Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff recommended speckled trout bag and slot limit changes in southern bays to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at a work session Wednesday. TPWD is proposing to reduce the bag limit from five to three and modify the slot limit to 17-23 inches from the current slot of 15-25 inches with the ability to keep one fish over 25 inches. Anglers will not be able to keep a fish bigger than 23 inches under the proposed regulations.
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Good. Our big fish got hammered down in Mansfield. Don’t understand the 17-23 slot though. Seems 15-21 would be more beneficial and more males would be kept. -
While everyone knows that the larger you get on speckled trout the more likely the trout is female, that is just in ratio as opposed to total spawning biomass. In general, the largest, numbers wise, size classification of fish is whatever is just under the slot limit. There are more 14.75" trout than there are 15.25" trout for instance.Originally posted by speck1 View Post
So, by moving it up to 17", you are leaving the largest spawning biomass of trout in the water for another year. By bumping down the top number from 25"-23" you are protecting a larger amount of the population that is only female.
So, what these reductions do is try to balance increasing spawning biomass of trout with fisherman opportunity.
At least, that is how I understand it. I'm not a biologist. I pour concrete for a living.Comment
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FTPWD. Chant it outloud! Not real catchy but point made.Comment
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Problem is, once they said these lemons they never go back once the population recruitsComment
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What a joke. It will never go back to what it was even with expirations. You can't give them an inch the gov't will take a mile. Caught more and bigger fish this year than ever before. Its their new way of ushering in permanent regulations.Comment
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I’m glad I live on the Sabine Lake area. I’ll keep buying my Louisiana license and keeping their limits. Between TPWD and CCA they keep **** ing sportsman.Comment
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Well.......byeComment
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Are they going to lower the slot and increase the limit for reds?
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I was pretty sure it was coming. It'll be for all bays from FM 457 in Sargent, Tx south and will run until August 2023.
The size they chose had to do with their prediction of the fastest way to increase the spawning biomass. Basically with speckled trout the smaller trout do the bulk of the spawning due to their larger numbers. I don't think the 17-23" slot is a good idea for a long term management plan but it may be the best thing for a short term boost to get our numbers back up. So for the next two spawning seasons smaller trout will be protected giving many of them 3 total spawning seasons of protection from harvest prior to Aug 2023.
I think it'll do what it is intended to do which is jump start the recovery and get our trout numbers back up. It'll take a bunch more time to get the quality (trophy) fish built back up but you have to start with a strong foundation to get there, which is a solid spawning population.Comment
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That has already been offered to the public in the past and public comment has always shut it down. When offered the public has always overwhelmingly said leave it like it is.Originally posted by rtp View PostComment
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Isn't anybody interested in the resource anymore? Why is it always get as much as you can get however I can get it?Comment
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We are at a point where any regulating entity will never miss an opportunity to exercise power.
I gave up on the salt years ago because of the constant harassment of the average joe. What a joke. I dont know how a working man can justify a boat payment, even a flatbottom, to go chase three fish. Not worth the effort, muchless the money. When i fished all the time i did not harvest in a year what a guide is responsible for in two weeks. Yet regulated as equal. No thanks.Comment
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It is a bit puzzling. It's one thing to just disagree on limit details eg: which slot limit will be most effective long term - but there are a fair number who resent any attempt to keep them from filling their box every time they go. The problem is and will always be the huge and increasing number of fishermen. That can't be controlled by government fiat so reduced limits is about the only tool they have.Originally posted by Deerguy View PostLast edited by jerp; 11-04-2021, 11:56 AM.Comment
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Actually texas fish and game has a story about a group trying to open them to commercial fishing againOriginally posted by rtp View Post
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