Fishing Regulations for Long Island, New York

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Fishing is a popular pastime on Long Island, with a variety of freshwater and saltwater fishing locations available, ranging from small ponds and rivers to fishing in the Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The island also has a plethora of different fish species, including sunfish, trout, and sharks. If you don't have your own fishing boat, party and charter boats are available for fishing off of the coast of Long Island. Be sure to purchase your fishing license and take a look at these fishing regulations before you cast your line.

Recreational Marine Fishing Registration for Saltwater Fishing
To fish in the Long Island Sound, Great South Bay, or any of the other salt waters within three miles of the Long Island Coast, you’ll first need to register with the New York DEC. Registration is free and can be done online, by calling the DEC at 1-866-933-2257, or by visiting any of these authorized locations. If you register online, make sure you print your registration as you will not receive one in the mail.

Image Courtesy of Department of Environmental Conservation

Marine and Coastal District anglers do not need to be registered if they are fishing aboard a licensed party or charter boat in the Marine or Coastal District, or if you are a New York State licensed party or charter boat owner. Anglers from Connecticut and Rhode Island can also fish on Long Island as long as they hold a marine fishing license from their respective state. 

Those fishing for clams, crabs, lobsters, mussels, oysters, or scallops are also exempt from registration, but may be subject to other requirements. Tuna and shark fishing requires a National Marine Fisheries Service permit, and lobstering can only be done with New York State recreational lobster permit (available only to residents). There are no state permits required for crabbing or non-mechanical clamming and shellfishing, but crabs are subject to harvest seasons and limits and individuals towns often require residents to obtain a local permit before clamming or shellfishing.

Fishing Licenses
Anyone age 16 or older who wishes to fish in freshwater in New York must register for a fishing license. NY fishing licenses are valid for one full year from the date of purchase. Licenses are also required for frog spearing and catching, and catching freshwater baitfish for personal use. 

To register, visit your town clerk office or local bait and tackle shop or sporting goods store and fill out a free registration form. Anglers can also register online with the Department of Environmental Conservation.

A fishing license is not necessary for fishing on licensed fishing preserves, residents or their family members fishing on their own land, lessees fishing on their own land, or those with pond fish farm licenses.

Fishing License Fees

License Type	Resident Cost	Non-Resident Cost
Coastal Saltwater Fishing Registraion	Free	Free
Active Duty Military	Free	Resident Pricing
Veterans w/ 40% service-related disabilities	$5	xx
Senior Annual (Ages 70+)	$5.00	$50.00
Annual (Ages 16-69) Fishing	$25.00	$50.00
7 Day Fishing	$12.00	$28.00
1 Day Fishing	$5.00	$10.00
Lifetime Freshwater Fishing (Ages 0-69)	$460.00	xx
Lifetime Freshwater Fishing (Ages 70+)	$65.00	xx
Lifetime Fishing and Hunting (Ages 0-5)	$380.00	xx
Lifetime Fishing and Hunting (Ages 5-11)	$535.00	xx
Lifetime Fishing and Hunting (Ages 12-69)	$765.00	xx
Lifetime Fishing and Hunting (Ages 70+)	$65.00	xx

Fishing licenses are not needed for free fishing days, which includes a number of events throughout the year.

Suffolk County Special Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Waters	Species	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Limit	Method
All Waters	Crappie	All Year	9"	15
	Sunfish	All Year	Any Size	15
	Yellow Perch	All Year	Any Size	15
All waters except Belmont Lake, Artist Lake, Blydenburgh Lake, and Randall Pond	Black Bass	1st Sat in June-Nov 30	12"	5	It is illegal to fish for bass during the period from May 1 through the Friday preceding the first Saturday in June
		Dec 1 - Apr 30	Catch  & Release Only
Fort Pond and Lake Ronkonkoma	Walleye	1st Sat in May - March 15	18''	3
Blydenburgh Lake	Black Bass	1st Sat in June-Nov 30	12"	5
		Dec.1 - Friday before 1st Sat in June	Catch & Release Only
Artist Lake, Belmont Lake, Randall Pond	Black Bass	All year	Catch & Release Only
All Freshwater (non-tidal) Lakes & Ponds Except East Swan Lake, Laurel Lake, & Deep Pond	Trout	All year	Any Size	3	Ice Fishing Permitted
East (Swan) Lake	Trout	April 1 - Nov 30	10''	3
Laurel Lake	Trout	All year	12''	3	Ice Fishing Permitted
Deep Pond	Trout	All Year	12"	3	Ice Fishing Permitted
	Chain Pickerel	All Year	Catch & Release Only		Ice Fishing Permitted
All Freshwater & Tidal Streams Except Carmans River in Southaven County Park, & Connetquot River in Connetquot River State Park and Nissequoque River in Caleb Smith State Park	Brown & Rainbow Trout	All Year	Any Size	3
	Brook Trout	April 1 - Sept 30	Catch & Release Only
Connetquot and Caleb Smith Parks	Trout	Park Regulations apply, permit required. Call (631) 581-1005 for Connetquot, (631) 265-1054 for Nissequogue.
Carman's River (Southaven County Park)	Special Regulations by River Sections. Call 631-854-1414 for additional park regulations.
Carman's River (Southaven County Park), Hards Lake	Brook Trout	April 1 - Sept 30	Catch & Release Only
From LIPA Transmission Lines at Gate G Upstream to Yaphank Avenue	Trout	April 1 - Sept 30	Catch & Release Only		Fly Fishing Only
From Cement Dam Upstream to LIPA Transmission Lines at Gate G	Brown & Rainbow Trout	April 1 - Sept 30	9''	3	Fly fishing only
From Cement Dam Downstream to Hards Lake Dam, Hards Lake	Brown & Rainbow Trout	April 1 - Sept 30	9''	3

