the Gut, and Pelots Point.
(c), (d) [Repealed.] (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 24; 2003, No. 23, § 1, eff. May 14, 2003; 2009, No. 33, § 83(e)(7); 2009, No. 64 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 19, 2010.)
§ 4610. Repealed. 1991, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(8).
§ 4611. Sale of fish
(a) A person shall not buy or sell a salmon, trout, lake trout, walleye, northern pike,
muskellunge, black bass, or any other fish specified by rule by the Board taken in
this State, or imported from another state or country where sale of such fish is prohibited,
except such fish reared in licensed propagation farms within the State.
(b) A person shall not buy or sell fish caught in Vermont without a permit issued by the Commissioner, as required under the rules of the Board and the requirements of part 4 of this title. A propagation farm with a valid permit issued under 10 App. V.S.A. § 117 shall not be required to obtain a permit under this section. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1981, No. 85, § 8; 2015, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.)
§ 4612. Fishing houses
(a) The owner of a fishing house shall not place the fishing house or cause the same to
be placed on the ice covering the waters of this State earlier than November 20 of
any year, and then only if his or her name and residence address are permanently and
legibly affixed, as by waterproof paint or rustproof tag in a clearly visible place
near the entrance. The owner shall remove his or her fishing house, together with
its contents and any surrounding debris, before the ice loses its ability to support
the fishing house out of the water, or on or before the last Sunday in March, whichever
occurs first. Under no circumstances shall a fishing house be allowed in the waters
of this State.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “fishing house” means a bob-house, smelt shanty,
or other structure designed to be placed on the ice of the waters of this State for
use for fishing or to be occupied for other purposes. (Added 1969, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.); amended 1971, No. 14, § 2, eff. March 11, 1971; 1981, No. 85, § 9; 1983, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.).)
§ 4613. Fishing tournaments
(a) No person or organization shall hold a fishing tournament on the waters of the State
without first obtaining a permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Tournaments
held on the Connecticut River, excluding Moore and Comerford Reservoirs, that do not
utilize an access area in Vermont are not required to obtain a permit from the Department
of Fish and Wildlife.
(b) A fishing tournament means a contest in which anglers pay a fee to enter and in which
the entrants compete for a prize based on the quality or size of the fish they catch.
A contest may run multiple days, but the days must be consecutive for that contest
to be considered a single event. A tournament that limits the entrants to people below
15 years of age or a tournament held as part of a Special Olympics program shall be
exempt from paying the fee required under subsection (d) of this section.
(c) The Commissioner shall adopt rules that establish the procedure for implementation
of this section. The rules shall include a provision that an angler may not enter
a fish that was caught and confined to an enclosed area prior to the beginning of
the tournament.
(d) The Commissioner shall charge a fee based on the number of participants for each permit
issued under this section and shall deposit the fee collected into the Fish and Wildlife
Fund. Tournaments with up to 25 participants shall pay a fee of $10.00; tournaments
with 26 to 50 participants shall pay a fee of $30.00; and tournaments with more than
50 participants shall pay a fee of $100.00. (Added 1991, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2003, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2003, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2025, No. 47, § 9, eff. July 1, 2025.)
§ 4614. Largest fish; roster
(a) The Commissioner may maintain a roster of names of people who have caught the largest
of each species of Vermont fish. The roster may include the size and weight of the
fish, date and place caught, and any other relevant information.
(b) No fish that was confined to an enclosed area by a person prior to that person or
any other person catching the fish may be listed on the roster of largest fish. This
subsection shall not apply to fish stocked under government authority. (Added 2003, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
§ 4615. Lead sinkers; sales prohibited
It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale a lead sinker in the State of Vermont. In
this section, “sinker” means any device which weighs one-half ounce or less and is
attached to a fishing line for the purpose of sinking the line, and does not include
other lead fishing-related items such as weighted fly line, lead-core fishing line,
downrigger cannon balls, weighted flies, lures, spoons, or jig heads. (Added 2003, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2006.)
§ 4616. Repealed. 2015, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.