Trout limits?

[shallowist]

I like the 5 trout with 1 over 25 and limit how many tournments that can be held on a bay per year pro and am.In my opinion there are way to many tournments both on redfish and trout.

Another great point that I neglected to mention. Many tournaments are C&R now, so, with proper handling efforts being taken. Many of the tournament fish are surviving. If I thought that I was killing every fish that I took to a weigh in, I would probably stop fishing tournaments. There are way to many kill tournaments in Texas.

[Gilbert]

Another great point that I neglected to mention. Many tournaments are C&R now, so, with proper handling efforts being taken. Many of the tournament fish are surviving. If I thought that I was killing every fish that I took to a weigh in, I would probably stop fishing tournaments. There are way to many kill tournaments in Texas.

I would like to know what the survival rate of the trout are after tournaments. They are more fragile than redfish for being in the livewell all day till weigh in. Some don't look in such good shape by then and then released.

[Gilbert]

I also don't think there is a need to drop to 5 trout. The numbers don't show that there is a need. One thing to consider is the number of people out on the water. I have been fishing East Matagorda and seen a boat pull up and anchor right over fish and wade away. No wonder they ain't catching any, they parked right on top of them. Its going to happen more and more with more people getting out to fish. Way too many people out there running right over them and have no clue. I still say up the number of reds from 3 to 5. They are eating up all the bait. No bait, no fish.

[shallowist]

The survival rate is probably soemwhere in the 70% or better range. Just guessing. The key is proper handling. It doesn't hurt that most of the big trout tournaments are run in the winter now. In the summer we would loose way more.

Pouplations are very hard to track and to determine what the effects of fishing pressure does compared to the normal cycling of populations. We as boaters and anglers do more to move and alter the behavior of the fish too. Like your example of people pulling up and anchoring on the school, pretty sure that shut down a bite and made a school move to another area for safety and comfort.

[lurefisher]

I like the 5 trout with 1 over 25 and limit how many tournments that can be held on a bay per year pro and am.In my opinion there are way to many tournments both on redfish and trout.

I agree with the tourney thing also.

[plugger]

Limits of 5 fish for flounder , trout , reds.... One trout over 25 " . Keep the first 5 of each if longer than 12 " . Lessens the number of bleeding fish you have to release . Too many tournaments by far .

[Robalo]

I aint set on any position; EXCEPT the one over 25" rule, which I think is just common sense. In regards to traffic, I'm 53 y.o. and been fishing Galveston for 30+ years-seems about the same number of folks-except on holiday weekends and have seen "ups and downs" of poplulations-mainly due to the freezes and no one can predict when the next freeze will wipe out large numbers of fish. As far as tournies, I do not believe they affect overall populations. They generally are limited to a few fish per entry, many are C&R and a lot of folk come away empty for many reasons-usually adverse weather.

The biggest adverse affect is poachers and they will always be out there. Perhaps if TPWD/GW would concentrate more on known areas of poaching (piers, rock groins, Tx City Dike, junkazz boats with Chysler motors, anyboat or vehicle with a "Hope for Change" sticker and those GD trot lines targeting "Black Drum"-yeah, right no other fish bites the dang baited hook, etc.), many would at least get licenses and maybe even start measuring fish.

I personally believe that poachers are the biggest issue and they are ignorant, uneducated MoFos that likely voted for Obama if they even voted at all!! I believe all poachers should lose the right to vote, drive, drink, procreate and have sex (except with themself and only on Saturday's bathing night)! Sorry JT-didn't mean a personal attack (Ha ha-got ya agin!).

[Dawg]

Could there possibly be a way to do tourneys like offshore where the fish are measured & weight,then released. I know this would be more of an honor system,maybe video the catch,measure & release. I think that the trout size limit should be lowered to 12" as it seems in the summer that I see alot of these floating in the water dead. TPWD could have a mandatory fishing class educating on how to properly handle fish. I dont mind to see a 5 trout limit,most of my customer that I talk to say they rarely catch that many when they go fishing.

[Charlie's Custom Rods]

I don't think the health of the population is in question. The question is, Quality or Quantity?

As I said in another link. We filleted ten 15" trout and five 18' trout. The five 18" fillets weighed more than the ten 15". Not a lot but more. (I don't remember the exact weights).

I have noticed a better quality of fishing in Port Mansfield since they enacted the five trout limit.

