Missouri Frog Season
Article written by Ruddyard Binsbacher – MDC Conservation Agent serving Clark County. He regularly provides local expertise on regional hunting regulations, wildlife management, and outdoor recreation.
LEWIS COUNTY, MO- The dog days of summer welcomes one of Missouri’s most rewarding summertime events, frog season. Frog hunting can be an enjoyable way to spend a summer evening, not to mention an excellent reward at the dinner table. Missouri’s 2026 frog season runs from sunset on June 30 – October 31, 2026.
Bullfrogs and Green frogs are the two legal species that can be taken during frog season. The common bullfrog can be found from southern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. It is the frog species which grows to the largest size in Missouri. Adults frequently reach 8 inches from the nose to the end of their backbone. In Missouri, bullfrogs typically breed and deposit their eggs from late April to early July. Adult frogs spend most of their time on land near the edge of ponds and streams looking for suitable food like insects, small fish, crayfish, and tadpoles and small frogs. Bullfrogs eat only moving prey, making fishing lures sometimes inviting.
Methods for harvesting bullfrogs and green frogs include hand, handnet, gig, bow, trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, snagging, snaring, grabbing or pole and line by the holder of a fishing permit. Bullfrogs and green frogs may also be taken by holders of a small game hunting permit using a .22 caliber or smaller rimfire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, bow, crossbow, or by hand or hand net. An artificial light may be used.
The daily limit is eight (8) bullfrogs and green frogs in the aggregate with a possession limit of sixteen (16) frogs. Remember, only the daily limit of frogs may be possessed upon the waters and banks thereof where daily limits apply. For example, if you begin taking frogs on opening night and harvest a limit you may not possess that limit while pursuing another limit after midnight.
Frog hunting is another way to introduce youngsters to the outdoors and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. A good flashlight, a can of bug spray and a dip net or gig is all that is needed for an enjoyable night. Frog hunting is also a good way to teach patience and other skills necessary for the outdoors.
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