Trout has the most structure of any freshwater season: opening days, catch-and-release winters, stream types with their own dates, and stocked waters that open when the truck arrives. A single state can hold four different trout seasons at once.
State by state
Each block is one rule as the agency writes it, with the calendar band underneath. Where a state runs the same species on two different calendars — inshore against offshore, one peninsula against the other — both are here, because that is exactly the distinction people get wrong.
Michigan Michigan DNR
Type 1 and 2 streams
The traditional statewide trout opener. Type 3 and 4 streams and several lake types are open all year instead, so “trout season” in Michigan depends entirely on which water you are standing in. The DNR publishes an interactive map for exactly this reason.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Indiana Indiana DNR
Inland streams
The opener is 6 a.m. on the last Saturday in April and runs to December 31. Inland lakes have no closed season for trout at all, so the same fish is on two different calendars depending on whether it is swimming in moving water.
- Size
- 7 inches on inland waters other than Lake Michigan and its tributaries.
- Limit
- 5 per day.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Indiana fishing guide, the designated publisher for Indiana DNR.
New York NYSDEC
Inland streams
From October 16 to March 31 the streams stay open as catch-and-release with artificial lures. Brook trout ponds close over that window entirely; brown, rainbow and splake in lakes and ponds are open all year.
- Limit
- 5 per day, of which only 2 may be over 12 inches.
Read on 2026-09-14 from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Pennsylvania PFBC
Statewide, regular season
The regulation reads "8 a.m. on the first Saturday in April, to midnight, Labor Day", which is why the date moves: April 5 in 2025, April 4 in 2026. Anglers 16 and over need a trout permit on top of the licence, and that catches people out more often than the date does.
- Size
- 7 inches.
- Limit
- 5 trout a day, all species combined.
Statewide, extended season
After Labor Day the season does not end, it changes gear: from September 8, 2026 to February 15, 2027 the water stays open with the daily limit cut from five to three. Most people who put the rod away in September do not know this exists.
- Limit
- 3 trout a day.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
New Jersey NJ Fish and Wildlife
Inland stocked waters
Opening day 2026 was 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 11, with more than 180,000 rainbow trout and 20,000 brown trout stocked for it. The division sets opening day in April each year and publishes it in the Freshwater Fishing Digest, so it is worth checking rather than assuming the same Saturday.
Read on 2026-09-14 from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Minnesota Minnesota DNR
Lake trout and stream trout
The statute puts trout between January 1 and October 31 "as prescribed by the commissioner by rule", which means the outer bounds are in law and the actual dates for a given water come from the DNR rule. Check the specific lake or stream rather than the statute.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR website blocks automated access, so these dates are read from Minnesota Statutes 97C.395, which is the law that sets them — a stronger source than the summary page, and the reason the opener can be calculated years ahead.
Wisconsin Wisconsin DNR
Inland trout streams
Streams open at 5 a.m. on the first Saturday in April and run to October 15, a month ahead of the general season. Trout lakes and ponds wait for the general opener instead, so the same species is on two calendars depending on whether the water moves.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Oregon ODFW
Zone regulations
No date to look up. Set per zone in the Sport Fishing Regulations, with in-season updates.
Oregon splits the state into fishing zones and each one carries its own trout season and bag limit, with river and stream seasons typically shorter than lake seasons. There is no single statewide trout date to quote, and the regulation updates page changes through the year. We have not published a state-wide figure because there is not one to publish.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
North Carolina NCWRC
Hatchery Supported waters
Open all year except for a month-long closure from March 1 to April 2, when these waters are shut to all fishing while they are restocked. They reopen on the first Saturday in April — the closest thing the state has to an opening day.
- Size
- No size limit.
- Limit
- 7 a day.
Delayed Harvest waters
From October 1 to the first Saturday in June these waters are catch-and-release with artificial lures only — no trout may be possessed. They open to harvest on the first Saturday in June, and from 6 a.m. to noon that morning the water is reserved for anglers under 16. From noon they run as Hatchery Supported until the end of September.
