It's not long till September 1st!!!

(Important stuff is red)

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission today approved a number of proposed changes to freshwater fishing regulations, including the state’s first measure aimed at protecting alligator gar. The prehistoric-looking predators can live as long as 75 years and are the largest freshwater fishes in Texas.

The statewide regulation on alligator gar will change Sept. 1, 2009, from no length or daily bag limit to a one fish per day bag limit. The bag will apply to both recreational and commercial fishing.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries Division Director Phil Durocher told commissioners that Texas has the best remaining alligator gar populations in the country.

"We have a window of opportunity to sustain populations by limiting harvest to one alligator gar per day. It’s a good first step toward managing gar into the future," Durocher said.

While research on the fish, which can grow to more than 250 pounds, is still in its early stages in Texas, biologists know that alligator gar are very long-lived animals and take a long time to reach sexual maturity, with females attaining an age of 12 years and a length of about 60 inches before spawning for the first time.

Alligator gars also apparently require very specific spawning conditions, including flooded terrestrial vegetation or seasonally flooded backwaters.

Current research being conducted by fisheries biologists in Texas includes investigations into size structure and year class strength in a mark-recapture study; a seasonal movement and habitat study on radio-tagged fish; and research that looks a the genetics of alligator gar populations as well as contaminants that may be present in the fish.

Public comment on the alligator gar proposal was 167 comments against the department’s recommendation and 233 comments in favor of the regulation, with the majority of concerns raised by bow and commercial fishermen.

Blue Catfish — Lake Lewisville (Denton County), Lake Richland Chambers (Navarro and Freestone Counties), and Lake Waco (McLennan County)

Harvest regulations for blue catfish on these reservoirs currently consist of the statewide limits (12-inch minimum length limit and 25 fish daily bag limit). Changes approved by the commission consist of a 25 fish daily bag limit with a 30 to 45-inch slot length limit, and harvest of only one blue catfish over 45 inches would be allowed. No harvest of blue catfish between 30 and 45 inches will be allowed.
Largemouth Bass — Lake Ray Roberts (Cooke, Denton, and Grayson Counties)

The commission approved changes will make Lake Ray Roberts consistent with the statewide limits for largemouth bass (14-inch minimum length limit and five fish daily bag limit).

Lake Texoma — Cooke and Grayson Counties

Alligator gar -The commission approved a harvest closure in May to protect spawning adults in a portion of the lake that is within the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and a portion of the lake upstream of the U.S. Highway 377 bridge to the Interstate Highway 35 bridge.

Blue and channel catfish — The commission changed harvest regulations for blue channel catfish from a 15 per day bag limit to a 15 per day bag limit of which only one blue catfish 30 inches or greater may be harvested per day.

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On the Net:

More information about alligator gar: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/nonpwdpubs/media/gar_status_073108.pdf (PDF 122.6 KB)

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Good. Now the next step should be name the A.gar a gamefish. I believe any fish that grow to be 250lb deserves to be a gamefish.

Woooo Hooo!!! Come on September 1st!!

Wow, that's neither a lot of opinions nor a big difference in the totals. I'm glad I took the time to leave a comment. Every "vote" really does count!

Thats awesome news! Now if we could just get some similar statewide regulations on carp and buffs.

Yeah there should be.The only fish I think deserve to be called trash are invasives that are damaging the habitat not ones that are all ready here and well established in the ecosystem.

I read that when the common carp was introduced to the US it was a prized food fish that's stocks were guarded and fenced.Funny how times change.

im glad there finally doing something for the gar, but the bfers still think there above the law and wont follow those regs, heck they dont even follow the one already set now.

Well Chris hopefully these new regs will get the GWs out looking for the violators.

i hope so.

No need to start bashing anyone lol. Just stick to discussin' the new regs!

Yes sir.

good stuff j.b

This is really great to see. Now to get a bag limit on big carp and buffalo. One fish per day over 20 inches maybe?

that would be great

that would be good but does anyone on here keep carp for food or is everyone just catch for the fight itself.

some of us here will take a small carp/buff, but mostly catch and release. ill give away fish to a family if its under 10 lbs.

