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Laws & Licensing
Regulations, licenses, seasons, closures, and enforcement. Full archive — the homepage keeps a brief for 24 hours after it is published, and it stays on this page after that.
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Laws & LicensingNews deskOn Sept. 2, Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler published NOAA Fisheries’ agency-level priorities under Executive Order 14276, drawn from 787 public comments and framed as a bridge to a forthcoming America First Seafood Strategy.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told a Sept. 24 meeting at Lake Pueblo State Park it wants ambient-based temperature standards on the Arkansas River below Pueblo Dam for July through December, while January–June cold-water standards stay in place for the stocked trout tailwater and the Pueblo hatchery.
The Natural Resources Board adopted a final rule Wednesday so the DNR can put a one-fish walleye bag, an 18-inch minimum, and a 22–28 inch protected slot on lakes where juvenile counts have collapsed, without a two-year rulemaking wait.
SCDNR’s 2026 recreational red snapper season runs Oct. 9–22 at one fish per person and a 20-inch minimum, under an exempted fishing permit capped at 8,695 fish. The free experimental permit opens on GoOutdoorsSC on Oct. 2, with VESL trip reports required.
Idaho Fish and Game’s salvage order for Lamont and Johnson Reservoirs in Franklin County runs Sept. 8 through Dec. 31, 2026. Bag, size, and rod limits are suspended; a license is still required, and live fish may not leave the water.
NMDGF set Free Fishing Weekend for Sept. 26–27, 2026 — no license required in public fishing waters those two days, which also mark National Hunting and Fishing Day. Bag limits and all other rules still apply.
WDFW is keeping the 2026 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery open through Oct. 11 at Cathlamet, Washougal, Stevenson, The Dalles, Boyer Park, and Swallows Park. Other stations still close after Sept. 30.
Texas Parks and Wildlife has classified Lake Fort Phantom Hill, north of Abilene, as fully infested with zebra mussels as of Sept. 1 — the state's strongest designation. KACU reported the find Sept. 17. Drinking water is safe; the worry is intakes and boats.
No salmon fishing in Lake Washington from Sept. 16 until further notice — north of the 520 bridge, east of Montlake, and on the lower Sammamish River — after Ballard Locks counts showed a smaller-than-forecast coho return.
Idaho’s new fall bags are now in force: only adipose-clipped adult Chinook, daily limit still three; steelhead cut to two a day on the Snake, Salmon, and Little Salmon, with a one-over-28-inch cap on the Clearwater system.
DCNR is drawing down 198-acre Lackawanna State Park lake for high-hazard dam rehab. PFBC eased keep rules — license and legal methods still required — because there was no fish salvage on the tight timeline.
FWC matched NOAA’s 2026 Gulf gag calendar: state waters excluding Monroe County, and the federal Gulf EEZ, are open Sept. 1–30 and close at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1. Minimum 24 inches TL; two gag in the four-grouper bag. SEDAR 72 still lists the stock overfished and overfishing.
WDFW’s Lake Roosevelt white sturgeon retention season runs Sept. 16–Nov. 30 from Grand Coulee Dam to the Canadian border: 55–63 inches fork, daily 1, annual 2 statewide, CRC code 549, night closed.
ODFW will take 2027 recreational bottomfish and Pacific halibut seasons to four public meetings Oct. 5–8. Agenda includes 2026 recap, bag and season structure, possible limited yelloweye retention after the NMFS rebuilt finding, and September PFMC halibut proposals.
Massachusetts Environmental Police, on a Coast Guard tip near Ryders Cove on Aug. 5, found 18 commercial striped bass on a closed day — six under 35 inches and twice the daily commercial limit. 324 pounds forfeited after a civil libel hearing.