KFDM COOP Posted April 16, 2006 Report Posted April 16, 2006 The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has adopted new hunting and fishing regulations that include changes in laws for catching flounder, tarpon, tripletail and black drum, as well as harvesting alligators on private land. There are also additional changes in special buck harvest regulations in 40 East and Central Texas counties that will take effect on Sept. 1, according to Steve Lightfoot with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. One of the big concerns for many fishermen in East Texas centered on bow fishing for catfish. A couple of game wardens I've talked with say they have had plenty of anglers voice their concerns that archers would put a dent in the catfish population - especially at night, when lots of catfish move up to the shallows. Because of that concern, Lightfoot said the commission legalized bow fishing for catfish on an experimental basis for one year. There are three new regulation changes that will effect saltwater fishing. The most significant change, for anglers on the upper Texas coast, has to do with tripletails. This odd looking fish, that tastes so great, has reached game fish status. As of Sept. 1, anglers can only keep three a day with a minimum possession limit of 17 inches. Lightfoot said this law is similar to what other states have. The idea is to allow female tripletails to reach reproductive maturity. It's basically the same concept that has been used for years with minimum size limits on speckled trout and reds. The idea is to let them spawn at least once prior to being caught and kept. The tarpon tag, costing $120 per license year, will be done away with. The replacement option is to make it illegal to keep any tarpon under 80 inches. If you catch one over 80 inches it can be brought in for state record consideration. The current state record tarpon weighed 210 pounds and was 86.25 inches long. This new option will allow us to bring in a potential state record tarpon without having to buy a tag. Lightfoot said there is a similar change with black drum. The new regs will allow anglers to keep one black drum longer than 52 inches per day. Flounder will get some protection from giggers that were taking advantage of the daily limit. The daily limit is 10 per day. But if you were gigging them at night you could legally take a limit before midnight, and another after midnight. The new law will make a daily limit of 10 the possession limit with a recreational license. There are new alligator hunting regulations outside of the 22 counties in Southeast Texas where alligators have traditionally been hunted, said Lightfoot. The new law will allow for a recreational season from April 1 to June 30, during which alligators may be taken on private property under a general hunting license, according to Lightfoot. The bag limit is one alligator per person per year. The use of firearms will be legal. However, firearms can't be used on public waters. Additionally, hunters upon harvest would be required to complete and submit to TPWD a hide-tag report and purchase a department-issued alligator hide tag at a cost of $20. Regulations in the 22 Southeast Texas counties will remain unchanged, according to Lightfoot. Many East Texas counties will have new regs protecting bucks. The new bag limit for next season in certain Piney Woods counties will be two "lawful" bucks. Only one of those can have an inside spread greater than 13 inches. Lightfoot said that according to state wildlife biologists this is the result of antler restriction regulations currently in effect in 21 counties in the Oak Prairie region that 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. "Under the regulation, a lawful buck is defined as any buck having at least one unbranched antler or an inside antler spread of at least 13 inches," said Lightfoot. East Texas counties affected by this regulation include: Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, Houston, San Augustine and Shelby.
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