Lady Bird Lake
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Exceptions to the Texas statewide limits, as the Outdoor Annual words them
Texas County · Lake · TX
The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from TX'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.
- Black bassFor largemouth bass, length limit is a 14-21” slot. Bass 14 inches and less or 21 inches or greater in length may be retained. Only one bass 21 inches or greater may be retained. For smallmouth bass (if present), minimum length limit = 14 inches. No minimum length limit on Alabama, Guadalupe, and spotted bass (if present.) Daily bag limit for all black bass species is 5 in any combination.
- CarpFor common carp, only one carp 33 inches or greater may be retained each day. There is no daily bag limit for carp less than 33 inches in length.
- CatfishFor channel and blue catfish, their hybrids and subspecies, 25 (in any combination - only 10 can be 20 inches or greater in length). For flathead catfish, minimum length = 18 inches and daily bag limit = 5.
- CrappieFor white and black crappie, their hybrids and subspecies, minimum length limit = 10 inches. Daily bag limit = 25 in any combination.
- GarFor alligator gar, daily bag limit is 1 fish of any size. No bag limits on other species of gar. Mandatory Harvest Reporting - All alligator gar harvested from the public waters of the state other than Falcon International Reservoir must be reported within 24 hours to the department via mobile app or online. Report your harvest with "Texas Hunt & Fish" app . Certain areas may be temporarily closed to alligator gar fishing when optimum spawning conditions occur. Get details .
- SunfishThere is no minimum length or daily bag limit on bluegill, redear, warmouth or other species of sunfish.
- TroutFor rainbow and brown trout, their hybrids and subspecies, there is no minimum length and daily bag limit = 5 trout in any combination.
- White bassFor white bass, minimum length = 10 inches and daily bag is 25.
- Striped bass and their HybridsFor striped and hybrid striped bass, minimum length limit = 18 inches and daily bag limit = 5 in any combination.
Statewide base layerParsed
These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.
- Season
- Edition Sept. 1, 2025 - Aug. 31, 2026; no general closed season stated for public fresh watersStatewide
- Gear
- Game fish may be taken only by pole and line, except as otherwise providedStatewide
- Bait
- Allowed unless a water's own rules say otherwiseStatewide
- Poles
- Pole and line; some waters limit pole count in their own rulesStatewide
Where the verbatim rules above name a species, season, or limit, they replace the rows below. Each row is tagged with the layer it comes from.
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Black bass (all species) Any combination. Largemouth and smallmouth min. 14"; no minimum for spotted, Guadalupe, or Alabama bass. | 5 | - | Statewide |
White bass | 25 | min. 10" | Statewide |
Striped/hybrid striped bass Any combination. | 5 | min. 18" | Statewide |
Catfish (channel and blue) Any combination; only 10 may be 20" or greater. | 25 | - | Statewide |
Catfish (flathead) | 5 | min. 18" | Statewide |
Crappie (white and black) Any combination. | 25 | min. 10" | Statewide |
Walleye Only 2 may be less than 16". | 5 | - | Statewide |
Trout (rainbow and brown) Any combination; no minimum length. | 5 | - | Statewide |
Alligator gar | 1 | - | Statewide |
Sunfish | No limit | - | Statewide |
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide lake 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 rule applies
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
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 Lady Bird Lake'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.
You also need (Texas)
- Fishing license with freshwater endorsement. Anyone taking fish or other aquatic life in Texas public waters needs a current Texas fishing license with the freshwater endorsement for inland waters.
- State park waters. Waters contained within a state park boundary require no fishing license; the water's own page says so where it applies.
Checked against Texas Outdoor Annual - general fishing regulations on July 3, 2026.
Receipts
Local services near Lady Bird Lake
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 Lady Bird Lake? Get listed.