- Limit
- 7 a day during the harvest window.
Wild Trout waters
No closed season, but artificial lures with a single hook only and no natural bait may even be in your possession. The size and limit are tighter than the stocked waters because these fish are reproducing on their own.
- Size
- 7 inches.
- Limit
- 4 a day.
Catch and Release / artificial flies and lures only waters
Open every day of the year and nothing comes home. Single hook, artificial only. If you are looking for the answer to "when is trout season in North Carolina", this classification is why the question has no single answer.
- Limit
- No trout may be possessed.
Read on 2026-09-14 from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official North Carolina regulations digest, the designated publisher for NCWRC.
Maine MDIFW
Rivers, streams and brooks, both zones
Open to open-water fishing from April 1 to August 15, then artificial lures or flies only from August 16 to September 30. The gear change partway through the season is the part people miss.
North Zone lakes and ponds
April 1 to September 30 for open water, then closed to all fishing from October 1 to March 31 unless the individual water is opened by special law. Hundreds of North Zone waters are opened for ice fishing that way, marked with an A or B season code in the special laws.
- Limit
- 5 brook trout.
South Zone lakes and ponds
Open to ice and open-water fishing from January 1 to December 31. If there is open water in March, you can fish it. The trade for that access is a tighter brook trout limit than the north.
- Limit
- 2 brook trout from South Zone lakes and ponds.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
California CDFW
General trout season, inland waters
The opener landed on April 25 in 2026, April 26 in 2025 and April 27 in 2024 — the last Saturday in April each time. Plenty of low-elevation waters are open all year underneath that rule, and district regulations vary enough that CDFW tells anglers to check the specific water rather than the date. The opener is a Sierra tradition more than a statewide switch.
- Limit
- 5 a day on most lakes, rivers and streams, with a 10-fish possession limit.
Read on 2026-09-14 from California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Georgia Georgia WRD
All designated trout waters
The regulations state it flatly: "All designated trout waters are now open year round." The old last-Saturday-in-March opener is gone. What remains are water-specific restrictions rather than a statewide season, and those are where the real rules live.
Delayed harvest streams
Catch-and-release with artificial lures only from November 1 to May 14 on the delayed harvest streams. The Conasauga River watershed runs its own artificial-only restriction from November 1 to the last Saturday in March. Named waters carry their own size limits on top: 22 inches on Waters Creek, 16 inches on Noontootla Creek.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Georgia sport fishing regulations, the designated publisher for Georgia WRD.
Virginia Virginia DWR
Statewide, general regulations
DWR is unambiguous: "Virginia’s trout season is open year-round", six fish a day, nothing under seven inches. The exceptions are what change the day — a number of waters run their own dates and rules on top of the statewide one.
- Size
- 7 inches.
- Limit
- 6 a day.
Designated stocked trout waters
These waters are only designated stocked trout waters from October 1 to June 15, and that is the window in which a trout licence is required. From June 16 to September 30 the designation lapses and so does the licence requirement. The fishing does not stop; the paperwork does.
Delayed harvest waters
From October 1 to May 31 these waters are artificial lures only and nothing may be kept. From June 1 to September 30 the restrictions lift and they behave like any other stocked trout water. It is the same stretch of river running two completely different fisheries eight months apart.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Vermont Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Streams
The second Saturday in April to October 31, which put the 2026 opener on April 11. There is no minimum length on stream trout here, which is unusual, and the eight-fish limit is generous by New England standards.
- Limit
- 8 brook, brown and rainbow trout combined.
Lakes
Same opener as the streams, but lakes reopen from January 1 to March 15 for the ice, so lake trout anglers get two bites at the year. Lake trout follow the same pattern with an 18-inch minimum and a two-fish limit shared with landlocked salmon.
- Limit
- 6 fish.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Vermont fishing guide, the designated publisher for Vermont Fish and Wildlife.
