I say ban them completely. On twok, I'd say the fishing pressure would drop by 90% if the guides weren't on the water like they are. They are te biggest reason fishing pressure is where it is.

Yet again, the discussion has turned against the guides. Last time I checked, the guides were releasing the big fish because that is their livelihood. They are also the driving force behind protecting these big fish for the same reason. Blaming the guides for advertising their business is the wrong way to look at this.

Without guides, a LOT of people would never enjoy a successful day on the water. I support guides. I have used two catfish guides, one in Tennessee years ago that had a rule that any fish over 10 pounds was released. The other targets eating size fish so large fish are not an issue. Guides are an easy target to blame because of the pictures they use to advertise. But guides are not the problem, it's the people that hire guides to learn how and where they catch fish and then hole jump, catch and take the big fish.

I support one catfish over 30" per day per person.

A true conservation effectiveness requires looking at the problem in its entirety and come up with measures that at the minimum must deal with the major problems head on. Internet advertising induced excessive number of fishermen to fish at lake Tawakoni is a single biggest threat to this special lake now and even bigger problems in the future as more guides begin to do same.
More crowd means more people fishing, more fishing equal more pressure on the fish, cpr or otherwise. Immediately, the quality of fishing at tawakoni have been down graded. Even you cpr all the fish, excessive pressure will stunt the fish. Cattle ranchers understand this,.. if you let loose a larger pact of dogs that like to chase the cattle around all day, the cows don't get to eat much, they'll be skinny.

On top of that if you look at the performance of slot lakes they don't do any better than lake without slot. Lake Lewisville blue cat record of 63 lb was caught in 2000, where as ray Hubbard a lake without slot produced a new lake record in 2013, that tells me that ray Hubbard blue cats are getting bigger while Lewisville is not.

Bottom line is controlling crowd can yield immediate positive results for conservation, and therefore superior conservation measure than slot.

Would you explain that statement? What is "controlling crowd? Are you saying to limit the number of fishermen?

Chuchu, what I said above. If that fail, then what catsishfishfishin said. Lol

Just start a petition, you get the right people inboard and it could pass. Might find out they aren't the majority like they think.

I have to disagree with both of you. The reason there are so many people fishing any lake in the DFW area is DFW itself. Too many people in too small an area. But that is becoming an issue all over the nation, as the population grows, and they ain't making any more lakes so it naturally gets crowded. And taking away a persons RIGHT to fish is not an answer.

As crowds grow ( population increase ) size and or limits should change. Common sense haven't built any lakes in a while.

And a good guide can teach the new and old about conservation , wich that's why a guide started this thread.

Question??? How has slot worked out on LL, RC & Waco??

One experiment is already under way. In September 2009, TPWD put a 30- to 45-inch slot limit on blue catfish in lakes Lewisville, Richland Chambers and Waco. Anglers can harvest up to 25 blue cats that measure 30 inches or less per day, but only one that�s 45 inches or larger. Anything between 30 and 45 inches must be put back in those lakes. Biologists will monitor the lakes to gauge the effects of the new limit.

Tibbs, one of three field biologists on the project, explains why those lakes were selected for the experimental slot limit. All were known as good catfishing locations, popular with jug-liners and trotliners as well as pole-and-line anglers. Each has been known to produce blue catfish over 45 inches, the upper end of the slot limit. Apart from those similarities, the lakes are different sizes and have different management histories. Richland Chambers was stocked with blue catfish fingerlings in 1988. Waco has been stocked more recently; Lewisville was never officially stocked.

A slot limit �is one potential scenario, a way of encouraging growth of trophy fish, while still allowing relatively unrestricted harvest of smaller fish,� says Tibbs. �With three reservoirs in the study, we should get a good idea of where it works and where it doesn�t.�

The study will run through 2016, but �we are already getting reports of success from anglers,� Tibbs says. �For example, on Lake Waco I have gotten multiple reports this year from people catching fish above the slot limit. Prior to that, very few.�

He�s heard good reports about Richland Chambers and Lewisville, too, but there�s no conclusive evidence yet. It could simply mean that more trophy-oriented anglers are fishing those lakes.

�Just putting the slot limit in effect interests some people enough to go and try it out,� he says.

Whatever the results of the slot-limit project, it will be just one piece of a new approach to managing catfish fisheries in Texas.

�It�s kind of a new frontier for fisheries management types,� says Terre. �We can learn from the things we did for bass, and maybe even do them better for catfish.�




Catfish Regulations
Statewide Limits
� Channel and blue catfish � minimum length 12 inches; daily bag 25 fish in combination.

� Flathead catfish � minimum length 18 inches; daily bag five fish.

� Bullheads � no length or daily bag limits.

Exceptions to Statewide Regulations
Community Fishing Lakes

Soooo ban guides, but allow hundreds, if not thousands of fish to be taken by jug/trot lines...

What's the big deal with jugs and trot lines?!!?! Fish how you want to fish, if you don't like them don't use them . Jesus Christ texas seems to be going to hell in a hand basket we are gonna wake up one day look over our jawbones to see how good we slept since they legalized marijuana go downstairs for breakfast wich would be anything low fat on a bagel only to look out your window and see your queer married couple down the road out for their morning speed walk. We have people that get paid to study our lakes they have money alotted for restocking lakes and seem to be doing fine so far. I'll call and check tomorrow but I'm pretty sure for every person arguing comparing catfish to dodo birds there's prolly two that call tpwd and tell them how grandpa taught them where to set lines in spring or how they set jugs in feb. to fry fish for the big family get together each spring. Whether a man releases a fish back in the lake or into crisco bay is a choice I hope we get to keep. I'm sure they will change the rules on big blues eventually I just hope it doesn't ban a way of fishing some have known for so long.

That is Wrong.
Guides catch for the $$$$$$$$$$$.
Jugs and Trotlines. Catch for . Heritage; Family. Camping at the River or Lake.
Sharing handsdown Tradtions. From the Actual, riverbank.
Not some MOTEL. GUIDE, meet us for Breakfast.
Trotlines/ Jugs/. Teach. WAY the HELL More. ABout FISHING. Conservation: