Texas limits
 

Why is the TPWF so intent on making the hole coast of texas a 5 trout fish limit. I mean is it all about catching that trophy trout and thats it dont bring home any fish to eat that is a sin to most people of the state of Texas. I mean who puts a limit on gar fish freaking idiots.

its not only Texas..almost every state on the coast is like that...It wont be long before the so-called "conservationist" and money grubbing guides get our limits changed.

Hebert is right, I live in Texas and the guides are the pushing the fish limits. All the guides in port Manfield are the one that started the five fish limit. In a few years the guides will lose more and more trip. The big businsses are tell thier employee not to take part in hunt and fishing trip from vendor. thay fire you if you do
Now if their a 5 fish limits that will hurt the guides real bad

It's already happened here. The guides got the limit on big lake changed from 25 to 15 with a limit on big fish. No where else in the state is like that. I wonder why??? Cuz big lake has the most guides and easier faster limits=good business. Had a biologist tell me that the worst thing to happen to big lake was the reduced limit because the more fish here reduces the chances of big trout. And if you can remember when the limit was 25 there were a number of 10lb fish comin out of the lake. And also he said that releasing big trout did not play a factor. They're not like bass. They come and go. No point in releasing a big trout full of eggs. Now this was a biologist but he said their studies were over ridden by the guides.

I love this post!!!! Texas also has a limit on sheephead!! Lmao

I mean dont they know most male trout will not even make the minumum size limit in texas of 15 inchs before they die and are crab bait.

With a 15min is the worst thing for trout...Male trout start fertilizing eggs at 8-10 inches and females are spawning at 10-12inches...trout breed like rats and Texas is just stupid to keep lowering a limit on a fish that reproduces at rapid rates

This is true. No biological reason at all for a reduced limit! The guides are in charge of our public resources. That is just sinful!!

Believe me it was not just guides that pushed this......and a lot of guides were against it....it was local big money politics....

Same politics that can get a limit reduces but fails to get the Oyster Raping seized :pissed:

I'm gonna have to save this one.....:rotfl: :shaking:

I would like to do a study to see how many trout have been saved from the 25 to 15 reduce in limit

#1...Only a few guides can go out and land 100 trout a day consistently
#2...Weekend Warriors do not fill a 15per person limit and never fill a 25limit
#3....Most guides quit fishing around 2pm..so whats in the box is it
#4....I can not see any difference in my books over the years from before or after the limit change....Only thing I can see is a quicker limit time wise

No bigger fish are being caught.........Top 3 trout in the lake were Pre-15 limit...

Fixed it for you.

Texas does not have the habitat that louisiana has though.

I know one thing........If your trout population is that bad off to have a 5 per person creel ...You might as well close it down..

