Fishing Regulations for Mid-Atlantic Anglers

Whether you're talking about freshwater fishing, Chesapeake Bay fishing, or coastal fishing, each of the states in our region has its own set of regulations regarding minimum size, bag limits, and seasons. In water more than three miles from shore federal regulations kick in as well. While we wish we could outline them all here, these regulations change by the year and anything we might print could quickly go out of date. Naturally we don't want to risk getting anyone in trouble by printing out-of-date regs, so instead we'll just provide links to each source. Before you go fishing, check the latest at the below links.

fishing regulations in maryland, pennsylvania, virginia, and washington dc
Have fun fishing, but make sure you're playing by the rules and the regs.

Delaware

Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Tidal Water Fishing Regulations

Maryland

Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Chesapeake Bay Fishing Regulations

Atlantic and Coastal Regulations

Pennsylvania

Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Potomac River Fisheries Commission

Potomac River Fishing Regulations

Virginia

Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Saltwater Fishing Regulations

Washington DC

Freshwater Fishing Regulations

Federal Waters Fishing Regulations

Note that when you're beyond three miles from shore, federal regulations kick in. Many states have more restrictive regulations than the federal rules and all will apply, so when fishing in the ocean be sure to check both.

Federal Fishing Regulations