2026 regulation year
Blue catfish Fishing Regulations by State (2026)
Ictalurus furcatus
Last updated
Blue catfish is regulated separately by each state. This page compares the open-season window, daily bag limit, and size or slot rule for blue catfish across the 17 states fishregs covers deeply for 2026 — 1 set a defined harvest season and 16 keep it open year-round. Rules vary by state and often by individual water body, so confirm on the linked state page before fishing. New to bag, slot, and size limits? The glossary explains every term.
Blue catfish regulations comparison by state
| State | Open season | Daily bag | Size / slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Open year-round | No limit on catfish under 34 inches; only 1 catfish 34 inches or longer per day (one rule covering blue + channel + flathead combined). Exempt: the Perdido, Conecuh, Blackwater, Yellow, Choctawhatchee, Chipola, and Chattahoochee river basins (no 34-in cap). | No minimum size; only 1 catfish per day may be 34 inches or longer (a combined trophy cap). No 34-inch cap in the seven exempt southeastern river basins. |
| Arkansas | Open year-round | 10 / day combined across channel + blue + flathead catfish statewide; no limit on the Mississippi River + Grand Lake; no limit on blue + channel catfish on the Little River (below Millwood Dam), Red River and Sulphur River | No statewide minimum size |
| District of Columbia | Open year-round | No daily bag limit (DOEE-designated invasive — unlimited recreational harvest) | No minimum size limit |
| Illinois | Open year-round | No statewide daily limit. Mississippi River: 20 / day combined blue + channel catfish. Ohio + Wabash Rivers: no limit on fish under 35 in, only 1 blue catfish 35 in or longer per day. | No statewide minimum. 13 in min on the Ohio + Wabash Rivers, where no more than 1 blue catfish 35 in or longer may be kept per day. |
| Indiana | Open year-round | No daily limit in rivers + streams (incl. the Ohio River); 10 / day combined catfish in lakes. Only 1 blue catfish 35 in or longer may be kept per day. | 13 in min in rivers + streams (incl. the Ohio River); no minimum in lakes. No more than 1 blue catfish 35 in or longer per day. |
| Kansas | Open year-round | 5 / day statewide; 10 / day (one over 30 in) on Clinton + El Dorado + Elk City + Glen Elder + John Redmond + Melvern + Tuttle Creek; 5 / day + 35 in min on Cheney + Kanopolis + Lovewell + Perry; 10 / day on Milford (28–40 in slot); 2 / day on Wilson (32–40 in slot) | No statewide length limit; 35 in min on Cheney + Kanopolis + Lovewell + Perry; only one fish over 30 in on the 10-fish reservoirs; Milford 28–40 in protected slot; Wilson 32–40 in protected slotSlot: Milford Lake: 28–40 in protected slot — must release blue catfish 28–40 in; daily bag of 10 may include only one fish 40 in or longer. Wilson Lake: 32–40 in protected slot — daily bag of 2, plus one fish 40 in or longer may be kept |
| Kentucky | Open year-round | Unlimited on blue catfish under 35 inches; only 1 blue catfish 35 inches or longer per day (trophy limit). Barren River + Carr Creek lakes: blue + channel catfish aggregate 15 / day, only 1 over 25 in. | No minimum size; a 'trophy' blue catfish is 35 inches or longer, and only 1 trophy may be kept per day. |
| Louisiana | Open year-round | 100 / day combined blue + channel + flathead (aggregate); 50 / day blue + channel combined on Caddo Lake, Sabine River, Toledo Bend (no more than 5 over 30 in) | 12 in min statewide; no minimum on Caddo Lake, Sabine River, Toledo Bend |
| Maryland | – · Statewide tidal + non-tidal waters | No limit — DNR encourages unlimited harvest to reduce invasive predation pressure on native Bay forage | No minimum size — invasive species rule on Maryland tidal waters |
| Mississippi | Open year-round | No statewide daily creel limit; 10 / day on State Fishing Lakes + State Park Lakes (Choctaw Lake + Lake Okhissa 5 / day; ReCon Lake 10 / day); 1 fish over 34 in / day on Alabama–Tennessee border waters (Pickwick Lake) | No statewide minimum length; on Alabama–Tennessee border waters (Pickwick) no creel limit on catfish under 34 in but only 1 fish over 34 in / day |
