Ohio Administrative Code › Title 1501:31 - Division of Wildlife › Chapter 1501:31-13 - Sport Fishing › Section 1501:31-13-01 - Sport fishing

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) Fish
			 may be taken in any number and of any size unless otherwise restricted by the
			 Ohio Revised Code or other rules of the wildlife division.
(1) Notwithstanding division (M) of section
			 1531.01 and section
			 1533.37 of the Revised Code,
			 fish may be taken with not more than three hand lines, three units of rod and
			 line, or a combination of up to three hand lines or units of rod and line in
			 the aggregate. Provided further, it shall be unlawful for any person at any
			 time to engage in fishing with more than three hand lines, three units of rod
			 and line, or more than three hand lines and units of rod and line combined,
			 either in hand or under control.
(2) Throughout the state, it shall be
			 unlawful for any person to take or attempt to take fish by the use of
			 explosives, poisons, firearms, electricity, chemicals, seines, nets, or traps,
			 except:
(a) Minnows, gizzard shad, and smelt
			 may be taken with a minnow seine, minnow dip net, or hand landing net;
(b) Minnows and forage fish may be taken with
			 a cast net;
(c)
										Bait fish and crayfish listed in paragraph (A)(1) of
			 1501:31-13-04 of the Administrative Code may be taken with a minnow or bait
			 fish trap.
(3)
			 Throughout the state, fish may be taken only by angling except as provided by
			 wildlife rule or the Revised Code.
(4) All fish may be taken by hand except
			 bullheads, catfish, trout and salmon species statewide, and walleye and sauger
			 in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers.
(5) Throughout the state, it shall be
			 unlawful for any person to set, use, or maintain tipups, float lines,
			 trotlines, set lines, bank lines, turtle traps, minnow traps or bait fish
			 traps, or an ice fishing shelter which does not have attached thereon the name
			 and address of the owner or user in legible letters in the English language or
			 the unique division of wildlife customer identification number of the owner or
			 user legible at all times. Provided further, it shall be unlawful to use an ice
			 fishing shelter that does not have the owner or user's name and address or
			 their unique division of wildlife customer identification number exhibited on
			 the outer part of the structure of an ice fishing shelter.
(6) It shall be unlawful for any person to
			 set, use or maintain any fishing device having floats or buoys made of glass or
			 other shatterable material attached thereto.
(7) It shall be unlawful for any person to
			 release any fish or aquatic invertebrate, including but not limited to
			 crayfish, snails and insects, into waters of the state, or waters under control
			 of the division of wildlife, from which it did not originate, without first
			 obtaining permission from the chief of the division of wildlife.
(8) Sheepshead, carp, grass carp, silver
			 carp, black carp, big-head carp, quillback, suckers, bowfin, gar, buffalo,
			 gizzard shad, and goldfish throughout the state are hereby designated as
			 "forage fish" or "rough fish" and may be taken by any method except as
			 expressly prohibited in paragraphs (A)(1) and (A)(2) of this rule.
(9) It shall be unlawful for any person to
			 take or possess any fish not mentioned in paragraph (A)(8) of this rule, which
			 were taken by snagging, spearing, or shooting.
(10) It shall be unlawful for any person to
			 use a cast net within a distance of one thousand feet down stream from any dam
			 posted with division of wildlife signs indicating cast net use is prohibited.
			 Provided further it shall be unlawful to use cast nets with a square mesh less
			 than one-quarter inch on a side or larger than one-inch on a side, and with a
			 diameter larger than ten feet, to take forage fish.
(11) It shall be unlawful to set or maintain
			 any device for rearing, culturing or raising aquatic animals into waters of the
			 state or waters under control of the division of wildlife.