FWC Freshwater Regulations - Brief Summary

Game and Nongame Freshwater Fish
Game Fish - black bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, warmouth, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, mud sunfish, longear sunfish, shadow bass, peacock bass, white bass, striped bass and sunshine bass.

Nongame Fish - all freshwater fish, including catfish, are defined as non-game fish, except grass carp and fish defined as freshwater game fish above.

Methods of Taking Bait
Freshwater shrimp and golden shiners of any size, or other freshwater nongame fish, including catfish, less than 8-inches total length may be taken for bait, unless specifically prohibited, by the following methods:

■Cast nets having a stretched mesh size not greater than 1 inch in fresh waters of the state unless specifically prohibited.

■Minnow dip nets not more than 4 feet in diameter.

■Minnow seines having a stretched mesh size not greater than 1 inch, a length not more than 20 feet, and a depth not more than 4 feet.

■Minnow traps not more than 24 inches in length and 12 inches in diameter, with a funnel entrance not more than 1 inch in spread.

■Any game fish taken by these methods must be released immediately.

Use of Fish for Bait
■Black bass, peacock bass or any part thereof may not be used as bait.

■Live non-native fishes (including goldfish and carp) may not be used as bait, except for variable platys and fathead minnows.

■Whole pickerel or panfish (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by the angler who caught them. Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line.

■Panfish less than 4 inches in total length raised by a licensed aquaculture facility may be purchased and used for bait.

General Daily Bag and Length Limits

5 Black bass (largemouth, Suwannee, spotted, and shoal bass, individually or in total), only one of which may be 22 inches or longer in total length.

■In south Florida: only one bass may be 14 inches in total length or longer.
■South and east of the Suwannee River: black bass less than 14 inches in total length must be released immediately.
■In the Suwannee River, areas north and west of the Suwannee River, and in any tributary river, creek or stream of the Suwannee River: black bass less than 12 inches in total length must be released immediately.

50 Panfish including bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), flier, longear sunfish, mud sunfish, shadow bass, spotted sunfish (stumpknockers), warmouth and redbreast sunfish, individually or in total.

25 Black Crappie (speckled perch).

20 Striped bass, white bass, and sunshine bass (individually or in total), of which only 6 may be 24 inches or longer in total length.

■In the Suwannee River, areas north and west of the Suwannee River, and in any tributary, creek or stream of the Suwannee River: the bag limit for striped bass is 3, each of which must be at least 18 inches in total length (20 fish combined bag limit).

2 Butterfly peacock bass, only one of which may be 17 inches or longer in total length.

It is illegal to possess grass carp or alligator gar without a permit.
Possession limit is two days' bag limit.