Freshwater Fishing

No fish of any species from outside of the state of Louisiana shall be liberated within the state
except upon written permission of the Secretary of LDWF.

License Requirements

All anglers fishing in freshwater must possess a valid Basic Recreational Fishing License.

A Basic Recreational Fishing License is also required to use the following gear:

• Bow and arrow
• Barbed or barbless spear -
• Frog gig/catcher -

All applicable licenses must be in possession of the fisherman.

• Scuba gear
• Hook and Line -
• Cast net (radius not to exceed 8 feet, 6 inches)
• Hoop nets (limit of five)
• Slat traps (limit of five)
• Wire nets (limit of five)
• Minnow/bream traps
• Hand-grabbing

Freshwater Species you Cannot Harvest

The federally listed threatened and endangered, or prohibited species listed below are off limits for recreational take. Civil and criminal penalties may apply for taking the following aquatic species.

• Louisiana Pearlshell Mussel (Margaritifera hembeli)
• Inflated Heelsplitter Mussel (Potamilus inflatus)
• Fat Pocketbook Mussel (Potamilus capax)
• Pink Mucket Mussel (Lampsilis abrupta)

• Rabbitsfoot Mussel (Theliderma cylindrica)
• Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi)
• Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus)
• Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus)

Prohibited Freshwater Species

It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to possess, sell, or transport any of the following species of fish into Louisiana without first obtaining the written permission of the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

• All species of tilapia
• Carp (except koi, common carp and goldfish)
• Freshwater electric eel
• Rudd
• All members of the families of Asian swamp eels, snakeheads, walking catfishes, and pencil catfishes

Exotic species of Asian carp (silver, bighead, black and grass) taken from state waters must not be returned to the water alive and may not be possessed alive.

No person shall have in possession or sell in this state a piranha, Rio Grande cichlid or apple snail. If an angler catches a Rio Grande cichlid using legal methods, the fish shall not be returned to the water or kept alive while in the possession of the angler.

AQUATIC PLANTS

It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to possess, import, or transport any of the following species of aquatic plants into Louisiana without first obtaining the written permission of the secretary of LDWF.

• African Elodea
• Aquatic Soda Apple
• Asian Marshweed
• Australian Pine
• Brazilian Elodea
• Crested Floating Heart
• Duck Lettuce
• Elodea
• Eurasian Watermilfoil
• False Pickerelweeds
• Giant Duckweed
• Giant Sensitive Fern
• Hydrilla
• Indian Swampweed
• Kapok Tree
• Marine Naiad and Slender Naiad
• Paragrass
• Purple Loosestrife
• Roundleaf Toothcup
• Salvinia species
• Torpedograss
• Water Chestnut
• Water Clovers
• Water Hyacinth
• Water Lettuce
• Water Snowflake
• Water Spinach
• Yellow Floating Heart

Daily Bag Limit

Recreational anglers must not exceed the daily bag limit for any species while on the water.

Possession Limit

No recreational anglers can have in their possession more than twice the daily bag limit of any species of freshwater fish. Exceptions to this rule include: anglers at Toledo Bend Reservoir may have in their possession up to 100 crappie.

All freshwater game fish caught in any type of recreational or commercial net or trap must be returned immediately to the water from which it was taken without injury, with the exception of bream caught in a legal bream trap not exceeding 24” in length and having a throat no larger than 1 inch by 3 inches. See tips for safely releasing fish at www.wlf.la.gov/page/best-fishing-practices.

No person shall possess filleted fish while aboard a vessel in freshwater. However, for the purpose of consumption, a person shall have no more than 2 pounds of filleted finfish per person on board a vessel in freshwater, provided that the vessel is equipped to cook such finfish and such finfish does not exceed the applicable take limit.

There are many ways to catch fish and other aquatic species in Louisiana’s beautiful rivers, lakes, bayous, ponds and streams. The headings below define the legal methods and illegal methods of take, and certain exceptions that are allowable by species, methods and locations.

Always check with an LDWF Enforcement Office if you have questions. See Department of Wildlife & Fisheries for contact information.

Legal Methods of Take

• Hook and line
• Bow and arrow -
• Yo-yos or trigger devices
• Recreational slat traps -
• Recreational crawfish traps (must have a minimum mesh size of a hexagon of 3/4 by 11/16 of 1 inch from wire to wire not including any coating on the wire).
• Standard spearing equipment (used by recreational skin divers submerged in water when sport fishing)
• Barbed gig (allowed in saltwater for taking flounder ONLY)
• Recreational hoop nets¹
• Recreational wire nets¹
• Hand-grabbing (noodling)²
• Bream traps³

1 Allowed only in the geographical areas of the state designated as Freshwater (see map and definition on General Information).

