BC fishing regulations

British Columbia’s freshwater fishing rules by topic: daily limits, catch and release, harvest, Classified Waters and in-season changes, each with the synopsis page that prints it.
These are summaries of the synopsis. The synopsis and BC’s in-season changes are the law: check both before you fish.
Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis 2025–2027 · effective 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2027
Read the synopsis ↗Check BC’s in-season changes ↗

Topics

Daily limits
How many fish you may keep in a day, and the fish you must release, province-wide and by region. A water’s own quota, on its page, comes first. 150 rules.
Catch and release
Fish that must be released, province-wide and by region. 41 rules.
Harvest
Possession limits, annual quotas, size limits and retention rules, province-wide and by region. 41 rules.
Classified Waters
Trout streams where you need a Classified Waters Licence as well as a basic angling licence, and each water’s class, by region. 72 waters.
In-season changes
BC closes waters and changes rules during the season, and those changes aren’t in the synopsis. Check the official list before every trip. 2 rules.

Seasonal closures by region

Closures that apply across a region or watershed. Water-specific rules can differ.
Region 2: Lower Mainland
Prohibited
No fishing in any lake in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest near Maple Ridge.
Synopsis page 23 ↗
Region 3: Thompson-Nicola
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in Region 3 from 1 January to 30 June.
Not yet checked by a person: confirm it on the synopsis page.
Synopsis page 30 ↗
Region 4: Kootenay
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in Region 4 from 1 April to 14 June.
Synopsis page 36 ↗
Region 5: Cariboo
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in the Fraser River Watershed of Region 5, including the Thompson River Watershed, 1 April to 30 June, except the mainstem of the Fraser River and other streams listed in the tables.
Synopsis page 48 ↗
Region 6: Skeena
Prohibited
No fishing for steelhead in all rivers and streams, 15 May to 15 June.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Permitted with conditions
Exemptions from the steelhead closure include mainstem portions of the Skeena River, Nass River, Iskut River, Stikine River and Taku River, which are not currently closed under the existing winter/spring closure regulation.
The printed line has dates this summary leaves out: read it on the synopsis page.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in the watersheds of the Skeena River upstream of Cedarvale, 1 January to 15 June.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in the watersheds of the Nass River upstream of Kitsault Bridge, 1 January to 15 June.
Not yet checked by a person: confirm it on the synopsis page.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Permitted with conditions
The Nass River mainstem is exempt from the closure above.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in the Iskut River watershed upstream of Forest Kerr Canyon, 1 April to 30 June.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Prohibited
No fishing in the Fraser River watershed in Region 6, 1 April to 30 June.
Synopsis page 55 ↗
Region 7A: Omineca
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream of Zone A, 1 April to 30 June.
Synopsis page 64 ↗
Region 8: Okanagan
Prohibited
No fishing in any stream in Region 8 from 1 April to 30 June (see the tables for exceptions).
Synopsis page 74 ↗

Not summarised here

These regions’ rules on this topic aren’t in this summary yet. That doesn’t mean there are none: read them in the synopsis.
Region 1: Vancouver Island (from page 14) ↗Region 7B: Peace (from page 69) ↗
A water’s own rules are on its page, and can differ from these.
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