If you are 17 or older, Texas law requires a valid fishing license with the right endorsement any time you fish in public waters, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) enforces a layered set of rules covering gear, bag limits, length limits, and tagging. Texas fishing laws change year to year as TPWD adjusts regulations based on population data, so the current Outdoor Annual is the controlling reference for the water you plan to fish. The basics below cover what most anglers need to stay legal.
Licenses You Need and What They Cost
The Texas license year runs from September 1 through August 31. Residents choose from three main packages depending on where they fish:1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fishing Licenses and Packages
- Freshwater Package: $30 resident, $58 non-resident. Inland lakes, rivers, and streams.
- Saltwater Package: $35 resident, $63 non-resident. Includes a saltwater endorsement and red drum or spotted seatrout tags depending on the package selected.
- All-Water Package: $40 resident, $68 non-resident. Covers both.
A one-day all-water license runs $11 for residents and $16 for non-residents. If you fish often, the lifetime resident fishing package costs $1,000 and never needs renewal.2Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Lifetime Licenses
You must carry a valid license on your person while fishing and make it available for inspection.3Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Purchase Requirements for Licenses, Endorsements and Tags A digital copy on your phone counts.
Who Can Fish Without a License
Anglers under 17 do not need a license, but every bag, length, and gear rule still applies to them.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fishing Licenses and Packages Disabled veterans with a VA-rated disability of 50 percent or higher, or who have lost the use of a foot or leg, qualify for a free Super Combo package that covers both hunting and all-water fishing; you must show proof of disability from the VA or a Texas driver license with a “Disabled Veteran” designation at purchase.4Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Disabled Veteran Super Combo Hunting and All-Water Fishing Package
You also don’t need a license to fish inside a Texas state park. The exemption covers bank fishing, pier fishing, wading, and even boat fishing on lakes or ponds fully enclosed within park boundaries.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Free Fishing Opportunities Park entry fees still apply, harvest rules still apply, and on docks and piers inside a park you are limited to two poles per person.6Cornell Law School. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.973 – Devices, Means and Methods If a lake extends past the park boundary, you need a standard license once you leave park waters.
Bag and Length Limits for Popular Species
Statewide limits apply unless a specific lake or coastal area has its own exception published in the TPWD Outdoor Annual, which is updated each September. Always check the entry for the water you plan to fish.
Freshwater
Largemouth bass carry a statewide daily bag of five fish (combined with smallmouth, spotted, Alabama, and Guadalupe bass) and a 14-inch minimum length.7Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Freshwater Bag and Length Limits There is no statewide maximum length.8Cornell Law School. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.981 – Bag, Possession, and Length Limits Dozens of individual reservoirs have their own slot limits or exceptions, so the Outdoor Annual entry for your specific lake matters.
Saltwater
Red drum and spotted seatrout are managed with slot limits. You can keep a fish only if it falls inside the window:
- Red drum: daily bag of 3, minimum 20 inches, maximum 28 inches.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Drum Bag and Length Limits
- Spotted seatrout: daily bag of 3, minimum 15 inches, maximum 20 inches.10Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Seatrout Bag and Length Limits
Fish outside the slot must go back in the water immediately.
Tagging Oversized Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout
Each license year, you may keep one red drum over 28 inches by attaching a properly completed Red Drum Tag, plus one more oversized red drum using a Bonus Red Drum Tag.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Drum Bag and Length Limits The same system applies to spotted seatrout over 28 inches, with a Spotted Seatrout Tag and a Bonus Spotted Seatrout Tag.10Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Seatrout Bag and Length Limits A tagged fish does not count against your daily bag.
If you hold a printed license, remove the tag immediately when you keep the fish, fill in every field, cut out the day and month, and attach it with string or wire to the narrowest part of the tail just ahead of the tail fin.11Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Tagging Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout Digital license holders report the tag through the Texas Hunt & Fish mobile app rather than attaching one physically.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Drum Bag and Length Limits Keeping an oversized fish without a valid tag is treated the same as exceeding your bag limit.
