KENTUCKY FISHING & BOATING GUIDE MARCH 2021 - FEBRUARY 2022 Take Someone Fishing! FISH & WILDLIFE: 1-800-858-1549 • fw.ky.gov Report Game Violations and Fish Kills: Rick Hill illustration 1-800-25-ALERT Para Español KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE RESOURCES #1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601 Get a GEICO quote for your boat and, in just 15 minutes, you’ll know how much you could be saving. If you like what you hear, you can buy your policy right on the spot. Then let us do the rest while you enjoy your free time with peace of mind. geico.com/boat | 1-800-865-4846 Some discounts, coverages, payment plans, and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. In the state of CA, program provided through Boat Association Insurance Services, license #0H87086. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, DC 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2020 GEICO ® Big Names....Low Prices! 20% OFF * Regular Price Of Any One Item In Stock With Coupon *Exclusions may be mandated by the manufacturers. Excludes: Firearms, ammunition, licenses, Nike, Perception, select TaylorMade, select Callaway, Carhartt, Costa, Merrell footwear, Oakley, Ray-Ban, New Balance, Terrain Blinds, Under Armour, Yeti, Columbia, Garmin, Tennis balls, Titleist golf balls, GoPro, Nerf, Lego, Leupold, Fitbit, arcade cabinets, bats and ball gloves over $149.98, shanties, large bag deer corn, GPS/fish finders, motors, marine batteries, motorized vehicles and gift cards. Not valid for online purchases. Cannot be used with another offer, coupon, current sale or clearance item. Only one coupon per customer. Not valid on previous purchases. Void if copied. Not for resale. Dunham’s Sports reserves the right to terminate this coupon/offer/discount at any time, without prior notice. Coupon Expires December 31, 2021 ® Dunham’s Rewards Sportsmen Club Receive money saving coupons Are you a member of a Sportsmen’s Club and more. with 25 or more members? www.dunhamsrewards.com www.dunhamssports.com/sportsmen 20-P-230 DEFINITIONS (301 KAR 1:201, KRS 150.010) sunrise and end one-half hour after sunset. Release means return of the fish, in the best Fishing-related definitions not listed Daily creel limit is the maximum number possible condition, immediately after re- here are included in appropriate sections of of a particular species or group of species a moving the hook, to the water from which this guide. person may legally keep in a day or have in it was taken in a place where the fish’s im- possession while fishing. mediate escape shall not be prevented. Angling means taking or attempting to Fishing is taking or attempting to take fish Resident is anyone who has established take fish by hook and line in hand, rod in in any manner, whether or not fish are in permanent and legal residence in Kentucky hand, jugging, set line or sport fishing trot- possession. and residing here at least 30 days. line. Lake means impounded waters, from the Rough fish are those fish species not listed as Artificial baits are lures or flies made of dam upstream to the first riffle on the main sport fish in the regulation 301 KAR 1:060. wood, metal, plastic, hair, feathers, pre- stem river and tributary streams or as speci- Size limit is the legal length a fish must be served pork rind or similar inert materi- fied in regulation. if it is in possession. (Fish length is mea- als and having no organic baits including Length means the distance from the front sured from the tip of the closed lower jaw dough bait, putty or paste type baits de- tip of a fish’s lower jaw with mouth closed to the tip of the tail with fish laid flat on signed to attract fish by taste or smell. to the tip of its tail with the fish laid flat on rule and tail lobes squeezed together.) Authorization number is the number as- a rule with its tail lobes squeezed together. Slot limit means fish within a specified signed to a person in lieu of fishing or Organic baits are insects, minnows, fish minimum and maximum size range must hunting license when the license is pur- eggs, worms, corn, cheese, cut bait or simi- be released. chased over the phone or Internet. lar substances used as a lure. Single hook is a hook with only one point. Black bass includes largemouth, small- Possession limit is the maximum number Tenant is any resident sharecropper or mouth, Kentucky (spotted) and Coosa bass. of unprocessed fish a person may hold after lessee who lives and works on farmland Culling: Replacing a live fish in the daily two days or more of fishing. owned by his/her landlord. creel limit with another fish of the same Regulation is a written document adopted Trophy catfish is a blue or flathead catfish species. and approved by the KDFWR Commission 35 inches or longer or a channel catfish 28 Daylight hours begin one-half hour before and approved by legislative committees. inches or longer. QUICK REFERENCE FISHING Measuring Fish .......................................3 Navigating Asian Carp ............................................22 New Laws ...............................................2 Crossing .............................................34 Bordering Waters ..................................15 Nuisance Species ...................................22 Meeting .............................................34 Brook Trout Streams .............................26 Parasites and Grubs in Fish ...................17 Overtaking .........................................34 Bullfrogs .................................................9 Possession Limits ....................................3 Equipment Consumption Advisories .........................17 Size and Creel Limits ..............................3 Fire Extinguishers ..............................35 Didymo .................................................25 Special Regulations .................................4 Marine Sanitation Devices ..................36 FINS Lakes .............................................4 State Record Fish ..................................28 Muffling Devices ................................36 Fish Species Identification .....................19 Trophy Fish/Master Angler Program.......27 Navigation Lights ...............................36 Fishing Methods Trout Seasonal Catch and Release ..........23 Personal Flotation Devices .....................35 Trotlines, Jugging and Set Lines .........10 Trout Stocking .......................................23 Signaling Devices ..................................36 Gigging and Snagging ........................11 Turtles ....................................................9 Ventilation ............................................36 Tickling and Noodling ........................11 Zebra Mussels .......................................22 Idle Speed .............................................33 Bow Fishing.......................................11 Inflatables .............................................32 Spear Fishing ....................................11 Locks and Dams ....................................33 Fishing Tournaments ..............................16 BOATING Personal Watercraft ..............................32 Grass Carp ............................................10 Accidents Prohibited Riding ..................................34 Licenses First Aid ............................................37 Reckless Operation ................................32 Fees ...................................................12 Hypothermia ......................................37 Registration Requirements and Exemptions ............13 Rendering Aid ....................................37 Display of Numbers and Decals ...........30 Senior/Disabled License ......................14 Reporting Requirements ......................37 Fees ...................................................30 Trout Permit ......................................13 Age Restrictions ....................................31 Transfers ............................................30 Pay Lakes ..........................................13 Airborne Devices ...................................31 Restricted Zones ....................................33 Free Fishing Days ...............................14 Alcohol .................................................33 Scuba Diving .........................................32 Littering ...............................................32 Boat, Motor and Lake Restrictions .........31 Swimming .............................................32 Live Bait ...............................................10 Buoys ....................................................34 Waterway Markers ................................34 Water Skiing ........................................31 March 2021 - February 2022 KENTUCKY FISHING & BOATING GUIDE Kevin Kelly photo ABOUT THIS GUIDE This is a SUMMARY of the laws regarding fishing and boating. FISHING REGULATIONS This guide is intended solely for informational use. It is not a 3 reprint of any referenced statute or regulation in its entirety and should not be used as such. Questions about the information con- tained in this guide should be directed to the Kentucky Department 16 GENERAL INFORMATION of Fish and Wildlife Resources BEFORE engaging in the activities referenced. Actual wording of any Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) or Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR) can be viewed at TROUT WATERS legislature.ky.gov. 23 OTHER GUIDES AVAILABLE Kentucky