There are a number of the Carp Brigade that eat carp I believe. I hope they feel free to chime in. I have kept fish for others though I personally do not enjoy the taste. Catfish, bass and sunfish, including "black bass" are more to my tastes. I probably just don't know how to cook em. I think more anglers should keep small fish to help control the populations and give fish a chance to grow to trophy size in more waters. The "slot" on black bass has been very effective in increasing the size of bass without really effecting the numbers drastically. I think with Carp and Buffalo it would be just as effective.

All the small ones I catch will be coming home to be catfish bait.

J.B. go hit Granbury for me.. we gotta start weeding out the little guys so I can find the big boys! Those 5lb carp and buffs are perfect for the big kitties cut or whole.

I would not want to try and and cast a whole 5lb carp/buff.

I was trying to picture that, too!

Kayak it out.

I think thats normally boated out on trot lines... But it would be fun to try.

Oh, he trot lines? He said "cast" it out. so I thought he was R&R fishing.

No , I am R&R fishing.

chop em up!! but please take all the little ones outta granbury for me. and i do mean all 3 million of em.

Lol , Lake texoma and granbury are about the same distance from me.

Hmm , go catch bait or go fish texoma ?

Alligator Gar limits. 1 per day. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. We didn't get the size limitations we really needed, but 1 fish per day is a step in the right direction. Who ever made this happen, thank you. I gave up on this plight years ago. Amazing... brought a tear to my eye.

so on the blue cats will someone explain the new rule in laymans terms .please ...25 per day over 12 inches was simple for me but what does slot limits mean ??

Mr. Kirk Kirkland had a big part in it I believe.

GG does this new regulation mean you have to stop fishing if you caught one no matter how small?

Or does it mean you can continue fishing and "release "the smaller one if you catch a bigger one? ( no matter what method your using)

doubt it, him and his dad still run nets and sell them commercially I believe.

You can only keep one, of any size. You can fish as long as you want, but can only keep one. As far as I know you can cull your catches as long as they are alive, and healthy (do not release if they have been.... shot. shoot your one, and call it a day).

I would like to change the mindset of 'trash fish' altogether...not just a 'P.C.' kind of thing but a realization that as living beings they have a place alongside us. Even the 'exotic invasives'. I do believe they (invasives) need to be controlled or eradicated, but I don't think we need to call them 'trash'. Ditto with calling people 'trash' (trailer trash, white trash, etc.). Everyone (and everything) has something to contribute. I hate mosquitos, but I know they feed lots of fish and animals (birds and bats).
Ok, ok, so I'm a bit of a bleeding heart... I can live with that!

p.s. I hug trees, too!

Actually LS, Kirk did have a lot to do with it, in fact he is the prime reason for it. But don't nobody go patting him on the back for it just yet. He's also the PRIME reason the GG numbers went as low as they did to begin with, him and his daddy I should say. In fact he stated that they (him and his daddy)took over 3 million pounds in 3 years, so you get the picture. Now though he has found a new way to make money off the GG that being his so called guide service, which in my opinion is kinda bogus when you run pop ups to catch the gar and then attach the pop up line to the fishing line for the client to fight the fish.
Also LS netting of gar was outlawed some time ago even for commercial fishermen, and I don't believe the Kirklands have commercial fished for a couple of years now. But I ain't positive since his daddy was up here talkin with my grandfather not to long ago and showed some interest in buying this boat that only has 2 uses, one is for a massive bowfishing rig and the other would be for commercial fishing, this thing is massive by every sense of the word. But with the new regulations goin into effect that has effectively stopped commercial fishing for gar period, none that I have talked to (8 out of the 13) said there is any point in it withouth the GG take, and you can't make a living on just one GG a day. Also the effort that it would take to make up for the GG in needlenose would be just too much work ( can you imagine having to clean 15 needlenose to every 1 GG).