| Missouri | Open year-round | 5 / day statewide. Mississippi River: 20 channel + blue catfish in aggregate. Lake of the Ozarks / Truman / Table Rock / Bull Shoals / Norfork: 10 catfish combined (channel + blue + flathead). | No statewide length limit |
| Nebraska | Open year-round | 1 / day statewide (the most restrictive catfish bag in Nebraska) | No minimum length |
| Oklahoma | Open year-round | 15 / day combined channel + blue catfish statewide; only 1 blue catfish over 30 in allowed in the daily bag (OK-distinctive trophy protection). 6 / day combined on State Park / WMA / ODWC-area waters (not Lake Murray) | No statewide minimum; 30 in trophy protection — only 1 blue catfish over 30 in allowed per angler per day |
| South Carolina | Open year-round | 25 / day on Lake Marion, Lake Moultrie, the upper Santee River + the Pee Dee River (NC line – Highway 301 bridge); 150 / day on all other state waters (2026 Act 120 / Bill 337) | No minimum size. No more than 2 blue catfish over 32 in per day on Lake Marion, Lake Moultrie, the upper Santee River, the Pee Dee River (NC line – Highway 301 bridge), and the Congaree + Wateree rivers |
| Tennessee | Open year-round | No creel limit on catfish under 34 inches; only 1 catfish over 34 inches per day (Tennessee's catfish limit is one rule covering blue + channel + flathead combined). Mississippi River: same — no creel limit, only 1 fish over 34 inches per day. | No length limit on catfish under 34 inches; only 1 catfish per day may exceed 34 inches (a trophy-protection cap). |
| Virginia | Open year-round | 20 / day statewide. No daily limit on the tidal James River (below the fall line to the Hog Point–College Creek line), Lake Gaston, and all other rivers below the fall line (York / Pamunkey / Mattaponi / Rappahannock / tidal Potomac). Buggs Island/Kerr Reservoir + Staunton (Roanoke) + Dan tributaries: 20 / day. | No statewide length limit. Only 1 blue catfish per day longer than 32 inches on the tidal James River, Lake Gaston, and Buggs Island/Kerr Reservoir — a trophy-protection cap within otherwise-liberalized invasive harvest. |
| West Virginia | Open year-round | 2 / day general waters; 4 / day on the Kanawha + Ohio rivers | 25 in minimum on the Kanawha + Ohio rivers; only one fish 35 in or longer per day |
Figures are statewide defaults for 2026. Specific lakes, rivers, and coastal zones can carry their own blue catfish rules — open any state row for the full season map, gear restrictions, and named water-body overrides.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is there a nationwide blue catfish season or bag limit?
- No. Each US state sets its own blue catfish rules. Across the 17 states covered here, 16 keep harvest open year-round while 1 defines a closed season, and daily bag and size limits differ from state to state. Use the table above to compare, then open a state page for the exact current rule.
- Does my fishing license cover blue catfish in every state?
- No. A fishing license is valid only in the state that issued it, apart from a few border-water reciprocity agreements. To fish blue catfish in another state you generally need that state's non-resident license — compare non-resident fees on the license-fees page and check the reciprocity page for shared-water exceptions.
- Why do blue catfish rules vary so much between states?
- Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is a freshwater species, and each state manages it for its own water temperatures, spawning timing, population health, and fishing pressure. Many states also set tougher rules on specific lakes or rivers, so the statewide figure shown here can be overridden on a named water body — always confirm on the linked state page before fishing.
- Why does one state show more than one blue catfish season?
- Several states split blue catfish into management zones — different coasts, river drainages, or regions open and close on different dates. Where that happens the table shows each zone's window; the state page lists the full zone map.