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Florida

Freshwater Fishing

Freshwater Fishing

Freshwater Fish of Florida

Florida freshwater fishes are divided into game fish that have specific bag and length limits and may only be taken with pole-and-line or rod-and-reel, and nongame fish, which are all others. A license is required to take nongame fish, but additional gear types are allowed (see Bag & Length Limits). Nonnative fish are those that do not occur in Florida naturally; most should be harvested and never released. Exceptions are peacock bass, which is a game fish, and triploid grass carp, which are stocked for vegetation control. Where applicable, state record (SR) weights and the Big Catch (BC) qualifying length or weight for adults are provided below. See Angler Recognition Programs or BigCatchFlorida.com for more details including youth qualifying sizes, slams, specialist, master, elite angler and the TrophyCatch citizen-science rewards program.

For details on state records and angler recognition programs visit: BigCatchFlorida.com

Florida Nonnative Nongame Fish