Trout Limits…..3

[glen]

So the Fed set the rules on red snapper in state waters. I was under the impression the State of Texas controlled the fishery until 9 nautical miles offshore where the Feds take over

[Greenheadless]

So the Fed set the rules on red snapper in state waters. I was under the impression the State of Texas controlled the fishery until 9 nautical miles offshore where the Feds take over

Technically the state does, but it is an agreed upon harvest with the Feds.

The last time the state told the Feds they don’t agreed with their suggestion and set their limits agains the Fed’s suggestion, the Fed severely limited the Fed season., thus punishing the residents of Texas.

edited: realized my response wasn’t very clear

[tvc184]

What happens to the gut hooked fish over 20"?

There is no limit on killing trout over 20”, as long as you don’t eat them.

[El General]

What happens to the gut hooked fish over 20"?

Same thing as before. It dies. It just gets eaten by a different animal.

[BRUTE 23]

Has anyone read the stock assessment data that led to this?

... ain't no body interested in data or logic or any thing of the sorts around here. LoL

[glen]

Some places have low creel counts. The mid coast is not good. Other areas are normal. If the end result was to open the bag limit back up or temporary restrictions they would have just done another year of emergency bag limit.

[Greenheadless]

Has anyone read the stock assessment data that led to this?

lol……this was the basis for my response in post # 9

[Lawhunter]

I have seen a couple of posts about a tag system for flipper. Did people really use to eat them? My curiosity is peaking.

[glen]

We have probably all eaten them years ago in canned tuna

[justletmein]

Y'all better sell your boats while there's still a market and stay out of POC from now on!

Wanna save the trout, up the Redfish limit to 10/day.

[Jmsck12]

I’m ok with it myself. If this results in less traffic on the water that’s a good thing! I bet 75% of the folks mad about 3 fish limit have a few bags of freeze burnt fish in the freezer now. I suspect some guides will be impacted negatively. Bait shops gonna suffer, no need for 4 guys to buy 50-100 croaker to catch 9 slot trout.

This is exactly how I see it, mostly all the guys I know from my area complaining about it are also the ones who fill their freezers and never eat the fish. They just keep them for pile pictures.

[justletmein]

We eat the heck out of fish, trout specifically, and I only fish when the fishing's good so it'll put a dent in our activities for sure. The maximum size of 20" is what really hurts, we catch a ton in the 20-22 range.

[tvc184]

This is exactly how I see it, mostly all the guys I know from my area complaining about it are also the ones who fill their freezers and never eat the fish. They just keep them for pile pictures.

I agree.

i know people that do the same with deer and particularly sausage so we should limit everyone to only one Whitetail per session, any sex.

[Bucknaked]

I agree.

i know people that do the same with deer and particularly sausage so we should limit everyone to only one Whitetail per session, any sex.

[CaptainDave]

My main issue with lowering the limit is the fact that limits are rarely if ever raised. As mentioned by others, the primary issues faced today are habitat loss and population. There are way more people fishing the TX Bay systems today than even 25 years ago. I do agree that guide licenses need to be limited. I mean, licenses are limited for other groups that make a living off a public resources; so why should guides be excluded. There's also an abundance of redfish, why not lower the slot size to 18" rather than 20". We've caught countless reds over the years that measure out a hair under 20.

As for the eating fish argument, I put less weight. If being able to eat fish is so important to people, there are other species other than trout people can target. Although flounder can't be kept during the fall run, there is a 5 fish bag limit outside of 11/1 - 12/15. There's no stopping anyone from targeting flounder in the spring and summer months and they are there to be caught. Redfish eat fine and I'd be all for lowering the redfish slot to 18" to allow more to be kept. Certain times of the year, whiting are in abundance and can be caught in volume if targeted; great eating fish to boot. Black Drum, Gafftop, etc., are also options. I find it ironic that many that complain about wanting to eat fish, don't put forth much effort in targetting other species that eat just fine.