Welcome to 2024 Maryland Fishing

License Free Fishing Days!

In Maryland, anyone may fish without a recreational fishing license on June 1, June 8 and July 4, 2024.

All other fishing regulations apply.

What's New for 2024

Statewide:

• Now illegal to use largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass (and hybrids), walleye, muskellunge, tiger muskellunge, Northern pike, pickerel, brown trout, or brook trout as bait
• Maryland now has a Black Bass Conservation Fund for anyone to donate any amount to black bass conservation in Maryland (see Bass Fishing)

In Tidal Waters:

• There is a catch limit for longnose gar (see Chesapeake Bay Seasons, Sizes & Limits)

In Nontidal Waters:

• There is a new Youth-Only Trout Day (see Special Management Areas—All Species)
• You can now use cut bait (limit of 1 quart)
• There is a protected 18"–21" slot size for walleye in Deep Creek Lake (see Freshwater Seasons, Sizes & Limits)
• On Opening Day of trout season (March 30, 2024), the new start time in all Closure 1 and Closure 2 trout fishing areas is 6:30 a.m.