UTERTexas fishing regulations are set by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for both salt and fresh water, and published in the Outdoor Annual, which for 2026–27 is valid from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. You need a Texas fishing license with a saltwater or freshwater endorsement (unless you're exempt), state rules reach 9 nautical miles offshore, and fish are measured by total length.
This guide explains how the rules are organized so you can find the right one fast. It does not list bag limits, size limits or season dates, on purpose. Those change, sometimes mid-year, and the only safe number is the one on TPWD's page the day you fish. Every section below links to that page.
Who makes the rules: TPWD and the Outdoor Annual
Unlike states that split fishing between two agencies, Texas has one: TPWD covers the bays, the Gulf out to state waters, and every lake and river. Its rules live in the Outdoor Annual, a website, a printed booklet and the Texas Hunt & Fish app.
The Outdoor Annual runs on a September-to-August year. That matters when you're planning a trip in late August or early September: the rule can change on September 1. When we read the 2026–27 edition line by line on November 5, 2026, every page said it was valid through August 31, 2027.
The saltwater limits are split into one page per species group. That's the page to bookmark for the fish you target:
- Drum (red drum and black drum)
- Seatrout (spotted seatrout, "specks")
- Flounder
- Sheepshead, mackerel (king and Spanish), cobia, tripletail, snook, tarpon, mullet and saltwater catfish
- Reef fish: snapper, grouper, amberjack and triggerfish, plus a separate red snapper page
- Sharks
Fresh water has one statewide bag and length limit table plus pages for individual lakes with their own rules.
Texas fishing license and endorsements
TPWD's wording is a fishing license plus an endorsement for the water you fish: a saltwater endorsement for the coast and a freshwater endorsement inland. Packages bundle them. Who is exempt is set out on TPWD's licenses and packages page. Prices change, so we don't quote them here.
The red drum and seatrout tags
Texas is one of the few states that uses tags to let anglers keep one exceptional fish. Your license comes with a Red Drum Tag for one red drum over the slot each license year, and you can buy a Bonus Red Drum Tag for one more. TPWD's seatrout page describes a similar Spotted Seatrout Tag and bonus tag for one oversized trout. These are in addition to the daily bag, and the tag has to be filled out and attached the way TPWD describes. Read the drum and seatrout pages for the exact lengths and how to tag.
Salt water: what to know before you keep a fish
Slots, not just minimums
Several of the inshore fish Texans target most are managed with a slot, a minimum and a maximum length. Redfish, spotted seatrout, black drum and snook all had a slot when we read TPWD's pages. A fish over the slot goes back (unless you tag it, for reds and trout), so carry a reliable ruler. Black drum has its own rule about oversized fish, written on the drum page.
Flounder's fall closure
TPWD closes flounder for part of the fall run, when the fish are leaving the bays to spawn. That's exactly when many people fish for them, so check the flounder page for this year's dates before you plan a November gigging trip.
Mullet in the fall
Texas limits the size of mullet that can be taken or kept on a boat for part of the year, which affects anyone cast-netting big mullet for bait. It's on TPWD's mullet page.
Reef fish and the 9-mile line
Texas state waters reach 9 nautical miles from shore, wider than the 3 nautical miles on the Atlantic coast. Inside that line TPWD's rule applies. TPWD says its limits also cover fish caught from 9 to 200 nautical miles out and landed in Texas, but federal law applies there too. In practice that means:
- Red snapper has two seasons to think about: one in state waters and one in federal waters. For private anglers, TPWD now sets the federal-waters season off Texas under the Gulf states' management. The red snapper page lists both.
- Grouper, amberjack and triggerfish have federal seasons that can close while state water stays open. Check NOAA's Gulf page as well as TPWD's.
- Reef fish showing barotrauma call for a venting tool or a rigged descending device, and red snapper calls for circle hooks with natural bait. Both rules are on TPWD's snapper page.
- Goliath grouper is catch and release only.
Sharks
TPWD allows a small number of shark species to be kept, with a combined daily limit and separate minimum lengths for hammerheads. It also requires non-offset, non-stainless circle hooks when you fish for sharks in state waters. The shark page is worth reading before you soak a big bait from the beach: identifying the shark correctly is your job. Our shark ID guide covers blacktips, spinners, bulls and bonnetheads, which swim off Texas too.
Fresh water: statewide rules and named lakes
TPWD's freshwater table sets statewide limits for black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, Guadalupe and Alabama bass share an aggregate bag), striped and hybrid striped bass, white bass, catfish, crappie, trout, walleye, sunfish and alligator gar. Then individual lakes override it. Two big border lakes are good examples:
- Lake Texoma (shared with Oklahoma) has its own striped bass, crappie, catfish and alligator gar rules, including a spring alligator gar closure on the Red River border waters.
- Toledo Bend Reservoir (shared with Louisiana) has its own black bass, crappie, striper and catfish limits, agreed between the two states.
Many other reservoirs have special length limits too. Search TPWD's lake pages by name before fishing a new water.
Alligator gar: report what you keep
Every alligator gar kept in Texas (with an exception TPWD names) has to be reported through the Texas Hunt & Fish app or online within the deadline on the freshwater page. Some areas may close temporarily while gar spawn. Paddlefish are catch and release only.
How TPWD measures a fish
Texas uses total length. TPWD's measurement page says to measure from the tip of the snout to the extreme tip of the tail. Read it for how to pinch the tail, because a quarter inch decides whether a slot redfish is legal. A board with a bump stop is easier than a tape on a rocking boat.
Time zone and the calendar day
Almost all of Texas keeps Central time, but El Paso and Hudspeth counties keep Mountain time. That matters only on the day a season opens or closes, but on that day it matters a lot.
How Fish Scouter shows Texas rules
We entered TPWD's rules by hand from the Outdoor Annual pages, one row per fish, salt and fresh, with Toledo Bend and Texoma as named-water exceptions. In the app, every fish sheet carries a rules card for where you're fishing:
- Whether the fish is open, closed to harvest, catch and release only or unknown today.
- The size, bag, any permit or tag, and the next change coming up (the flounder closure, for example).
- TPWD named as the source, with the day we last checked the page.
It fails safe. If a row hasn't been checked in 30 days, or our daily check sees that TPWD's page has changed, the card stops showing numbers and says to check TPWD. Past state waters it shows NOAA's federal rule, or points you to NOAA. Every card ends with the same line: for education only, rules change, always confirm with TPWD before you keep a fish. We never judge a logged catch against a rule.
The same cards appear on our public fish-by-water guides, such as redfish on the upper Texas coast, speckled trout on the lower coast, flounder on the upper coast, largemouth bass in Texas fresh water and alligator gar.
A quick checklist before a Texas trip
- License with the right endorsement (or proof you're exempt), and your red drum tag if you might keep an oversized red.
- Open the TPWD page for each fish you plan to keep. Note the slot or minimum, the bag and any closure.
- Fishing past 9 miles? Read NOAA's Gulf page too.
- On a lake, search for that lake's own page.
- A measuring board, a descending device for reef fish, and circle hooks where required.
Where to go next
For when and where the fish are, not just the rules, read our Texas winter fishing guide, Texas Gulf Coast fishing by season and best time to fish Galveston Bay, or browse the upper and lower Texas coast pages and the species pages for redfish and speckled trout.
Fish Scouter puts the forecast, the tides, the spots and the rule for each fish on one screen, for every Texas bay and lake. Try Fish Scouter free and check the rule before you keep the fish.