Free fishing days allow anyone to fish or crab in Maryland without a license.
Fishing and crabbing are two of the most popular pastimes for Marylanders in the summertime. There’s nothing like spending the day on the water and heading home to make a meal out of your catch. But just like hunting for game, Maryland requires licenses for fishing and crabbing in its waterways.
To get more people interested in fishing and introduce them to the rules and regulations, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources holds free fishing days each year in June and July.
This year, free fishing days in Maryland will be held on June 4, June 11, and July 4.
Residents and visitors are allowed to fish in tidal and non-tidal areas without stamps, licenses, or registrations normally required by state regulations. You can bring home as many fish as you want, subject to size and catch limits posted in the Maryland Fishing guide.
Taking too many young fish from the water can decrease populations and cause damage to the ecosystem. An annual dredge study conducted last winter by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimated this year’s crab population to be 227 million. That is the lowest number ever recorded since the survey began in 1990.
Anyone crabbing in Maryland waters is required to return smaller crabs to the water in order to maintain blue crab populations.
If you’re fishing in the Chesapeake Bay or the Blackwater River, you could earn money for catching the northern snakehead. The invasive predator is native to Asia and is considered dangerous to North American ecosystems. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has tagged more than 500 snakeheads and is offering gift cards to anyone who catches one. You could earn anywhere from $10 to $200 from the catch by reporting it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-448-8322.
