Just eating what is in your freezer before you keep more fish is a good rule to follow. 1000s of pounds of fish are thrown out every year due to freezer burn and simply finding old fish when cleaning out the freezer.

If I am out of town on a trip, I will only save a few fillets that we can eat for the evening meal. Most of my freezer fish these days are the offshore variety, so almost all of my specs and reds are being released.

Catch and release has been a little slower to be accepted along the coast. Part of the problem is the simple fact that coastal fish are just better to eat. If everyone focused on only taking what they are sure they will use, I think we would start seeing results.

I agree that saltwater fish are much tastier then their freshwater brethren. How good is any fish that has meen drying out in the freezer for six months.I firmly believe that a person should keep just enough fish for two meals.(My opinion only).
If you catch and keep a limit of fish every time you go out you are a very proficient fisherman. If you catch your limit on each outing and kee only a few for consumtion, You are a GREAT fisherman.

I've been sitting out of this one for awhile, watching everyone hammer some guy for speaking his piece and, in my opinion, speaking part truth and part fiction, and now we have transcended into regualations and how much we should keep. I do agree with not being greedy and stocking the freezer full only to let mother nature's bounty ruin. I also agreee that at times we are our own worst enemies in the delicate balance of conservation. People went haywire when the 5 fish limit hit the LLM but I would support it in any part of the LM. 5 Trout per day is plenty, hell go chase Redfish once you are done with your Trout limits. It's supposed to be fun, not about how many fish you can toss on the dock when you get back. I don't care what people say about Croaker, it's an unfair advantage without doubt. I've fished Baffin for the better part of my entire life and these guides that hit Center Reef and some of the deeper water summertime haunts of the Trout absolutely slaughter the fish. Is that their right? Given our current rules, yes it is. Are there too many guides on the water? My opinion, it's absurd the number of guides working these bay systems now. We are not not going to solve it, the agency who issues the guide license will need to solve it but there are those who feel there is a certain carrying capacity of the resource which is being broached by the high number of guides on the water day in and day out. Is it all their issue, not at all as we recreational anglers share in the issue as well. But, the topic was started as guides devestating the resource and I would argue there is some truth to it. It's a similiar issue to Shrimpers and I would argue for limiting the number of guides versus hurting the ones who are established and chose to make this their occupation.

Is there a better tasting saltwater fish than Snook? Ok, asked differently, would you agree that Snook are very tasty? Go to Florida and try to load up your freezer on Snook. Florida fishers recognize the value of Snook and protect them religiously (there are exceptions of course).

We somehow must get beyond this view of specs and reds as primary table fare rather than as primarily a sport fish to be protected. Maybe I'm just dreaming, maybe an idealist, and maybe I'll never see it happen, but unless it does happen, things will only get worse and people will blame everything but those who remove the resource.

I agree that 5 is plenty myself...

the main reason I'm even on this thread is because a guy is angry at guides and has implied they single-handedly devestated a fishery that is shown to not yet be "devestated"... yes, fishing is slower there (more guides and PEOPLE in general, what would one expect?)... that says to me only one thing: The Limit Needs to be Lowered... 7, 6, 5, whatever, 10 is too much IMO... it also needs to be for every inch of coast, not just the Lower LM... just my opinion there...

another reason I keep coming back to this thread is for the croaker talk... I just don't get it... an unfair advantage? recreational anglers aren't in serious competition (unless they enter a tournament), they catch their 10 and they're within the law, how is that unfair?... That is NOT my way of doing things, I catch and release maybe 98% of the time, but I'm not gunna try and sit above someone who is within the law... most of the "croaker soakers" (come on, get over yourselves) aren't experienced fishermen... they don't do lures, all they've ever done is soak bait in freshwater or off a salty pier somewhere (how most of us started)... they want to do some coastal fishing in their boats and they hear croaker works... they catch and keep their limit (which they think is fine because they don't research how many fish are in the water and if there is a crisis or could be one)... but instead of encouraging these guys to try artificial, or to not keep their limit the law allows them to keep, a lot of people throw out "Those croaker soakers" etc... and go about it the wrong way... I know some guides use croaker as well, but the main ones are inexperienced fishermen looking to catch some fish...

