Kansas’ Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism is in charge of enforcing fishing regulations throughout the state. With the help of apps, GPS, and PDF files, you can fish in any of the five regions and choose your own fishing location.
License
If you live in Kansas and are between the ages of 16 and 74, you must obtain a fishing license before you can begin fishing. Nonresidents over the age of 16 are also required to obtain one.
In the case of landowners and farm tenants, you may be able to skip this step. You and your family are welcome to go fishing in the waters surrounding your property. To fish in streams and rivers, on the other hand, you must have a valid fishing license.
American Indians are exempt from paying the license fee, but they are still required to adhere to all other applicable laws and regulations.
Equipment
In order to enjoy fishing for the 20 fish species found in Kansas, you must adhere to the state’s regulations regarding legal fishing equipment. You are only allowed to bring two rods and no more than two single or treble hooks or artificial lures with you.
Float lines and trotlines with a maximum of 25 hooks or 8 set lines, as well as a maximum of two hooks each, are also permitted. You must inspect the lines every 24 hours, and it is illegal to use them in an area that is less than 150 yards from a dam. You must also check the lines every 24 hours. Keep an eye out for any additional restrictions, as they may change from time to time.
Ice fishing equipment is restricted to a maximum of two rods and eight tip-ups, each of which can hold no more than two hooks. More than a half-hour before sunrise and more than an hour after sunset are prohibited for using powered vehicles for ice fishing.
Limits
The species you target will have a significant impact on the size of your daily bag. There is no length restriction when fishing for crappie, and you can stop at 50 feet if you want. Several other species, including white bass, bullhead, bluegill, and others, have no established harvest limits.
Other species are subject to statewide regulations that set a cap on their numbers. Five flathead catfish, five walleye, five sauger and saugeye per person; ten channel or blue catfish; five rainbow trout; and the same number of black basses per person. Largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass are all included in this category.
You can use the limit for a single species or in combination with other species, for example, adding largemouth to smallmouth to reach the maximum of 5.
When it comes to four additional species, the limit is set at two per person: northern pike, striped bass, wiper, and paddlefish.
In order to be suitable for a fisherman’s bag, the minimum length for trout, walleye, and sauger (or hybrid) is 15 inches, while the minimum length for northern pike is 30 inches in order to be suitable for a fisherman’s bag is 15 inches.
Culling is not permitted in the state of Kansas. After reaching your daily limit for one of the species, you will no longer be able to choose and replace fish. If you catch a rainbow trout and already have 5 rainbow trout in your daily bag, you must release the rainbow trout that you caught.
Missouri River
On the section of the Missouri River that runs between the states of Kansas and Missouri, there are special conservation regulations in place. In order to fish in tributaries, for example, you must have a valid fishing license issued by the state through which the water flows.
When bow-fishing, you must keep your catch separate from other fishermen’s catch, and you can only use barbed arrows during the period between sunrise and midnight.
The regulations for trotline and set line are the same, but the daily limits are different, and there are length limitations that must be adhered to. Channel catfish, sauger, and walleye must be at least 15 inches in length, while black bass and paddlefish must be at least 12 inches in length and paddlefish must be at least 24 inches in length. You should double-check the creel limits, as they are different from the ones we’ve mentioned above.