Significant musky fishing regulation changes are in effect on New York waters for the season opener June 20 for the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes and tributaries, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reminded anglers.

“Fishing for muskellunge, northern pike, walleye and channel catfish is expected to be outstanding across the state this year,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens.

Changes affecting the North Country include:

• For the St. Lawrence Seaway, opening date remains the same: third Saturday in June (June 20, 2015).

• Minimum size has been increased to 54 inches on Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers to make it consistent with Lake Erie; throughout the rest of the state, minimum is increased to 40 inches.

Besides the muskellunge regulation changes, a number of other regulations changes became effective April 1. These can be found in the 2015-16 Freshwater Fishing Regulations guide now available at all sporting license sales outlets and in PDF format at http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/fishguide15.pdf on DEC’s website.

Before heading out to fish, make sure you have a current fishing license. Anyone 16 years of age and older who desires to fish in New York must have a state fishing license. Fishing licenses are also now valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.

More info: http://licensecenter.ny.gov/sporting-and-recreational-licenses, 1-866-933-2257, or from the numerous license issuing agents across the state such as town clerks.