Fishing Product Information

To get a step by step on how to purchase a fishing license, please view article "How to purchase a license or product (click me)"

You need a fishing license if you are 16 years and older and fishing for:

• Freshwater fish species by angling, spearing, hooking, longbow, and tip-ups.
• Frog species by spearing, catching with the hands or by use of a club or hook.
• Freshwater baitfish for personal use.

Note: You need a marine fishing registration if fishing for migratory fish of the sea and saltwater fish species.

You do not need a fishing license if you are:

• Fishing on a licensed fishing preserve
• Fishing during the free fishing weekend
• Fishing at a free fishing clinic
• A resident landowner primarily engaged in farming (including lessees and members of their immediate families) when fishing on farmlands they are occupying and cultivating.
• A farm fishpond license holder (including members of their immediate families) fishing on waters covered by the license.
• A Native American living and fishing on reservation land.
• A patient residing at a qualifying U.S. Veterans Administration hospital or facility in New York State.

When do you need a Marine Registration:

• When you are targeting saltwater fish. For example, stripers are saltwater fish but can be found in northern parts of the Hudson River where the water would not be considered “saltwater”. This registration is also used for fishing in saltwater surrounding the southernmost part of NYS.