Nevada fishing rules
License, gear, and the statewide limits NDOW publishes for major species. Water-specific rules replace these numbers. Last checked October 2026.
License
- Who needs one
- Anyone 12 or older must have a fishing license in possession while in the field. People under 12 are not required to have one under that sentence on the license page. Licenses can be bought online any time. Commission Regulation 25-16 sets seasons and limits for January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. The possession limit is two times the daily limit for the water where the fish were caught, including processed fish stored anywhere. Fish released immediately and alive do not count.
- Residents
- The license page lists resident prices and does not, on that page, define how long a person must live in Nevada to buy them. Resident annual fishing for ages 18 and older is $40. A resident youth hunt-and-fish combination for ages 12–17 is $15. A one-day fishing permit for ages 18 and older is $9, and each consecutive day is $3. A resident senior specialty hunt-and-fish combination, age 65 or older with six months of residency, is $15. That six-month note is printed only on the senior specialty line.
- Nonresidents
- Nonresident annual fishing for ages 18 and older is $80. The nonresident youth hunt-and-fish combination for ages 12–17 is $15. A one-day nonresident permit for ages 18 and older is $18, and each consecutive day is $7. An annual Nevada interstate boundary-waters license is $30. The page does not add a separate nonresident residency narrative beyond these prices.
- Free fishing days
- NDOW’s Free Fishing Day in 2026 is Saturday, June 13. No fishing license is required for adults or children on public waters that day. Seasons, limits, closures, and every other regulation still apply. The department’s news release also says June 13 is Nevada State Parks Adventure Day, so admission to state parks is free that day.
Seasons and closures
2026–2027 regulation period
CR 25-16, approved by the Board of Wildlife Commissioners, is the season and limit regulation for January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. Most county waters are open year-round at any hour. Exceptions set shorter seasons, such as Fort Churchill Cooling Pond from the second Saturday in February through September 30, Hobart Reservoir May 1–October 31, and Marlette Lake July 15–September 30. A March 1–June 30 catch-and-release period applies to black bass at Wildhorse and South Fork reservoirs.
Read the county, then the water
Closed waters are listed before the general county limit. If a reservoir, river reach, or pond is named, that row replaces the county “all waters” line. Lake Tahoe and its tributaries are often limited to one hour before sunrise until two hours after sunset, with a 5-game-fish daily limit and 10 in possession on the rows that state those numbers. Amendment 1 to CR 25-16, circulated in September 2026, proposes seasons for Flying M Pond in Lyon County; the fetched amendment text is a proposal before the Commission, so those pond limits are not treated here as already in force.
Where to confirm gear
Season and bag numbers for 2026–2027 are in CR 25-16. The method-of-take statute is NRS 503.290. Bait regions are NAC 503.502 and 503.504. Spear and bow details for unprotected fish and for striped bass are NAC 503.580 through 503.592. NDOW’s rules page points anglers to the current fishing regulations before they pick a water.
Legal gear
Hooks and barbless rules
NRS 503.290 limits fishing to hook and line attached to a rod or reel and closely attended, in the manner known as angling, unless the Commission authorizes another method. A hook under that statute is not more than three baited hooks, not more than three fly hooks, or not more than two plugs or similar lures. No more than two plugs or lures may be on the line, no matter how many hooks or blades are on them. There is no statewide barbless rule. The 2026 Truckee River angler guide requires artificial lures with single barbless hooks from the E Mustang Road bridge downstream to Derby Dam and from 1,000 feet below Derby Dam to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation boundary. NAC 503.590 limits Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and the Colorado River to two hooks for bait or flies.
Rods per angler
NRS 503.290 allows not more than two combinations of hook, line, and rod at one time. Ice-fishing holes may not exceed 10 inches in diameter under NAC 503.583. A December 2025 Legislative Commission regulation, CGR 528, adds a larger hole only for ice fishing by spear or bow for northern pike at Comins Lake: no more than 12 inches wide and 24 inches long, one hole per site, and the removed ice must be put back.
Nets
Game fish are taken by angling. NAC 503.580 allows unprotected fish to be taken by dip net, cast net, minnow seine, or minnow trap, as well as by bow, hook and line, and spear where spear is not prohibited. Those nets are not a game-fish method. The pages checked do not set a statewide landing-net size.
