Kansas Fishing Licenses, Laws, and Regulations

Considered a heartland of the United States, Kansas has some of the best waters for fishing. Its many ponds, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and outlets are healthily populated by species such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, flathead catfish, blue catfish, northern pike, striped bass, paddlefish, crappie, and white bass. Unless otherwise exempted, anglers are required to buy a Kansas fishing license before setting out on a fishing trip to Milford Reservoir or Eisenhower State Park or even along the banks of Kansas Rive.

In just a few clicks, you can avail of a KS fishing license online. For those who are not as tech-savvy, a quick visit to the office or shop of a licensed agent or the Kansas Department Wildlife & Parks office are options.

Kansas has its own set of fishing regulations and rules to better address the maintenance, conservation, and preservation of its water and fish resources. Note that there are specific rules and regulations pertaining to each waterway and fish species. It is best to keep a current copy of pertinent KS fishing regulations in your person when fishing.

Kansas rulings regarding the practice of catch and release is a step forward towards the conservation and protection of natural resources. The type of tools and tackles used in fishing is also important as an unmatched tackle will harm fish. Certain tools for the release of fish should also be used for the protection of fish.

Getting a Kansas Fishing License

To acquire a Kansas fishing license, you have a few options to choose from:

Purchase the license online at https://www.kshuntfishcamp.com/home.page

On the middle fold of the website, there is a form that says, “Get Your Kansas Licenses & Permits, Reserve Your Cabin or Campsite. Make sure to click on the button that says “Licenses and Permits.”
Next, it’ll prompt and ask you for your birthday and whether you’re a resident or non-resident
After completing the previous step, you may choose your desired fishing license or combo. Choose based on type such as combo fishing, the specific kind of fish such as trout permit, etc. Also, you can filter by the length of time, such as annual license and short term fishing.
Once completed, add your desired fishing licenses and permits to your cart and finish your purchase.
You’ll then be prompted to log in or create an account.
Once that is completed, you can print your license and or permit and will receive an email confirmation as well.

Find your local agents near you based on your region. Click here to your local agent. https://ksoutdoors.com/License-Permits/Locations-to-Buy-License-Permits
You may visit any Kansas Department Wildlife and Parks Office. Visit their website to find nearby locations. https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Locations/Administrative-Offices
Call the number 1-800-918-2877

Name of Office	Address	Phone	County
Office of the Secretary	1020 S Kansas Rm 200 Topeka, KS 66612-1327	785-296-2281	Shawnee
Pratt Operations	512 SE 25th Avenue Pratt, KS 67124-8174	620-672-5911	Pratt
Hays Region 1	1426 U.S. 183 Bypass P.O. Box 338	785-628-8614	Hays
Topeka Region 2	300 SW Wanamaker Road Topeka KS 66606	785-273-6740	Topeka
Wichita Region 3	6232 E. 29th St. N Wichita, KS 67220	316-683-8069	Wichita
Kansas City District	8304 Hedge Lane Terrace Shawnee, KS 66227	913-422-1314	Johnson
Dodge City District	1001 W. McArtor RD Dodge City, KS 67801-6024	620-227-8609	Dodge
Chanute District	137 E. 21st St Ks Chanute KS 66720	620-431-0380	Chanute
Emporia Research and Survey	1830 Merchant P.O Box 1525 Emporia KS 66801-1525	620-342-0658	Emporia

Types of Fishing License and Cost

We’ve compiled a list of fishing licenses and permits/fees so you can refer back to see which grants you’ll need for your trip.

