- Any trout, salmon or grayling that is not immediately released and that’s held in your possession—whether the fish is dead or alive—is part of your bag and possession limit.
- A trout, salmon or grayling may not be released if it’s been held in or on a stringer, fish basket, livewell or by any other device.
- Any fish that doesn’t meet the size, bag or species rules for the water you’re fishing must be returned to the water immediately.
- In Utah, the bag and possession limits are the same. For example, once you’ve harvested a limit of trout you cannot harvest any more trout until you’ve consumed or donated at least some of the trout you’ve harvested. So, if you eat one trout, you can harvest one more the next day; if you eat a full limit, you can harvest a full limit the next day.
- You may not fish at waters that have a specific bag or size limit if you possess fish in violation of that limit. For example, if the cutthroat trout limit at a river you’d like to fish is two cutthroats, and you harvested three cutthroats earlier that day at another water, you can’t fish at that river until you consume or donate at least one of the cutthroats you harvested earlier.
- Residents and nonresidents who are under 12 years of age may fish without a license and take a full bag and possession limit.
General Possession Limits for Utah Game Fish Species
| Fish Species | Bag & Posession Limit |
|---|---|
| Bluegill & Green Sunfish* (in the aggregate) | 50 fish |
| Bonneville Cisco | 30 fish |
| Brook Trout bonus limit on specific waters | See current fishing proclamation |
| Bullhead Catfish | 24 fish |
| Burbot | No limit (All Burbot must be kept and immediately killed.) |
| Channel Catfish* | 8 fish |
| Crappie* | 50 fish |
| Crayfish (Crawdads) | No limit |
| Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass (in the aggregate)* | 6 fish |
| Nongame Species (Except prohibited species. See current proclamation.) | No limit |
| Northern Pike* | 6 fish |
| Tiger Muskellunge* (hybrid) | 1 fish over 40 inches |
| Sacramento Perch | 10 fish |
| Striped Bass | No limit |
| Trout,Salmon, & Grayling (including hybrids, in the aggregate, no more than 2 can be Lake Trout) | 4 fish |
| Walleye* | 10 fish (only 1 over 24 inches |
| Whitefish* | 10 fish |
| White Bass | No limit |
| Wiper* (hybrid white bass x striped bass) | 6 fish |
| Yellow Perch* | 20 fish |
*On some waters, specific bag or size restrictions apply. Please see the Rules for Specific Waters section of the Fishing Guide.