Online tool aids anglers

AUGUSTA — Anglers who fish in Maine now have a new tool that makes it quick and easy to find out the fishing regulations on any of the state’s inland waters.

The Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has created Maine’s Fishing Laws Online Angling Tool (FLOAT), an online map-based tool that can be accessed from your computer or your smartphone, giving you access to fishing regulations for all your favorite fishing waters.

“Department fisheries staff have worked diligently with a web developer to categorize all of Maine’s inland waters, which allows our laws to be integrated into an online interactive map of fishing regulations,” said Francis Brautigam, MDIFW director of Fisheries and Hatcheries.

With the online angling tool, you can quickly locate a body of water, determine the fishing regulations, download a PDF of those regulations if you wish, and even identify your location and the body of water you are on with a GPS-enabled phone.

The map-based program shows waters with general fishing laws as blue on the map, and waters with special fishing regulations appear red on the map. For more information on the special regulations, you can click on the red area and the regulations will appear.

It’s easy to use, just visit the online angling tool on the department website. You can get started in a moment using the quick start instructions and the “Take the Tour” button.

Mobile users should be aware that this is a web-based tool that requires Wi-Fi or cellular data access. You can download a link right to your phone so you can access the online angling tool with the touch of your finger.

The online angling tool is designed to aid anglers by visually displaying Maine’s fishing laws. If you need to find the official and legal source of laws, please consult the digital or printed law book.