Kootenai River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special rules modifying the Panhandle Region defaults, as the booklet words them
Panhandle Region County · River · ID
The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from ID's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- Trout limit is 2, no Rainbow or Cutthroat Trout under 16 inches
- Sturgeon - Fishing for sturgeon in the Kootenai
Panhandle Region rules (base layer)
Regional bag limits and rules for the Panhandle Region; all waters open all year except as modified by the special rules.
- Bass (Largemouth and Smallmouth): Bass limit is 6, both species combined
- Brook Trout: Brook Trout limit is 25 Harvest allowed during any open season unless otherwise noted under Special Rules - if gear or bait restrictions are listed, they apply when fishing for Brook Trout
- Bull Trout: Bull Trout - catch-and-release
- Burbot: Burbot limit is 6 Chinook Salmon (land-locked) Chinook Salmon limit is 2, none under 24 inches
- Kokanee: Kokanee limit is 15 Northern Pike (Stocked illegally in this Region. May be harmful to existing fisheries.) No bag, length, or possession limits. Harvest is encouraged
- Sturgeon: Fishing for sturgeon in the Kootenai River is illegal Sturgeon caught incidentally must be released immediately
- Tiger Muskie: Tiger Muskie limit is 2, none under 40 inches Trout includes Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Golden Trout, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Arctic Grayling, trout hybrids (e.g. Tiger
- Trout): Trout limit is 6, all species combined
- Bull Trout and Brook Trout are listed separately: Walleye (Stocked illegally in this Region. May be harmful to existing fisheries.) Harvest encouraged. No bag, length, or possession limits, spearfishing allowed
- Whitefish: Whitefish limit is 25 Harvest allowed during any open season unless otherwise noted under Special Rules - if gear or bait restrictions are listed, they apply when fishing for whitefish All Other Fish Species includes bullfrogs and crayfish No bag, length, or possession limits advisories, see page 70. General Daily Limits The following daily bag limits apply to all waters of the Panhandle Region except as modified in the Special Rule Waters on Pages 16-17. The possession limit is 3-times the daily bag limit.
Idaho Fishing Seasons & Rules 2025-2027 (idfg.idaho.gov booklet) - Panhandle Region · Captured in the state's own words; checked against the source July 3, 2026.
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this stretch begins and ends
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
Different sections of this water can have different rules. The exact section boundaries are not marked on the map yet; each rule above describes in plain words where it starts and ends, and that written description is the authoritative boundary. Map boundaries come water by water, never as a guess.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 8,890 cfs at kootenai river bl libby dam nr libby mt (2026-07-29 01:00)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Kootenai River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
Receipts
Local services near Kootenai River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Kootenai River? Get listed.