The following information is not an official copy of the laws in effect and should not be utilized or relied upon as such. It does represent an attempt to present, as a public service, a partial summary of the laws in effect at the time of the compilation of this page. Substantive changes to the law may very well occur following the compilation of this page. For these reasons, the accuracy of the information contained in this page cannot be guaranteed and the reader is cautioned that it is his responsibility to appraise himself of the laws in effect at any given time. These laws include those contained within the Louisiana Revised Statutes, particularly Title 56, the official regulations of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, federal laws, and any local or parish ordinances. Fishing regulations on state Wildlife Management Areas and Refuges may differ from those contained here. Contact the nearest Department office for WMA regulations. Contact your local Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agent for specific information.
FRESHWATER & SALTWATER FISH
buckets, recreational drums, recreational cans, recreational nets and recreational crawfish traps, and by no other means except a barbless spear used in saltwater for taking flounder.
NOTE: Certain species of game fish may not be taken with some gear listed above.
Minnows, crawfish, shrimp and other legal bait species, not including game fish, may be taken with legal cast nets, minnow traps, dip nets and bait seines when taken in compliance with all other laws. Legal bait species may be taken with bait seines with a maximum mesh size not exceeding one-quarter inch mesh bar, one-half inch mesh stretched and thirty feet in length. Bait seines must be operated on foot and solely by hand, without any pulley, mechanical device or mechanical assistance whatsoever.
Dip nets may not exceed three feet in diameter and must be operated solely by hand, by no more than one person and without any mechanical assistance whatsoever.
Bream (Lepomis spp.) may not be taken as bait for sportfishing purposes in any form of trap except at Toledo Bend Reservoir, where a minnow trap not exceeding 24 inches in length and having a throat no larger than 1 inch by 3 inches may be used to take bream for non-commercial bait purposes.
Skin divers fishing for sport in freshwater, when submerged in the water and using standard spearing equipment, or any person using a bow and arrow, or any person using or possessing nets or traps, including recreational hoop nets, recreational slat traps, recreational pipes, recreational buckets, recreational drums, recreational tires, recreational cans, recreational wire nets and recreational crawfish traps may not take or possess any largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), spotted bass (M. punctulatus), black or white crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus, P. annularis), white bass (Morone chrysops), yellow bass (M. mississipiensis), striped bass (M. saxatilis), hybrid striped bass (striped bass-white bass cross), or any species of bream.
Recreational hoop nets may only be used by mobility impaired persons, as defined in R.S. 47:463.4(E), that are bona fide residents of Louisiana and over 60 years of age. Only one net may be used and it must be no greater than eighteen feet by eight feet. Catch is restricted to catfish and used only for home consumption.
Recreational wire nets shall only be used for the taking of legal sized catfish and only in the area located north of Interstate 12 from where it crosses the Louisiana/Mississippi state line westward to the city of Baton Rouge, the areas located north of U.S. Highway 190 from the city of Baton Rouge westward to the town of Ragley, and in the area located north of LA Highway 12 from the town of Ragley westward to where it crosses the Louisiana/Texas state line.
Recreational crawfish traps shall be marked with a waterproof tag, provided by the fisherman, with the name and recreational gear license number of the fisherman legibly printed on the tag. The minimum mesh size for the nets used to harvest wild crawfish shall be a hexagon of three-quarters by eleven-sixteenths of one inch. This measurement shall be from wire to wire, and any coating on the wire shall not be considered in computing the measurements.
