Size, Season & Creel Limits

Name: eRegulations
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Certain waters are closed to fishing for all species from March 18 to April 6, 2024 at 8 a.m. because of trout stocking. Refer to General Trout Information and Trout Fishing for complete lists and exceptions. Regulations in red are new this year. For Delaware River and Greenwood Lake, see Delaware River Regulations and Greenwood Lake Regulations.

		Season	Location	Minimum Size	Daily Limit
Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass
Largemouth Bass		Jan. 1–April 14 April 15–June 15 Catch & Release only (all waters) June 16–Dec. 31	Statewide (exceptions below)	12 inches	5 combined
			Lunker Bass Lakes: Alloway, Assunpink, Parvin and Delaware lakes; Splitrock Reservoir	15 inches	3 combined
Smallmouth Bass
			Conservation Regulations: Ryker Lake	15 inches	2 combined
Northern Pike, Tiger Musky, Muskellunge*
Northern Pike		Open year round March 20–May 20 are Catch & Release only for Echo Lake Reservoir, Mercer Lake, Mountain Lake, Monksville Reservoir	Statewide	Northern Pike: 24 inches	2
			Statewide (exceptions below)	Tiger Musky & Muskellunge: 40 inches	1 combined
Muskellunge
			Trophy Muskie Waters:Echo Lake Reservoir, Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong & Monksville Reservoir	Tiger Musky & Muskellunge: 44 inches
		*IMPORTANT: trout may not be used as bait in the Pequest River drainage.
Chain Pickerel and Redfin Pickerel
Chain Pickerel		Open year round	Statewide	15 inches	5 combined
Walleye
Walleye		Jan. 1–Feb. 28 March 1–April 30 Catch & Release only May 1–Dec. 31	Statewide	18 inches	3
Striped Bass (freshwater only)
Striped Bass		March 1–Dec. 31	Statewide Non-offset circle hook required when fishing with bait	One @ 28" to a maximum of 31"	1
Hybrid Striped Bass (freshwater only)
Hybrid Striped Bass		Open year round	Statewide (exceptions below)	16 inches	2
		March 1–Dec. 31	Raritan River (downstream of Duke Island Park dam)	One @ 28" to a maximum of 31"	1
American Shad
American Shad		Open Year Round Season Closed in all other fresh waters	Delaware River Mainstem (see regulations in Delaware River)	—	2
Channel Catfish
Channel Catfish		Open year round	Statewide	12 inches	5
Crappie (Black and White)
Crappie		Open year round	Statewide	8 inches	10 combined
Sunfish and All Other Species with No Specified Creel Limits
Rock Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch, Sunﬁsh (see below for sunfish exceptions), Bullheads, White Catﬁsh, Suckers, Carp, Bowﬁn, Pumpkinseed and all other species with no specified creel limit.		Open year round	Statewide (exceptions below)	No minimum size	25 combined
			Conservation Regulation Ryker Lake	Sunﬁsh: 7 inches	10 combined
				Yellow Perch:No minimum size	10
			Conservation Regulation Rainbow Lake (Salem Co.)	Sunﬁsh: 7 inches	10 combined
Banded, Blackbanded, BlueSpotted and Mud Sunfish
Banded Sunfish*	Blackbanded Sunfish*	Closed	Statewide	Protected	0
Bluespotted Sunfish*	Mud Sunfish
* Illustrations by Ted Walke, PA Fish and Boat Commission
Freshwater Baitﬁsh (See Baitfish for complete description of gear types and restrictions)
American Eel, Banded Killifish, Creek Chub, Fallfish, Fathead Minnow, Gizzard Shad, Golden Shiner, Margined Madtom, Mummichog, and Tadpole Madtom. For Herring, Alewife and Blueback—see Baitfish Regulations (Baitfish).		Open year round Exceptions In trout stocked waters baitfish may only be taken with hook and line: from April 6 to June 15, or in waters open to fishing during the pre-season closure, from March 18 to June 15.	Statewide	No minimum Exception American Eel: 9 inches	35 combined

Certain waters are closed to fishing for all species from March 17 to April 5, 2025, at 8 a.m. because of trout stocking. Refer to General Trout Information and Trout Fishing for complete lists and exceptions. Regulations in red are new this year. For Delaware River and Greenwood Lake, see Delaware River Regulations and Greenwood Lake Regulations.