5 is plum stupid when trout multiply by the tens of thousands a year

Texas Problem in RED

[SIZE=2]The spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, or as we call it in Louisiana, the speckled trout, is one of the most popular saltwater fish in the state. Besides being popular in many south Louisiana restaurants, it is targeted by more recreational fishermen than any other saltwater fish. In the last 10 years, recreational fishermen have harvested an average of 6,578,061 speckled trout from Louisiana waters annually – this is more than 93% of the combined recreational/commercial harvest. The best year for recreational landings was 2000 with a take of 9,615,942 specks and the poorest year was 1990, the year after the great freeze, with 2,679,167 landings.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Although the commercial catch had been regulated by minimum sizes and gear restrictions, the recreational fishery was unregulated until 1977, when a combined daily limit of 50 was placed on speckled trout and redfish. In 1984 the possession limit was reduced to the daily limit, and a new saltwater fishing license was required. This was followed by a 12-inch minimum size (14- inch commercial) in 1987 and the recreational limit was reduced to 25 in 1988. Speckled trout management and biology remain an area of high public interest. Some of the most commonly asked questions on the subject are answered below.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Why do we have a 12-inch minimum size on speckled trout?
A minimum size of 12 inches allows most fish to spawn at least once before reaching harvestable size. All of the males and more than 75% of the females are sexually mature at 12 inches long. The minimum size also increases the overall yield of the fishery. Each year since the regulation went into effect, the average size of recreationally caught specks has been more than 13 inches. Before the minimum size requirement, the average size of recreationally taken specks was as low as 10 inches.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Why don’t we have a larger minimum size, such as 14 inches?
Speckled trout have sex-specific growth and survival rates. Males grow slower and don’t grow as large as females. In Louisiana, males do not reach a size of 14 inches until their third or fourth years. Since few specks live beyond age 5, and more than 70% of the total speckled trout population is age 3 or younger, very few males grow to larger sizes. This would result in a loss of recreational opportunity to harvest the males and could possibly cause a shift of harvest pressure to females.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]How many of the undersized, released speckled trout really survive?
The majority of hook-caught speckled trout survive when released. Louisiana conducted a 18-month study ending in 1995 on the survival of released speckled trout. The survival rate depended on the fishing method. Treble hook artificials had a 97% survival rate, single hook artificials were 91%, treble hook with bait had 83%, and single hook with bait was 74%. The overall average survival rate was 82.5%. Research done in 1984 in Texas showed a survival rate of 73%, and a Georgia study, done in 1990, showed a 63.8% rate.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Why don’t we close the season during spawning time?
Speckled trout exhibit a protracted spawning season, lasting from April to September. Females ready to spawn have even been recorded in March and October. Closing the season during spawning would result in a 5 to 7 month closure. Also, from a biological perspective, any removal of a female fish from a population has the same impact. Regardless of whether the fish is caught 8 months or 8 days before it spawns, the result is the removal of the fish and all of her future offspring. Since there is little biological advantage to such a measure and since the closure would take place during the months of best fishing weather and most intense recreational activity, the negatives outweigh the possible benefits.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Why can’t I catch more big trout?
Aside from the fact that there are many more small trout than large ones, large speckled trout are very specialized creatures. Large trout are not as widely distributed as small trout. The largest trout are taken in the spring, next largest in winter, then fall and summer, out in the Gulf. Large but lesser sized trout are taken near beaches, lesser still in lakes and bays, and the smallest usually in the marsh. Anglers prefer to fish for specks in summer and the second preference is fall. Fishing is most intense in sheltered inside waters. More big trout are caught in spring because they move into shallow beach and bay habitats at that time for their first spawn of the season. The rest of the summer and early fall, the larger trout tend to stay in cooler Gulf waters and only periodically enter beach and bay habitats for subsequent spawns. Many of the large fish winter offshore, with a few wintering in the interior marshes, where they are very sluggish. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Large trout also have very different food habits than school trout. Small trout eat large amounts of shrimp and other crustaceans. As trout become larger, their diet shifts toward fish, the larger, the better. Studies in Texas and Mississippi show that really big trout strongly prefer to feed on mullets; a large trout will find the largest mullet it can handle and try to swallow it. Often the mullet is half or two-thirds as large as the trout. The key to catching large trout is to fish where they are and use big baits.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] What is the future of recreational speckled trout fishing?
The future of the fishery depends on two factors: good habitat and good management. If our coastal areas remain unpolluted and coastal erosion is controlled, management will be the key. Very few more speckled trout can be produced from other sources. If the entire commercial speckled trout harvest were divided up equally among Louisiana’s over 400 thousand recreational anglers, each sport fisherman would get less than one fish per person per year. Research has also shown that very few speckled trout appear in shrimp trawl bycatch. This means that gains and losses will be the result of management within the recreational fishery. Management priorities, as set by recreational leadership, will determine whether the fishery is managed for liberal limits and smaller fish or restrictive creel limits and larger fish. [/SIZE]

This is true.

Yep, apples and oranges, same with Florida - they are garholes compared to what we have. The 15 fish limit is a joke, no science, all politics, throw in red snapper in there also. Top Dawg hit it on the head, trout spawn like crazy, more than once a year, lay tons of eggs, and they grow like fast. Low age of reproductive maturity, high growth rate, high reproduction = well, i can't think of it but there has got to be a good catch phrase or something :grinpimp:

Maybe we should follow Texas
Save the endangered trout!!!!!!!!!!