New Hampshire NH Fish and Game
Trout ponds
Open on the fourth Saturday in April, closed to salmon on October 1 and to everything on October 16. The fourth Saturday is late even by northern standards, and it exists to let the ponds turn over before anyone fishes them.
- Limit
- 5 fish or 5 pounds, whichever comes first. No length limit.
Wild trout ponds
Same opener, six weeks shorter: wild trout ponds close on Labor Day rather than in mid-October. Rivers and streams run January 1 to October 15, and wild trout streams January 1 to Labor Day, so New Hampshire has four trout calendars running at once.
Read on 2026-09-14 from New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official New Hampshire freshwater fishing digest, the designated publisher for NH Fish and Game.
Colorado CPW
Statewide default
The brochure states it plainly: "Colorado waters are open to taking fish, amphibians and crustaceans day and night, year round, except if otherwise stated in the regulation section of this brochure." Night fishing being explicitly legal is unusual and worth knowing. The exceptions are water by water rather than statewide, so the rule that governs your day is posted at the water, not on a calendar.
- Limit
- 4 trout a day, 8 in possession.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Colorado fishing brochure, the designated publisher for CPW.
Ohio ODNR
Inland waters, statewide
Inland trout in Ohio is a stocked, put-and-take fishery rather than a seasonal one. Lake Erie trout and salmon run to two fish a day for most of the year and five between mid-May and the end of August.
- Limit
- 5 in any combination.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Ohio fishing regulations, the designated publisher for ODNR.
Illinois IDNR
Inland trout waters, spring season
Harvest opens on the first Saturday in April — April 4 in 2026, April 5 in 2025 — at stocked ponds, lakes and streams across the state. Before that, a catch-and-release period runs from around the third Saturday in March: the water is open, nothing comes home. Everyone needs an inland trout stamp as well as a licence, including catch-and-release anglers, unless they are under 16, blind or disabled, or an Illinois resident on leave from active duty.
- Limit
- 5 trout a day.
Inland trout waters, autumn season
No date to look up. IDNR sets the October opening each year and publishes the site list with it.
A second stocking of around 80,000 trout supports an autumn season beginning in October, run on the same catch-and-release-then-harvest pattern. The exact date and the list of waters change year to year, so this page does not fix one.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Missouri MDC
The four trout parks, catch-and-keep
Bennett Spring, Montauk, Roaring River and Maramec Spring. March 1 is the opener and it is an event: the parks fill before dawn. A daily trout tag is required on top of a fishing permit — five dollars for adults, three for under-16s — and it is per day, not per season.
- Size
- Brown trout 15 inches; no minimum on rainbow.
- Limit
- 4 a day, 8 in possession.
The four trout parks, winter catch-and-release
From the second Friday in November to the second Monday in February the same water reopens as a catch-and-release, flies-only fishery, and the annual trout permit replaces the daily tag. That put the 2026 season at November 13 to February 8. Hours vary by park and the crowds do not exist.
- Limit
- Nothing may be kept. Flies only.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Missouri Department of Conservation.
Tennessee TWRA
Statewide
A generous limit by national standards, and no statewide closed season. Individual tailwaters and delayed-harvest stretches carry their own dates and restrictions — in places trout is catch-and-release from December to March — so the statewide number is the floor, not the answer.
- Limit
- 7 a day, no minimum length.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Kentucky KDFWR
Statewide
Three species, three rules. Eight rainbow a day is one of the most generous trout limits in the country; one brown at sixteen inches is one of the tightest; and brook trout may not be kept at all. Kentucky stocks rainbow heavily and protects its wild brook trout, and the limits say exactly that.
- Size
- Brown trout 16 inches; no minimum on rainbow.
- Limit
- Rainbow 8 a day. Brown 1 a day. Brook trout catch and release only.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Kentucky fishing and boating guide, the designated publisher for KDFWR.
