Georgia’s fishing size limits set the minimum length a fish must reach before you can keep it, and the numbers vary by species and by the specific lake or river you’re on. The statewide minimum for largemouth bass is 12 inches, several big reservoirs push that to 14, and most other freshwater species carry no minimum at all. Keeping an undersized fish is a misdemeanor, with a maximum $1,000 fine, up to 12 months in jail, and potential loss of your fishing license.
How Georgia Measures a Fish
Every size limit in Georgia is based on total length: tip of the snout to the farthest tip of the tail fin. Lay the fish flat with its mouth closed and pinch the tail fin together to its maximum length. If it falls even a fraction short, it goes back. The Department of Natural Resources doesn’t round up, and neither will a game warden.
Don’t confuse total length with fork length, which stops at the fork of the tail. Fork length is used in some other states and for certain saltwater species nationally. Georgia’s freshwater rules use total length across the board.
Freshwater Size Limits by Species
Freshwater limits are set by DNR regulation under O.C.G.A. § 27-4-10. Most freshwater game fish carry no minimum length. If a species isn’t listed with a specific restriction, you can keep it at any size, up to that day’s creel limit.
Largemouth Bass
The statewide minimum is 12 inches. Five reservoirs raise it to 14 inches: Lake Blackshear, Lake Lanier, Lake Oconee, Lake Walter F. George, and West Point Reservoir. Lakes at DNR public fishing areas also require 14 inches unless posted otherwise.1Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. 391-4-3-.06 – Size Limits Three go the other direction with no minimum at all: Lakes Burton, Juliette, and Blue Ridge.
Lake Lindsay Grace runs a slot instead of a straight minimum. Largemouth between 15 and 22 inches must be released immediately, fish outside that range can be kept, and only one bass per day may exceed 22 inches.2eRegulations. Georgia Fishing General Regulations
Spotted and Shoal Bass
Spotted bass carry no statewide size limit except on Lake Lanier, where the minimum is 14 inches. Shoal bass have a 15-inch statewide minimum, and on the Flint River downstream of Warwick Dam any shoal bass between 15 and 20 inches must be released immediately.2eRegulations. Georgia Fishing General Regulations
Striped Bass, White Bass, and Hybrids
Statewide, these three share a combined 15-fish daily limit, and only two of the fifteen may be 22 inches or longer. Several rivers tighten that considerably. On the Ogeechee, Altamaha, Satilla, and other designated rivers and their tributaries, the daily limit drops to two fish, both of which must be at least 22 inches. On the Savannah River downstream of J. Strom Thurmond Dam, both fish must be at least 27 inches.3eRegulations. Georgia Fishing Game Species Daily Limits
Trout
Most Georgia trout waters have no minimum length. The exceptions are narrow. On Waters Creek upstream of its junction with Dick’s Creek, brook trout must be at least 18 inches and rainbow or brown trout at least 22 inches. On Noontootla Creek and its tributaries within the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area, mountain trout must be at least 16 inches.1Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. 391-4-3-.06 – Size Limits Those are trophy waters where the DNR is deliberately growing larger fish.
Species With No Size Limit
Catfish, crappie, bluegill and other sunfish, walleye, and pickerel carry no minimum length anywhere in Georgia. Keep them at any size, as long as you stay inside the daily creel limit.2eRegulations. Georgia Fishing General Regulations
Saltwater Size Limits
Georgia’s coastal fisheries are managed by the DNR’s Coastal Resources Division, and several popular inshore species carry minimums measured the same way (total length):
- Red drum: 14-inch minimum and 23-inch maximum. Anything outside that slot must be released.
- Spotted seatrout: 14-inch minimum.
- Flounder: 12-inch minimum.
Saltwater species also have seasonal closures, which freshwater fish generally don’t, so check the Coastal Resources Division’s current season dates before heading out.4Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Recreational Finfish Season, Limits, and Sizes
Daily Creel Limits
Size limits tell you how big a fish has to be. Creel limits tell you how many you can keep in a day. The most commonly targeted freshwater species:
- Black bass, all species combined: 10 per day, with only 5 allowed to be native species such as Altamaha bass, Bartram’s bass, Chattahoochee bass, shoal bass, or smallmouth bass.
- Crappie: 30 per day.
- Sunfish and bream: 50 per day.
- Striped bass, white bass, and hybrids: 15 per day combined, with only 2 at 22 inches or longer. River-specific rules tighten this as noted above.
- Trout: 8 per day.
- Walleye: 8 per day.
- Pickerel: 15 per day.
- Channel and flathead catfish: no daily limit.
Possession limits generally match the daily creel. On a multi-day trip, you can’t stockpile two days’ worth of crappie in a cooler and treat each day’s catch separately.3eRegulations. Georgia Fishing Game Species Daily Limits
Penalties for Keeping an Undersized Fish
Keeping an undersized fish is a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. § 27-1-38.5FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 27 – 27-1-38 Penalty for Violations of Title A standard Georgia misdemeanor carries a maximum $1,000 fine and up to 12 months in jail. In practice, a first offense over a single short fish is far more likely to end in a fine and a warning than jail time, but the statutory exposure is real. Wardens do measure fish during checks, and they don’t give the benefit of the doubt on borderline calls.
Violations involving commercial fishing gear on trawlers escalate: $1,000 for a first offense, $3,000 for a second, and $5,000 for a third and each subsequent offense. Those are classified as misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature, a step above the standard misdemeanor that applies to recreational anglers.5FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 27 – 27-1-38 Penalty for Violations of Title
License Suspension
Beyond fines and jail exposure, the DNR commissioner can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew your fishing license for up to two years after a violation. You’ll get written notice of the proposed action and have 30 days to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Miss that window and the suspension becomes final.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 27-2-25 – Revocation, Suspension, Denial, or Refusal to Renew
A Georgia suspension can also follow you across state lines. Georgia belongs to the Wildlife Violator Compact, an agreement among 46 member states to share information about wildlife and fishing violations. A suspension in Georgia may carry over to every other compact state, depending on whether the underlying offense would also warrant suspension there.7Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Violator Compact The reverse works too: a fishing violation in Florida or North Carolina can come home and affect your Georgia privileges.
Check the Rules for Your Specific Water
Size and creel limits change between seasons as the DNR adjusts them to population surveys and habitat conditions. The current rules live in the DNR’s annual fishing regulations guide, available through the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division website and the eRegulations platform.8Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Georgia Fishing Regulations Individual lakes and rivers may carry posted regulations that differ from the statewide defaults, so read the signage at boat ramps and fishing access points before you start keeping fish. When in doubt, release it. A citation for one short bass costs a lot more than passing on a borderline keeper.