Anglers’ Most Common Misunderstandings Of The Montana Fishing Regulations

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Fishing without a license is the most common wildlife violation in Montana, with an average of 500 or more citations a year.   Probably equally common, but often unrecognized, is the violation of Montana’s "Daily and Possession Limits."

"Twenty years ago everything, including the Fishing Regulations, was simpler," said John Ramsey, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks law enforcement program manager. "Today the Fishing Regulations are your guide as you move from one body of water to another."

Ramsey said one of the most common mistakes anglers make is fishing in a lake with a liberal limit and then moving to a stream with a more restrictive limit later in the day.

“An angler may only possess the daily limit allowed for the body of water on which the angler is fishing,” he said.  

Another commonly misunderstood aspect of the regulations is that the daily limit and the possession limit for a species may often be the same.  

·         A possession limit is the total number of fish an angler may have at any time in any form: fresh, stored in freezers or lockers, salted, smoked, dried, canned or otherwise preserved.

·         The legal daily limit is the number and species of fish an angler may have in their immediate possession for the water they are fishing.  

"Since the regulations are different from stream to stream, you need to plan ahead so you don’t start out at a stream with a more liberal limit and end the day on a restrictive stream in violation of both the daily and possession limit," he said.  

            Size restrictions may also be in place on a stream.

“We find people who paid attention to the daily limit but overlooked the size limit," Ramsey said.   "The limit may say two fish, only one fish over 13 inches for example, but the angler has two fish over 13 inches."  

Montana’s fishing regulations are tailored to specific species and their needs, angling pressure and other factors to ensure that the state’s premier fisheries continue into the future. For details on Montana’s daily and possession limits, check the 2004 Fishing Regulations.