Species Regulations
You must return undersized fish back to the water unharmed; 5% (by number) of each species of commercial fish you harvest may be smaller than the legal limit,
except channel catfish of which 10% (by number) may be smaller. No one (commercial fishermen, dealers, retailers, and restaurants) may sell, purchase, barter, trade, or
exchange undersized fish (or attempt to do any of these activities).
You may harvest commercial species with no specified size limit in any size and quantity.
For the most current information, go to
www.wlf.louisiana.gov/fishing/commercial-finfish.
Species
Size Limit
Harvest Limit
Season/Times
Other
Blue catfish
12 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Buffalo (smallmouth,
bigmouth, and black)
16 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Channel catfish
11 inches
minimum total
length
10% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Flathead catfish
14 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Freshwater drum
12 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Bowfin
22 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Closed December through February, except in
Assumption, Avoyelles, Iberville, Pointe Coupee,
Terrebonne, Tangipahoa, and West Baton Rouge
parishes, and in the areas know as Bayou
Courtableau, Bayou Teche, Lake Dauterive, Lake
Fausse Point, Vermilion River, Carencro Bayou,
Queue de Tortue Bayou, Bayou Nez Pique,
Mermentau River, Bayou Lacassine, Sabine
River, and the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway that
is bounded by the east and west levees of the
Atchafalaya Basin and is south of U.S. Highway 190.
Shad and skipjack
herring
None
No limit for
properly licensed
shad gill net and
seine fishermen
Shad gill net season is closed July 1 through the
end of October and all Saturdays and Sundays.
There is no closed season for commercial shad
seining.
You must be properly licensed to harvest shad
and skipjack herring with shad gill nets or
seines (see pages 26-27).
Asian/grass, silver,
bighead, and black carp
None
None
None
Fish harvested may only be possessed and sold
dead.
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You must return undersized fish back to the water unharmed; 5% (by number) of each species of commercial fish you harvest may be smaller than the legal limit,
except channel catfish of which 10% (by number) may be smaller. No one (commercial fishermen, dealers, retailers, and restaurants) may sell, purchase, barter, trade, or
exchange undersized fish (or attempt to do any of these activities).
You may harvest commercial species with no specified size limit in any size and quantity.
For the most current information, go to
www.wlf.louisiana.gov/fishing/commercial-finfish.
Species
Size Limit
Harvest Limit
Season/Times
Other
Blue catfish
12 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Buffalo (smallmouth,
bigmouth, and black)
16 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Channel catfish
11 inches
minimum total
length
10% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Flathead catfish
14 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Freshwater drum
12 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Year-round
Bowfin
22 inches
minimum total
length
5% may be
smaller than the
legal limit
Closed December through February, except in
Assumption, Avoyelles, Iberville, Pointe Coupee,
Terrebonne, Tangipahoa, and West Baton Rouge
parishes, and in the areas know as Bayou
Courtableau, Bayou Teche, Lake Dauterive, Lake
Fausse Point, Vermilion River, Carencro Bayou,
Queue de Tortue Bayou, Bayou Nez Pique,
Mermentau River, Bayou Lacassine, Sabine
River, and the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway that
is bounded by the east and west levees of the
Atchafalaya Basin and is south of U.S. Highway 190.
Shad and skipjack
herring
None
No limit for
properly licensed
shad gill net and
seine fishermen
Shad gill net season is closed July 1 through the
end of October and all Saturdays and Sundays.
There is no closed season for commercial shad
seining.
You must be properly licensed to harvest shad
and skipjack herring with shad gill nets or
seines (see pages 26-27).
Asian/grass, silver,
bighead, and black carp
None
None
None
Fish harvested may only be possessed and sold
dead.
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105