Snagging
Snagging is not listed as a legal method in NRS 503.290 or in the Commission gear sections that were fetched. Fishing other than closely attended hook-and-line angling is unlawful unless a Commission regulation authorizes it. No snagging season was in CR 25-16.
Spearing and bow
Unprotected fish may be taken by bow and arrow and, except where spear is specifically prohibited, by spear. Bullfrogs may be taken by the methods in NRS 503.290 and also by hand or gig, and not by firearm or airgun. Spearfishing for striped bass is legal in Lake Mead and in the Lake Mohave stretch NAC 503.591 describes, and it is prohibited in the stretches that section closes, including from Cottonwood Cove to Davis Dam and from Davis Dam to the state line. In Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and the Colorado River, spear and bow are prohibited within one-half mile of a dock or swimming area. A mechanical spear used while swimming or diving has to stay in the hand, use rubber, spring, or pneumatic power, and have the spear on a lanyard. County weapon ordinances can add another layer.
Bait and live transport
A licensed angler, or a person who does not need a license, may capture, transport, and use bait for fishing or personal consumption, and may not sell it. Game fish and protected fish may not be used as bait. Aquatic bait other than salamanders or saltwater mudsuckers may be used only in the water where it was taken. Aquatic life may be imported only with prior department approval. Live bait fish in the Western Region, which is Carson City and Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Storey, Pershing, and Washoe counties, may be used only in the river basin where they were taken and only in the waters NAC 503.504 lists, including named parts of the Carson, Humboldt, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Walker systems. Bait from a Nevada live-bait dealer must have a currently dated receipt. CGR 528, approved in December 2025, revises which fish and fish parts may be used as bait and when live aquatic bait may be used; the operative text is that amendment plus NAC 503.502.
Bag and size limits
These are the statewide or default limits. A named lake, river, or marine area can replace every figure below.
No single statewide bag
CR 25-16 sets limits by county and by water for January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. Possession is twice the daily limit of the water where the fish were caught. A pattern on many county “all waters” lines, including Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe, is 5 trout, 5 mountain whitefish, and 15 warmwater game fish of which not more than 5 may be black bass and 5 may be walleye, any hour, open year-round, with possession of 10 trout, 10 whitefish, and 30 warmwater game fish. That line does not cover the named exceptions in the same county.
Eastern and southern counties
Clark, Esmeralda, and Nye county general lines in CR 25-16 are 10 trout and 15 warmwater game fish of which not more than 10 may be black bass, possession 20 trout and 30 warmwater game fish. Elko, Eureka, and White Pine general lines are 5 trout, 5 mountain whitefish, and 15 warmwater game fish of which not more than 10 may be black bass, with no limit on northern pike or yellow perch. Individual reservoirs replace these county lines.
Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and the Colorado River
CR 25-16 sets Lake Mead and Lake Mohave at 5 trout, 6 black bass, 25 catfish, and 15 crappie a day, with no limit on striped bass and other game fish, and possession of 10 trout, 12 black bass, 50 catfish, and 30 crappie. Below Davis Dam the daily limit is 5 trout, 6 black bass, 10 striped bass, and 25 catfish, and black bass must be at least 13 inches. The Virgin and Muddy river systems are 5 trout, 6 black bass, 25 catfish, 15 crappie, and 20 striped bass. Hours are any hour of the day or night. Closed water includes posted areas immediately above and below Hoover and Davis dams.
Urban ponds and special trout water
Many community ponds, including Clark County’s Boulder City, Sunset Park, Floyd Lamb, Lorenzi, and Hafen Lane ponds, are 3 game fish while the park is open, possession 6. The Truckee River general daily limit in CR 25-16 is 3 game fish, and from the E Mustang Road bridge to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation boundary it is 3 game fish of which 1 may be trout. Derby Dam downstream 1,000 feet is closed. Marlette Lake is catch-and-release only for trout, July 15–September 30. Snake Range high lakes are catch-and-release, zero trout. Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, in the Elko and White Pine sections, is 5 trout and 5 black bass, black bass at least 10 inches, from January 1 through June 14 under the hours printed in that row.