Inland Trout Regulations

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Inland Trout Sizes & Limits
Species	Daily Bag Limit	Minimum Size
Brook Trout	5, any combination of brook, rainbow, or brown trout; no more than one may be brown trout	7 inches*
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
*There is no minimum size limit for trout caught from lakes, except for an 18-inch size limit for brown trout at Oliver, Olin, and Martin lakes in LaGrange County and Brookville Lake tailwater (East Fork Whitewater River) in Franklin County.

Indiana anglers have two options when it comes to trout fishing: inland waters and Lake Michigan and its tributaries. The following information covers regulations for inland trout fishing. Learn more about Lake Michigan trout and salmon regulations.

Lakes: There is no closed season for taking trout from inland lakes.

Streams: The opening day of trout season for inland streams, other than Lake Michigan tributaries, is the last Saturday in April. The season runs through Dec. 31. The start time is 6 a.m. local time. For details on trout stockings, visit the Indiana fish stocking page.

Catch-and-release applies to all trout streams from Jan. 1 through April 14. View the Lake Michigan Regulations page for special tributary restrictions and closure information for Lake Michigan streams.

A closed season for selected trout streams runs from April 15 to the last Saturday in April (opening day) while DNR staff complete the annual trout stockings. These streams include:

Pigeon River and Pigeon Creek in LaGrange County from the Steuben County line to CR 410 E (Troxel’s Bridge). This does not include the impoundment known as Mongo Mill Pond.
Harding Run, Curtis Creek, Bloody Run, and Graveyard Run (tributaries of Pigeon River) in LaGrange County
Turkey Creek north of CR 100 S in LaGrange County
Rainbow Pit located on Pigeon River Fish & Wildlife Area, approximately 1 mile east of Ontario in LaGrange County
Little Elkhart River and Rowe-Eden Ditch in LaGrange County
Solomon Creek and Cobus Creek in Elkhart County
Little Kankakee River in LaPorte County from CR 800 E upstream to Division Road
Spy Run Creek within Franke Park in Allen County
Mississinewa River within the boundaries of the Randolph County Wildlife Management Area
Big Blue River within the boundaries of Wilbur Wright Fish & Wildlife Area in Henry County

The following three streams in Elkhart County (totaling 2.8 miles) are designated as year-round “catch-and-release only” and “artificial lures or flies only” trout fishing areas:

Little Elkhart River from CR 43 downstream to CR 16, except for waters along Riverbend Park from CR 16 upstream to the pedestrian footbridge
Solomon Creek from CR 33 downstream to the Elkhart River
Cobus Creek from Old U.S. 20 downstream to the St. Joseph River

Brown Trout Minimum Size Limit Waters: There is an 18-inch minimum size limit at Oliver, Olin, and Martin lakes in LaGrange County, and the Brookville Lake tailwater in Franklin County.

Indiana DNR informational flyer on box turtle protection and poaching prevention. The left section emphasizes that box turtles are protected in Indiana and cannot be taken from the wild, as they are difficult to care for and cannot be legally released after captivity. It includes a reporting hotline (812-837-9536) and a link to box turtle regulations. The right section focuses on stopping wildlife poaching, encouraging people to report poachers anonymously via the Turn In a Poacher (TIP) hotline at 1-800-TIP-IDNR. Rewards of up to $500 are available for tips leading to arrests. Poaching and pollution-related crimes can be reported 24/7. More details at tip.IN.gov. — The Indiana DNR reminds residents that box turtles are protected and illegal to remove from the wild. Additionally, the Turn In a Poacher (TIP) hotline allows anonymous reporting of wildlife crimes, with rewards of up to $500 for tips leading to arrests.