Maine

• You will find saltwater fishing suitable for any age or skill level in Maine coastal waters. Saltwater shoreline fishermen in Maine tend to seek mackerel. You can also find many charter fishing boat expeditions that afford opportunities to fish for larger species, including bluefin tuna, striped bass, and bluefish. While Maine does enforce limits on size and weight for catches, Maine requires no license for fishing along the coast as described at the Visitmaine website.
  
  

New Hampshire

• Maine’s southern neighbor, New Hampshire, also offers good opportunities for saltwater fishing for both anglers and spear fishermen as well as for coastal shellfish harvesting as described at the Wildlife.state website. In New Hampshire waters, fishermen can find such inshore and estuary-resident species as winter striped bass, blueback herring, smelt, shad, and flounder. Fishermen can also find such coastal migratory species as mackerel, bluefish, and striped bass. Shellfish includes blue mussels, softshell clams, and oysters. Additionally, saltwater fishermen can seek such species as haddock, lobster, pollock, and Atlantic cod in New Hampshire’s saltwater fishing. New Hampshire does require licenses for fishermen, with separate types of licensing for shellfish and fin fish.
  
  

Massachusetts

• Saltwater fishing provides a significant recreational activity within Massachusetts with more than a million people engaged in this activity, according to the Traveltips.usa website. Massachusetts requires a license for saltwater fishing in its coastal waters, but with exemptions for anglers under age 16, disabled individuals, or individuals fishing from state-permitted guide boats or charter boats. Massachusetts saltwater fishing benefits from the convergence of various climactic water conditions at New England Bight and Georges Bank. The result is a diverse and plentiful range of species, including fluke, scup, black sea bass, cod, striped bass, haddock, Atlantic mackerel, and bluefish.
  
  

Rhode Island

• The smallest New England state, Rhode Island, also offers good saltwater fishing opportunities, according to the Visitrhodeisland website. Like Maine, Rhode Island has no requirement for a saltwater fishing license, although the state does require anglers who want to sell a catch to obtain a commercial license to sell fin fish or, depending on circumstances, a multipurpose commercial license. Rhode Island’s most popular catches include swordfish, bluefin tuna, striped bass, and marlin, with bluefish and striped bass providing both inshore and offshore fishing opportunities. Further offshore, anglers seek tuna, shark, and cod as well as marlin, swordfish, and billfish.
  
  

Connecticut

• Like Massachusetts, Connecticut’s saltwater fishing benefits from a particular set of environmental conditions as described at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection website. In Connecticut’s case, this involves the proximity of Long Island Sound, which provides saltwater fishing opportunities to seek more than 100 species of fish. Connecticut saltwater fishing requires a Marine Waters Fishing license.