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Florida regulations 2026–27

Copied from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Season dates are cross-checked against the FWC 2026–27 hunting handbook. Every table links to the official source. If anything here disagrees with FWC, FWC is right.

Checked against FWC Oct 17, 2026License year Jul 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2027

Fishing Hunting Licenses

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Freshwater bag & length limits (statewide)

Many lakes and management areas have their own rules. Saltwater and lake-specific pages are coming after verification.

Florida statewide fishing limits
Species	Daily bag	Min length	Max length
Black bass No person shall kill or possess any Suwannee, shoal, spotted, or Choctaw bass that is less than 12 inches in total length. Chipola River and its tributaries: No person shall kill or possess shoal bass on the Chipola River or its tributaries. Any shoal bass that are caught must be released immediately. Wakulla River: No person shall kill or possess Suwannee bass on the Wakulla River from the headsprings of Wakulla Springs downstream to the confluence with the St. Marks River. Any Suwannee bass that are caught must be released immediately. Check MyFWC.com/fishing/freshwater/regulations/ for changes.	5 Black bass (including Florida, largemouth, Suwannee, spotted, Choctaw and shoal bass, individually or in total), only one of which may be 16 inches or longer in total length. There is no minimum length limit for Florida bass or largemouth bass.	—	—
Panfish	50 Panfish including bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), flier, longear sunfish, mud sunfish, shadow bass, spotted sunfish (stumpknocker), warmouth and redbreast sunfish, individually or in total.	—	—
Crappie	25 Crappie (speckled perch).	—	—
Striped bass, white bass , and sunshine bass In the Suwannee River, areas north and west of the Suwannee River, and in any tributary, creek or stream of the Suwannee River: the bag limit for striped bass is 3, each of which must be at least 18 inches in total length (20 fish combined bag limit)(See map). In the lower Ochlockonee River (downstream of the Jackson Bluff dam to Ochlockonee Bay): the bag limit for striped bass is 3, only one of which may be 24 inches or longer in total length. There is no minimum length limit (20 fish combined bag limit).	20 Striped bass, white bass , and sunshine bass (individually or in total), of which only 6 may be 24 inches or longer in total length.	—	—
Butterfly peacock bass	2 Butterfly peacock bass , only one of which may be 17 inches or longer in total length.	—	—
Alabama shad, American shad, hickory shad, and blueback herring (individually or in total)	10 Alabama shad, American shad, hickory shad, and blueback herring (individually or in total), which may only be taken with hook and line gear.	—	—
American eels No person shall have in his possession more than two days' bag limit of freshwater game fish (see Rule 68A-23.005 for details). Each angler is responsible for his or her own bag limit. It is illegal to transport or possess more than two days' bag limit of fish per licensed angler without a commercial license. Exceptions are fish legally acquired from aquaculturists (fish farmers) for use in aquaria, for brood stock, pond stocking, or properly marked for the market. No native freshwater fish or their eggs may be taken or possessed except as permitted by these rules nor shall anyone wantonly or willfully waste the same. It is illegal to possess grass carp or alligator gar without a permit; these fish must be released immediately. An angler participating in the TrophyCatch Program may temporarily possess in live condition one Florida bass or largemouth bass, 8 pounds or greater, over the legal length limit and bag limit in order to obtain photographic or video documentation of the fish. All bass retained for this purpose must be released alive into the waterbody in which it was caught immediately after documentation. An angler may possess one Florida bass or largemouth bass 16.5 pounds or greater, per day over the legal length or bag limit when submitting for the certification of a potential state record provided they contact the Commission at this link ( https://myfwc.wufoo.com/forms/potential-state-record-largemouth-bass/ ). Bass maintained in live condition may only be possessed on the waterbody or adjacent shore from which the fish was caught and may only be released alive in the same waterbody, unless otherwise directed by Commission staff. Keep game fish intact: black bass, striped bass and white bass or their hybrids, peacock bass, or black crappie and panfish (for black crappie and panfish, only in waters where minimum-length or slot-size limits for these fish apply) may not be filleted, nor their head or tail fin removed, until the angler has completed fishing for the day.	25 American eels , must be nine inches or greater in total length. The recreational bag limit for American eels is 25 per angler per day. Wholesale/Retail purchase exemption. Recreational anglers purchasing American eel as bait may possess more than the legal bag limit provided that the eels were purchased from a licensed dealer.	—	—

FWC freshwater general regulations current (FWC web, checked 2026–10-17) · official source ↗ · checked Oct 17, 2026