2 Allowed for catfish

3 Must be no longer that 24 inches with a throat no greater than 1 by 3 inches

Illegal Methods for Fishing or taking All Fish

It is unlawful to possess any of the prohibited instruments, weapons, substances or devices described below with the intent to take fish.

• Poisons
• Spears (see garfish, silver carp and bighead carp exception listed in “Gear Restrictions by Species” section)
• Stupefying substances or devices
• Explosives
• Guns
• Any instrument or device capable of producing electric current to shock fish
• Snagging devices (see catfish, silver carp, and big head carp exceptions listed below)

You may not use any aircraft including fixed-wing, dirigibles, balloons, helicopters, or any other form of aerial surveillance to assist in harvesting finfish, except menhaden and herring-like fish.

Gear Restrictions by Species

Some alternative methods are allowed for catching/taking specific aquatic species.

Freshwater Game fish

Game fish are defined as largemouth bass, spotted bass, shadow bass, yellow bass, white bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass, black crappie, white crappie, and bream.

LEGAL

• Bream (Lepomis spp.) may be taken as bait for sportfishing purposes (non-commercial bait) using a trap not exceeding 24 inches in length and having a throat no larger than 1 inch by 3 inches.

NOT LEGAL

• Standard spearing equipment used by recreational skin divers is prohibited.
• Bow and arrow
• Possession of game fish1 with nets or traps including recreational hoop nets, slat traps, pipes, buckets, drums, tires or cans including those licensed for recreational purposes.

Catfish

Legal

• Snagging devices
• Hand-grabbing (noodling)

Paddlefish (commonly called “spoonbill catfish,” but are not catfish)

NOT Legal - snagging devices

Garfish

Legal

• Spears
• Bows and arrows

Legal Bait Species

Including minnows, crawfish and shrimp (does not include game fish¹)

Legal

• Cast nets
• Minnow traps
• Recreational trawls
• Dip nets (net must be on a fixed frame no larger than 3 feet in diameter worked exclusively by hand, by no more than one person, without any mechanical assistance)
• Bait seines (with a maximum mesh size not exceeding 1/4 inch bar, 1/2 inch stretched and 30 feet in length; must be operated solely on foot and by hand, without any pulley, mechanical device or assistance whatsoever)

Silver Carp & Bighead Carp

Legal

• Boats
• Dip nets
• Spears
• Snagging

1With the exception of bream caught in a legal bream trap not exceeding 24 inches in length and having a throat no larger than 1 inch by 3 inches.

Restrictions and Exceptions by Method

HOOP NETS, WIRE NETS AND SLAT TRAPS

• Must be marked with user’s full name and fishing license number on a waterproof tag attached directly to the device

YO-YOS, TRIGGER DEVICES, TROTLINES, LIMB LINES, JUG LINES AND ALL PASSIVE DEVICES CONTAINING A HOOK OR HOOKS

• No more than 50 yo-yos, trigger devices, limb lines, or floating devices containing a hook or hooks are allowed per person
• At any given time, no person shall set more than 150 hooks on all trotlines, combined.
• All passive hooked gear shall be clearly tagged with the name and telephone number, and fishing license number of the owner or user. Information must be attached with a waterproof tag or written directly on the device in indelible ink.
• Each hook shall be rebaited at least once every 24 hours, and all fish and any other animal caught, entangled, ensnared or hooked, shall be immediately removed from the device.
• Except for those devices that are attached to a privately owned pier, boathouse, seawall or dock, gear must be removed from the waterbody immediately by the owner or user when not in use.
• Where allowed and when not in use, objects sourced from another location used to anchor passive hooked gear which are driven into or attached to the lake bottom, a stump, tree, or the shoreline must be removed from the waterbody along with the passive devices by the user.
• No driven or attached objects used to attach passive hooked gear shall be larger than 2 inches by 2 inches or two inches in diameter.
• No metal object which is driven into or attached to the lake bottom, a stump, tree, or the shoreline shall be used to anchor a passive hooked gear, except for a metal object used strictly in the construction of a pier, boathouse, seawall, dock or a retrievable anchor not attached to the bottom.
• All trotlines shall have a cotton leader on each end of the trotline.

Divers

LEGAL

• Standard spearing equipment is the only legal method of take for non-game species that can be used by a skin diver submerged in water

NOT LEGAL

• The taking of gamefish with standard spearing equipment is prohibited.

Mobility Impaired Individuals

Mobility impaired persons that are bona fide residents of Louisiana in possession of valid identification, and over 60 years of age, must purchase the applicable license.

Restrictions by Location

Some Louisiana waterbodies have specific gear restrictions and are listed below.