2026 regulation year
Walleye Fishing Regulations by State (2026)
Sander vitreus
Last updated
Walleye is regulated separately by each state. This page compares the open-season window, daily bag limit, and size or slot rule for walleye across the 34 states fishregs covers deeply for 2026 — 9 set a defined harvest season and 25 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.
Walleye regulations comparison by state
| State | Open season | Daily bag | Size / slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Open year-round | 6 / day no statewide minimum (raised from the former 2 / day in the 2024 AZGFD simplification); applies on all waters including Lake Powell (AZGFD lists no walleye water exceptions) | No statewide minimum |
| Arkansas | Open year-round | 6 / day statewide; 4 / day on the trophy-management lakes (Beaver + Bull Shoals + Norfork + Table Rock + Kings River) | No statewide minimum; 18 in min on Beaver + Bull Shoals + Norfork + Table Rock (and tributaries) + Kings River; 14 in min on Greers Ferry + tributaries |
| Colorado | Open year-round | 5 / day with 18 in min on listed Quality Management reservoirs (Pueblo + John Martin + Chatfield + Cherry Creek + Standley); 5 / day no statewide minimum elsewhere | 18 in min on listed Quality Management reservoirs; no statewide minimum elsewhere |
| Connecticut | Open year-round | 2 / day per angler | 18 in min statewide |
| District of Columbia | Open year-round | 1 / day (DC DOEE, DCMR Title 19) | 14 in minimum (DC DOEE) |
| Illinois | Open year-round | 6 / day combined walleye + sauger + saugeye statewide | 14 in min walleye + sauger + saugeye statewide (waived on the Mississippi + Wabash Rivers + site-specific waters); Mississippi River 14–15 in by pool (15 in + 20–27 in protected slot on IL/IA pools, 14 in on IL/MO pools) |
| Indiana | – · Statewide | 6 / day combined walleye + sauger + walleye-sauger hybrid statewide | 14 in min south of State Road 26 (incl. Patoka + Monroe + Brookville); 16 in min north of SR 26 (incl. Salamonie + Mississinewa); Wall Lake 16 in / 2 per day, Lake George 15 in, Wolf Lake 14 in |
| Iowa | Open year-round | 5 / day combined walleye + sauger per angler statewide | No statewide inland length limit except on posted special lakes; 15 in min on the Mississippi River (release 20–27 in, one over 27 per day); posted special-restriction lakes carry slot/min rules (Big Creek 15 in + 1-over-20; Clear release 17–22; Rathbun 15 in; Storm + Iowa Great Lakes release 19–25) |
| Kansas | Open year-round | 5 / day per angler statewide; 2 / day on Milford + Cheney + El Dorado; 3 / day on Marion (one over 21 in) | 15 in min statewide (no minimum in rivers, streams + tailwaters); 21 in min on Milford + Cheney + El Dorado; 21 in min on Cedar Bluff (up to 2 fish 15–18 in); 18 in min on Glen Elder + Kanopolis + Pomona + Perry + Hillsdale + Lovewell + Melvern + Keith Sebelius; 18 in / 3 (one over 21 in) on Marion |
| Kentucky | Open year-round | 6 / day combined walleye + sauger | 15 in min walleye; 14 in min sauger |
| Maryland | – · Statewide (nontidal + Chesapeake tidal) – · Deep Creek Lake – · Youghiogheny River downstream of the Route 42 bridge+1 more window | 5 / day statewide (nontidal + Chesapeake tidal) | 15 in min statewide; Deep Creek Lake adds an 18–21 in protected slot (release all 18–21 in); Potomac mainstem (Chain Bridge to Cumberland) 20 in MAXIMUM size Jan 1 – Apr 15Slot: Deep Creek Lake 18–21 in protected slot (release all fish 18 to 21 in); Potomac mainstem 20 in maximum size Jan 1 – Apr 15 |
| Michigan | – · Inland waters | 5 / day (most waters) | 15 in minimum (most waters); 13 in on listed bays |
| Minnesota | – · Inland waters | 6 / day combined walleye + sauger (only 1 walleye over 20 in) | No statewide minimum; lake-specific slot limits apply (Mille Lacs, Red Lake, Lake of the Woods)Slot: No statewide slot; per-lake protected slots on listed waters |
| Missouri | Open year-round | 4 / day combined walleye + sauger | 15 in min statewide; 18 in min Bull Shoals + Table Rock + Norfork + Lake Wappapello |
| Montana | Open year-round | Western Fishing District: ALL walleye must be killed immediately, kept, and reported to FWP within 24 hours + the whole fish presented within 10 days (invasive-eradication rule). Central District: 5 / day sauger + walleye combined (only 2 may be sauger). Eastern District (Fort Peck): 5 / day, 10 in possession. Canyon Ferry + the Missouri reservoirs: 10 / day, only 1 over 15 in | No statewide minimum length; large-fish caps on listed reservoirs (only 1 over 15 in on Canyon Ferry + the Missouri reservoirs; only 1 over 25 in on Hauser + Holter) |
| Nebraska | Open year-round | 4 / day per angler statewide (one of the lowest walleye daily bags in the central plains region) | 15 in min + one over 22 in statewide on inland waters; Elwood + Harlan + Merritt one-15–18 + three-over-18 slot; Calamus two-15–18 + two-over-18 slot; Sherman 20–28 in protected slot at 3 / day; Missouri R downstream of Gavins Point no minimum |
| Nevada | Open year-round | 10 / day no statewide minimum on listed NDOW Quality Management reservoirs (Wild Horse + Rye Patch + Lahontan + South Fork — NDOW-distinctive aggressive 10 / day bag — one of country's highest walleye bag limits alongside Utah's 10 / day + New Mexico's 10 / day Rocky Mountain Quality Management) | No statewide minimum on listed Quality Management reservoirs |
