Nebraska commissioners approve five-panfish limit and Open Fields bass rule

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission voted Oct. 16 in Kearney to approve the sportfishing order amendments it had on its agenda. The agency’s news release says the orders cover daily bag limits, possession limits and open areas.

The approved changes give lakes and ponds in the Open Fields and Waters program one statewide set of rules. The black bass rule stays at a 21-inch minimum length and one fish a day. The panfish daily bag drops to five fish unless a sign at the water says otherwise. The amendments also allow catch-and-release-only rules at selected Open Fields and Waters lakes and ponds. Separately, the orders prohibit taking shovelnose sturgeon by archery in inland waters and in the Missouri River.

Open Fields and Waters pays landowners who let the public walk in to hunt, fish and trap. The release says more than 466,000 acres are enrolled. Commission staff also briefed the board on Interstate 80 Lakes fisheries management, including how the lakes were made and recent habitat and angler access projects. The release does not give an effective date for the fishing changes. Game and Parks points anglers to the regulations page at OutdoorNebraska.gov for the orders as proposed.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission — Commissioners approve sportfishing orders (Jerry Kane, Oct. 16, 2026).