Daily Aggregate Limit (Maximum number of
fish allowed to be taken from midnight to midnight) 75
Possession Limit 2X Daily Limit
Spearfishing Limit 1/2 Daily Limit
Snagging Limit 1/2 Daily Limit
Daily Limits and Size Restrictions reflect
variations in species productivity and fishing pressure. A
daily limit includes the number of fish of one species (or
group of species) allowed to be taken from midnight to the
next midnight. Fishermen are allowed to have only one daily
limit of fish while fishing or returning from a one day
fishing trip.
Minimum Length Limit – The shortest length
of a fish of a designated species (measured from the front
of the lower jaw with the mouth closed to the tip of the
tail with tail lobes pressed together) that an angler may
keep. Fish not meeting the minimum length requirement for a
particular water or species must be released immediately
into the water where caught. The purpose of a minimum length
limit is to maintain a consistent breeding population of
fish where natural reproduction does not keep up with
fishing pressure.
Protected Slot Limit – A limit which
prohibits anglers from keeping fish within a designated size
range of a species and which requires those fish to be
released immediately into the waters where caught. The
purpose of establishing protected slot limits is to promote
fish growth to larger sizes.
Fish Cleaning – While fishing in waters
designated as having a length or slot limit on any kind of
fish, you may not possess a fish that has been filleted or
had its head or tail removed. Check your destination to see
whether length or slot limits apply.
Using Live Fish for Bait - Using baitfish
include bluntnose minnows, bullhead minnows, chubs,
crayfish, dace, fatheads, common carp under six inches,
small goldfish, shiners, stonerollers, logperch (also called
sand pike or zebra minnows), shad, gar (other than alligator
gar), drum, bowfin under six inches, skipjack herring,
silversides (brook and inland), buffalo (bigmouth,
smallmouth, and black), river carpsucker, sculpin (banded
and Ozark) and bream under four inches long. Bream longer
than four inches may be used as bait only if first taken by
hook and line and are subject to daily limit restrictions.
With the exception of shad, baitfish may not
be taken in the area within 100 yards below a dam.
During daylight hours, baitfish may be taken
using seines no larger than 50 feet long and four feet wide
with ¼ inch mesh; traps or lifts no larger than six feet by
six feet by three feet with ½ inch mesh and with a throat
size of two inches or smaller; cast nets with a one inch (or
smaller) mesh; shad trawl nets with one inch (or smaller)
mesh; glass, plastic or wire mesh minnow traps no larger
than one gallon with a 1½ inch (or smaller) throat;
hand-operated dip nets or lifts with one inch (or smaller )
square bar mesh for use while sportfishing. This method may
be used day or night. All other species of fish should be
immediately released.
- - - - - -
PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICE (PFD)
Life Jackets and Cushions
The United States
Coast Guard says you must have USCG approved Personal
Flotation Devices (PFDs) on your recreational boat.
How many and what type PFDs you'll need depends on the
number of people on board, the size and type of your boat,
and the kind of boating you do.
You must have one
of any of these wearable PFDs for each person on
board:
*Off-Shore Life Jacket (Type I
PFD).
*Near-Shore Buoyant Vest (Type II
PFD).
*Flotation Aid (Type III
PFD).
*Special Use Device (Type V
PFD).
Additionally, if
your boat is 16 feet or longer, and is not a canoe or kayak,
you must also have at least
one:
*Throwable Device (Type IV
PFD).
For example, if there are four people on your 16-foot boat,
you must have at least five PFDs - four wearable PFDs and
one throwable PFD.
Off-Shore Life
Jacket (Type I
PFD)
Best for open, rough or remote water, where rescue may be
slow
coming.
Advantages:
*Floats you the best.
*Turns most
unconscious wearers face-up in water.
Disadvantages:
*Bulky.
Near-Shore Buoyant
Vest (Type II
PFD)
Good for calm, inland water, or where there is good chance
of fast
rescue.
Advantages:
*Less bulky, more comfortable than Off-Shore
Life
Jacket.
Disadvantages:
*Not for long hours in rough
water.
*Will not turn some unconscious wearers face-up
in water.
Flotation Aid (Type
III
PFD)
Good for calm, inland water, or where there is good chance
of fast
rescue.
Advantages:
*Generally the most comfortable type for
continuous wear.
*Designed for General Boating or
activity that is marked on the device.
*Available in
many styles, including vests and flotation coats.
*Many individual
sizes.
Disadvantages:
*Wearer may have to tilt head back to
avoid going face-down.
*In rough water, a wearer's
face may often be covered by waves.
*Not for extended
survival in rough water.
Throwable Device
(Type IV PFD) Cushions, ring, and horseshoe
buoys.
For calm, inland water with heavy boat traffic, where help
is always
nearby.
Advantages:
*Can be thrown to someone.
*Good
back-up to wearable PFD's.
*Some can be used as seat
cushion.
Disadvantages:
*Not for unconscious persons.
*Not for nonswimmers or children.
*Not for many hours
in rough
water.
(Practice throwing your Type IV PFD. Cushions throw
best underhand.)
Special Use Devices
(Type V
PFD)
Varieties include boardsailing vests, deck suits, work
vests, hybrid PFDs, and others.
Read the label on
your PFD to be sure it's made for people your weight and
size. Try on your PFD to see if it fits comfortably
snug. Test it in shallow water to see how it
handles. If your mouth is not well above the water,
get a new PFD or one with more buoyancy. Before use,
establish that excessive ride-up does not impair PFD
performance. Then in an emergency, don't panic.
Relax, put your head back and let your PFD help you come out
on top.
Don't forget to test each PFD at the start
of each season.
Children panic when
they fall into the water suddenly. This causes them to
move their arms and legs violently, making it hard to float
safely in a PFD. A PFD will keep a child afloat, but
may not keep a struggling child face-up. That's why
it's so important to teach children how to put on a PFD and
to help them get used to wearing one in the water.
If you need more
information about PFDs and safe boating, contact your state
boating authority, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Power
Squadron, Red Cross, your nearest unit of the U.S. Coast
Guard, or call the toll-free Boating Safety Hotline:
1-800-368-5647. To find out about free boating courses
in your area call 1-800-336-BOAT (in Virginia, call
800-245-BOAT).
Information
provided by
STEARNS®
P.O. Box
1498
St. Cloud, MN
56302
320 /
252-1642
www.stearnsinc.com
