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fishregs

2026 regulation year

Fishing Regulations by Water Body 2026Per-Lake & Per-River Rules

Last updated

Statewide fishing rules are not the whole story. 2597 named US waters across 51states publish slot limits, bag overrides, tournament-release mandates, gear restrictions, or reciprocity arrangements that override (or layer on top of) the statewide rule. Each state's most-regulated waters are listed below — open any state for its complete list, then read the controlling special regulation before launching.

For statewide rules in plain language see the state directory; for federal parks and tribal carve-outs see federal & tribal waters.

+23 more Alabama waters

+26 more Alaska waters

+24 more Arizona waters

+30 more Arkansas waters

+39 more California waters

+46 more Colorado waters

+16 more Connecticut waters

+10 more Delaware waters

+38 more Florida waters

+27 more Georgia waters

+10 more Hawaii waters

+22 more Idaho waters

+53 more Illinois waters

+31 more Indiana waters

+33 more Iowa waters

+26 more Kansas waters

+27 more Kentucky waters

+16 more Louisiana waters

+600 more Maine waters

+40 more Maryland waters

+9 more Massachusetts waters

+32 more Michigan waters

+40 more Minnesota waters

+52 more Mississippi waters

+35 more Missouri waters

+19 more Montana waters

+24 more Nebraska waters

+2 more Nevada waters

+33 more New Hampshire waters

+13 more New Jersey waters

+10 more New Mexico waters

+33 more New York waters

+33 more North Carolina waters

+9 more North Dakota waters

+48 more Ohio waters

+34 more Oklahoma waters

+38 more Oregon waters

+33 more Pennsylvania waters

+10 more Rhode Island waters

+36 more South Carolina waters

+21 more South Dakota waters

+28 more Tennessee waters

+60 more Texas waters

+36 more Utah waters

+9 more Vermont waters

+34 more Virginia waters

+35 more Washington waters

+34 more West Virginia waters

+34 more Wisconsin waters

+17 more Wyoming waters

How to read these pages

  • Each water-body page shows the rules that override or supplement the statewide rule for that specific lake, river, bay, sound, or reservoir. State-level rules (slot limits, daily bag, gear restrictions) still apply unless the water-body page calls out an override.
  • Rules are sourced from the state agency's published regulation booklet for 2026. Emergency in-season changes (closures, slot adjustments, harmful-algal-bloom suspensions) are tracked via each state's emergency-order channel below — verify with the agency before a trip during shoulder seasons.
  • We currently cover 51 states in deep mode. Coverage expands as we ingest more state booklets — see the directory for which states are deep vs. stub.

Closures hit individual water bodies first

Per-water-body slot revisions, summer drought hoot-owl closures, harmful-algal-bloom red-tide suspensions, low-flow rainbow-trout heat-stress pauses, and one-lake quota shutdowns all post to the state DFW emergency-order channel — not the statewide booklet. A reservoir with a 14–22 in slot in the booklet can be re-issued at 16–20 mid-season if recruitment surveys fall short; a marine bay can be closed for weeks when red tide spikes. Watch the agency feed for the state your target water sits in before any non-refundable trip.

Emergency-order feeds — 51 of 51 deep-coverage states · 48 email sign-ups