Legal Gear and the Rules for Unattended Lines
Pole and line is the standard legal method, and contrary to common assumption there is no statewide cap on how many rods you can fish at once. The two-pole limit applies only on man-made structures inside state parks and on designated community fishing lakes and a handful of named reservoirs.6Cornell Law School. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.973 – Devices, Means and Methods Using explosives, electrical devices, or poison to take fish is illegal and carries some of the heaviest penalties in the Parks and Wildlife Code.
Trotlines and juglines are where many anglers get into trouble. A freshwater trotline cannot have more than 50 hooks, the mainline cannot exceed 600 feet, hooks must be at least three horizontal feet apart, the whole rig must stay below the surface, and metallic stakes are prohibited.12Texas Secretary of State. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.973 – Devices, Means and Methods In the Gulf of Mexico within state jurisdiction, trotlines are banned entirely, and red drum, sharks, and spotted seatrout caught on a saltwater trotline cannot be kept. Juglines are capped at five hooks per device, with a gear tag required within six inches of the floating device.6Cornell Law School. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.973 – Devices, Means and Methods
Every piece of unattended gear in public water needs a gear tag made of material at least as durable as the device itself. The tag must be legible and show the owner’s name, address or TPWD customer number, and the date the gear was set out. For freshwater trotlines the tag is valid for six days and attaches within three feet of the first hook at each end. Crab traps get a 10-day window.12Texas Secretary of State. Texas Administrative Code Title 31 Section 57.973 – Devices, Means and Methods Recreational trotlines and juglines must carry a float of any color other than orange, at least six inches long and three inches wide; commercial gear uses orange floats of the same minimum size. Game wardens check these markings routinely, and missing or undersized floats can lead to confiscation of the entire rig.
Boundary Waters and Lake Texoma
Lake Texoma sits on the Texas-Oklahoma line and has its own license. A $12 Lake Texoma license covers both the Texas and Oklahoma portions of the lake without needing separate licenses from each state.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fishing Licenses and Packages It is valid only on Lake Texoma and expires on December 31 following the date of purchase, not on the standard August 31 cycle. Texas residents 65 or older do not need the special license to fish the Oklahoma side.
Fishing in Federal Waters Off the Coast
Your Texas license and endorsements cover state waters out to nine nautical miles. Past that line, NOAA Fisheries regulations apply on top of anything else. If you plan to target tuna, billfish, swordfish, or sharks, the vessel must carry an Atlantic HMS Angling permit, which attaches to the boat and must be renewed annually. Anglers fishing specifically for sharks also need a shark endorsement that requires watching an identification and handling video and passing a quiz.13NOAA Fisheries. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Permits
Federal reef fish rules in the Gulf require non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing with natural bait. If you land a billfish, swordfish, or bluefin tuna, you must report the catch within 24 hours of returning from the trip, either online, through NOAA’s catch reporting app, or by phone.14NOAA Fisheries. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Reporting Missing the 24-hour window carries federal penalties separate from any state consequence.
Penalties and Civil Restitution
Most fishing violations under Chapter 66 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code start as a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.15State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 66.012 – Penalties More serious offenses, including certain illegal-sale and waste provisions, are Class B. Repeat convictions escalate the penalties:
- Class C Parks and Wildlife misdemeanor: $25 to $500 fine.
- Class B Parks and Wildlife misdemeanor: $200 to $2,000 fine.
- Class A Parks and Wildlife misdemeanor: $500 to $4,000 fine, plus possible jail time.16Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Laws, Penalties and Restitution
- Parks and Wildlife Code felony: applies after two or more prior convictions of the same section, fines of $2,000 to $10,000.15State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 66.012 – Penalties
On top of the criminal fine, Texas imposes civil restitution for every illegally harvested fish, with values set by TPWD’s recovery-value tables. Fishing or hunting after failing to pay civil restitution is itself a Class A misdemeanor.16Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Laws, Penalties and Restitution Wardens can also seize gear used in the violation, including rods, tackle, and in serious cases boats. Restitution money goes to the state for restocking and habitat work.