Mississippi River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Mississippi River, as the state words them
Scott County · River · MO
The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from MO'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.
- PaddlefishMarch 15, 2024 - May 15, 2024
September 15, 2024 - December 15, 2024 (dates as written)Daily limit Daily limit: 2 Possession limit: 4Size minimum 32"Gear Pole and line Snagging Grabbing Trotline Throwline Limb line Bank line Jug lineThese regulations apply to paddlefishing on the Mississippi River.
- All fishGear except on the Mississippi River the maximum is 50 hooks at one time (see hook, and pole and line definitions on Page 11). If fishing on the Mississippi River and on other Missouri waters at the same time, no more than 50 hooks in total may be used and not more than 33 of those hooks may be used on waters other than the Mississippi River.Poles (or two poles on the Mississippi River) at any one time
- Paddlefish (spoonbill)March 15–May 15 and Sept. 15–Dec.15 (dates as written)Daily limit 2Size 32" minimum
- All fishMarch 15 through May 15 and Sept. 15 through Dec. 15 (dates as written)Gear snagging, snaring, and grabbing
Statewide base layerParsed
These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Gear
- You may take fish by pole and line, trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, and jug line.Statewide
- Bait
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Poles
- If you use more than three poles (or two poles on the Mississippi River) at any one time, the additional poles must be labeledStatewide
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 Varies by water: no minimum size (Impoundments); minimum 12" (Ozark Streams) | Daily limit: 6 Possession limit: 12 | min. minimum 12 inches | Statewide |
Bullhead Varies by water: limit 50, except on the Mississippi River which has a daily and possession limit of 100 (Line Methods) | Daily limit: 20 | - | Statewide |
Carp Varies by water: limit 50, except on the Mississippi River which has a daily and possession limit of 100 (Line Methods) | Daily limit: 20 | - | Statewide |
Carpsucker & Quillback Varies by water: limit 50, except on the Mississippi River which has a daily and possession limit of 100 (Line Methods) | Daily limit: 20 | - | Statewide |
Catfish (Blue) | Daily limit: 5 Possession limit: 10 | min. Size limit: none | Statewide |
Catfish (Channel) | Daily limit: 10 Possession limit: 20 | min. Size limit: none | Statewide |
Catfish (Flathead) | Daily limit: 5 Possession limit: 10 | min. Size limit: none | Statewide |
Crappie (Black and White) | Daily limit: 30 Possession limit: 60 | min. Size limit: None | Statewide |
Goggle-Eye (Rock Bass) and Warmouth | Daily limit: 15 Possession limit: 30 | min. Size limit: minimum 7" | Statewide |
Muskellunge Varies by water: 36" minimum, limit 1 | Daily limit: 1 muskellunge or 1 northern pike Possession limit: 2 | min. minimum 36" | Statewide |
Northern Pike Varies by water: limit 1 | Daily limit : 1 muskellunge or 1 northern pike Possession limit : 2 | min. None | Statewide |
Paddlefish | Daily limit: 2 Possession limit: 4 | min. 32-inch minimum in most areas; 34-inch minimum on Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake, Truman Lake, and their tributaries | Statewide |
Pickerel | Daily limit: 6 Possession limit: 12 Length limit: None | - | Statewide |
Shovelnose Sturgeon Varies by water: 30" maximum | Daily limit: 10 Possession limit: 20 Length limit: 30 inch maximum | - | Statewide |
Bass: White, Yellow, Striped & Hybrids | Daily limit: 15 Possession limit: 30 Size limit: You may keep up to four fish longer than 18” per day. | - | Statewide |
Trout Varies by water: No size limit on rainbow trout; 15 inch minimum for brown trout in streams (Trout Areas) | 4 | min. Rainbow: none1 Brown: 15" minimum in streams | Statewide |
Common Snapping | Daily limit: 2 Possession limit: 4 Limits are combined total of all species | - | Statewide |
Soft-shelled | Daily limit: 2 Possession limit: 4 Combined total of all species. | - | Statewide |
Walleye and Sauger Varies by water: 15" minimum | Daily limit: 4 Possession limit: 8 | min. minimum 15" | Statewide |
Catfish Varies by water: limit 5 (Blue catfish) | 10 | - | Statewide |
Pickerel (chain and grass) | 6 | min. None | Statewide |
crayfish, freshwater shrimp, and non-game fish | A combined total of 150 crayfish, freshwater shrimp, and non-game fish. | - | Statewide |
bullfrogs and green frogs Varies by water: limit 8, combined total of both species. (Bullfrogs and Green Frogs - Daily limit) | A combined total of 8 bullfrogs and green frogs. | - | Statewide |
Mussels and clams | 5, combined total of all species (except Asian clams, which may be taken and possessed in any number). This limit applies to live and dead animals. Two shell halves (valves) shall be considered 1 mussel or clam. | - | Statewide |
Turtles | 2, combined total of all species. | - | Statewide |
Rainbow trout | See size | min. 12" to 20" protected slot length limit | Statewide |
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: 126,000 cfs at mississippi river at chester, il (2026-07-29 05:30)
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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi River? Get listed.