Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 130, § 35

No person shall take or attempt to take a smelt in any other manner than by angling. This section shall not apply to smelt inadvertently taken in a seine or net during the time and in the manner in which fishing is allowed for perch, herring or alewives; provided, however, that such smelt so taken shall be immediately liberated alive in the waters from which it was taken.

Possession of any net, seine, trap or device for catching fish, other than a naturally or artificially baited hook, in or upon the harbors, rivers or tributaries of the commonwealth, or on the banks of the same, if adapted to and apparently intended for the present catching of smelt, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section and the possession in or upon said harbors, rivers or tributaries, or on the banks of the same, of any fresh smelt, between sunset and sunrise, or under other circumstances reasonably indicating the catching of the same otherwise than by angling, shall be prima facie evidence that said smelt were caught or intended to be caught contrary to such provisions by the person in whose possession they are found.