Is Magnet Fishing Legal?

At present, there is no broad federal, state, local law in the United States prohibiting magnet fishing.

Although some states and local districts may prevent fishing with magnets in some areas, however, this tolerated activity seldom causes any difficulty in the USA. Nevertheless, some provisions relate to the act of salvage, metal detection, and possession of weapons.

It is good practice to familiarize yourself with the non-emergency line of the local authorities contact information of the location of your fishing expedition, prior to your journey. This way if the number is stored in your phone, you will have easy access to it if you need to contact the local authority.

In many areas, if you find guns or knives, these bring with them some particular complications. It can be hard to determine where the gun or knife has come from, and if it was used in criminal activity. Contacting the authorities is the first thing to do after donning your gloves, and making sure you don’t touch the item. Finding knives can vary from state to state, and do specifically concern the transport of such items. Blade length being the critical factor.

Aside from this, magnet fishing laws should fall under the same as using metal detectors. Therefore, generally, on private land, you can do all the fishing you want, unless trespassing. Outside, and anything of archeological value, or as with firearms, then you may lose out in the ownership stakes.

Fishing this way can be exciting, and even if you find something of great value and can’t keep it entirely, it can be a great way to explore and do something very different, because every trip will offer a new adventure.