A few Manitoba fishing rules catch visitors every season: the hooks on your line must be barbless, live minnows can't come in from out of province, and the licence you bought in Winnipeg is no good once you drive through the gate at Riding Mountain. Here is who needs a licence, what it costs for 2026–27, and the rules behind most tickets at boat launches.
Recreational fishing is run by the Fisheries Branch of Manitoba Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures. You may know it as Natural Resources and Northern Development. The rules come from the yearly Manitoba Anglers' Guide, and the 2026 edition took effect April 1, 2026.
Who needs a Manitoba angling licence
Unless you are exempt, you need a Manitoba Angling Licence to angle. You also need it for dip netting, cast netting, seining, minnow trapping, spear fishing and bow fishing. Carry it on paper or on your phone.
These people can fish without buying a licence:
- Manitoba residents 65 and older. Nothing to buy or apply for. Carry proof of age and Manitoba residency.
- Manitoba residents who are active Canadian Armed Forces members or veterans. Carry proof of residency plus a Canadian Forces ID card or a service/veterans' card.
- Manitoba youth under 16 who have lived in the province for at least six months. They get their own limit of fish.
- Visiting youth under 16 (from elsewhere in Canada or abroad) can fish with a licence holder or an exempt adult, but their catch counts toward that adult's limit. If a visiting youth wants a separate limit, they have to buy a licence.
- Status Indians and Indigenous harvesters exercising their rights. They don't need a licence to fish for food. When fishing recreationally they still follow the angling rules, and conservation closures apply to everyone.
For licensing, a "Manitoba resident" is someone whose primary home is in Manitoba and who has lived here for at least six consecutive months in the 12 months before buying. Other Canadian residents, citizens and permanent residents buy the Canadian-resident licence.
There is no conservation licence any more
If you last fished here several years ago, you may remember choosing between a "regular" and a "conservation" licence with a smaller limit. Manitoba dropped that choice on April 1, 2023. Each residency class now has a single annual licence with the same limits for everyone, and seniors simply carry ID.
2026 licence fees
New fees took effect April 1, 2026. The Anglers' Guide lists them before GST, and the e-licensing fee page shows the total with GST:
| Licence | Before GST | With GST |
|---|---|---|
| Manitoba resident (16–64), annual | $28.00 | $29.40 |
| Manitoba resident, one-day | $13.00 | $13.65 |
| Canadian resident (16+), annual | $43.00 | $45.15 |
| Canadian resident, one-day | $18.00 | $18.90 |
| Non-Canadian resident (16+), annual | $69.00 | $72.45 |
| Non-Canadian resident, one-day | $26.00 | $27.30 |
The 2026–27 annual licence runs from May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. It can't be transferred or refunded. The licence year has nothing to do with open seasons.
Buying one
Licences are sold through Manitoba e-licensing (manitobaelicensing.ca), at participating stores and by phone. The province is launching a new online licensing system this year. Some stores that used to sell licences no longer do, so call ahead or buy online. The same account also holds your Customer Identification Number, which can go on the outside of your ice shelter instead of your name.
Family Fishing Weekends
Manitoba holds licence-free Family Fishing Weekends twice a year. This licence year's dates are June 12–14, 2026 (summer, now past) and February 20–22, 2027 (winter). They apply everywhere except federal parks. Limits, seasons, barbless hooks and every other rule still apply. In 2026 the province also let people fish without a licence during spring break, up to April 5.
Barbless hooks: the rule visitors break most
All angling in Manitoba requires barbless hooks, all year and on every water. A hook counts as barbless if the barb has been pinched down until it sits flat against the shaft. Small barbs on the shank that hold bait are allowed. It covers every hook on every line you have rigged, used or not; barbed lures can stay in the tackle box. The set fine for using barbed hooks is $220, so bring pliers and flatten the treble hooks on your crankbaits before you launch.
A few other gear rules: one rod in open water, two when ice fishing. No more than two hooks or lures on a line. In open water your line must stay in sight, and on the ice you have to stay within 50 m of it.
Fishing divisions and where limits come from
Manitoba doesn't use numbered zones. The Anglers' Guide splits the province into four fishing divisions: Southern, Northwest, North Central and Northeast. Seasons and live-bait rules are set by division. Then come waterbody-specific rules for individual lakes and rivers, printed in bold when they're new. Province-wide limits apply unless the division section lists your lake or area.
For 2026–27, walleye and sauger in the Southern Division are open from May 9, 2026 to April 4, 2027, except Lake Winnipeg, which opened May 16. The Northwest and North Central divisions also opened May 16. The Southern Division also has two special walleye areas:
- Area A (eastern Manitoba): covers the Whiteshell, Nopiming, Lac du Bonnet and the country east of Lake Winnipeg to the Ontario line. All walleye over 45 cm must be released. New for 2026, all lake trout over 55 cm must be released too.
- Area B (southwestern Manitoba): roughly the waters south and west of PTH 5 to the US border, with listed exceptions such as Lake of the Prairies and the Assiniboine. All walleye shorter than 35 cm must be released.
The Manitoba fishing spots directory and its regional lake lists for eastern Manitoba, the Interlake, the Parkland and northern Manitoba can help you pick a lake. Then look it up by name in the Anglers' Guide, because our directory doesn't track lake-specific regulations.