Lifetime Senior Resident/Hunt/Fish Combination	$42.50
Senior Resident Fish	$15
Senior Resident Combination Hunt/Fish	$25
Resident 1-Day Fish License	$8.50
Resident Fishing	$27.50
Resident Combination Fish & Hunt	$47.50
5 Year Resident Fish License	$102.50
Lifetime Fishing	$502.50
Combo Lifetime Fishing & Hunting	$962.50
Non-resident Fishing	$52.50
Nonresident Combination Fish & Hunt	$137.50
Nonresident Five Day Fishing	$27.50
Nonresident 1 Day Fishing	$14.50
Trout Permit	$14.50
Paddlefish Permit	$12.50
Youth (15 and Younger) Paddlefish Permit	$7.50
Hand Fishing Permit	$27.50
Bass Pass	$14.50
Three Pole Permit	$8.50
Duplicates (All Licenses/Permits)	$2.50

Trout Permit: For anglers attempting to fish trout, you abide by these rules. Trout season runs from Nov 1 through Apr 15. A trout permit is $14.50. Trout permits are available at KDWPT offices, county clerk offices, license vendors or online. The permit is valid for the current calendar year.

Youth 15 and Under Limit: Without a trout permit, these individuals have a daily creel limit of 2 trout. If they do have a license, the daily creel limit is five trout.

Adult Limit: The daily creel limit is five trout, and the possession limit is 15.

Year-Round Season: Normally, the season is Nov 1 - Apr 15, however, at the Mined Land Wildlife Area Unit #30 (Cherokee County), trout fishing is open all year round.

Fishing Spots that Require a Trout Permit for Anglers 16 and Older:

Dodge City Lake Charles
Ft. Scott Gun Park Lake
Garnett Crystal Lake
Glen Elder Reservoir Outlet
Kanopolis Seep Stream
KDOT East Lake in Wichita
Lake Henry in Clinton SP
Mined Land WA Unit #30
Pratt Centennial Pond
Vic’s Lake and Slough Creek in Sedgwick County Park
Topeka Auburndale Park
Walnut River Area in El Dorado SP
Webster Stilling Basin

Fishing Sports that Require a Trout Permit Only for Trout Anglers:

Atchison City Lake No. 1
Cimarron Grasslands Pits
Colby Villa High Lake
Father Padilla Lake in Herington
Ft. Riley Cameron Springs and Moon lakes
Great Bend Veterans Memorial Park Lake
Great Bend Stone Lake
Holton-Elkhorn Lake
Hutchinson Dillon Nature Center Pond
Lake Shawnee
Meade State Fishing Lake
Salina Lakewood Lake
Scott State Fishing Lake
Scott State Park Pond
Syracuse-Sam's Pond
Cherryvale City Lake

Who needs a Kansas Fishing license?

Any individual who is from age 16 to 74 is required to have a license. For a resident's permit, the person must be a resident of Kansas for at least 60 days before purchasing the license. And resident fishing license must be present at the time of fishing. All individuals must have possession of the license while fishing. Individuals are subject to show them to any Kansas Natural Resources department officer for identification and proof of license at any point while fishing in public.

For non-residents, a valid non-resident license must be at hand at all times.

Kansas Residents ages 65-74: Kansas residents aged 65-74 are required to have fishing licenses as well. However, they will be offered a reduced lifetime price, which is half the price for annual fishing available for purchase.

Multi-Year Youth License: For youth licenses for residents ages 16-20, a one-time fishing license purchase is available at $42.50, and multi-year hunting and fishing license combination is $72.50. For multi-license, it expires on Dec 31 of the year that the individual turns 21 years of age.

Individuals who are part of the National Guard: For active members of the National Guard, the state provides free fishing and hunting licenses.

Disabled Veterans: For individuals who residents of Kansas and also have at least 30% disability qualify for free hunting and fishing license. These individuals must provide proof by showing a copy of their disabled veteran's entitlement papers.

American Indian: Individuals who demonstrate at least one-sixteenth American Indian by blood and also certified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs may apply for a free fishing license.

Fishing License Expiration: All licenses expire 365 days from the date of purchase except for the multi-year, five day, lifetime, and one-day fishing licenses.

Kansas Fishing License Renewal

Hunters, anglers, and state park visitors have the option to participate in the “auto-renew” program to renew their licenses automatically. There is no fee for auto-renew. You may also opt-out of your auto-renew if you change your mind at any time about renewing your fishing license. After the annual purchase is made, you will log on to https://www.kshuntfishcamp.com/home.page and print your licenses and permits. You won’t be mailed a copy.

