§ 4606. Taking fish by unlawful means

(a) A person shall not take fish by means of explosives, or use explosives in any waters or have the same in his or her possession upon any waters, the shores thereof or islands therein, except for mining or mechanical purposes.

(b) A person shall not place in any waters lime, creosote, coculus inducus, or other drug or poison destructive to fish.

(c) A person shall not take or kill fish by shutting or drawing off water.

(d) A person, except as otherwise provided, shall not use or have in his or her possession for use or furnish for another's use, for taking fish, a pound net, trap net, seine, snare, gill net, set net, fyke net, set line, fishing otter, trawl or grapple, or similar device for killing fish or have in his or her possession such device on any waters or the shores thereof or the islands therein. Such devices may be summarily seized and destroyed by a game warden. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the taking of fish with, or the possession of, a spear or artificial light or the taking of eels with eel pots in designated areas of Lake Champlain.

(e) In Lake Champlain pickerel, northern pike, carp, garfish, bowfin, mullet, shad, suckers, bullhead, and other cull fish may be taken from March 25 to May 25 by shooting and spearing in other than spawning areas designated under section 4140 of this title. For the purposes of this subsection, Lake Champlain includes all connected waters at the same level.

(f) Except as authorized in chapter 105, subchapter 2 of this title and as utilized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, electrofishing is prohibited in all waters of the State.

(g) A person shall not use a lead sinker for taking of fish in any State waters. In this section, "sinker" means any device which weighs one-half ounce or less and is attached to a fishing line for the purpose of sinking the line, and does not include other lead fishing-related items such as weighted fly line, lead-core fishing line, downrigger cannon balls, weighted flies, lures, spoons, or jig heads. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1969, No. 110, eff. April 19, 1969; 1979, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. April 24, 1980; 1981, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3, eff. April 26, 1982; 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 2003, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.)