MO Missouri Porch

Bass, crappie & panfish

Bass, crappie & panfish

These are Missouri's everyday catch — the fish most people are after on a lake or a creek. The statewide limits below are the starting point, but this is exactly the kind of fishing where your specific water often sets a stricter rule, so check the sign at the access first.

Check your water first

Missouri's statewide limits are only the starting point. Hundreds of lakes, rivers, trout areas, urban lakes, and stream stretches set their own daily limits, length limits, slot limits, bait rules, or catch-and-release rules that override the statewide number. The local rule is usually posted on a sign at the access.

Look up your water in MDC's Special Waterbody Regulations →

The statewide starting point

Statewide limits — bass, crappie & panfish

These are the statewide defaults. Your specific lake, river, or stream stretch may set stricter rules — check the sign at the access.

Fish Daily Possession Length Notes
Black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted — combined) 6 12 Impoundments: none. Streams: 12″ min. Ozark streams close to harvest in spring (see below).
Crappie (white & black — combined) 30 60 None statewide Many lakes set a 9–10″ minimum or a smaller daily number.
White, yellow & striped bass + hybrids (combined) 15 30 No more than 4 over 18″ per day Some reservoirs set special striper/hybrid rules.
Goggle-eye (rock bass) & warmouth 15 30 7″ min Several Ozark streams set an 8″ minimum.
Walleye & sauger (combined) 4 8 15″ min Some big reservoirs raise the minimum to 18″.
Muskellunge & northern pike (combined) 1 muskie OR 1 pike 2 36″ min One fish total between the two species.
Sunfish (bluegill, green, longear, redear) No statewide limit by pole & line on most waters — No statewide limit by pole & line Read the sunfish note — alternative methods and many lakes do cap them.

Full seasons & limits: MDC Fishing Seasons & Limits.

The sunfish rule (it's subtle)

Why bluegill are the great family fish

By pole and line, Missouri sets no statewide length limit and no statewide daily limit on bluegill, green sunfish, longear, and redear — which is why they're the great family fish. Two real catches: by gig or bow, sunfish over 5 inches must be released and the nongame 20-a-day limit applies; and many city and community lakes (and some conservation areas) cap sunfish at 10 or 20 a day. So check your water — they're not truly unlimited everywhere.

Ozark-stream spring closure

Black bass take a spring break in the Ozarks

On Ozark streams, black bass harvest is closed from March 1 until the Saturday before Memorial Day — catch-and-release only in that window. Harvest runs from late May (about May 23, 2026) through the end of February. Impoundments, non-Ozark and northern streams, the Mississippi River, and the far southeast stay open year-round.

Example to verify: Lakes like Table Rock and Lake of the Ozarks raise the largemouth/smallmouth minimum to 15″ (12″ for spotted bass). Confirm each lake.

Before you fish

Missouri Porch explains; the MDC decides.

Data current for 2026. Last checked against MDC: 2026-06-18. Limits, prices, and special-water rules change — confirm with MDC before you fish.

This is a plain-English summary, not the law. Always check the current MDC regulations before you fish. As MDC says, the regulation summary is NOT a legal document and rules can change during the year.

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