Arkansas AGFC
Statewide
The sub-limits inside the limit are the part to read twice: five trout, but the brown, cutthroat and brook components are each capped at two. A trout permit is required to keep trout anywhere in the state from age 16. Individual tailwaters — the White, the Norfork, the Little Red — carry their own slot limits that override the statewide number.
- Limit
- 5 a day, of which no more than 2 brown, 2 cutthroat and 2 brook trout.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Oklahoma ODWC
Statewide
Trout in Oklahoma is a stocked winter fishery in a handful of tailwaters and park lakes rather than a wild one. The statewide closure worth knowing is on a different species entirely: taking or attempting to take alligator gar is prohibited statewide from May 1 to 31.
- Limit
- 3 a day for rainbow and brown combined.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Oklahoma fishing regulations, the designated publisher for ODWC.
Kansas KDWP
Designated trout waters
Kansas stocks trout into a set of designated waters over the colder months, and Type 1 waters require a trout permit on top of a licence. It is a put-and-take fishery built around the stocking truck rather than a season in the northern sense.
- Limit
- 5 a day for rainbow and brown combined.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Kansas fishing regulations summary, the designated publisher for KDWP.
Wyoming WGFD
Statewide default
The regulation reads: "Fishing is permitted year-round twenty-four (24) hours a day in any waters of this state except as otherwise provided by Commission regulation for specific areas, streams, lakes, or portions thereof." Twenty-four hours a day is unusual and it is explicit. The catch is in the second half of the sentence: Wyoming divides itself into fishing areas, each with its own creel limit, and individual waters carry their own closures — Burnt Lake in Sublette County is shut from December 1 to April 30, Currant Creek in Sweetwater County from April 1 to June 30.
- Limit
- 6 trout a day statewide, though many areas reduce that to 3.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Wyoming fishing regulations, the designated publisher for WGFD.
Montana Montana FWP
Western District rivers and streams
The regulation reads "Open third Saturday in May through November 30, unless otherwise specified in Exceptions to Standard Regulations". The Western District is every water in Montana west of the Continental Divide, which is most of the famous trout water in the state bar the Missouri and the Yellowstone. The date moves: May 16 in 2026, May 17 in 2025.
Central and Eastern District rivers and streams
Both districts read "Open all year" for rivers and streams, with the Central District adding "unless otherwise specified in Exceptions to Standard Regulations". So the Madison, the Bighorn and the lower Missouri are fishable in February while the Bitterroot is not.
Lakes and reservoirs, all three districts
Every lake and reservoir in Montana reads "Open all year" under the standard regulations. The state tells anglers to work in this order: identify the district, read its standard regulations, then look up the specific water in the Exceptions — and if it is listed there, the exception replaces the standard rule entirely.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Idaho IDFG
General season, all waters
The general rule is "Open All Year, except as modified in the Special Rule Waters". The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is still everywhere in the book, but as a transition rather than an opening: restrictions that apply from December 1 to the Friday before that weekend give way to a different set from that Saturday through November 30. Warm River, for instance, changes from catch-and-release to a six-trout limit on exactly that day.
- Limit
- 6 trout a day, all species combined, with brook trout allowing 10 more on top.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Idaho fishing seasons and rules, the designated publisher for IDFG.
Utah Utah DWR
Statewide default
The guidebook says plainly that "Utah has a year-round fishing season for most waterbodies", running January 1 to December 31. The rules for specific waters take precedence over the general ones, and in a state with this much reservoir and high-country stream, the specific water is usually where the real rule is.
- Limit
- 4 trout, kokanee salmon and Arctic grayling combined.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Utah fishing guidebook, the designated publisher for Utah DWR.
Nevada NDOW
Statewide default
The regulation reads: "Unless otherwise noted under Region Special Regulations, the season is open year around and fishing hours are any time of the day or night." Nevada divides itself into Western, Southern and Eastern regions, each with its own general limits, and individual waters override those as special regulations.
- Limit
- Set by region: 5 trout a day in the Western Region.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Nevada Department of Wildlife. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Nevada fishing regulations, the designated publisher for NDOW.
Arizona AZGFD
Statewide default
The general bag limits "apply statewide unless site specific Special Regulations apply to that body of water", and a good deal of Arizona trout water does carry its own rules. Several stream sections run seasons of their own — open May 1 through December 31, closed January 1 through April 30 — which is the reverse of the northern pattern and exists because the water is fishable in winter and the fish are not.
- Limit
- 4 in any combination.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Arizona Game and Fish Department. AZGFD publishes its regulations through eRegulations and its own site blocks automated access, so this is the eRegulations edition of the official Arizona fishing regulations.
New Mexico NMDGF
Statewide default
No statewide closed season. Two lake trout and two cutthroat are the most that can be included in the five. Named waters cut it further: four at Tingley Beach, three at Laguna del Campo, the Red River ponds and the Rio Grande between Elephant Butte and Caballo.
- Limit
- 5 a day, 10 in possession, for brown, brook, rainbow and Gila trout and kokanee salmon combined.
Special Trout Waters
Three designations, and the names do the work. Red Chile Water is catch-and-release with tackle restrictions. Green Chile Water allows two trout a day with tackle restrictions. Xmas Chile Water allows two trout a day with any legal tackle. They are managed for different things — trophy size, native trout conservation, population structure — and the colour tells you which bargain you are being offered.
Winter Trout Waters
From November 1 to March 31, when water temperatures are cool enough, a set of waters is stocked with hatchery rainbow specifically for the winter. New Mexico does not close its trout season in winter; it moves the fish to where people can reach them.
Read on 2026-09-14 from New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official New Mexico fishing rules and information, the designated publisher for NMDGF.
Alaska ADF&G
Statewide, by region and area
No date to look up. Set by drainage and area in the regional regulations, and subject to the same emergency orders.
Rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and Arctic char are managed drainage by drainage, with catch-and-release stretches, bait restrictions and closed periods that change between rivers a few miles apart. There is no statewide Alaska trout season to quote, and any page that gives you one has invented it.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Hawaii Hawaii DAR
Licence requirements
Non-residents need a Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License to fish in the sea here, and a Freshwater Game Fishing License is required for certain freshwater species — including the trout on Kauai, where Puʻu Lua Reservoir runs a genuine stocked trout season, which surprises most people about Hawaii.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources.
Delaware DNREC
Non-tidal ponds
Ponds open on the first Saturday in March, a full month before the streams. The pond opener is the earlier and the busier of the two, and a Delaware Trout Stamp is required on top of the licence for anyone fishing for trout.
- Size
- No size limit.
- Limit
- 6 a day, or 4 in fly-fishing-only waters.
Non-tidal streams
Streams open on the first Saturday in April. White Clay Creek and the Wilmington-area streams are the target, stocked with rainbow, brown and brook trout. Two openers a month apart in a state you can drive across in an hour is a quirk worth planning around rather than tripping over.
- Limit
- 6 a day, or 4 in fly-fishing-only waters.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Delaware fishing guide, the designated publisher for DNREC.
Rhode Island RI DEM
Statewide
The regulation says the season "shall commence at 6:00 AM on the second Saturday of April, annually" and "close annually on the last day of February at midnight". So the trout season covers about ten and a half months and the gap is March, when the stocking trucks are working. From December 1 the daily limit drops from five to two.
- Size
- 8 inches.
- Limit
- 5 a day, of which no more than 2 salmon.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Rhode Island freshwater fishing guide, the designated publisher for RI DEM.
West Virginia WVDNR
Statewide
Six trout a day with no minimum size is generous, and it works because the state stocks heavily. The rule that changes the season is the delayed-harvest designation: on those waters trout is catch-and-release from November 1 to May 16, and general regulations apply the rest of the year.
- Size
- No minimum.
