Wisconsin DNR: General Inland Fishing Season Opens May 4th

(Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR)

Wisconsin’s 2024-2025 general inland fishing season will open this Saturday, May 4th, 2024.

Fisheries biologists expect anglers to find success on opening day. No matter where anglers decide to fish, all Wisconsin residents and nonresidents over the age of 16 are required to purchase a fishing license. Anglers can buy licenses through Go Wild, the DNR’s license portal, or from a license agent.

Additionally, anglers should be sure to brush up on the regulations for their favorite lakes and rivers before the season, as there are some notable new regulations in place. This year’s new fishing regulations include a new small tournament registration requirement and a statewide daily bag limit of three walleye/sauger per day on all inland waters. There are also bag and length limit changes for fish species in the following counties: Brown, Chippewa, Dane, Dunn, Eau Claire, Iowa, Iron, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Oconto, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Walworth, Waukesha and Waushara.

The full 2024-2025 hook and line fishing and trout fishing regulations are available online and in print in English, Spanish, Hmong and large print versions.

With more than 15,000 inland lakes, 42,000 miles of perennial streams and rivers, 1,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and 260 miles of the Mississippi River, Wisconsin offers anglers of all skill levels a variety of places to cast a line.

Discover new places to fish, launches, fishing locations and other fishing information on the DNR’s fishing webpage or by contacting your local fisheries biologist.