Cooler Weather and Future Trout Regulations

Cooler weather has finally arrived, and not a day too soon. Reduced water temperatures will not only bring better fishing, there is also likelihood that the threat of red tide in certain affected areas could soon diminish. Everybody is sick of the lingering summer heat and, if you’ve ever witnessed the devastation a full-blown red tide can wreak, then you understand my concern in that regard. So, from both prospectives, I am praying for some old-fashion November weather.

The TPWD Commission is once again considering management strategies for the Texas spotted seatrout fishery. It all goes back to the Freeze of February 2021 and the rate at which the fishery has recovered in middle and lower coast bays.

Due to the manner in which emergency regulations to reduce bag limits and conserve spawning biomass were enacted in the aftermath of the freeze, effective this past September 1, the daily limit for trout reverted to the prior 5-per-day regulations. This pleased some but drew consternation from what seems a great majority of Texas anglers. What has become one of the loudest complaints is the return to allowing anglers to retain five specks per day up to twenty-five inches, one of which could be longer.

So, here we go again. During their August meetings the commission directed Coastal Fisheries Division to conduct another round of scoping meetings to gauge public opinion as regards future regulations. This will occur next week. I mentioned it last month in this column in hope of encouraging participation. Another opportunity to provide comment is via the TPWD online portal. Either way, they want to hear from you on this topic.

Now, it takes two sides to have a debate and I’ve heard from lots of folks. Some argue that the fishery will recover even with the five-fish limit, because it always has in the past. Many more say it’s too soon; we want to see a quicker recovery, and more trophy fish.

Indeed, we must always base management decisions on science, and I’m sure the best available science will ultimately be included in all future fisheries regulations. But times have changed. Look at the world of bass fishing. Very heartening to me is the commission’s willingness to listen to what Texas anglers would like to see in their fishery.

The upshot of all this is that new trout regulations are likely soon. If I could offer a guess after all I have heard and learned, it would be a return to the three fish bag limit for the middle and lower coast, possibly as soon as June 2024. And I can live with that.

Happy Thanksgiving…and take a kid fishing!