- Limit
- 6 a day in any combination of rainbow, golden rainbow, brook, tiger and brown.
Read on 2026-09-14 from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official West Virginia fishing regulations summary, the designated publisher for WVDNR.
Massachusetts MassWildlife / DMF
Lakes, ponds and major rivers
January 1 to December 31, every year. Massachusetts does not close its stillwater trout fishing at all, which surprises anglers arriving from Vermont or New Hampshire where the ponds shut in October. The Housatonic mainstem is the exception: one fish a day at twenty inches, and catch-and-release stretches where nothing may be kept.
- Size
- No minimum.
- Limit
- 3 a day.
All other rivers and brooks
Also open every day of the year — what changes on September 11 is the limit, from eight trout a day down to three. Even in the generous window only three of the eight may come from lakes, ponds or major rivers, so the eight-fish figure is a stream limit rather than a state limit. Trout here means brook, brown, rainbow and tiger.
Quabbin Reservoir
The one real closed season in Massachusetts freshwater, and it is not set by MassWildlife at all — the Department of Conservation and Recreation runs it. The season "generally starts the third Saturday of April and ends after the third Saturday in October", and outside it the reservoir and its tributary streams within the Quabbin Reservation are closed to fishing entirely. Dates move with the weather, so the DCR guide is the last word.
- Limit
- Lake trout 2 a day at 18 inches.
Wachusett, Sudbury and West Waushacum
Also a DCR season rather than a MassWildlife one: it "generally starts the first Saturday in April and ends November 30", and the start can move with the ice. Shoreline fishing only between Gate 6 on Route 70 and Gate 36 on Route 110 at Wachusett.
- Limit
- Lake trout 3 a day.
Cod and haddock, Gulf of Maine
Cod in the Western Gulf of Maine is down to a two-month season and a single fish; in Southern New England it is prohibited outright. Haddock runs eleven months at fifteen fish. Ocean pout, wolffish, windowpane flounder and river herring are all closed with possession prohibited — no season at all, at any point in the year.
- Size
- Cod 23 inches, haddock 17 inches in the Gulf of Maine.
Read on 2026-09-14 from MassWildlife and the Division of Marine Fisheries. Freshwater from the MassWildlife regulations page; saltwater from the Division of Marine Fisheries table, which DMF describes as an unofficial copy of 322 CMR and last updated April 28, 2026.
How to read these dates
A season date is one of four things, and confusing them is how people end up on the water on the wrong day. Some are fixed and will be the same next year. Some are written as a rule — a weekday rather than a date — and we calculate those for 2026 from the regulation instead of copying a figure that goes stale. Some do not exist until the agency announces them, and no amount of searching will produce next season's date early. And some states simply do not close a season for this species, managing it with sizes and limits instead.
On this page 15 of the rules fall into the last two groups, and their calendar band is left empty on purpose. An empty band means nobody has published a date, which is different from the season being shut — and a page that paints both the same colour is telling you something it does not know.
The fish itself
The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. The activity row in each calendar above comes from our own monthly curve for this species, which is what makes the legal band useful: an opening day in cold water and an opening day in a feeding window are not the same trip. The full treatment — where they hold, what they eat and how to fish for them through the year — is on the rainbow trout page, which is about the fish rather than the paperwork.
Questions
When is trout season?
It depends entirely on the state: Michigan is april 25 to september 30, Indiana is april 25 to december 31, New York is april 1 to october 15. There is no national trout season, and the dates below are the ones each agency publishes.
Can I keep trout outside the season?
No. Where a season is closed, harvest is closed, and in several states the water stays open for catch-and-release. Sizes and bag limits apply on top of the season and are listed per state above.
Why does this page not give a date for every state?
Because 15 of the rules listed here are not published as dates at all. The agency either sets them each year or regulates the fishery with sizes and limits instead of a calendar. Publishing a made-up window for those would be the easiest thing on this page and the most dishonest.
Compiled and checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if one has and it goes in the verification log.