Indiana Fishing Regulations: Bag Limits, Size Limits and Seasons
These are the statewide daily bag limits and length limits Indiana anglers work under, taken from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) guide for 2026 Indiana Fishing Regulation Guide (updated February 19, 2026). Statewide means the default: most states, Indiana included, override these on specific lakes, rivers and coastal zones, so treat this page as the baseline and the official guide as the rule for the water you are standing on.
Most Indiana water is open year-round. Inland trout streams are the exception: harvest opens at 6 a.m. on the last Saturday in April and runs through December 31, streams are catch and release only from January 1 to April 14, and they close from April 15 to opening day for stocking. Possession limit is twice the daily bag. You will still need the Indiana fishing license, which runs $23 for residents and $60 for non-residents; the Indiana fishing license page covers short-term options, exemptions and where to buy.
Limits last verified 2026-09-16.
Indiana freshwater bag and length limits
| Species | Daily bag | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass (lakes) | 5 combined | 14 in. minimum |
| Black bass (rivers and streams)Only 2 of the 5 may be over 15 inches. | 5 combined | No fish 12-15 in. |
| Crappie | 25 | None |
| Bluegill | No limit | None |
| Redear sunfish | 25 | None |
| Rock bass | 25 | None |
| Walleye, sauger and saugeyeBass, Wolf, George and Wall lakes carry their own walleye rules. | 6 combined | Walleye 14 in. minimum south of SR 26, 16 in. north |
| Northern pikeOnly 1 over 30 inches. | 3 | 24 in. minimum |
| Muskellunge and tiger muskie | 1 | 36 in. minimum |
| White bass and hybrid striped bassOnly 2 may be over 17 inches. | 12 combined | None |
| Striped bass | 2 | None |
| Catfish (channel, blue and flathead), lakesOnly 1 channel catfish 28 in. or longer, and 1 each of blue and flathead catfish 35 in. or longer, per day. | 10 combined | None |
| Catfish (channel, blue and flathead), rivers and streamsSame one-a-day rule on large catfish as lakes. | No limit | 13 in. minimum |
| Yellow perch15 per day on Lake Michigan. | No limit | None |
| Inland trout (streams)Brook, rainbow and brown trout; only 1 may be a brown trout. | 5 combined | 7 in. minimum |
How to read a bag limit
A daily bag limit is the number of that species one angler may keep in a day, and in most states also the number you may have in possession on the water. Where a row says "combined", the number is shared across every species named in it. A minimum length is measured from the tip of the closed mouth to the tip of the tail with the tail pinched; a slot means fish inside the range must go back. When a lake has its own rule in the official guide, that rule replaces the statewide one for that water only.
Related: the Indiana fishing license page for the fee and where to buy, non-resident fishing license fees across states, and fishing regulations for every state.