We having the same damn problem with Mississippi folks over here on the weekends as y'all have over there with texans just in the past couple years

Well, neither MS or TX has what we have. I bet MANY of the people on here deer hunt in MS or TX.

As that little naked Chinese man on The Hangover said 'aw quid pro quo mudda ....':grinpimp:

Biggest Problem I see with Texas fisherman is they just cant fish...... For one..I witness them all the time on Big Lake.......and they all talk big game on 2cool about artificial only and release the beast along with we dont keep dinks..

The Texas guys are the 1st in line for live shrimp and keep everything they catch I mean even gaftop and sheephead...

I saw a guy and his brother at Heberts this weekend...Said he been fishing Galveston bay for 23 years and Big Lake for 13.....

He said how did yall do...I said 60trout... He said damn...thats great..We had an above adv day... We ened up with 13 specks and 4 puppy drum....LMAOx10000000000000000000000 and he had live shrimp..

I watch them come in and out of the marina with few to no trout all the time....On days we could of caught 10000000 they catch 9 or 10...So i know we just dont get all the bad texas fisherman...So there limits should be safe

hell maybe they lowered it to make them feel better....I mean 10 hours on the water and limit out with 5 trouts...Sound good...

So its not the trout population..Its the guys that just cant catch them....

I beg to differ
 

I fish sabine lake over 30 times a year and fish other ports along the Texas Coast to there isnt a trout shortage going on. Texas is dead set on having a trophy program for every fish are animal they have. I lived there for many years I know how they roll. And a few people want to compare habbitat from LA to Texas ok look at the size of Big Lake Compared to Galveston bay complex are the Luguna Madre complex they seem alot bigger to me then Big Lake. Texas doesnt have the habbitat bull!!! They dont have the proper mangement.

If u think texans cat fish I'll take you over here one weekend and we will watch some Mississippi guys try to tie off to a rig in the sound for 45 minutes then watch them fish shrimp 10 inches under a cork in 13 feet of water...

You hit the nail on the head right there with the trophy crap, but the Laguna and Galveston compared to Big Lake - yes it is much bigger, but the estuaries and marsh primarily east of the Atchafalaya is a huge fish nursery. Not knocking on TX, but Louisiana just has more fish-producing habitat than TX. Deer, well that can be debated:) That will be for October! Bass too, but who cares:work:

I'm at a loss for words at your insight, wisdom and hearsay.

I am gunna respectively disagree with this statement You have far more boats fishing this lake than you did say 10 yrs ago I would say on avg that on any given sunday you have the same total number of fish coming out of the water as you did before the limit reduction

If you noticed the survey that Jody Callahan did as part of a LSU research , most of fish that were tagged and released survived and most of them never left the lake

The avg catch per person per trip is somewhere around 5 fish so a 15 or 25 fish limit shouldnt make a difference to the avg person

we should be out there having fun and enjoying the outdoors not concerning ourself with a limit or a box full of fish. the amount of fish we bring in should not determine the success of a trip

If we go out there and are concerned about bringing in food for the table Save your money and go to the grocery store IT IS WAY CHEAPER

Everyone on this site should live by this statement. Just have fun.

#1...False
#2...True
#3...True But most are in early with there limits.
#4...I thought you started saltwater fishing like 3 years ago.

There is no reason for keeping 25 fish per person. But even after 25 fish limits, gill nets and strike nets there are still plenty of fish in the lake.

catch a fish feed a man for a day Teach a man to fish--- he will take all your secret spots, motor across your drfit, chunk his anchor at the weirs, and then gripe about how few fish he can keep. SHAME on the greedy, selfish, boxfilling, "sportsmen"

