2026 regulation year

North Dakota Fishing Regulations 2026 — License Fees, Seasons, Bag Limits

Last updated June 8, 2026

North Dakota runs a single-agency regulatory system through the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (ND G&F) covering all inland freshwater fisheries — North Dakota is a fully landlocked Northern Great Plains state (no saltwater authority needed) anchored by Lake Sakakawea (the country's third-largest reservoir at 368,000 acres on the Missouri River, larger than Lake Powell + Lake Mead and surpassed only by Lake Oahe SD/ND + Fort Peck Lake MT among Missouri River main-stem reservoirs), the Lake Oahe upper end (NW corner of ND), the Devils Lake natural-lake system (the country's largest natural prairie lake), and the Missouri + Red River boundary tiers. ND G&F requires a Resident or Non-Resident Fishing Licence for anglers age 16+ plus the ND COMBINED FISHING STAMP ($1 res / $25 NR — ND-distinctive aggressive non-resident differential — one of the most aggressive resident-vs-NR pricing gaps in the country, deliberately structured to make ND fishing more accessible to residents while non-residents fund the ~$13M annual ND G&F fishing program) in addition to the Fishing Licence. Lake Sakakawea (368,000 acres on the Missouri River main stem behind Garrison Dam in McLean / Mountrail / Williams / Mercer / Dunn / McKenzie Counties — USACE Omaha District 1953 — the country's third-largest reservoir by surface area, 178 miles long, 14 miles at the widest point, 6th-largest in volume among US reservoirs, encompasses the Van Hook Arm + the Sakakawea main stem + the Little Missouri arm + the Knife River arm) is the singular ND marquee fishery — recurring Bassmaster Opens Central + MLF Toyota Series + premier walleye + smallmouth + northern pike + chinook salmon + sauger + paddlefish + white bass + Cisco fishery. ND G&F stocks chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha — Pacific anadromous salmon stocked as land-locked population by ND G&F + USFWS at Garrison Dam Hatchery since 1973) in Lake Sakakawea — one of only a handful of inland US lakes with a viable Pacific salmon fishery (alongside the Great Lakes + Pyramid Lake NV cutthroat). ND state-record chinook salmon 31 lb 0 oz (Lake Sakakawea, 1986); ND state-record walleye 15 lb 13 oz (Wood Lake, 1959); ND state-record northern pike 37 lb 8 oz (Lake Sakakawea, 1968). Lake Oahe (upper end in Sioux County ND — 25,000 acres ND-portion of the 370,000-acre USACE Oahe Dam reservoir, the bulk of which is in SD) carries the ND-portion under joint ND/SD reciprocal compact rules — anglers fishing the ND portion need an ND Fishing Licence (the joint reciprocal applies on the main stem boundary between Pollock SD + Solen ND). Devils Lake (200,000+ acres in Ramsey / Benson Counties — the country's largest natural prairie lake, expanded from 50,000 acres in the 1990s drought to 200,000+ acres by 2010 climate-driven wet cycle, now stabilized) is one of the densest perch + walleye + northern pike fisheries in the Upper Midwest — Devils Lake is a closed-basin terminal lake (no outflow to a river system; salinity has fluctuated from 4 ppt in dry cycles to <1 ppt in wet cycles), with ND G&F managing trophy walleye + perch + pike + white bass under the statewide bag limits (Devils Lake carries no special length or bag exception — the liberal statewide limits apply). Lake Audubon (14,500 acres adjacent to Lake Sakakawea, separated by the USACE Snake Creek Embankment — operated as a separate ND G&F fishery) carries trophy walleye + northern pike. Stump Lake (10,000 acres adjacent to Devils Lake — formed by the same 1990s wet-cycle expansion that connected Devils Lake to Stump Lake via the Tolna Coulee) carries trophy walleye + pike + perch. The Missouri River main stem (380-mile ND reach from the MT state line to the SD state line — including the 90-mile free-flowing reach between Garrison Dam tailwater + the head of Lake Oahe at Bismarck — one of the longest remaining free-flowing reaches of the Missouri River outside Montana) carries trophy walleye + sauger + smallmouth + channel catfish; the ND paddlefish snag-fishery (ND G&F Free Paddlefish Tag, season May 1 – May 21) is in the far-west reach — the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River west of the US Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border. The Red River of the North (550-mile ND/MN boundary from Wahpeton ND / Breckenridge MN downstream to the Manitoba Canadian border at Pembina ND) is the only US river that flows north — Red River carries trophy channel catfish (the Red River is widely regarded as one of North America's premier trophy channel catfish fisheries — channel cats routinely 15-25 lb, with 30+ lb fish reported annually — the cold-water + long-growing-season + nutrient-rich prairie geology produces channel cats much larger than the typical southern-US warm-water tier; the Red + Bois de Sioux boundary-water rule is 5 catfish / day regardless of the number of state or provincial licenses an angler holds), plus walleye + sauger + smallmouth + northern pike. ND state-record channel catfish 42 lb 1 oz (Moon Lake, Barnes County, 2009). The James River (270-mile ND main stem from Lake Jamestown south to the SD state line) and the Sheyenne River (640-mile ND main stem — the country's longest river that begins + ends in a single US state, draining the eastern ND prairie pothole region into the Red River at Fargo) round out the ND river tier. ND G&F statewide standard — North Dakota is a notably liberal, low-length-limit state: most game fish carry NO statewide minimum length, with the daily bag as the primary constraint, which is itself a distinctive ND fact for traveling anglers used to slot/size states. Walleye + sauger + saugeye combined 5 / day per angler (10 possession), NO statewide length limit — a 14-inch walleye/sauger minimum applies on only four waters (Lake Elsie in Richland County, Buffalo Lake in Sargent County including connected waters north to Sargent County Road 1, and Jamestown + Pipestem reservoirs in Stutsman County upstream to the first bridge crossing); zander are counted in the walleye / sauger / saugeye combination on Spiritwood + Alkali lakes (Stutsman County — North Dakota is the only US state with a zander fishery). Northern pike 5 / day per angler no minimum, 10 possession (Red + Bois de Sioux boundary rivers 3 / day, 3 possession). Largemouth + smallmouth bass combined 5 / day per angler (10 possession), NO statewide length limit. Muskellunge (pure or hybrid) 1 / day, 1 possession, 48-inch statewide minimum length (the single ND statewide size limit). Perch 20 / day per angler no minimum statewide (one of the most generous perch bags in the country; Kraft Slough reduced to 10 / day). Crappie 10 / day per angler no minimum; bluegill 10 / day; trout (brown / rainbow / cutthroat / lake / tiger combined) 3 / day; burbot (ling) 10 / day. White bass 20 / day per angler (40 possession), no minimum. Channel catfish 5 / day east of ND Hwy 1 (only 1 of which may be over 24 inches) / 20 / day west of ND Hwy 1 (Red + Bois de Sioux rivers 5 / day regardless of the number of state or provincial licenses held, only 1 over 24 inches), no minimum length. Chinook salmon 5 / day per angler no minimum on Lake Sakakawea. Paddlefish (ND G&F Free Paddlefish Tag + snag-fishing season May 1 – May 21 in the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River west of the US Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border; in-season closure possible on 24-hour notice). ND G&F stocks ~10 million walleye fry + fingerlings annually + ~500,000 chinook salmon + ~25 million sport fish across all life stages via the Garrison Dam + Valley City + Devils Lake State Fish Hatcheries. Real fees: $16 res annual fishing, $1 res Combined Fishing Stamp, $30 res combination fishing + hunting, $5 res 3-day, $0 res senior 65+ annual (FREE Fishing Licence at age 65 — ND G&F-distinctive senior program), $0 res under 16; $45 NR annual fishing, $25 NR Combined Fishing Stamp, $25 NR 10-day, $15 NR 3-day, $10 NR 1-day. Resident under 16 + age 65+ + permanently disabled + blind free.