Fishing / Rules & after the catch
After the catch, and the fine print.
Measure right, tag your trophy, report what you must, and know the rules that change. A few minutes here keeps you legal and helps the fishery.
After the catch
Measure by total length
Texas measures total length: a straight line from the tip of the nose (mouth closed) to the tip of the tail. A cheap measuring sticker in your tackle box keeps you legal. Know your slot before you keep a fish.
Tag your trophy (saltwater)
If you keep an oversized redfish or spotted seatrout (over 28 inches), use your tag right away - cut the date on the paper tag and attach it, or log it in the Texas Hunt & Fish app.
Report when required
Report every alligator gar you keep within 24 hours (except from Falcon Reservoir). Other species may add reporting over time - check the official page.
Possession limit
Your possession limit (the most you can have after more than one day) is usually twice the daily limit. Keep fish identifiable - don't fillet them down to where the size can't be checked - until you reach the dock, your home, or your final stop.
Recent changes to know
- Spotted seatrout (2024): Limits tightened to a 15-20 inch slot and 3 fish per day after deadly winter freezes. This is the rule that changed most recently - confirm the exact inches before you keep one.
- Catfish (2021): Channel and blue catfish became 25 per day combined (only 10 of 20 inches or longer), with no minimum length, statewide.
- Flounder: There's a yearly closed season from November 1 to December 14 when you can't keep any flounder.
- Red snapper: The federal-water (offshore) season is reset every year by the federal government, so the dates move.
Lake-specific
Special-management waters
Some lakes and rivers have their own rules that override the statewide limits - trophy-bass slot limits on certain reservoirs, or the trout rules below Canyon Dam. Before fishing a specific lake, check the Exceptions to Statewide Limits page.
Exceptions to Statewide Limits ->Protect the water
Invasive species - Clean, Drain, Dry
Texas asks every boater and angler to help stop invasive species like zebra mussels and giant salvinia. Clean your boat and gear, drain all the water, and dry everything before moving to another lake.
- Draining all water from your boat - including the livewell, bilge, and bait bucket - before you leave a lake is the law (fines start at $500).
- You can't move live bait fish in water from the lake where you caught them.
- Live nongame fish can't be moved from certain designated waters, and some harmful species can't be possessed or released at all.
A Texas tradition
Toyota ShareLunker
Catch a largemouth bass 13 pounds or larger between January 1 and March 31, and you can loan it to TPWD's ShareLunker program to help breed bigger bass. They care for it and return or release it, and you get recognition. Smaller 'lunker' catch-and-release categories run all year. It's a fun way to be part of Texas bass history.
TPWD Toyota ShareLunker ->Back to the fish
Official sources
Measuring, possession, lake exceptions, invasive-species rules, and ShareLunker come from Texas Parks & Wildlife.
- Data vintage:
- Built on the 2025-2026 license year
- Last reviewed:
- June 15, 2026
- TPWD General Fishing Regulations - Measuring, possession, and transport
- TPWD Exceptions to Statewide Limits
- TPWD Clean, Drain, Dry
- TPWD Toyota ShareLunker
Caution: Rules change, and lake exceptions vary by water. The official TPWD pages are the final word.