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Fishing Nets: What Is Actually Legal to Set

Cast nets, seines, dip nets and gill nets are treated very differently by state agencies. Verified dimensions from Texas, Florida and South Carolina, plus the bycatch problem.

This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.

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Warning

A net can drown turtles, waterfowl and mammals and is one of the most heavily restricted kinds of gear. Verify the device, mesh, size, marking, season and waterbody in your own state's rules before setting one; in Texas, methods not on the legal-device list are unlawful.

  1. 01

    Start from the assumption that nets are restricted

    Texas's legal-device list permits cast nets, seines and dip nets for specified nongame and aquatic-life uses, not general game-fish harvest: a cast net no more than 14 feet in diameter, a seine no longer than 20 feet with mesh no larger than a half-inch square and manually operated, and a dip net that may also land fish already caught by lawful gear. Saltwater nongame fish taken by these methods are bait-only. Methods not listed are unlawful, and gill nets and generic hoop or trap nets are not on that recreational list.

  2. 02

    Florida separates bait gear from game fish

    Florida's freshwater rules generally require pole-and-line or rod-and-reel for game fish, while identifying small bait gear you may possess alongside them: a cast net with stretched mesh no larger than 1 inch, a minnow dip net no more than 4 feet in diameter, and a minnow seine no more than 20 feet long by 4 feet deep with stretched mesh no larger than 1 inch. Those dimensions are not permission to harvest bass or other game fish with a net.

  3. 03

    South Carolina does allow recreational gill nets — narrowly

    South Carolina lists recreational use of one net no longer than 100 yards, or three nets each no longer than 30 yards, subject to location rules, tags and identification. For nongame fish other than shad and herring: minimum 4½-inch stretched mesh, maximum 100 yards, the net and its supports cannot extend more than halfway across the water, and it must normally sit at least 200 yards from another gill net, with a white floating marker and a gill-net tag. Where authorized, the season runs November 1 through March 1, Wednesday through Saturday only. Sturgeon must be returned immediately.

  4. 04

    Hoop nets are even narrower

    South Carolina's hoop-net rule specifies textile mesh of 1 to 2 inches square, a maximum of 16 by 5½ feet, resting on the bottom rather than suspended, at least 100 feet from tributary mouths, with a white float and tag. Recreational authorization is described narrowly — one hoop net on the Wateree for licensees 65 or older. Do not generalize that to younger anglers or other waters.

  5. 05

    Some gear needs a license category, not a purchase

    North Carolina's coastal waters show a different route: a Recreational Commercial Gear License can authorize specified commercial-style gear without authorizing sale. That rule includes limited gill-net use, generally no more than 100 yards, with attendance requirements that depend on mesh and area, and some gear requires continuous attendance. Current proclamations and closures still apply.

  6. 06

    Measure mesh the way the rule measures it

    Square or bar mesh and stretched mesh are different measurements of the same net. Never substitute one for the other when checking whether your net is legal.

  7. 07

    Assume bycatch, not a clean catch

    Abandoned hooks, lines and nets entangle and kill turtles and marine mammals, and entangled seabirds can drown or later starve. Nets also capture fish you cannot keep. 'Nongame gear' does not mean selective or harmless gear.

Sources & further reading