	Season	Location	Minimum Size	Daily Limit
Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass
Largemouth Bass	Jan. 1–April 14 April 15–June 15 Catch & Release only (all waters) June 16–Dec. 31	Statewide (exceptions below)	12 inches	5 combined
Largemouth Bass		Lunker Bass Lakes: Alloway, Assunpink, Parvin and Delaware lakes; Splitrock Reservoir	15 inches	3 combined
Smallmouth Bass			15 inches	3 combined
Smallmouth Bass		Conservation Regulations: Ryker Lake	15 inches	2 combined
Northern Pike, Tiger Musky, Muskellunge*
Northern Pike	Open year round March 20–May 20 are Catch & Release only for Echo Lake Reservoir, Mercer Lake, Mountain Lake, Monksville Reservoir	Statewide	Northern Pike: 24 inches	2
Northern Pike		Statewide (exceptions below)	Tiger Musky & Muskellunge: 40 inches	1 combined
Muskellunge		Statewide (exceptions below)	Tiger Musky & Muskellunge: 40 inches
Muskellunge		Trophy Muskie Waters: Echo Lake Reservoir, Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong & Monksville Reservoir	Tiger Musky & Muskellunge: 44 inches
	*IMPORTANT: trout may not be used as bait in the Pequest River drainage.
Chain Pickerel and Redfin Pickerel
Chain Pickerel	Open year round	Statewide	15 inches	5 combined
Walleye
Walleye	Jan. 1–Feb. 28 March 1–April 30 Catch & Release only May 1–Dec. 31	Statewide	18 inches	3
Striped Bass (freshwater only)
Striped Bass	March 1–Dec. 31	Statewide Non-offset circle hook required when fishing with bait	One @ 28" to a maximum of 31"	1
Hybrid Striped Bass (freshwater only)
Hybrid Striped Bass	Open year round	Statewide (exceptions below)	16 inches	2
Hybrid Striped Bass	March 1–Dec. 31	Raritan River (downstream of Duke Island Park dam)	One @ 28" to a maximum of 31"	1
American Shad
American Shad	Open Year Round Season Closed in all other fresh waters	Delaware River Mainstem (see Delaware River Regulations)	—	2
Channel Catfish
Channel Catfish	Open year round	Statewide	12 inches	5
Crappie (Black and White)
Crappie	Open year round	Statewide	8 inches	10 combined
Sunfish and All Other Species with No Specified Creel Limits
Rock Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch, Sunﬁsh (see below for sunfish exceptions), Bullheads, White Catﬁsh, Suckers, Carp, Bowﬁn, Pumpkinseed and all other species with no specified creel limit.	Open year round	Statewide (exceptions below)	No minimum size	25 combined
		Conservation Regulation Ryker Lake	Sunﬁsh: 7 inches	10 combined
		Conservation Regulation Ryker Lake	Yellow Perch: No minimum size	10
		Conservation Regulation Rainbow Lake (Salem Co.)	Sunﬁsh: 7 inches	10 combined
Banded, Blackbanded, BlueSpotted and Mud Sunfish
Bluespotted Sunfish*	Closed	Statewide	Protected	0
Potentially Dangerous Fish
Asian Swamp Eel, Bighead, Grass (diploid) and Silver Carp, Blue and Flathead Catfish, Round Goby, Brook Stickleback, Green Sunfish, Oriental Weatherfish, Snakehead, Warmouth, and all black bass except for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.(see Summary of Fishing Regulations and New Jersey Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan)	Open year round (The possession or release of live potentially Dangerous Fish is prohibited. Anglers MUST destroy these species if encountered while fishing.)	Statewide	No minimum size	Unlimited
Freshwater Baitﬁsh (See Baitfish for complete description of regulations)