LCAR approves several Fish & Wildlife fisheries rules covering panfish limits, commercial angling and baitfish

The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved four fisheries-related rule changes from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife on May 29, 2025, covering fish management, commercial angling, removal of a seasonal closure, and baitfish use.

Hannah Smith, general counsel for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Eric Palmer, director of the fisheries program, presented the package. Smith said the changes are board rules administered by the Fish and Wildlife Board and summarized the principal changes: adding Mud Pond to the list of seasonally closed waters, adding a segment of the Deerfield River to the list of trophy-trout streams, and amending bag limits and species lists for panfish. "They'll add mud pond to the list of seasonally closed waters," Smith said.

On panfish, the department described two rounds of changes. The proposed rule initially set an aggregate daily panfish limit of 50 fish and a sublimit of no more than 25 per individual listed species. The Fish and Wildlife Board amended that change so the daily aggregate remains 50, but the final proposed rule allows anglers to take up to 50 of any single listed panfish species in inland waters where limits apply. The agency also removed white perch from the list of panfish subject to the new bag limits, saying white perch are not native to Vermont and occur only in Lake Champlain, the Connecticut River, Memphremagog and Parker Lake.

Senator Wiggs asked whether the 50-per-day aggregate will keep populations at appropriate levels; Smith and Palmer said existing limits for some species remain in place (the department cited a 50-fish daily limit for yellow perch) and described the changes as measures to help maintain age and size structure of panfish populations while responding to anglers’ interest in bag limits.

The commercial-angling rule (25 P 08) creates a fish-sellers endorsement added to a Vermont fishing license (no fee) and prohibits the commercial sale of crappie species. Smith said the department proposed the crappie sale ban in response to constituent petition and data showing crappie constitute a small portion of commercial panfish sales (about 4% based on 2014–2024 data) but command a higher price per pound. The department told the committee that higher commercial prices can incentivize moving fish to new waters, potentially encouraging illegal overharvest or transfer of fish from states where commercial angling is restricted. The final rule removes a proposed new section requiring separate reporting by fish sellers and instead adds reporting language into an existing section requiring fish sellers to submit biological data on fish sold.

The committee approved a full repeal of the Valley Brook seasonal closure (25 P 09). Smith said the closure was originally adopted in an effort to establish landlocked Atlantic salmon spawning in some waters; those efforts were unsuccessful and the department concluded the seasonal closure for Valley Brook is no longer necessary.

The baitfish rule (section 1-41) makes several housekeeping changes the department describes as a modest relaxation of restrictions: allowing larger minnow traps, permitting transport of personally harvested baitfish between nonrestricted waters within the same east/west zone, modifying rules for personally harvested baitfish and fish eggs, and removing an administrative requirement that commercial bait sellers keep carbon copies of receipts. Smith said the two-zone approach divides the state roughly along watershed lines to reduce risk of moving invasive species or pathogens between major watersheds while allowing greater baitfish use in most waters.

Committee votes on each rule were voice votes with no opposed voices recorded in the transcript. Representative Bode moved approval of the fish-management rule; Senator Weeks moved approval of the rule repealing the Valley Brook closure; Senator Wake moved approval of the baitfish rule. The commercial-angling rule was moved and approved during the same panel discussion.

Implementation notes: The department said Berlin Pond and Stiles Pond previously operated under more restrictive, trial bag limits after public-access changes; the final rules make some of those limits permanent. The department also indicated the trophy-trout designation for the Deerfield River corresponds to a stocking program that targets larger, two-year-old trout for accessible public waters.

For readers: The package changes adjust how anglers may harvest panfish, formalizes certain trial limits where they proved successful, prohibits commercial sale of crappie to reduce incentives for illegal transfers, and eases some baitfish restrictions while preserving protections for waters with known invasive species.