TPWD Commission Adopts New Trout Regulations

Biggest news item along the Texas coast this month is the new speckled trout regulations. During their regular session on January 27, 2022, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Commissioners voted to adopt the Coastal Fisheries Division staff recommendation to reduce the bag limit on speckled trout from the current five fish per day to three. They also approved a length slot of 17 to 23-inches, no fish longer than 23-inches can be retained. This regulation will apply to all waters that lie south of the FM 457 bridge at Sargent to Brazos Santiago Pass at Port Isabel – to include the nearshore Gulf of Mexico. This regulation will expire August 31, 2023 and revert to prior bag limit and size requirement for the species. According to TPWD sources, the anticipated date of official enactment will occur on or about March 10, 2022. Announcements to this effect will be forthcoming via regular TPWD news releases and social media feeds. Waters that lie north of FM 457, (Galveston Bay Complex and Sabine Lake) are not included.

Where did this come from? The short answer is the freeze of February 2021 greatly reduced the trout populations of the Middle and Lower Texas coast. More explicitly, the new regs are a carbon copy of those enacted following the freeze last spring for the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre. The intent is to further conserve and boost spawning biomass for two spawning seasons, hence the August 31, 2023 expiration.

Why the 17 to 23-inch slot? Female speckled trout can become capable of spawning at a young age, some as early as 12-inches total length. Speckled trout are serial spawners, capable of spawning as often as weekly between mid-April and mid-September. And while it is true that larger fish produce more eggs, the smaller females comprise the majority of the spawning biomass by a vast margin.

According to Coastal Fisheries public polling efforts, more than 60% of respondents supported the measure as originally proposed, while approximately half of those dissenting preferred more restrictive measures.

What I personally find most encouraging in the regulation package is the inclusion of a firm ending date. So often we hear anglers say, TPWD only takes and never gives back. Well, if all goes according to plan (and the applicable fisheries science), the speckled trout regs will revert to those in effect prior to the freeze that created the need for greater short-term conservation.