Rules & Regulations
Cast net laws in New Jersey
Legal with restrictionsInformational only — this is not legal advice
Fishing regulations change, sometimes with little notice, and can vary further by county, water body, or season within a state. This page is a starting point for research, not a substitute for the law. Always verify current rules directly with your state's fish & wildlife agency or TakeMeFishing.org before you fish. BasicGear is not responsible for citations, fines, or gear seizures resulting from reliance on this page.
Last verified: 2026-07-08 — regulations are re-checked periodically; see the date above before assuming this is current.
Summary
Freshwater and marine use have different caps. Freshwater cast-netting is limited to streams (no lakes, no trout-stocked waters); marine use scales up with license status. Catch cannot be sold or bartered.
Size, mesh & licensing
- Max size
- Freshwater: 8 ft diameter (4 ft radius), streams only. Marine: up to 20 ft diameter (10 ft radius) with no license; up to 30 ft diameter (15 ft radius) with a bait net license
- Mesh
- Not specified
- Water type
- Both, with different rules for each
- License
- Freshwater: standard NJ fishing license. Marine: none needed at or under 20 ft diameter; $10/yr bait net license for 20–30 ft diameter
Recommended BasicGear net
Cast Net — Basic Series — For freshwater streams, choose the smallest Basic Series size (4 ft radius or under). For marine use, any BasicGear net (up to 12 ft radius) fits well under the unlicensed 10 ft radius threshold.
Official source
NJDEP Fish & Wildlife — N.J.A.C. 7:25-18.5 (marine) / Digest of Regulations (freshwater)↗
High confidenceThe 8 ft freshwater and 30 ft licensed-marine figures were extracted verbatim from official PDFs; the 20 ft unlicensed threshold is Medium confidence (statute page inaccessible directly, corroborated via citation only).
Last verified: 2026-07-08
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