**Antler Restrictions This Year For Certain Counties**

[KFDM COOP]

Last week, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) Commission voted on a variety of issues we have detailed on these pages in recent months.

I cannot remember a time when they voted on so many varied and far-reaching proposals at once.

The issue that will most greatly affect us in Southeast Texas involves special whitetail buck harvest regulation changes in 40 counties in the eastern and central part of the state.

Under the new regulation, a lawful buck is defined as any deer having at least one unbranched antler or an inside antler spread of at least 13 inches. TPWD officials reported the bag limit in the affected counties would be two lawful bucks, no more than one of which may have an inside spread of greater than 13 inches.

Counties under this regulation as of Sept. 1 are: Bell, Bosque, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Comal (east of IH 35), Comanche, Coryell, Delta, Eastland, Erath, Fannin, Franklin, Gregg, Hamilton, Harrison, Hays (east of IH 35), Hopkins, Houston, Lamar, Lampasas, Leon, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Somervell, Titus, Travis (east of IH 35), Upshur, Williamson and Wood counties.

TPWD officials said, ìantler restriction regulations currently in effect in 21 counties in the Oak Prairie ecoregion have been effective in improving the age structure of the buck herd, increasing hunter opportunity, and encouraging landowners and hunters to become more actively involved in better habitat management, according to state wildlife biologists.î

In the near future, this new management principle will help create a more balanced deer herd and more opportunities for hunters to kill trophy bucks.

The commission also passed some new alligator hunting regulations.

They apply to counties outside of the 22 in Southeast Texas where hunters can currently bag alligators in the annual September season. From April 1 through June 30 hunters will be able to kill alligators on private property under a general hunting license.

The bag limit will be one per year and hunters will not be able to shoot them on public waters.

“Hunters will have to complete and submit to TPWD officials a hide-tag report and purchase a department-issued alligator hide tag at a cost of $20,†TPWD officials reported.

I am glad to see increased harvest of alligators in areas where they have expanded their populations, but I think it is weird that they are allowing a three month season and the use of a general hunting license to kill alligators when we face many restrictions against killing alligators where they are most common.

Southeast Texas literally has hundreds of thousands of alligators and we have more restrictions than the rest of the state.

It does't make much sense to me.

One thing that does make lots of sense is the commission dropping the possession limit for flounder from 20 to 10.

Many giggers, particularly on the middle and lower coast, would go out around 10 a.m. and come in after midnight and were able to legally retain a two-dayís limit of flounder. In some areas this was causing stress on the resource, so seeing this regulation pass is a step in the right direction for flounder.

Other regulations passes by the commission include:

# Creating a minimum length limit of 80 inches in place of the current tarpon tagging requirement. This would allow retention of a potential state record tarpon, while protecting fish that fall below the current record.

# Prohibiting harvest of largetooth sawfish to eliminate confusion in distinguishing between the federally-protected smalltooth sawfish

# A change similar to the new tarpon rule will allow a person to keep one black drum of greater than 52 inches in length per day.

# Naming tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis) a game fish and create a minimum size of 17 inches and daily bag limit of 3 fish [6 in possession].

TPWD officials said this rule is similar to what other states have adopted and, ìsince tripletail females reach reproductive maturity at about 17 inches; this would provide protection through at least an initial spawning cycle."

They also agreed to allow bowfishing for catfish on an experimental basis for one year.

A group had petition the commission to allow bowfishing for catfish but the commission shot that down and agreed to an experimental year of archery equipment being legal equipment to bag catfish.

[jdawg03]

thought id make this an announcement since the season is opening Saturday...Ive heard game wardens are gonna be pretty leanant on this...but i wouldnt bet on it!

[tvc184]

thought id make this an announcement since the season is opening Saturday...Ive heard game wardens are gonna be pretty leanant on this...but i wouldnt bet on it!

For a few years they have had this program in about 8 counties from near San Antonio down toward the coast near Victoria. I have talked to biologists from down there and they said the program was poorly received when it first went into effect. It became popular fairly quickly when hunters started seeing their deer herds have more quality.

I wish they would make the change for the whole state. Most managed leased have those rules (or more restrictive) anyway. It kind of forces the rest of the hunters to comply with common sense wildlife management.

There is no point killing a 6 month old or 18 month old deer and that accounts for a huge portion of the deer killed by hunters.

[jdawg03]

well here's my problem with it...there are bucks out there with 13 inch spreads, that have high horns and good mass that are shooters...

I think they should have a program to where you have to meet like 2 of 3 requirements..a certain spread, certain mass, certain height...etc

[big_buck_hunter]

well here's my problem with it...there are bucks out there with 13 inch spreads' date=' that have high horns and good mass that are shooters...

I think they should have a program to where you have to meet like 2 of 3 requirements..a certain spread, certain mass, certain height...etc[/quote']

The problem will still exist with the hunters that continually disreguard any restrictions. They see a deer and shoot. I must admit I was guilty of that a long time ago, But I try to look a little longer now before I shoot. :?

[gringo]

There is no point killing a 6 month old or 18 month old deer and that accounts for a huge portion of the deer killed by hunters.

Good point TVC.

If you do not educate the hunter to recognize mature deer then you will never be able to harvest quailty trophey bucks. If you let these bucks live to be at least 5 1/2 years old you will see some very nice deer.