Maine splits itself in half and gives the two halves different rules. In the South Zone the lakes never close; in the North Zone they shut for six months. Which zone you are in matters more than what you are fishing for.
Every season we have verified in Maine
One block per rule, because a single species can be on two calendars in the same state depending on the water. The band under each heading is the legal season; the row under it is what our own data says the fish are doing.
Trout — Rivers, streams and brooks, both zones
Open to open-water fishing from April 1 to August 15, then artificial lures or flies only from August 16 to September 30. The gear change partway through the season is the part people miss.
Trout — North Zone lakes and ponds
April 1 to September 30 for open water, then closed to all fishing from October 1 to March 31 unless the individual water is opened by special law. Hundreds of North Zone waters are opened for ice fishing that way, marked with an A or B season code in the special laws.
- Limit
- 5 brook trout.
Trout — South Zone lakes and ponds
Open to ice and open-water fishing from January 1 to December 31. If there is open water in March, you can fish it. The trade for that access is a tighter brook trout limit than the north.
- Limit
- 2 brook trout from South Zone lakes and ponds.
Landlocked salmon — Statewide
Landlocked salmon and togue both run to a two-fish daily limit under the general law, on the season dates of whatever water you are on. In Maine the water sets the season, not the species.
- Limit
- 2 fish.
Bass — Statewide
An unusual split: the north has no bass bag limit at all in lakes and ponds under the general law, while the south is capped at two. Bass are not native here, and the limits say so.
- Limit
- Unlimited in North Zone lakes and ponds; 2 fish in the South Zone.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
What the water is doing while the season is open
This is the part an agency page will not tell you. The temperature row above is the seasonal curve we use for the 9 of 15 Maine waters we track on a landlocked salmon lake profile, and it is why an opening date and a fishable date are not the same thing. A season that opens while the water is still in the forties is a legal invitation, not a biological one: the fish are there, they are just not eating on your schedule yet. Cross the legal band against the activity row before you book the day off.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 15 Maine waters, each with live flow or tide and today's conditions.
- Sebago Lake — Cumberland County
- Rangeley Lake — Franklin County
- Mooselookmeguntic Lake — Oxford County
- Moosehead Lake — Piscataquis County
- Grand Lake Stream — Washington County
- West Branch Penobscot River — Piscataquis County
- Rapid River — Oxford County
- Kennebec River — Somerset County
- Kennebago Lake — Franklin County
- Penobscot River — Penobscot County
The licence is a separate question
An open season is not permission to fish. Maine requires a licence from age 16, and residents pay from $25.00 against $64.00 for visitors. What a Maine licence costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When does fishing season open in Maine?
It depends on the species: trout april 1–august 15, august 16–september 30; trout april 1 to september 30; trout open all year. Every date on this page was read off MDIFW on 2026-09-14.
Do I need a licence to fish in Maine?
Yes. Maine requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. A season being open is not permission to fish: the licence is separate and so are the size and bag limits.
Are these Maine dates going to change?
Some of them, and the page says which. Dates written as a rule in the regulations are calculated here for 2026, so they follow the rule rather than going stale. Dates the agency sets each year are shown as exactly that, with no calendar band, because inventing one would be worse than leaving it empty.