Try it next time you and your buds are fishing and see what you come up with

[Robalo]

I don't want any mandatory "Trout Handling Course"-cost, time and expense is too valuable for me to have some popdick, neo-biologist professor that likely aint caught but 20 fish ever tell me how to handle a fish is bull. Common sense should suffice. As far as tournies, the offshore C&R is targeted at Marlin/Sails and those fish are not caught by the hundreds each and every day like trout and reds. Tournies aint the problem-it is enforcement and abiding by the law-maybe they oughta print the dang handbook in 5 languages like all our other GD bills/laws so some "ferener" aint got no excuse for poaching-that includes the Q-Tips (snowbirds) and yankees-aint sure what language they farging use, but them dang snowbirds are notorious for keeping buckets of undersize fish and GW know it and don't farge with them hardly at all-seems the GW need to concentrate more on that than patrolling canals for day boaters and BS enforcement (such as your dang TX Boat numbers don't have 3" between the "TX" and next numbers and 3" to last "Alpha" letters). Kinda like HPD speed traps while Billy Burglar robs your dang house 2 blocks away-all it is called is "PRIORITIES".

[shallowist]

Worst case these days on any bigger tournament is that we keep three trout. Still doesn't come close to boats that are taking limits of trout on a regular basis. Most of the guys fishing tourneys are pretty well versed and hopefully handle the fish with care, including those that are released.

[Gilbert]

I don't think the health of the population is in question. The question is, Quality or Quantity?

As I said in another link. We filleted ten 15" trout and five 18' trout. The five 18" fillets weighed more than the ten 15". Not a lot but more. (I don't remember the exact weights).

I have noticed a better quality of fishing in Port Mansfield since they enacted the five trout limit.

Try it next time you and your buds are fishing and see what you come up with

there is more to it than the drop to 5 trout down in the LLM. There has been some natural acts(hurricanes/TS) and some man made(dredging passes) that I think are more responsible for the trout boom down there than the lowering of the limit. Only time will tell if it really worked or not.

[Moonpie]

As much as it pains me.......I gotta agree with Robalo. The poacher thing.
T.P.&W. needs to do some serious azz kicking on people who keep undersize and overlimits.
They could make half of a years budget in a holiday weekend on the jetties!
That line about certain people not being able to/won't pay fines is just B.S. Take the poachers cars and houses if they have to!

[kenny]

I posted this the other day on this same topic...

I'm for keeping it like it is and continuing to educate more anglers about keeping fewer fish and catch and release of larger trout. That's self-governance, which in my mind is the best kind.

Texas is rebuilding estuaries and planting marsh grasses up and down the coast. I've also read or seen a program about creating oyster beds by placing hard structure (even bundles of bamboo) in bays along shorelines so oyster spats would have a place to attach and grow new reefs. Both of these along with ideas about how to make sure rivers still adequately flow into bays and water quality is maintained and improved.

The thing that got my attention was this section.... TPWD data indicates if Texas went to a statewide five-fish daily bag limit for speckled trout, it would result in a 14 percent reduction in the number of specks kept by anglers. Anglers fishing with guides would see their annual take of trout drop by 22 percent, while non-guided anglers would take home 12 percent fewer trout.
(Anglers fishing with guides account for only about 20 percent of the fishing pressure on Texas bays but take about one-third of the speckled trout landed.)

If this information is accurate then maybe they should think about a bag reduction for guided trips. I know this is a sensitive issue, and well, let's just be frank and honest. Nobody likes anyone messing with their paychecks and I understand that. Maybe there's a better way like the afore mentioned education and self-governance..

[Gater]

I am for keeping it the same. If there is a problem that's one thing but there is not. The only area of the coast showing a decline is San Antonio Bay and Aransas Bay and that can be contributed to three years of serious drought, very little freshwater inflow and a abuse of the resource by a group of greedy coastal bend guides.

The upper coast is just fine, in fact the best it's been in years. If something realy needed to be done before I lowered the limit to 5 I would raise the guides license to $2500.00, set a slot limit from 14 inches to 20 inches with the ability to retain 2 over 25 inches, and
set a minimum size limit on croaker at 10 inches. Those are some measures that would surely help the middle coast where it's needed but again here on the upper coast if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So you want to lower it to 5, what's going to happen if you lower it to five and God forbid we have a killer freeze. What do you do then, lower it to two, or maybe none, or maybe we can have a Trout season like Florida. The 90/10 rule is still correct, 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish, be careful what you wish for.

Gater