Texas limits

[duck77777]

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.

[Hebert]

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.

[Hookup]

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

[Top Dawg]

Originally Posted by Hebert

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.

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.

["W"]

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

[duck77777]

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.

["W"]

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

[Feesherman]

Originally Posted by Top Dawg

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.

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!!

["W"]

Originally Posted by Feesherman

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

[cmdrost]

Originally Posted by Top Dawg

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'm gonna have to save this one.....

["W"]

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...

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by "W"

Believe me it was not just guides that pushed this......and a lot of guides were against it....it was local [and "East" side] CCA politics....

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

Fixed it for you.

[Montauk17]

Texas does not have the habitat that louisiana has though.

["W"]

Originally Posted by corkyfatboy

I fairly sure that TPWD knows what they are doing. Sure seems to be a lot of armchair quarterbacks here that don't know nearly as much about the Texas trout population as they lead one to believe

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=3]SPECKLED TROUT FACTS
[SIZE=2]by Jerald Horst
(Revised June 2003)[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[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]

[iron man]

Originally Posted by Montauk17

Texas does not have the habitat that louisiana has though.

This is true.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by Montauk17

Texas does not have the habitat that louisiana has though.

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

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

[Hopedale Hustler]

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

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by Hopedale Hustler

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 ....'

["W"]

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....

[duck77777]

Originally Posted by corkyfatboy

I fairly sure that TPWD knows what they are doing. Sure seems to be a lot of armchair quarterbacks here that don't know nearly as much about the Texas trout population as they lead one to believe

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.