Possession limits
In Manitoba, the possession limit and the daily limit are the same number. It covers fish in your livewell, in the camp freezer, in the truck and at home. A four-day trip still means one limit in the cooler, not four. Some province-wide limits for 2026:
| Species | Limit | Size rule |
|---|---|---|
| Walleye and sauger (combined) | 4 | None over 55 cm |
| Northern pike | 4 | None over 75 cm |
| Yellow perch | 25 | None |
| Lake trout | 1 | None over 65 cm |
| Smallmouth and largemouth bass | 4 each | None over 45 cm |
| Lake sturgeon, muskellunge | 0 | Catch and release only |
To make limits enforceable, leave a patch of skin (6 cm²) on every fillet, and don't freeze fillets into a solid block. An officer has to be able to count the fish and tell the species. Live fish can't leave the water they came from.
Master Angler
Travel Manitoba's Master Angler program recognises big fish, including ones you release. A walleye has to measure 71 cm and a northern pike 104 cm to qualify. Entries need a horizontal photo of the whole fish on a ruler or bump board, submitted within a year. With a four-walleye limit and nothing over 55 cm allowed in the boat, nearly every Master Angler walleye is a released fish.
Bait: big change coming April 1, 2027
Night crawlers and earthworms are allowed everywhere. You can bring them in from elsewhere in Canada if they're packed in a sterile medium, not soil. Leeches, frogs and mudpuppies are allowed as bait but can't be imported. Crayfish can't be possessed at all. Live bait fish can never come into Manitoba. The Northwest, North Central and Northeast divisions ban live bait fish completely. So do several southern areas, including Whiteshell and Atikaki provincial parks, Duck Mountain, Turtle Mountain, the Porcupine Provincial Forest, the Winnipeg River below Seven Sisters and all stocked trout waters.
The bigger news: the minister's message in the 2026 guide says that harvesting, possessing and using live bait fish and leeches will be prohibited province-wide as of April 1, 2027. The aim is to slow the spread of invasive species and fish diseases. If you jig live minnows through the ice, plan on frozen bait or artificials next season.
Zebra mussels and the AIS rules
Zebra mussels reached Lake Winnipeg in 2013. They have since spread to the Red River, Cedar Lake, Lake Manitoba and the Nelson River system. Manitoba's rules under The Water Protection Act apply to everyone who uses any water body:
- Clean off plants and mud before you leave the shore.
- Drain all water, and keep drain plugs out while you trailer.
- Dry everything completely, or decontaminate, before it goes into another water body.
- Dispose of bait before you leave the shore of an AIS Control Zone, even if you hold a three-day live-bait receipt.
There are seven Control Zones. The one most anglers deal with covers the Red River, Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River. Others include Lake Manitoba–Lake St. Martin, the Saskatchewan River–Cedar Lake zone, and the Winnipeg River. Equipment last used in a Control Zone has to be decontaminated, not just dried, before it goes into different water. Anyone trailering a canoe, kayak or boat must stop at every open watercraft inspection station on the way. In 2026 those include St. Vital Park and Selkirk Park boat launches, Minnedosa, Dauphin, Mulvihill on PTH 6, Grand Rapids and The Pas. The station at Headingley is not operating this season. Fines are steep: $1,296 for possessing zebra mussels and $672 for not disposing of bait from a Control Zone.
Ice fishing shelters
This season's removal deadlines are March 14, 2027 on the Red River, March 15 in Area B, March 31 in the rest of the Southern Division, and April 15 in the three northern divisions. An officer can order shelters off sooner if the ice goes bad. An unattended shelter must show your full name or Customer ID number and phone number on the outside, in letters at least 5 cm high. Store the shelter on private property away from shore. Missing the removal deadline costs $348. Shelters in provincial parks have their own size and location rules, and you can't sleep in them overnight. If you're planning a winter camp near a lake, our Crown land camping rules guide covers what's allowed on land.
National parks: a different licence entirely
At Riding Mountain you need a national park fishing permit, sold at the visitor centre in Wasagaming, the park administration office and some local businesses. The park's rules are stricter than the province's:
- No bait fish, leeches or fish parts within 100 m of park waters.
- No lead tackle under 50 grams.
- A combined limit of 5 for walleye, pike, perch and whitefish.
- Most waters open only from May 15 to September 30. Clear Lake and Lake Audy stay open to March 31.
Boats, canoes and inflatables also need a Parks Canada inspection and an annual permit before launching. Youth under 16 can fish without a permit if they're with an adult who holds one. The Winnipeg to Riding Mountain road trip passes the Minnedosa inspection station. For how national parks compare with provincial parks, forests and WMAs, see parks, forests and wildlife areas.
Sources
Last reviewed: September 2026. Regulations change; always confirm with the official source before you go.
- Manitoba Anglers' Guide 2026 (PDF)
- Manitoba e-licensing: licence and permit fees effective April 1, 2026
- News release: Manitoba Anglers' Guide 2026 Now Available
- News release: Streamlined angling regulations (2023)
- Manitoba AIS Control Zones
- Manitoba Watercraft Inspection Program
- Zebra mussels in Manitoba
- Parks Canada: Fishing in Riding Mountain National Park