Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Title 321 CMR 4.00 - Fishing › Section 4.01 - Taking of Certain Fish

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
In accordance with the authority vested in me by the provisions
				of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 4, 5 and 51, I hereby declare an open season for
				the taking of fish throughout Massachusetts and promulgate the following rules
				and regulations relating to their taking as hereinafter provided:
(1)
Definitions
: For
			 the purposes of 321 CMR 4.01, the following words or phrases shall have the
			 following meanings:
Broodstock Salmon
means an Atlantic
				salmon (Salmo salar) that has been reared in a hatchery for purposes of
				spawning and subsequently released into the wild.
Dealer
means a person who commercially
				handles fish, birds, or mammals protected by M.G.L. c. 131 and who is licensed
				as a Class 6 dealer pursuant to M.G.L. c. 131, § 23.
Director
means the Director of the
				Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his authorized agent.
Float
means any device, including a
				toggle, floating with a line and hook attached, baited with natural or
				artificial bait and not under the direct control of the hand of the person
				fishing.
Hook
means an angling device which is
				attached to a fishing line and which is designed to take one fish at a time,
				including, but not limited to, devices commonly called spinners, spoons, bait
				harnesses, lead head jigs, or plugs, the purpose of which is to capture the
				fish by enticing it to take the device into its mouth, thereby engaging the
				fish upon it.
Lead Jig
means any lead-weighted hook
				which has a mass of less than one ounce.
Lead Sinker or Lead Weight
means any
				sinker or weight made from lead and which has a mass of less than one ounce.
				The term
lead sinker
shall not include any other
				sinkers, weights, fishing lures or fishing tackle including, but not limited
				to, artificial lures, hooks, weighted flies, and lead-core or other weighted
				fishing lines.
Licensed Fisherman
means an angler who
				possesses a current valid Massachusetts fishing or sporting license in any of
				the following classes: F1, F2, F3, F4, F6, F7, F8, F9, S1, S2, or S3.
Minimum Legal Length in Inches
means
				the greatest length in inches measured from the anterior extremity of the snout
				with the mouth closed to the posterior extremity of the tail with the lobes
				compressed when the fish is flat and fully extended.
Resident Licensed Fisherman
means an
				angler who possesses a current valid Massachusetts fishing or sporting license
				in any of the following classes: F1, F2, F3, F4, F8, S1, S2, or S3.
Sell
, in all its moods and tenses,
				means purchasing, selling, bartering, exchanging, and taking, offering, or
				exposing for the purpose of purchase, sale, barter, or exchange.
Snagging
means the taking of fish, not
				attracted by bait or artificial lures, with hooks, gangs or lures either baited
				or unbaited, in a manner so as to pierce and hook a fish in any part of the
				body other than the mouth.
Tiger Muskellunge
means a sterile
				cross between a northern pike and a muskellunge.
Tiger Trout
means a cross between a
				female brown trout and a male brook trout.
Transgenic Fish
means any fish that
				possesses a new or unique combination of genetic material obtained through the
				use of biotechnological means. This definition does not include diploid,
				triploid, or hybrid-crossed fish
Words
importing the singular number
				may extend and be applied to several persons or things, words importing the
				plural number may include the singular, and words importing the masculine
				gender may include the feminine and neuter.
(2)
Catch and Release
			 Areas
.
(a) The following general
			 requirements shall pertain to all catch-and-release fishing areas. All fish
			 caught must be released. Fishing allowed with artificial lures only. The use of
			 natural or artificial baits such as worms, shiners or other live bait, cheese,
			 corn, or salmon or other fish eggs is prohibited. Fish in possession in any
			 catch-and-release area is prima facie evidence of a violation of 321 CMR
			 4.01(2). Catch-and-release fishing areas are named in 321 CMR 4.01(2)(b)
			 through (j).
(b)
East
			 Branch Westfield River
: extending from the Chesterfield Gorge
			 parking lot in the Town of Chesterfield downstream six miles to the gate north
			 of the Corps of Engineers basin parking lot at Knightville in the Town of
			 Huntington.
(c)
Millers
			 River
: Bears Den Segment, extending from a railroad bridge in the
			 Towns of Athol and Templeton downstream 6½ miles to the first dam in the
			 Town of Athol. Wendell Segment, extending from the Wendell Road bridge in the
			 Towns of Orange and Wendell downstream 1½ miles to a breached dam in the
			 Towns of Erving and Wendell.
(d)
Nissitissit River
: in the Town of Pepperell, extending
			 from the New Hampshire border downstream to the Prescott Street bridge. In
			 addition to the provisions of 321 CMR 4.01(2)(a), fly fishing only is permitted
			 on the Nissitissit River catch-and-release area. All anglers must use a
			 conventional fly rod and fly line.
(e)
Quashnet River
:
			 extending from Johns Pond in the Town of Mashpee downstream 4½ miles to
			 the sign 0.1 miles south of Rte. 28 in the Town of Falmouth.
(f)
Red Brook
: from
			 White Island Pond in the Town of Plymouth downstream 4½ miles to
			 Buttermilk Bay in the Town of Wareham.
(g)
Swift River
:
			 From the Winsor Dam to the Rte. 9 bridge crossing. In addition to the
			 provisions of 321 CMR 4.01(2)(a), fly fishing only is permitted on the Swift
			 River between Winsor Dam and the Rte. 9 crossing. All anglers must use a
			 conventional fly rod and fly line.
(h)
Swift River
:
			 From the Rte. 9 bridge crossing downstream to Cady Lane. Catch-and-release
			 fishing is mandated during the period from July 1st
			 through December 31st only.
(i)
Upper Deerfield
			 River
: Segment 1, extending from Fife Brook Dam downstream
			 1½ miles to the Hoosac Tunnel railroad trestle. Segment 2, extending
			 from the mouth of Pelham Brook downstream one mile to the Mohawk
			 Campground.
(j)
Housatonic River
: from the Rte. 20 bridge in Lee
			 downstream to the Willow Mill Dam in Lee, and, from the Glendale Dam in Great
			 Barrington downstream to the Boston and Maine railroad bridge in Great
			 Barrington.