§ 114a. Rule defining mouths of tributaries and lines between points to identify the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain.

1.0 Authority

This rule is promulgated pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 4609.

This rule defines the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain, for reciprocal license purposes, easterly of which a Vermont fishing license is required for all individuals fifteen (15) years of age or older.

This rule shall apply to all persons who take or attempt to take fish on the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain and that portion of Lake Champlain easterly of the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain.

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this rule is to:

a) Define that portion of Lake Champlain lying between the Vermont-New York State boundary and that portion of Lake Champlain lying wholly in Vermont where holders of a New York fishing license are extended reciprocal fishing privileges, and

b) Provide a border for the eastern side of the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain that is easy for anglers to identify, and

c) Ensure the conservation of the fish in the state.

3.0 The Vermont-New York Lake Champlain Border

For the purposes of this rule, and for reciprocal fishing privileges authorized by 10 V.S.A. § 4609(b), the Vermont-New York Lake Champlain Border is defined as starting at a point where the Poultney River empties into the East Bay, then through the middle of the deepest channel of East Bay to the middle of the deepest channel of Lake Champlain, then following the middle of the deepest channel of Lake Champlain in a generally northerly direction to the east of the Four Brothers Islands and the west of Grand Isle, North Hero and Isle La Motte, to the United States border with Canada.

4.0 The Eastern Border of the Vermont Portion of Lake Champlain

For the purposes of this rule, and for reciprocal fishing privileges authorized by 10 V.S.A. § 4609(b), the eastern border of the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain is defined as a line starting on the north shore of the Poultney River where it empties into East Bay, proceeding generally northerly along the shore to the old Rutland Railroad fill on Colchester Point, then following the western side of the old Rutland Railroad fill to Allen Point on Grand Isle, continuing northerly following the western shore of Grand Isle to Tromp Point, then across The Gut to Bow and Arrow Point, then continuing generally northerly along the western shore of North Hero to Pelots Point, then across the Alburg passage to the Point of the Tongue, and then along the western shore of the Alburg peninsula to the United States Border with Canada. When this line crosses a tributary to Lake Champlain, the line shall proceed from the downstream most point of land on one side of the tributary to the downstream most point of land on the other side of the tributary.

5.0 Permitted Activities

Holders of New York fishing licenses may take fish from that portion of Lake Champlain lying between the Vermont-New York border of Lake Champlain and the eastern border of the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain as defined in Part 4.0 above provided the State of New York grants the right to take fish to holders of Vermont fishing licenses in that portion of Lake Champlain lying between the Vermont-New York border and the New York shore.

Graphic Representation of the Mouth of a Tributary   (Added 2003, Fish and Wildlife Board Reg. No. 1500, eff. Oct. 31, 2003.)