| New Jersey | – · Statewide harvest – · Statewide pre-spawn – · Statewide harvest+1 more window | 3 / day per angler | 18 in min statewide |
| New Mexico | Open year-round | 5 / day statewide (10 possession); no minimum length | No minimum length statewide |
| New York | – · Inland waters statewide | 5 / day (most waters); reduced on listed lakes | 15 in minimum statewideSlot: Per-lake protected slots on listed waters |
| North Dakota | Open year-round | 5 / day combined walleye + sauger + saugeye per angler statewide (zander included on Spiritwood + Alkali lakes) | NO statewide length limit; 14 in min applies on only four waters — Lake Elsie, Buffalo Lake, and Jamestown + Pipestem reservoirs |
| Ohio | Open year-round | 6 / day (Lake Erie + inland) | Lake Erie 15 in minimum; no statewide inland minimum (15 in on listed reservoirs) |
| Oklahoma | Open year-round | 6 / day combined walleye + saugeye + sauger statewide standard | 14 in statewide minimum; 16 in on the Arkansas River below Keystone Dam (incl. R.S. Kerr/Webbers Falls/W.D. Mayo); 18 in on Atoka Bluestem/Bluestem/Carl Blackwell/Healdton/Ponca City/Shell/Sooner/Thunderbird |
| Oregon | Open year-round | No bag limit and no size limit on the Columbia River Zone + most zones where walleye occur (ODFW manages walleye as a non-native species whose removal is encouraged to protect salmon + steelhead smolts); confirm zone-specific rules on OR/ID boundary waters | No size limit |
| Pennsylvania | – · Inland – · Lake Erie + connecting waters | 6 / day statewide | 15 in minimum |
| South Dakota | Open year-round | 4 / day combined walleye + sauger + saugeye statewide (only one 20 in or longer; 8 possession); 15 in minimum on Lake Sharpe + Lake Francis Case (Sept 1 – June 30; no minimum July – August) | Statewide only one walleye 20 in or longer (no minimum length); 15 in min on Lake Sharpe + Lake Francis Case (Sept 1 – June 30) + the Missouri River below Fort Randall + Gavins Point dams — Lake Oahe + Lewis & Clark carry no minimum |
| Tennessee | Open year-round | 5 / day walleye; 10 / day combined walleye + sauger | 16 in min walleye on Tennessee River + Cumberland River reservoirs; 14 in min sauger |
| Utah | Open year-round | 10 / day, only 1 over 24 in (UDWR-distinctive — no minimum length encourages harvest of non-native walleye, but only 1 fish over 24 in / day protects trophy fish); 6 / day, only 1 over 24 in at Willard Bay; no limit at Lake Powell (encouraged-removal invasive — harvested fish may not be released) | No minimum length, but only 1 walleye over 24 in / day (UDWR caps trophy fish rather than setting a minimum — contrasts with traditional walleye states' 14-15 in min) |
| Vermont | – · Statewide walleye waters — open harvest season – · Statewide walleye waters — open harvest continues into spring – · Connecticut River main stem — open year-round under NH/VT reciprocity | 3 / day statewide (2022 simplification — single statewide rule) | 18 in min statewide |
| Virginia | Open year-round | 5 / day combined walleye + sauger | 18 in min New River + Claytor Lake; 15 in min Philpott Lake + Smith Mountain Lake + statewide elsewhere |
| Washington | Open year-round | Lakes / ponds / reservoirs: 8 / day, 12 in minimum, only 1 walleye over 22 in may be retained. Rivers / streams / beaver ponds: no size or daily limit. Columbia River mouth → Chief Joseph Dam (545 mi): all daily + size limits suspended effective March 3 (WDFW invasive-removal rule) to increase harvest of non-native walleye that prey on ESA-listed juvenile salmon + steelhead. | 12 in minimum in lakes / ponds / reservoirs, with only 1 walleye over 22 in retained (protects trophy breeders). No size limit in rivers / streams / beaver ponds or the Columbia mainstem invasive-removal reach.Slot: Lakes / ponds / reservoirs — 12 in minimum and only 1 walleye over 22 in may be retained within the 8-fish daily limit; no size protection in rivers or the Columbia invasive-removal reach. |
| West Virginia | Open year-round | 5 / day combined walleye + sauger | 15 in min walleye; 14 in min sauger |
| Wisconsin | – · Inland waters statewide | 3 / day (most inland waters); some northern lakes 2 / day | 15 in minimum (most waters); per-lake slot limits overrideSlot: Per-lake protected slots on listed Ceded Territory waters |
| Wyoming | Open year-round | 6 / day no statewide minimum; 15 in min on listed Quality Management reservoirs (Boysen + Glendo + Keyhole + Seminoe + Pathfinder) | 15 in min on listed Quality Management reservoirs; no statewide minimum elsewhere |
Figures are statewide defaults for 2026. Specific lakes, rivers, and coastal zones can carry their own walleye 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 walleye season or bag limit?
- No. Each US state sets its own walleye rules. Across the 34 states covered here, 25 keep harvest open year-round while 9 define 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 walleye 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 walleye 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 walleye rules vary so much between states?
- Walleye (Sander vitreus) 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 walleye season?
- Several states split walleye 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.