Learn about freshwater fishing

Adults need a fishing license if they are "in control" of a baited hook on a line in the water. If you help a child bait a hook, help remove a fish from a child's hook, or help untangle a child's line, you do not need your fishing license. To cast the line for a child, or reel in a line for a child, you need a fishing license.

Note: Children under 15 do not need a license, but those 15-17 years old need a license to fish.

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You can purchase online through the MassFishHunt licensing system or in person at a license vendor location.

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MassWildlife Angler Education events are a great way to learn to fish. Click here for a list of upcoming events.

Many people also learn to fish with a little help from online videos or even from the library. One of the best ways to learn is by partnering up with someone who has fished before. A lot can be learned from fishing with friends or family.

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Aside from your fishing license (if you’re 15 years of age or older) all you need is a simple live bait setup consisting of a spin casting (push button), or spinning rod and reel, a few hooks and bobbers, and bait – often garden worms or night crawlers. As with any hobby or pastime, when you’re just starting out, there is no need to break the bank on equipment right away.

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If you dislike putting a hook into something alive, there are alternatives, including options from around the house. Cheese, chicken, hot dogs, or bread can work as bait. Small, dense pieces of these and other food items can work well. Other baits come in in small jars as pellets, pastes, or live bait forms and smells that work well. You can also consider fishing lures. Some work well. Others catch more anglers than fish. Lures can be more expensive, and at times they can be more confusing to beginners. There are more designs, colors, and sizes.

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Massachusetts offers thousands of fishable waters. Many of them are overlooked, like that small pond or stream you pass by every day on your way to work or school. Use MassWildlife's Go Fish MA! interactive map to find a spot hear you—select the "Featured Sites" filter in the map for staff recommendations with easier access to the water.

Feel free to fish for anything that bites, literally. Even a simple bait setup can bring surprising results. You can catch anything from the smallest sunfish to larger fish like bass, pickerel, and trout. It depends on the type of water body you select, your location on that waterbody, and the time of year.

Look for "structures" where you fish - a downed tree, large rocks or boulders, overhanging bushes or trees, undercut stream or river banks, or a weed bed. Structures give fish cover and shade, and you are more likely to find them nearby.

Fish during warmer months at first, if you can, when the water temperatures are at least in the upper 60s. Warm-water fish (mostly species of sunfish) also tend to be easier to catch.

In many cases, yes.

• All stocked trout are safe to eat, regardless of where you catch them.
• The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) keeps and maintains a list of waters with consumption advisories. Fish from some waterbodies should not be eaten.
• Pregnant women, women intending to be pregnant, nursing mothers, and children under the age of 12 should NOT eat any freshwater fish from lakes, ponds, rivers, or streams, other than trout stocked by MassWildlife.

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Yes. Please review the Massachusetts freshwater fishing regulations.

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There are only two legal ways to keep a wild fish: to eat, or to mount (professionally, by a taxidermist) as a trophy. In either case, the fish must be dead before you leave the water you're fishing. It is also illegal to move fish from one water body to the next, including small baitfish. Transport laws help prevent the spread of invasive or nuisance species and to prevent the spread of disease.

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