There's every reason in the world for a man to go out and catch his limit....evis you can have your argument and no disrespect no matter how much u try to beat it in peoples brains at the end of the day it's still only your opinion just like my point of view is my opinion...my opinion is that I'm gonna keep my 25 fish no matter what..call it greedy or selfish or whatever you want but I'm not gonna spend 200 dollars to make a trip where I fish and throw back fish...i always have fun and enjoy myself on the water no matter what but I always judge the success of a trip by my take. Unless kids are involved....I am a FIRM believer that we will never fish the trout population to extinction on just rods and reels even if the limit was 50...this is an argument that has been carrying on for a couple years now around here and carried over from the other sight..why do I think this??? Well I'm fortunate enough to fish a place on a weekly basis where I literally witness hundreds of thousands of trout in front of my eyes..and on some days they are catchable and on some days they're just not...y'all guys over there don't always look at the bug picture...y'all think big lake and big lake only...big lake is a great fishery and no doubt the top trophy fishery in our state and top 5 on the gulf coast....but it isn't alarge enough fishery to even begin to hold more than 2% of louisianas trout population....for a man that only fishes 1 or maybe 2 % of louisianas trout population to say another man has no reason to keep his 25 fish limit is just wrong in my opinion...peep around my parts would look at you like your crazy if you brought that up...my kids will fish trout and their kids will and even my kids kids will cause of this...where I come from a big trout is a story to tell at the camp and nothing more...there is no way that 25 fish limits will put a dent in the trout population..I know this cause I've watched hundreds of thousands of trout spawn at multiple rigs in BS....I'm not trying to step on Antibes feet here just sayin don't tell a man he has no reason when there's nothing wrong with wha he's doing...

I guarantee you that Laguna Madre or the Galveston bay complex doesn't have near the estuary we have here. It's probably bigger than our lake here, but our estuary is phenomenal. Our interior marshes make up our lake. It provides extensive habitat for multiple species of baitfish and shrimp. Just about every customer I take out is amazed with the bait in our lake. And 70% of our customers are Texas based. We literally have this 20 miles from north to south and 18 to 20 miles east to west. If you would like to see this bait, I'd be glad to show you.

Been to big lake no thanks rather go to Grand Isle and catch 25 two pounders in a couple hours and be back at the camp drinking beer

5 trout limit is stupid period!!Theres nothing wrong with the trout population.They just dont know how to fish for or find the trout.2cool has become a joke.IMO 90% of the people on there arent fishermen or just beginners.The few guys I fish with are great trout fishermen.We need to lower our min length limit also.Most trout die from predators and diseases than from us and like W said they reproduce like crazy.So leave the trout limits alone,theres nothing wrong with the population!!!Learn how to catch them and you will see.

Hell, I like em both, as well as Sabine . . . got my $93 La. license to go with my $70 Tx license . . . "just in case" . . . I will, at every opportunity, try to recoup every cent I spend to support both states' fisheries as well as keep the GW off my back. A successful fishing trip should end with a fish fry for friends/family and is well worth the $ spent . . . where ever they came from and whether or not they came from a "limit" . . . Indeed, the state of Louisiana is blessed to have the fishery it has . . . can I have a "hell yes"? Carry on . . .

hell yes my brother i do the same

W
why do you hate on Texas Fisherman so much, When i fish in Big Lake some boats from Tx and La will potlick you in a min. With say that they just don't have clue a what their doing. Most potlicker are guys that make good money and just started fishing their 40s. just my opinion.

W's post on STAR winners over the years before and after the limit change is very interesting.

Amen brother. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but don't try and shove your ethics onto other people. As long as folks ain't breaking the law, then have it. I ain't gonna hang the lip on you or tell you to do otherwise!

I agree and I find there is some merit to it. It's just like a 5 acre bass pond. If you don't take any fish out, you will have 5 acres of pickles.

Please direct me to the biological study that suggested the limits needed to be lowered. I have never seen it or had the chance to read it.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Dude Im sure I was on Big Lake before you were ever introduced to saltwater fishing.......

and No...I will say 65% of guides could not bag a 100 trout daily...it may be higher... Plenty of days at Hebert I saw boats come in with only 50 or 75 trout.....and your buddys guide service was one of them.......

Select few will go out and boat 100 fish a day on the lake...and yes there are days when everyone can catch a 100 but less than not....

and if you took live shrimp fishing out of the subject....trout would blossom to record numbers

And trout 5lbs and over would decline in record numbers! Or that is my theory/opinion.

