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United States · GA
Georgia
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Wildlife Resources Division)
Rules change by area and can change mid-season. We explain what the rules mean and always link you to the official source — we never copy a limit table and call it current.
Licences — what you need
- • A fishing licence is required; saltwater fishing additionally requires the free Saltwater Information Program (SIP) permit — easy to miss because it costs nothing.
- • A Lands Pass or qualifying licence is needed to access state WMAs and some public fishing areas.
How the rules are organized
- • Freshwater rules are statewide by species with named-lake exceptions (big reservoirs and Public Fishing Areas have individual rule sets).
- • Saltwater rules are species-based for the coast; mountain trout streams have their own season/gear structure in the north.
Good to know — common mistakes
- • The free SIP permit is mandatory for saltwater — no permit, illegal fishing, even though it costs $0.
- • Public Fishing Areas (PFAs) are intensively managed with their own hours and rules.
- • North Georgia trout streams include artificial-only and delayed-harvest sections layered on the general trout season.
- • Border waters (Savannah River, Chattahoochee, Lake Hartwell/Clarks Hill with South Carolina) run under shared agreements.
Official links
Fishing locations covered in this guide
This page is a plain-language summary, not the law. Regulations change — including in-season by official notice — and if anything here disagrees with the official source, the official source governs.
AnglerPlan is an information service, not a regulator. If anything here disagrees with an official source, the official source wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.