Brown trout Salmo trutta

How they feed

• Water45–68°F, best near 55°
• TideEither, as long as it moves
• MoonAvoid full
• DepthUsually 3–25 ft

Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works

Season by state

• MarylandMar–Jun, Sep–Nov
• MontanaApr–Oct
• ColoradoApr–Oct
• MichiganApr–Nov
• New YorkApr–Jun, Aug–Nov
• ArkansasMay–Dec
• ConnecticutApr–Nov
• IndianaApr–Jun, Sep–Dec
• MaineApr–Jun, Aug–Nov
• UtahApr–Dec
• GeorgiaYear-round
• IdahoMar–Nov
• IllinoisApr–Jun, Sep–Nov
• KentuckyYear-round
• New MexicoFeb–Dec
• PennsylvaniaApr–Jun, Sep–Nov
• TennesseeYear-round
• WisconsinApr–Jun, Sep–Nov

The Maryland, Delaware and Virginia months are the Chesapeake-region season. Everywhere else it is carried over by water temperature: a month counts at a spot when its usual water is in the range that marks the mid-Atlantic season (42–71°F), from the spot’s own gauge where it has one and an estimate from air temperature where it doesn’t. Each state lists the months that hold at half or more of its spots. Where the water temperatures come from.

Keep or release

• Arkansasno harvestArkansas: on the Norfork tailwater and the White River from Bull Shoals Dam to the Norfork Access only rainbows under 14" may be kept, so every brown trout must be released. Below the Norfork Access a brown must be at least 24" and counts as the one fish over 14" in the 2-trout limit.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Colorado non-tidal4 a dayColorado statewide: 4 trout a day in aggregate (brook, brown, cutbow, cutthroat, golden, lake, rainbow, splake, tiger), 8 in possession, no minimum length. Brook trout 8" or shorter are an extra 10 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Connecticut5 a dayConnecticut statewide: 5 trout a day, no minimum length; catch and release only from Mar 1 to the second Saturday in April. The Farmington and Housatonic Trout Management Areas have their own rules, and a trout and salmon stamp is needed to keep trout.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Delaware tidal6 a dayDelaware's put-and-take trout program stocks rainbow, brook and brown trout in New Castle County streams and Tidbury and Newton ponds. No size limit; 6 trout a day in any combination (4 in or within 50 feet of fly-fishing-only water). The 2026 season opened Mar 8 at the ponds and Apr 5 on the streams (youth a day earlier), and designated trout waters are closed for 14 days before opening day. A trout stamp is needed on designated streams from the first Saturday in April to Jun 30 and from the first Saturday in October to Nov 30, and at the ponds from the first Saturday in March to Apr 1.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Georgia8 a dayGeorgia statewide: 8 trout a day, no minimum length, and all designated trout waters are open all year. Delayed-harvest streams are catch-and-release with artificial lures Nov 1–May 14.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Idaho non-tidal6 a dayIdaho general rules: 6 trout a day in rivers and streams, all species combined (2 in the Clearwater Region; only 2 of the 6 may be cutthroat in Magic Valley and Southeast region streams). Possession is 3 times the daily limit; open all year unless a special rule says otherwise.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Illinois10" minimum · 5 a dayIllinois Lake Michigan: trout and salmon 10" minimum, 5 a day singly or in aggregate; lake trout no more than 2 a day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Indiana14" minimum · 5 a dayIndiana Lake Michigan and tributaries: 14" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, no more than 3 of them lake trout.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Kentucky16" minimum · 1 a dayKentucky statewide: 16" minimum, 1 brown trout a day. Below Wolf Creek Dam the minimum is 20" (1 a day), and a trout permit is required.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maine non-tidal14" minimum · 2 a dayMaine general law: 2 brown trout a day; 14" minimum in lakes and ponds, 6–25" in rivers and streams.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maine non-tidal6" minimum · 25" maximum · 2 a dayMaine general law: 2 brown trout a day; rivers and streams 6" minimum and 25" maximum.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maryland non-tidal2 a dayMaryland statewide trout rule: 2 a day in any combination (4 in possession), no minimum size, open all year. Put-and-take trout areas, which include most stocked lakes, allow 5 a day. Brown trout may not be used as bait.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Maryland non-tidal2 a dayMaryland statewide trout rule: 2 a day in any combination (4 in possession), no minimum size, open all year. Put-and-take areas and special trout management areas have their own rules. Brown trout may not be used as bait.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Michigan10" minimum · 3 a dayMichigan Great Lakes: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in any combination, no more than 3 of any one species except up to 5 coho, chinook or pink salmon. Open all year.