Hopefully this doesn't confuse you more than you already are. The state limit for trout is 5 per day. So, if you are fishing for example in a wild trout management or TMA area where the limit is two trout and keep two trout, you can then go to a non-trout management area or a TMA that has a daily creel limit of five trout and catch three more for a total daily limit of five.

You could not go to another wild trout management or TMA area and catch two more trout as usually (see Class 3 below) WTMA's and TMA's are two trout per day. Hence you would be over the limit in a WTMA for the day while still not over the total state limit. If you only catch one trout in a WTMA/TMA (with a two trout limit) you could go to another WTMA/TMA (with a two trout limit) and catch only one more trout. Then you are done for the day fishing in a WTMA/TMA with a two trout limit as you have limited out at two fish.

Basically, you can't limit out in a WTMA/TMA with a two trout limit and then go to a non-WTMA/TMA or TMA that has a five trout limit and catch five more. Now to mess with you even more, look at the TMA listings below. There are Wild Trout Management Areas listed as Class 3 where you can keep up to five trout. If you take five trout here you are done for the day as you have reached your state limit. Hope this helps you out.

Trout Management Areas (TMA): High quality fisheries offering year-round opportunities.
Trout Parks: Easy to fish, frequently stocked areas.
Trophy Trout Streams: Stocked with a higher proportion of larger fish.
Sea-run Trout Streams: Areas where DEEP is working to establish populations of anadromous brown trout.
Wild Trout Management Areas (WTMA): There are three classes of WTMAs:
Class 1: Catch and release only, open year-round, use of barbless single-hook artificial lures and barbless single-hook flies only.
Class 2: Two (2) trout per angler per day limit, trout must be 12” or larger to keep from opening day to last day of February.
Class 3: Five (5) fish per angler per day limit, trout must be 9” or larger to keep from opening day to last day of February.


Trout
(Brook, Brown, Rainbow, Tiger &
other hybrids)

Trout & salmon stamp may be needed.

Angling, Icefishing

Lakes & Ponds, Rivers & Streams

2nd Saturday in April – last day in February

No minimum length

State Limit - 5

Lower Rivers/
Tidal Waters

Open year-round*

15″

State Limit - 2