What I do like are the "too good to catch just once" slogans I'm now seeing... stuff like that is really good... plus I'm not seeing as many people using croaker anymore, a lot of people are trying artificial etc... and that's great, because to me it feels so much more rewarding when you catch that fish...

but when a 6 yr old wants to go fishin' with dad, and dad wants to go too so bonding can take place let 'em use croaker... it's an awesome feeling to catch the hell out of fish when you're a kid... remember? that's why I still fish today... I'm glad we soaked croaker etc... to CATCH FISH (which is what it's all about, right?)...

Been lurking for the 10+ pages of this thread. The 1st 5 pages had some info, but after that it is just beating the dead horse. Who gives a carp how a fish is caught. This is not about live bait or artificial, nor is it about guides and rec. fisherman. This is about having the best fishery on the gulf coast. Stop whinning and put your big boy underwear on. If you truly think change should be made start by holding your self and your fishing buddies to a higher standard. Then contact the TPWD and your local Texas State Rep. for long term legal change.

THANK YOU, Deckhand!

Let's get back to fishin!

dear friend as a lifelong fisherman [started fishing matagorda in 1951]iculd not be quite any longer. The same thing is happening to our saltwater fishing as has happened to our hunting in texas agroup of elitest guides and some fisherman are trying to get it where only they tell us all thier rules i.e. croaker bait catch and release and setting limits. a small group of guides in matagorda [even though texas parks and wildlife say that east and west matagoda trout population is the best it,s ever been ]. this bunch want to stop you from using crokerand cut limits down so they can make more trips It's ironic that now it seems that the commercial .fiserman is trying to tell the poor fiserman what else he wants.Ithik that some peaple would like to put ahigh fence around the bays like the deer hunting so that only a chosen fecanfish for any thing except hard heads thanks for the forumto talk bigh

Bigh, That's a pretty broad statement that you are making. Most of the guides I know are not elitist at all, just hardworking guys who try to make an honest living. Please present your evidence to back up your assertation. As I said in a previous post, there are a multitude of reasons why the fishing has declined. Have you taken into consideration that the population as a whole has more liesure time and spendable income? Your statement reminds of a guy I met here in Montana. He stated "We use to be able to catch a bushel basket full of trout every day. Now because of all the guides the fishing has gone to hell!" With lowered limits and careful management and an increased awareness of the resource, the populations of trout in the Missouri river are at an all time high! I'm no guru but it seems to me that a study is needed to identify what or even if there is a problem.(not just anecdotal evidence).Then everybody has to work together to find and implement a solution.

...ever think that LIMITS were established originally for the recreational sportsman? should there not be a limit difference between recreational fishing and professional fishermen? just another angle to consider (not argue).

Well, guides do have a separate limit ... sort of, if you count zero as a limit. Specifically, the guide cannot keep any fish of their own - each paying passenger can keep a limit, but the guides limit is ZERO.

To use the lower LM as an example, if a guide takes one client out fishing for the day, there can only be five speckled trout and three redfish (plus one oversize with tag) in the fishbox at the end of the day.

Good Point and well taken! thanks!

Dear sir astudy is being made of the bays all year long by Texas marine bioligist and I was at a meeting in Bay City Texas where they stated that the trout fisheries in East and west matagorda bay were in exccelant shape and thre was no need for the new rules some guides were trying to put in effect. so I would say to you that this is not a broad statement but a plea to not let a few guides set the limit for all fisherman.As I previuoly stated I know the situation in the Matagoda area as good or better than the few peaple who are trying to impose theyre will on the fisher men who cant afford guides or dont want them and would like to keep fihig as good for the ford fisherman as it is for the cadilac fisherman. Thanks for the forum bigh

Guides did not, I say did not devistate trout and red fishing in or around Port Mansfield. Those guys that fish off the docks at night under lights and keep just about everything they catch...why not use them as the excuse?

it's El Nino...

actually a sign of more smaller catches may be a sign of just how many fish are in and around the system...

I remember reading about a study on fish once, and the speckled seatrout happened to be the specimen studied... they say that larger numbers of fish in an area don't eat as much because there is so much competition for food... but it's no problem to the fish, that's just how they grow up and learn to eat...

that would also explain while we see larger trout being caught a couple of years after a hard freeze... the temperatures end up killing fish, but the ones who survive get more food when the food comes back into the bays etc... so these fish learn to eat more and get larger...

just some 'food' for thought...

good article in this month's TX Fish and Game about saltwater fishermen now becoming trophy-minded and what exactly is a trophy... if we regulate fishing just to have bigger fish, what comes next? we're catching so many "trophy" fish at 30-31" that now we wanna catch 'em at 35"?

very interesting article...