New blue, channel catfish regulations being proposed

Mar. 9—Changes to length and bag limits for blue and channel catfish statewide and at specific locations highlight this year's list of proposed freshwater fishing regulation changes, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The proposed changes also include minor modifications to passive gear float dimensions.

TPWD is taking public comment on the following proposed changes to the 2021-2022 Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing Proclamation, with input to be considered before any action by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at its March 25 public hearing.

"A team of TPWD fisheries biologists have worked for the past two years to review our current catfish regulations with the goals of continuing to provide good angling, meeting current angler needs, and reducing the number of regulation categories," Craig Bonds, TPWD's inland fisheries division director, said in a press release. "These proposed regulations address what we have heard from anglers about their fishing motivations and can be appropriately used across the diversity of our state's waters."

The current statewide regulations for blue and channel catfish consist of a 12-inch minimum length limit and a 25-fish daily bag limit that combines both species.

The proposed changes would remove the minimum length limit — meaning fish of any length could be harvested — and retain the 25-fish daily bag. However, of the 25 blue or channel catfish that could be harvested per day, anglers would be limited to harvesting no more than 10 fish that measure 20 inches or longer.

Two new exceptions to the statewide regulations for blue and channel catfish are being proposed. The first category would follow the no minimum length limit and 25-fish daily bag limit for blue and channel catfish from the proposed statewide regulations but would further limit the number of fish 20 inches or larger that could be harvested per day to five and further limit the number of fish 30 inches or larger that could be harvested to one. Lake Ray Hubbard is among the 12 locations proposed for this category.

Lake Lewisville is one of the three locations currently under a 30- to 45-inch slot length limit. Two locations are currently under no minimum length limit but have harvest limits of five fish that measure 20 inches or longer. One lake is under slightly different harvest limits.

The final new exemption category proposed is a 14-inch minimum length limit and a 15-fish combined daily bag for blue and channel catfish. Five lakes that currently fall under statewide regulations are proposed for this category.

Additionally, two reservoirs will be added to an existing blue and channel catfish regulation category: no minimum length limit and a 50-fish bag limit with the additional restriction that no more than five fish of 30 inches or larger could be harvested per day. Those two reservoirs and three others which are currently in the above regulation category will also be added to the regulations for commercial harvest.

Current statewide length and bag limits for commercial harvest will remain at 14 inches and 25 fish — both species combined — and a five-fish bag limit will apply on all community fishing lakes and lying totally within a state park.

Changes are also proposed to standardize the descriptions for float dimensions for some passive gears as length and width rather than height and diameter. Also, inadvertently, the width of the float for minnow traps was listed as 6 inches, and it should be 3 inches.

Additional details on the proposed regulation changes, including narrated presentations on the proposed changes, can be found on the public comment page and in the Texas Register.

Opportunities to provide comments for or against these proposals include:

— Online on the TPWD public comment page until March 24.

— By phone or email to Ken Kurzawski at 512-389-4591 or ken.kurzawski@tpwd.texas.gov.

— In person at the TPW Commission meeting Thursday, March 25 in Austin. Public testimony will normally be limited to three minutes per person.