Texas changes statewide blue, channel catfish size regulations
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission moved to change channel and blue catfish regulations at its meeting Thursday as part of annual hunting and fishing proclamations.
The approved statewide regulations will remove the 12-inch minimum size limit and keep the 25fish combined daily bag, but with a restriction that no more than 10 of those 25 fish can be 20 inches or longer. The changes will go into effect Sept. 1.
“Impacts on anglers of the graduated bag restriction will be minimal. From our angler harvest surveys we know few anglers harvest 25 fish or even fewer harvest more than 10 catfish over 20 inches,” Ken Kurzawski, manager of information and regulations for TPWD’S inland fisheries division, told the commission.
“Most anglers said they would rather catch catfish to eat and this regulation is designed for that, while also providing some protection for larger fish to improve quality and big-fish potential.”
The changes are a result of TPWD fisheries biologists spending the last two years evaluating and working to simplify regulations for one of the most popular angling pursuits in the state.
“Anglers told us they want to protect catfish populations but also want to harvest fish. Those were our guideposts for our evaluation of existing regulations,” Kurzawski said.
There are a few exceptions to the new statewide rules.
The first exception is for 12 reservoirs with high-quality catfish populations.
The rule removes the minimum length limit and keeps the 25-fish combined daily bag, but with two exceptions to that bag: No more than five fish can be 20 inches or more and of those, only one fish can be 30 inches or larger.
Bodies of water that will be under this exception are: Lakes Belton, Bob Sandlin, Conroe, Hubbard Creek, Lavon, Ray Hubbard, Kirby, Palestine, Lewisville, Richland-chambers, Waco and Tawakoni.
“This regulation directs harvest to smaller, easily replaceable fish and protects larger fish while allowing the harvest of one large fish. While it is designed to improve blue catfish populations, it will also maintain quality in channel catfish populations,” Kurzawski said.
A second exception to the statewide regulations targets five reservoirs: Braunig Lake, Calaveras Lake, Choke Canyon Reservoir, Fayette County Reservoir and Proctor Lake. In these bodies of water, there will be a 14-inch minimum length limit and a 15-fish combined daily bag.
“This regulation will be used to address specific population issues where there are concerns about limited spawning, high harvest which could damage the population or to rebuild a population after a catastrophic event such as a fish kill,” Kurzawski said.
Lake Livingston and Sam Rayburn are also set to be added to an existing regulation category. Blue and channel catfish regulations on Livingston and Rayburn will change to no minimum length limit and a 50-fish bag limit that includes no more than five fish longer than 30 inches. These regulations are currently in effect on Texas-louisiana border waters, including Caddo Lake, Toledo Bend and parts of the Sabine River.
A five-fish bag limit will apply on community fishing lakes and those within a state park.
“This will have the benefit of having three big East Texas reservoirs under the same limits,” Kurzawski said.