Rules & Regulations
Cast net laws in Vermont
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
Personal or commercial baitfish harvest only (rainbow smelt is excluded — hook-and-line only for smelt). Vermont caps total net area rather than radius or diameter.
Size, mesh & licensing
- Max size
- No radius/diameter cap — cast, dip, and umbrella nets combined must total no more than 51 sq ft of mesh
- Mesh
- No bar-mesh size specified — it's an area cap, not a mesh spec
- Water type
- Not saltwater-specific (Vermont has no coastline)
- License
- VT fishing license plus a free Wild Baitfish Endorsement to transport baitfish
Recommended BasicGear net
Easy Throw Cast Net — Vermont's cap is by total mesh area (51 sq ft, combined across all your nets), not radius — check your specific net's mesh area against that figure rather than assuming any size complies. The compact Easy Throw (4 ft) is a reasonable starting point to stay well under the cap, but verify the actual mesh area before you fish.
Official source
VT Fish & Wildlife Dept. — Personal Baitfish Harvest↗
Medium confidenceThe agency site blocked direct fetch; confirmed via repeated, consistent search snippets. A secondary source's implied ~5 ft radius figure is NOT supported by any official Vermont source — use the 51 sq ft area cap instead.
Last verified: 2026-07-08
See all 50 states, or shop the cast net lineup for Vermont.