Source: Department of Environmental Conservation

 

Nassau County Special Freshwater Fishing Regulations

 

Saltwater Fishing Regulations for all of New York State (Effective as of June 30, 2018)

Species	Size Limits (Total length in inches)	Possession Limits (number of fish)	Open Seasons
Summer Flounder (Fluke)	19"	4	May 4 - Sept 30
Winter Flounder	12"	2	April 1 - May 30
Tautog (Blackfish) - Long Island Sound	16"	2 3	April 1 - April 30 Oct. 11 - Dec. 9
Tautog (Blackfish) - NY Bright Region	16"	2 4	April 1 - April 30 Oct. 15 - Dec. 22
Bluefish (including "snappers")	No min. for first 10 fish, 12' TL' for the next 5	15, No more than 10 of which shall be less than 12'' TL	All Year
Weakfish	16" 10" filleted 12" dressed	1	All Year
Atlantic Cod	22"	10	All Year
Pollock	19"	No Limit	All Year
Haddock	18"	No Limit	All Year
Red Drum	No Minimum	No Limit for Fish Less Than 27'' TL No Fish Over 27'' TL Allowed to be Kept	All Year
Striped Bass (south of George Washington Bridge)	28"	1	April 15 - Dec. 15
Striped Bass (Hudson River north of George Washington Bridge)	18''-28'' or >40''	1	April 1 - Nov. 30
Spanish Mackerel	14"	15	All Year
King Mackerel	23"	3	All Year
Cobia	37"	2	All Year
Atlantic Sturgeon	Moratorium	Possession Prohibited	Possession Prohibited
Black Sea Bass	15"	3 7	June 23 - Aug. 31 Sept. 1 - Dec. 31
Scup (Porgy)	9"	30	May 1 - Dec. 31
Scup (Porgy) Anglers aboard party/charter boats	9" 9" 9"	30 45 30	May 1 - Aug. 31 Sept. 1 - Oct. 31 Nov. 1 - Dec. 31
American Eel	9"	25 for individual 50 for party/charter boat captain & crew	All Year
American Eel (NYC: Harlem & East Rivers, Hudson River, Tributaries North to Troy Dam)	9-14" for use as bait only	25 for use as bait only	All Year
Monkfish (Goose Fish)	17" 11" tail length	Any number	All Year
Anadromous River Herring (North of George Washington Bridge)	No Size Limit	10 per angler 50 per boat	March 15 - June 15
Anadromous River Herring (South of George Washington Bridge)	Possession Prohibited	Possession Prohibited	Possession Prohibited
American Shad	Possesion Prohibited	Possession Prohibited	Possession Prohibited
Hickory Shad	No Size Limit	5	All Year
Yellowtail Flounder	13"	No limit	All Year
Oyster Toadfish	10"	3	July 16 - May 14
Atlantic Menhaden	No Size Limit	100	All Year
Horseshoe Crab	No Size Limit	5	All Year
Whelk	No Size Limit	24	All Year
Hard Shell Blue Crab	4.5"	50	All Year
Soft Shell Blue Crab	3.5"	50	All Year
Peeler/Shedder Blue Crab	3"	50	All Year
All Other Crabs	No Size Limit	50	All Year
American Lobster (recreational permit required) Lobsters and Crabs with eggs may not be taken or posessed.	3 3/8" minimum carapace length, 5 1/4" maximum carapace length	6	LMA 4: Closed April 30 to May 31 LMA 6: Closed Sept. 8 to Nov. 28. All other LMAs open all year.

Source: Department of Environmental Conservation

 

Recreational Fishing Regulations for Sharks (Effective as of June 30, 2018)

Category	Species	Minimum Size Limits	Daily Possession Limit
Allowed Sharks	Tiger, Blacktip, Bull, Lemon, Nurse, Spinner, Blue, Shortfin Mako, Oceanic Whitetip, Porbeagle, Common Thresher, Blacknose	54 Inches Fork Length	One shark per vessel per trip, except that one additional Atlantic Sharpnose and one additional Bonnethead can be taken and possessed per angler per trip
	Great Hammerhead, Scalloped Hammerhead, Smooth Hammerhead	78 Inches Fork Length
	Atlantic Sharpnose, Bonnethead, Finetooth, Blacknose	No Size Limit
	Smooth Dogfish, Spiny Dogfish	No Size Limit	Any number
Prohibited Sharks	Atlantic Angel, Galapagos, Basking, Longfin Mako, Bigeye Sand Tiger, Narrowtooth, Bigeye Sixgill, Night, Bigeye Thresher, Sandtiger, Bignose, Caribbean Reef, Caribbean Sharpnose, Smalltail, Dusky, Whale, White, Sandbar, Sharpnose Sevengill, Bluntnose Sixgill	No Possession Allowed	No Possession Allowed

Source: Department of Environmental Conservation

For Additional Fishing Resources, Visit These Pages:

• Long Island Fishing and Charter Boats
• Long Island Beaches
• Long Island Bait and Tackle Shops
• Long Island Boat Ramps
• Long Island Boat Rentals
• Long Island Crabbing
• Long Island Marinas
• Long Island Sailing