Visiting Texas to fish: non-resident and one-day licenses, and Lake Texoma
If you live outside Texas and want to fish here for a weekend or a week, the license that fits depends on how many days you will fish and which water. TPWD requires a non-resident fishing license of every non-resident who fishes the public waters of Texas, with a short list of exceptions. Here is how the choices stack up.
General information from the TPWD pages listed at the bottom, read on the date shown. It is not legal advice. Prices and rules change with each license year (September 1 to August 31), so check TPWD or the checkout page before you buy.
Who does not need one
- A non-resident under 17.
- A Louisiana resident 65 or older who holds a valid Louisiana Recreational Fishing License, which TPWD says includes the Senior Fish/Hunt License.
- An Oklahoma resident 65 or older.
- Anyone, on Free Fishing Day: TPWD says everyone can fish recreationally with no license or endorsements on the first Saturday in June.
The non-resident packages
These are TPWD's prices for the license year that began September 1, 2026. Each runs from the day you buy it through August 31.
- Non-resident Freshwater package: $58.
- Non-resident Saltwater package: $63. It includes the saltwater endorsement and a red drum tag, a spotted seatrout tag, or both, depending on the package.
- Non-resident All-Water package: $68.
The one-day license
The Non-resident One-Day All-Water License costs $16 per day. It covers fresh and salt water with no endorsement, and you can buy several consecutive days when you check out. TPWD says one red drum tag and one spotted seatrout tag come with it at no extra charge, limited to one of each per customer.
Using TPWD's prices, our own arithmetic: three one-day licenses cost $48, which is less than the $58 Freshwater package. A fourth day brings it to $64, more than the package. For a trip of four days or longer, a package is cheaper. For a long weekend, the one-day license wins.
Lake Texoma
Texoma sits on the Texas-Oklahoma line. TPWD sells a Lake Texoma license for $12, to residents and non-residents. It lets you fish the Texas and Oklahoma waters of the lake with no other Texas or Oklahoma license. It is good through December 31 after you buy it, and it works only on Texoma. A Texas resident who is 65 or older does not need it to fish the Oklahoma side.
If your whole trip is on Texoma, the $12 license is by far the cheapest option. If you also fish other Texas water, you need a package or a one-day license for that.
Border waters
Texas has its own pages for rules on federal waters, state waters and the rivers and lakes it shares with Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mexico. TexCast has not summarized them, so read TPWD's page for the water you plan to fish before you go.
Where to buy
TPWD sells licenses online at txfgsales.com and through retailers it lists, so a visitor can buy before the trip.
On TexCast
- Check which license you need
- Which license package to buy
- Fishing in Texas without a license
- Find lakes and rivers to fish
For more reading, we suggest these articles
- TPWD: Fishing Licenses and Packages (checked 2026-10-18)
- TPWD: Fishing Licenses, Endorsements & Tags (its Free Fishing Opportunities line) (checked 2026-10-18)
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