.jpg)
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s sportfishing rules could see several changes — from trout limits in the Panhandle to bass regulations near Omaha — when the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission meets Oct. 10 at Niobrara State Park.
Commissioners will gather at 8 a.m. in the Eagle View Group Lodge, 89261 522 Ave., Niobrara, to consider a series of amendments to sportfishing and wildlife regulations, along with other business.
Among the proposed sportfishing changes: Clarify that the two-fish daily trout limit at the Soldier Creek Wilderness Area may include only one fish 16 inches or longer.
Add Marlin Petermann Recreation Area in Douglas County to the list of waters with a two-fish daily bag limit and 12-inch maximum length limit on smallmouth bass.
Add Marlin Petermann Recreation Area to the list of waters with a five-fish daily bag limit on yellow perch.
Add Wolbach City Lake in Greeley County, Forest City Recreation Area in Sarpy County and Mad Bear Recreation Area in Sarpy County to the list of waters with a one-fish daily bag limit and 21-inch minimum length limit on black bass.
Rescind exceptions on muskellunge and tiger muskellunge at Pelican Lake in Cherry County (one over 34 inches, no minimum length, three-fish bag/possession limit).
Confirm legal paddlefish archery fishing hours of sunrise to sunset.
Additional sportfishing amendments would remove redundant language, reorganize paddlefish rules for clarity, add definitions, and update the list of waters where live baitfish possession is unlawful.
Wildlife regulation proposals include: Clarifying rules for purchasing a preference or bonus point.
Allowing breech-loading muzzleloaders during the muzzleloader season.
Combining checking requirements for bobcat, gray fox and river otter.
Moving language about incidentally caught otters to a different chapter.
Adjusting youth deer permit age eligibility and eliminating the requirement for Free-earned Landowner Elk Program participants to designate their earned permit for the following season.
Specifying nuisance birds, when permits may be issued, and which parts cannot be bought, sold or bartered.
Adding carriages to vehicles not allowed on wildlife management areas, with exceptions.
Updating area-specific rules at Catfish Run, Enders, Gifford Point, Kea West, Medicine Creek, Oak Glen, Randall W. Schilling, Red Willow and Swanson.
Other business includes voting on: Fee increases for park lodging and rental facilities.
A lease agreement for 90 acres in Sioux County for the Bighorn Sheep Restoration Facility, contingent on grant and donation funding.
The 2026-2028 Focus on Education Plan, “Education Strategy: Connecting Through Experience.”
The 2026-2030 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan to maintain eligibility for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Statewide Assistance Program.
The Recreational Road Program’s one- to five-year plan.
The 2026 Nebraska Game and Parks meeting schedule.
