General Inland Fishing Season Opens Saturday, May 4

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General Inland Fishing Season Opens
Saturday, May 4


A smallmouth bass fights while hooked on a top-water bait.
With over 15,000 inland lakes, 42,000 miles of perennial streams and rivers, 1,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and 260 miles of the Mississippi River, Wisconsin offers anglers a variety of places to cast a line. / Photo Credit: iStock/stammphoto

At long last, fishing season is finally here! Wisconsin's 2024-2025 general inland fishing season will open on Saturday, May 4.

It's shaping up to be a good one, too.

Fisheries biologists expect anglers to find success on opening day. No matter where anglers decide to fish, all Wisconsin residents and nonresidents over the age of 16 are required to purchase a fishing license. Anglers can buy licenses through Go Wild, the DNR’s license portal, or from a license agent.

This year, new fishing regulations are in effect, including a new small tournament registration requirement and a statewide daily bag limit of three walleye/sauger per day on all inland waters. There are also bag and length limit changes for fish species in the following counties: Brown, Chippewa, Dane, Dunn, Eau Claire, Iowa, Iron, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Oconto, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Walworth, Waukesha and Waushara.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/outreach/wifishingreport