Its a joke...:D But Im saying most can not catch trout on plastic and live shrimp is their only savior...

but again......you have to know how to fish and what areas to fish and where to fish at times of the year.

I limit out 85% of the times i fish......last year I keep in my boat 3,045 trout. I tagged and released over 200 along with Chris who tagged about 200 of his tags

Most of the time when I keep fish it goes to who is with me

I fished 110 days in 2010 with adv trip of 27.2 trout per trip... ( I fish with 3 guys about 40% of the time) This does not count all trout let go or undersize just what went in the box for the day.

My data book goes back to 2002 when i started keeping a log,,,,,,, biggest year I had was 2006 after Rita...which I believe I keep around 3900 trout

My least year was 2005 867 but we had Rita and I was in a car accident which keep me off the water half a year....

Now from 2001 to 2005 I did not work 7 n 7 I worked 5-3 and 4-3 for all these years.......which meant lot less time on the water..but I could keep a bigger limit

I also show over and over that trout come back to the same spots at the same time of the year over and over...But It also shows that the numbers in those areas have declined in some and increased in others...

Once my data book is over 20 years old...Im going to get with someone and It might be Jody with LSU and let him use the data for his benefit.

I keep all details like tide, moon, wind, salinity, water temp, and locations

I don't think he hates Texas, its all in fun for him. Texas has been great for me and my family. I think everyone recognizes that Texans have kept Lake Charles afloat at least as it relates to the casinos and these folks do spend a bunch of money over here which is good for all of us. There are six camps directly near mine, three of us live in Houston.

Now if you hate LSU, all bets are off.

I disagree to some extent. I do recognize that they spend a lot of money here but, Lake Charles was built around our deep water port as well as the petrochem business. It was here long before the casinos and will be here long after the casinos set sail!

Don't hate Texas..hell all my fishing stuff is Texas made...Just like to make fun of the Pilgrims that come from their.
Where else can you get entertained watching a bunch of guys drool of sheephead and black drum.....

Or post a 5lb 17inch trout

Or get to see a Post that says "Awesome Day" and it shows drum and sheephead

Or a guide who post a pic with a limit of Black Drum and Sheephead with 3 trout

Or guys get in a fight because someone post a boat load of sheephead and they go Jr Game Warden on them....LMAO...(one of the Best)

Or discribe a whole limit of (5) trout with detail on how you caught each one and their exact inches

Or the one that got off was 30 inches for sure

Nice bunch of data. Prolly make an interesting read. I don't catch near as many trout as that but I don't try either. I love the top water bite so much that I pass over fish that I know I could catch on plastics. If I catch 5-10 fish on topwater in a day, I am perfectly happy. If I want a pile of fish to eat, I go catch my flounder. Fella drifted near me one day catching fish on every cast on live shrimp. He yelled at me to put da shrimp on. I said I didn't have any but was content with walking the dog. LOL, he shook his head like I was some kinda fool for goin into the lake with no shrimp.

[QUOTE=Feesherman;270488]I disagree to some extent. I do recognize that they spend a lot of money here but, Lake Charles was built around our deep water port as well as the petrochem business. It was here long before the casinos and will be here long after the casinos set


Keep in mind several of those big companies are based in Texas. Houston is the energy capital of North America. Louisiana is down to one fortune 500 company. Look I love Louisiana as much or more than most but Texas is a giant when it comes to the economy. Texas has a higher GDP than all but around 15 countries. Texas and Louisiana has always had a very good partnership in the chemical and industrial industries.

I don't disagree with you at all. I was only talking about the casinos. You do realize we have one of the largest ports on the Gulf Coast right? 2nd largest in Louisiana.

[quote=Feesherman;270496]:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Top 10 maybe... top 3 in LA.... New Orleans is #1

[quote=Feesherman;270496]
No I am clueless about the economy and business.

Yes and you realize that the ports of Houston and New Orleans have substantially more traffic right down the road from you.

[quote="W";270497]Exactly he is a Lake Charles Homer I guess. Nothing wrong with being proud of your city but also recognize where you really are in the world. I would love to live in Lake Charles good city and we have good friends over there.