Statutes, codes, and regulations
Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 800 - Department of Wildlife ConservationChapter 10 - Sport Fishing Rules
Subchapter 1 - Harvest and Possession Limits
Section 800:10-1-4 - Size and bag limits on fish

Okla. Admin. Code § 800:10-1-4

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Current through Vol. 42, No. 8, January 2, 2025
Section 800:10-1-4 - Size and bag limits on fish

There are no length or bag (harvest) limit restrictions on any game or nongame fish taken from waters of this state, except as follows:

(1) General provisions for size limits and bag limits- All fish not kept must be returned to the water unharmed immediately.
(A) Size limits (measured as total length, unless specified) are minimum limits unless specified.
(B) Release of striped bass, striped bass hybrids, trout, paddlefish, or alligator gar caught and placed on a stringer, in a live well or otherwise held in possession is prohibited statewide (no culling).
(C) Persons fishing trotlines or throwlines must release all fish on their lines except those held in possession for their daily limit, before leaving the trotline or throwline.
(D) Fish taken by bow and arrow, gig, spear, or speargun shall count towards the daily bag limit, and any carcasses or remains shall be properly disposed of (OAC 800:10-5-6 p and 29 O.S. 7-205, 7-403).
(E) Bag limits for fish can be superseded and set by Commission resolution 29 O.S. 6-302(B) and will be published in the Oklahoma Fishing and Hunting Regulations.
(F) "Close To Home" waters have an aggregate bag limit of three (3) combined of all panfish species and their hybrids, trout species, and/or channel catfish. Other species are subject to statewide limits.
(2) Large mouth bass and small mouth bass statewide bag limit is six (6) in aggregate, of which only one (1) may exceed sixteen (16) inches, except
(A) Waters where harvest of large mouth bass is prohibited include: Doc Hollis Lake.
(B) Waters with a fourteen (14) inch minimum size limit for spotted bass include: Blue River Public Fishing Area.
(C) Waters with a fourteen (14) inch minimum size limit on large mouth bass and small mouth bass and a bag limit of six (6) large mouth bass, small mouth bass, and/or spotted bass (in aggregate), of which only one (1) may be a small mouth bass include: rivers and streams statewide.
(D) Waters with a fourteen (14) inch minimum size limit and a bag limit of five (5) large mouth bass and/or small mouth bass (in aggregate) include: Lake Texoma.
(E) When an individual angler possesses a tournament exemption authorized by the Department, daily bag and size limits may deviate from those listed here. Instructions for the tournament exemption application process will be provided in the Oklahoma Fishing and Hunting Regulations and on the Department website.
(3) Crappie (black crappie and/or white crappie, in aggregate) statewide bag limit is thirty-seven (37), except
(A) Waters with a ten (10) inch minimum size limit on crappie include: Arbuckle, Tenkiller, Hudson, Texoma, Ft. Gibson (including all tributaries and upstream to Markham Ferry Dam), and Grand Lake (including all tributaries to the state line).
(B) Waters with a bag limit of six (6) crappie include: Blue River Public Fishing Area.
(C) Waters with a bag limit of fifteen (15) crappie include: Arbuckle, Tenkiller, Hudson, Ft. Gibson (including all tributaries and upstream to Markham Ferry Dam), and Grand Lake (including all tributaries to the state line).
(4) Forked tail catfish (blue catfish and/or channel catfish, in aggregate) statewide bag limit is fifteen (15) with only one (1) blue catfish greater than thirty (30) inches, except waters with a bag limit of six (6) forked tail catfish include: all U.S. Forest Service and State Park lakes (except Lake Murray) as well as the Fourche Maline River within the boundaries of Robbers Cave State Park from Carlton Lake Dam downstream to the southern park boundary, all Department Management Area ponds and fishing areas, and all waters within the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
(5) Flathead catfish statewide bag limit is five (5).
(6) Walleye, sauger, and/or saugeye (in aggregate) statewide minimum size limit is fourteen (14) inches and bag limit is six (6), except
(A) Waters with no walleye, sauger, or saugeye size limit include: Great Salt Plains Reservoir (and tailwater).
(B) Waters with a sixteen (16) inch minimum size limit for walleye, sauger, and/or saugeye include: the Arkansas River, including all reservoirs and unimpounded tributaries from Keystone Dam downstream to the Oklahoma state line.
(C) Waters with an eighteen (18) inch minimum size limit for walleye, sauger, and/or saugeye include: Atoka Bluestem, Bluestem, Carl Blackwell, Healdton, Ponca City, Shell, Sooner, and Thunder bird Reservoirs (and their respective tail waters).
(7) Rainbow trout, brown trout, and/or other trout species (in aggregate) statewide bag limit is three (3), except
(A) Waters where the daily bag limit may include only one (1) rainbow trout greater than twenty-five (25) inches and one (1) brown trout which must be greater than thirty (30) inches include: the lower Mountain Fork River trout area. Waters where the daily bag limit is one (1) rainbow trout which must be greater than twenty-five (25) inches and one brown trout which must be greater than thirty (30) inches include: the lower Mountain Fork trout area downstream of the State Park Dam. Fish kept from these waters count towards the bag limit for the entire lower Mountain Fork trout area.
(B) Waters where the daily bag limit is one (1) rainbow trout greater than twenty (20) inches include: the lower Illinois River trout area from the USGS stream gauge downstream to the gravel pit county road.
(C) Waters where the daily bag limit may include only one (1) brown trout greater than twenty (20) inches include: the lower Illinois River trout area.
(D) Waters where harvest of rainbow trout is prohibited from November 1 to March 1 include: the Blue River from its entry onto the Plaster Wildlife Management Unit/Landrum Wilderness downstream approximately 1/2 mile to a marker cable.
(8) Striped bass statewide bag limit is five (5), except as designated in OAC 800:10-1-4(9). Waters with a twenty (20) inch minimum size limit on striped bass include: Sooner Reservoir.
(9) Striped bass hybrid statewide bag limit is twenty (20), of which only five (5) may be greater than twenty (20) inches, except
(A) Waters where the bag limit is ten (10) striped bass and/or striped bass hybrids (in aggregate), of which only two (2) may be greater than twenty (20) inches include: Lake Texoma.
(B) Waters where the bag limit is five (5) striped bass and/or striped bass hybrids (in aggregate), of which only two (2) may be greater than twenty (20) inches include: Arcadia Lake and Skiatook Lake.
(10) White bass bag limit is twenty-five (25) in Lake Texoma.
(11) The statewide daily bag limit for paddlefish is one (1) per day, statewide. The catch and release of paddlefish is permitted by use of rod and reel, trotline and throwlines.
(A) Individual annual harvest limit- An individual harvest limit for paddlefish may be set or amended annually by the Wildlife Conservation Commission and will be listed in the Oklahoma Fishing and Hunting Regulations. Special area (or management unit) paddlefish harvest caps, a general statewide paddlefish harvest cap, and the total number of paddlefish permits issued may be set or amended annually by the Wildlife Conservation Commission for use in determining the individual annual harvest limit. Once an individual angler has reached their annual harvest limit, continued catch and release is permitted.
(B) Paddlefish permit- An annual paddlefish permit issued by the Department is required to fish for paddlefish by any method or be in possession of paddlefish or paddlefish parts. This permit must be carried on their person while fishing and/or in possession of paddlefish or parts and be produced for inspection upon the demand of any Oklahoma citizen or game warden.
(C) Harvest Tagging- Paddlefish caught and held in possession must be tagged OAC 800:10-3-8 a. All paddlefish must have all viscera (internal organs) removed before leaving the state. Anglers must cease snagging for the day when they have taken their daily limit of paddlefish into possession.
(D) Reporting- Harvest of paddlefish must be reported OAC 800:10-3-8 b.
(12) The statewide daily bag limit for alligator gar is one (1) per day, except during the period of May 1 through May 31 when angling for alligator gar by all angling methods and possession are prohibited. The catch and release of alligator gar is permitted year round, except during the closure referenced above, by use of rod and reel only. Anglers must cease snagging for the day when they have taken their daily limit of alligator gar into possession. Harvest of alligator gar must be reported OAC 800:10-3-8 b.
(13) A statewide daily bag limit of one (1) applies to any fish species classified as those of Special Concern Category I or Category II (OAC 800:25-19-6). Such harvest must be reported by phone or email to the Department Fisheries Division.

Okla. Admin. Code § 800:10-1-4

Amended at 8 Ok Reg 3047, eff 1-1-92 ; Amended at 9 Ok Reg 1907, eff 1-1-93 ; Amended at 10 Ok Reg 4163, eff 1-1-94 ; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 3027, eff 1-1-95 ; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 1521, eff 1-1-96 ; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 1027, eff 1-3-96 through 7-14-96 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 1763, eff 1-1-97 ; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 1472, eff 1-1-98 ; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2050, eff 7-1-98 ; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 1295, eff 1-1-00 ; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2185, eff 7-1-00 ; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 2908, eff 7-1-01 ; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1519, eff 1-1-03 ; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1435, eff 6-1-04 ; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1622, eff 7-1-05 ; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1575, eff 7-1-06 ; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 609, eff 12-21-06 through 7-14-07 (emergency) 1 ; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 2462, eff 1-1-08 ; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 2113, eff 7-1-08 ; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2625, eff 1-1-10 ; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 2051, eff 7-1-10 ; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 686, eff 6-1-11 ; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1509, eff 1-1-13 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 725, eff 6-1-13

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 31, Issue 24, September 2, 2014, eff. 9/15/2014
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 32, Issue 23, August 17, 2015, eff. 9/1/2015
Amended by Oklahome Register, Volume 33, Issue 23, August 15, 2016, eff. 8/25/2016
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 34, Issue 24, September 1, 2017, eff. 9/11/2017
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 36, Issue 21, July 15, 2019, eff. 7/25/2019
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 37, Issue 24, September 1, 2020, eff. 9/11/2020
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 38, Issue 24, September 1, 2021, eff. 9/11/2021
Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 24, September 1, 2022, eff. 9/11/2022

1 This emergency action expired without being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-07 (after the 7-14-07 expiration of the emergency action), the text of 800:10-1-4 reverted back to the text that became effective 7-1-06, as was last published in the 2006 Edition of the OAC, and remained as such until amended again by permanent action on 1-1-08.