An all-American food fish that also ranks high on the hit list with freshwater fishermen across the South is center stage of ongoing discussions between Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists and the state’s tightly woven catfish angling fraternity.
It is a friendly debate aimed at cutting back a long list of daily bag and length limits on channel and blue catfish in Texas waters to a suite of regulations that is significantly shorter.
The general idea is to simplify catfish regulations and eliminate unnecessary confusion among anglers while managing Texas’ diverse catfish fisheries for optimum quality without infringing on anglers looking to fill the bill for a weekend fish fry.
Currently, there are nearly a dozen different sets of regulations governing channels and blues on Texas waters, including a statewide rule that allows anglers to retain 25 fish daily with a 12-inch minimum length limit. The statewide regulation applies to about 85% of Texas’ public waters. The remaining waters are governed by a series of “special limits” that in some cases can be confusing.
TPWD wants to take a more standardized approach in its catfish management strategies by combining regulations for channels and blues where possible, and reducing the number of catfish regulations on the books from 11 to four.
The suite of options includes a revised statewide limit that would do away with the 12-inch minimum length but still allow anglers to retain 25 daily with no more than 10 fish 20 inches or longer. The remaining special options are geared toward trophy fishery management, large reservoirs where harvest is abundant, or waters with a history of excessive harvest and/or limited recruitment.
The potential changes would not affect current regulations on flathead catfish, community fishing lakes or interjurisdictional fisheries (Texoma, Toledo Bend and Caddo) shared with Oklahoma or Louisiana. A graduated trophy bag regulation implemented a few years ago at Lake Tawakoni, one of America’s best catfish lakes, also would remain in place.
Catfish rank No. 2 in popularity behind largemouth bass among more than 1 million Texas freshwater anglers. It is TPWD policy to check the pulse of the angling public before moving forward with such regulation changes.
In the spring, TPWD gathered names and contact information of more than 100 avid catfish anglers to create an informal advisory committee. The group — composed of guides, trotliners, jug liners, bank fishermen, trophy hunters and tournament pros — was formed to engage in discussions and provide constructive feedback to a team of TPWD fisheries biologists that has spent the last two years building a plan to simplify catfish regulations and make them more biologically relevant.
In mid-June, those anglers were invited to participate in a series of online webinars and hear presentations from TPWD staff regarding possible changes to the state’s catfish management plan. The fishermen were given the opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback in what TPWD fisheries biologist John Tibbs of Waco called the first step in presenting new regulations to Texas catfish anglers for consideration.
Tibbs said about 30 anglers actively participated in the webinars. He added that their feedback was almost uniformly positive.
“If there was anything they were critical of, it was that they wanted to see more reservoirs with a quality/trophy regulation,” Tibbs said. “The take-home message there is just because you slap a trophy regulation on a lake doesn’t mean it will be a trophy lake.”
Tibbs said an online presentation with a narrative to illustrate the possible changes should be available for public viewing by mid-July. The presentation will appear on YouTube, he said.
Here is a synopsis of the four catfish regulations TPWD is considering, how they would work and a few examples of where special limits might be applied to manage blue catfish, channel catfish, their hybrids and subspecies:
1. Daily bag of 25 fish in any combination, no more than 10 fish 20 inches or longer.
Eliminates the minimum length limit and has the potential to increase numbers of quality-sized fish in some reservoirs. Applicable for waters with abundant blue/channel cat populations in situations in which more restrictive regulations aren’t desired or appropriate. Suitable for about 80% to 85% of Texas waters. Biologists say eliminating the 12-inch minimum length limit makes it less likely that new and casual anglers might accidentally break the law by retaining short fish.
2. Twenty-five fish daily, no minimum length limit; no more than five fish 30 inches or longer.
Limits the take of large numbers of trophy-class fish on waters where catfish populations are robust, growth is good and anglers routinely harvest a lot of fish. The rule is not designed to improve catfish populations, just to protect what is there. It is well-suited for a small number of large reservoirs, generally in East Texas, where trotlines, jug lines and other passive techniques are used to harvest large numbers of catfish. Sam Rayburn and Livingston are among the possible candidates.
3. Fifteen fish limit, 14-inch minimum length limit.
Applicable for waters where spawning and recruitment is low, or where excessive harvest is a possible problem. Suited for only about 5% of the state’s reservoirs. Lakes Calaveras and Braunig are among the possible candidates.
4. Twenty-five fish daily, no minimum length limit; no more than five fish 20 inches or longer, only one of which may be 30 inches or longer.
Data indicate this regulation would affect mostly blue catfish anglers. Designed to increase fish upward of 20 inches, especially those over 30 inches. Applicable on lakes where anglers want to target trophy fish. Directs harvest toward smaller fish while protecting quality-sized fish in the 20- to 30-inch range, resulting in increased numbers of quality and trophy blue catfish. Suited for about 5% to 10% of the state’s reservoirs. Lewisville and Waco lakes are among the possible candidates.
Tibbs says no formal proposals regarding changes to catfish regulations will be made to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission until early next year. In the meantime, anglers may offer input by reaching out to their local TPWD fisheries biologist or by contacting him directly at john.tibbs@tpwd.texas.gov.
Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com.
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