St. Joseph River and its tributaries
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for St. Joseph River and its tributaries from Twin Branch Dam in Mishawaka downstream to the Michigan state line, as the state words them
DeKalb County · River · IN
The rules for this water, 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.
- trout, salmonSize 14 inches
Statewide base layerParsed
These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- 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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Crayfish | cannot transport more than 100 crayfish across the state line in a 24-hour period unless commercially raising crayfish | - | Statewide |
largemouth bass Varies by water: largemouth bass that are from 12 to 15 inches in length may not be harvested. The daily bag limit applies to bass under 12 inches and over 15 inches. (Buffalo Trace Lake); No minimum size limit (Brownstown Pit) | two fish daily bag limit | min. 18-inch minimum size limit | 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) | Statewide |
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 |
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: 425 cfs at st. joseph river near fort wayne, in (2026-07-29 03:05)
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 St. Joseph River and its tributaries'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 St. Joseph River and its tributaries
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 St. Joseph River and its tributaries? Get listed.