The licenses and permits that are eligible to auto-renew regarding fishing are:

Resident Annual Combo (Hunt/Fish)
Non-resident Annual Combo (Hunt/Fish)
Senior Annual Combo (Hunt/Fish; age 65-74)
Resident 5-year Combo (Hunt/Fish)
Resident Annual Fish
Non-resident Annual Fish
Senior Annual Fish (age 65-74)
Resident 5-year Fish
Trout Permit
Three-pole Permit
Tournament Blass Bass Pass
Hand Fishing Permit

To register for the auto-renew license, please the steps below:

Please visit the Kansas Wildlife Parks and Tourism website: https://www.kshuntfishcamp.com/home.page.
On this website, please find “Licenses & Permits” or “Licenses & Applications.”
On the next page, click “Sign in Now '' and log into your account using your Driver's License number or KDWPT number.
Enter your account details and residency information.
Find and select your desired fishing licenses and permits.
Then click on “Go to Cart.”
Click on “Proceed to Checkout.”
Enter your payment details.
Once finished, scroll down to the “Auto-Renewal” section. Check the eligible items you have for auto-renewal enrollment. This ensures you can automatically renew your license and permits.
Provide a credit card for auto-renewal if different from above.
Click on “Submit Payment.”
Then click “Print All Licenses/Permits.”

Kansas Fish Size and Limits

We’ve provided general guides to the following state length and daily creel limits that are applied to public Kansas waters such as rivers, streams, and ponds. There are special regulations that may differ from these rules as well as city, county, and other locally managed waters will have more restrictive limits of the fish you are allowed to catch. Here is a table for your reference.

Type of Fish	Number of Fish	Length of Fish
Channel catfish	10	--
Blue catfish	5
Walleye, sauger, saugeye (single species or in combination)	5	15 inches (does not apply to rivers, streams, and tailwaters)
Rainbow trout, brown trout (single species or in combination)	5
Black basses (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, single species or in combination)	5	15 inches
Flathead catfish	5
Northern pike	2	30 inches
Striped bass	5
Wipe (white bass/striped bass hybrid)	5
Crappie	50
White bass, bullhead, bluegill and all other legal species	No limit
Paddlefish	2

The possession limit on all fish is three times the daily creel limit. For new anglers out there, creel limit is defined by the maximum number of species of fish or frog that can be taken per person in a calendar year.

Private Water Regulations: Though most of the regulations are mandated for public waters, many private areas have their rules as well. A fishing license is required to fish on many private lands in the following situations:

Any private impoundment that has a stream or river that goes in and out of it to public waters
Any private impoundment that is owned by more than one person, and assumes that you aren’t an owner. (The owner is exempt from fishing in their waters)
Any impoundment that is stocked by the state within the last ten years.

Special Limits for fishing in the Missouri River:

Length Limits:

Black Bass: 12-inch minimum
Paddlefish: 24-inch minimum
Channel Catfish: 15-inch minimum
Sauger and Walleye: 15-inch minimum

Daily Creel Limits:

Black Bass: 6
Channel Catfish: 10
Blue Catfish: 5
Crappie: 30
Flathead Catfish: 5
Paddlefish: 2
Walleye, sauger, and their hybrids: 4
Yellow bass, striped bass, white bass, and their hybrids: 15

Cleaning and Possession: All fish species must have their head, body, and tail fin attached while in possession of the water.

Best Fishing Spots in Kansas

Kansas is broken up to 5 different regions, where each region has its unique qualities and fish species. The regions are northwest, northeast, southwest, south-central, and southeast. Larned Fishing Pond in Larned Kansas is a spot where it has one of the best-stocked fishing holes. You’ll never have to fish for long before getting bites or seeing fish rise to the surface. Anglers can expect to find black crappie, bluegill, carp, channel catfish, and largemouth bass.

For those looking to catch bigger and heavier fish, Elk City Lake is an excellent spot. This lake produced a world record for a flathead of 123 pounds. You’ll find massive catfish and crappies to enjoy. Another place with heavy fish is Milford Lake. This lake has fish that cross the 50-pound line, and the common species found in this region are bass and crappies.