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Michigan8" minimum · 5 a dayMichigan Type 1 trout streams: open the last Saturday in April through Sep 30; 5 trout and salmon a day, no more than 3 of them 15" or longer. Brown trout 8" minimum.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Montana Central District5 a dayCentral District lakes and reservoirs: 5 trout a day including cutthroat, 10 in possession. Open all year. Canyon Ferry and the Missouri reservoirs down to Holter Dam release brown trout.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Montana Central District3 a dayCentral District rivers and streams: 3 trout a day and in possession, only 1 over 18" and only 1 a cutthroat; grayling must be released. Open all year unless an exception says otherwise.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Montana Western District3 a dayWestern District rivers and streams: 3 brown, rainbow and golden trout and grayling a day combined, only 1 over 14". Western District rivers and streams are open the third Saturday in May (May 16 in 2026) through Nov 30 unless an exception says otherwise.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• New Mexico non-tidal5 a dayNew Mexico: 5 trout and kokanee a day combined, 10 in possession; no more than 2 lake trout or 2 cutthroat.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• New York15" minimum · 3 a dayLake Ontario and the Lower Niagara: 15" minimum (21" for rainbow trout and steelhead), 3 trout and salmon a day combined, no more than 2 rainbow trout or steelhead. In Lake Ontario tributaries rainbows must be 25" and only 1 rainbow and 1 brown may be kept.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• New York5 a dayNew York inland trout streams: 5 trout a day, any size, but only 2 longer than 12", Apr 1–Oct 15; catch and release with artificial lures Oct 16–Mar 31. Stocked-extended, wild-quality, wild-premier and catch-and-release reaches are stricter.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Ohio12" minimum · 2 a day (Jan 1–May 15, Sep 1–Dec 31); 12" minimum · 5 a day (May 16–Aug 31)Lake Erie and the full length of its tributaries: 12" minimum, trout and salmon combined. 2 a day Mar 1–May 15, 5 a day May 16–Aug 31, 2 a day Sep 1–Feb 28.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Pennsylvania15" minimum · 3 a day (Jan 1–Apr 2, Sep 7–Dec 31); 9" minimum · 5 a day (Apr 3–Sep 6)Brook and brown trout combined: 9" and 5 a day from the opener to Labor Day, 15" and 3 a day from the day after Labor Day to the Friday before the next opener. Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and all tributaries. All trout and salmon combined: 5 a day from 8 a.m. on the trout opener (the first Saturday in April; Apr 3 in 2027) through Labor Day, 3 a day after. Tributary streams are closed to trout fishing from 12:01 a.m. on the Friday before the opener until 8 a.m. on opening day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Pennsylvania7" minimum · 3 a day (Jan 1–Feb 15, Sep 7–Dec 31); 7" minimum · 5 a day (Apr 3–Sep 6)Pennsylvania streams: 7" minimum, 5 trout a day (combined species) from 8 a.m. on the first Saturday in April through Labor Day; extended season 3 a day on stocked waters (catch and release on waters not stocked). Stocked waters close Feb 16 until the opener.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Tennessee7 a dayTennessee: 7 trout a day combined, no statewide minimum (only 2 may be lake trout). Tailwater rules: Clinch 14–20" protected; South Holston 16–22" protected; Watauga Quality Trout Area 14" and 2 a day; Hiwassee delayed harvest Oct 1–Feb 28; Caney Fork 5 a day with a 14–20" protected range and a 24" brown trout minimum.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Utah non-tidal4 a dayUtah statewide: 4 trout, kokanee and grayling a day combined, no statewide size limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Utah non-tidal4 a dayUtah statewide: 4 trout, kokanee and grayling a day combined, no statewide size limit.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Virginia non-tidal (VDWR)7" minimum · 6 a dayVirginia statewide: trout season is open all year, 6 trout a day, none under 7". Heritage, urban, special-regulation and fee-fishing waters have their own rules.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• West Virginia6 a dayWest Virginia: 6 trout a day combined (rainbow, golden rainbow, brook, tiger and brown), no statewide minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Wisconsin10" minimum · 5 a dayWisconsin Lake Michigan and Green Bay: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, lake trout included. Open all year, except no lake trout season on the Mid Lake Reef Complex. A Great Lakes trout and salmon stamp is required.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
• Wyoming non-tidal3 a dayWyoming streams: 3 trout a day, only 1 over 16"; no more than 6 across streams and lakes combined. Brook trout, lake trout and splake have separate limits. Open all year.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source

Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Brown trout are fished at spots in 19 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming.