Ohio River

The rule for this water, with the receipt.

Special regulations for Ohio River, as the state words them

Harrison County · River · IN

Has its own special rules

How to read this page:Official text quoted regulationParsed fields from the ruleDerived calculated from rulesContext conditions, not a ruleAdvice our suggestion

Today's rule hereParsed

Season: Feb. 1 to May 10This water
Gear: Each line may have no more than three single- or multi-pronged hooks, three artificial lures, or a combination of three hooks and artificial lures.Statewide
Bait: Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
Poles: You may not fish with more than three poles or hand lines at a time.Statewide

Species	Daily limit	Size
Crayfish	cannot transport more than 100 crayfish across the state line in a 24-hour period unless commercially raising crayfish	-	Statewide
Muskellunge 6 and Tiger Muskellunge 6	1 muskellunge or 1 tiger muskellunge	min. 36 inches 2	Statewide
Northern Pike	3 3	min. 24 inches; no more than one 30 inches or longer 4	Statewide
Yellow Perch	Unlimited (15 only on Lake Michigan)	min. None	Statewide
Bullhead	Unlimited	min. None	Statewide
Shovelnose Sturgeon	Unlimited	min. 25 inches (fork length)	This water
Sauger	included in the aggregate bag limit for walleye and saugeye	-	Statewide
Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout	5, any combination of brook, rainbow, or brown trout; no more than one may be brown trout	min. 7 inches*	Statewide
Eastern Snapping Turtle	4, 12-inch minimum carapace length, any combination of game turtle	min. 12-inch minimum carapace length	Statewide
Bull Frog, Green Frog	25, any combination of bull or green frog	-	Statewide
Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass No size limit on spotted bass	6, any combination of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass	min. 12 inches	This water
Hybrid Striped Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass No more than four fish may be 15 inches or longer	30, any combination of hybrid, striped, white, or yellow bass	-	This water
Rock Bass	15	min. None	This water
Blue Catfish	Unlimited	min. 13 inches; no more than one may be 35 inches or longer	This water
Channel Catfish	Unlimited	min. 13 inches; no more than one may be 28 inches or longer	This water
Flathead Catfish	Unlimited	min. 13 inches; no more than one may be 35 inches or longer	This water
Crappie	30	min. None	This water
Muskellunge, Tiger Muskellunge	2, any combination of muskellunge or tiger muskellunge	min. 30 inches	This water

The official text, verbatimOfficial text

Straight from IN'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.

Whole water

All fish
The reciprocal agreement allows residents of either state to fish the river proper (main stem) with either state's fishing license. If you are fishing in a connecting tributary/embayment you'll need to have a fishing license for that particular state.
Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass
Daily limit 6, any combination of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bassSize 12 inches
No size limit on spotted bass
Hybrid Striped Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass
Daily limit 30, any combination of hybrid, striped, white, or yellow bass
No more than four fish may be 15 inches or longer
Rock Bass
Daily limit 15Size None
Blue Catfish
Daily limit UnlimitedSize 13 inches; no more than one may be 35 inches or longer
Channel Catfish
Daily limit UnlimitedSize 13 inches; no more than one may be 28 inches or longer
Flathead Catfish
Daily limit UnlimitedSize 13 inches; no more than one may be 35 inches or longer
Crappie
Daily limit 30Size None
Muskellunge, Tiger Muskellunge
Daily limit 2, any combination of muskellunge or tiger muskellungeSize 30 inches
All fish
Daily limit 6, any combination of walleye, sauger, or hybrid walleyeSize 14 inches
Shovelnose Sturgeon
Daily limit UnlimitedSize 25 inches (fork length)
All fish
Gear Trot lines must be checked at least once every 24 hours and set at least 3 feet below the water surface; each set line and trot line must have affixed at least one legible tag marked with the name and address of the user or the individual's DNR-issued Customer ID number
All fish
Gear Snagging prohibited
Invasive carp, bowfin, buffalo fish, common carp, gar, shad, suckers
Gear Long bow, compound bow, and crossbow with an arrow having one or more barbs and attached to a line
All fish
Gear Fish spear, spear gun, and underwater spear
Minnows, Crayfish
Gear A minnow trap that does not exceed 3 feet long and 18 inches in diameter and does not have a throat opening greater than 2 inches in diameter
All fish
Gear A dip net no more than 3 feet in diameter
All fish
Gear A minnow seine no more than 30 feet long and 6 feet deep that does not have a mesh size larger than ¼ inch bar mesh
All fish
Gear A cast net not to exceed 20 feet in diameter that does not have a mesh size larger than ¾ inch stretch

Rules for other dates

All fishFeb. 1 to May 10 - does not apply today
Gear Gigging with any pronged or barbed instrument attached to the end of a rigid object; cannot take a fish by gigging from either a boat or platform

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 section begins and ends

Loading map…

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.

Season at a glanceDerived

opensome sectionsclosedunknown

Next change: opens Feb. 1, 2027.

Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.

At the water nowContext

Today

89°F

Sunny

Wind 3 to 10 mph · 0% precip

Tonight

66°F

Mostly Clear

Wind 5 to 8 mph · 6% precip

Wednesday

80°F

Chance Showers And Thunderstorms

Wind 5 to 8 mph · 68% precip

Streamflow: 108,000 cfs at ohio river at cincinnati, oh (2026-10-13 06:00)

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 Ohio 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.

You also need (Indiana)

Indiana / Kentucky licence agreement: Indiana and Kentucky — Ohio River — The reciprocal agreement allows residents of either state to fish the river proper (main stem) with either state’s fishing license. If you are fishing in a connecting tributary/embayment you'll need to have a fishing license for that particular state.

Receipts

Statewide rules

Statewide

IN official fishing regulations

Checked against this official source on July 12, 2026.

Special rules - Ohio River

This water

IN official fishing regulations

Checked against this official source on July 12, 2026.

Local services near Ohio 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 Ohio River? Get listed.