I just looked at the new catfish regulations set by the TPWD.
Does anyone have a flow chart that connects all this together to know what lakes are going with what regulations?

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/re..._medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

With these new reg's I'm going to really miss having the printed manual in the boat.
New things to remember:
No minimum length, can still keep 25, but some lakes 50, only 10 fish can be over 20 inches, but some lakes only 5, other lakes you can only have 1 over 30, other lakes you can have 5 over 30.

Better check out the new regs on lakes you travel to.

Plus #1 on checking out the new regulations on lakes you travel to !

Yes Sir, for wright patman lake it's 25 no limit on the small size with only 10 over 20" for Blue /Channel cat.per day. I like fiddlers for table fair but I don't think I'll keep one much under 12".

Good to know. Thank you for sharing...

I've wondered how many people were going to take advantage of the no minimum length and keep fish under 12 inches?
I guess it would be an easy way to make fish nuggets

For those who fish multiple lakes/reservoirs it could be a chore just to keep up with all the different regs. I thought these changes were supposed to simplify regs from one lake to another?

New rules don't go in effect til Sept.1. The places i fish at and what I fish for
if stay at 25 limit at 12 inches I'm good. Unless Tawakoni and then it's only
7 over 20 inches and of those 7 only 2 can be over 30 inches..changing to
5 and 2 Sept. 1.

I miss the booklet!

I want it in writing, not a screen that can constantly change every time you blink.

Government cant make anything simple.

What's the reason for the rule change ? Does it make for better fishing ? A 20" inch Blue is the best fish you can catch for the table.

Some lakes need the new regulations due to increased fishing pressure!
I know my home lake had the size limit on channel cats raised from 12 to 14" and from 25 per day lowered to 15.
I've witnessed some enormous meat hauls from the lake over the years and it had been steadily dropping off for about the last 6 to 7 years or more.
I think there are other factors other than pressure, but I guess it was time to start somewhere.
What I found strange was the lack of catching undersized fish which to me means there was an interruption of their spawning cycle, and it wasn't just me that had noticed this.
When you hardly ever catch a juvenile catfish something is wrong.

I have found that a 14 pound Blue is the ultimate in fish fry eating. The backstraps are cut to boneless "B"s or "8"s about 1" thick, battered & fried to perfection. Hot, dipped in ice cold Del Monte Ketchup.

The biologist that proposed the current and previous regulations told me the reason for the regulations change was to protect more of the breeding sized fish. With a huge influx of new catfish anglers they are trying to help protect the resource for future generations. By returning more of the breeding sized fish they hope those will grow into mature catfish that reach their full potential. Large mature catfish produce much higher number of offspring . It is their thinking that if you protect the breeding sized fish then their will me more mature fish for the trophy hunters and also more eater fish for the meat haulers.

I hope TPWD continues to manage the population of Blue Cats. I don't want to see Texas go the way of Kentucky and other states that have allowed their fish populations to be decimated. I release almost everything I catch, especially this time of year when they are full of eggs. I hate cleaning an eater size fish when I find eggs in it. I don't know how prolific the blues are. A guide buddy of mine up on Texoma said the biologists surveyed the stripped Bass population there last year and they estimate that over a million fish are harvested annually against an average population of five million. I want to preserve this resource for my grandkids...

I’d be willing to bet the house that if I had a plate of fried 15 lb blue and a plate of 5 lb fried Bluecat you you wouldn’t be able to tell what you were eating if I put a blindfold on you. It is the mindset like yours Lynn that TPWD is trying to overcome by educating the young anglers on the importance of conservation. With all the new anglers entering our sport I think your sending the wrong message by promoting the harvest of big Blues. It’s your opinion and you have every right to it but I disagree with it. I know I always take a beating on here when I bring up catfish conversation but if it helps save some big fish the so be it.

Nothing better,but I still chase eaters with dip/punch baits . You can see the difference between Blue and Channel, Will a very large lazy Blue Cat make more Babies than a 10 to 20 Lb Blue ?

We used to keep the big ones back in the day but no more..best eaters
are around 2-3lbs where you only make the 1 filet cut and not have to
thin it out..IMO.

In general TPWD is all in for Trophy fish. When the average shad eating blue gets to be around 20 pounds just watch the shad base decline. Then of course you have a real problem. I rarely keep cats over 15 pounds anyway but unless a lake is in real trouble I find TPWD's meddling is often counter productive. If they really cared why don't they make an effort to reduce the carp population?

I’ve fished some of the best trophy Bluecat lakes in the entire country and one thing they all have in common is there is an abundance of Shad in every one of them. Twok, Texoma, Wheeler, Marion, are all chuck full of toads and there are plenty of Shad in those lakes. Saying that trophy bluecats are somehow negatively impacting the Shad is not what I’ve seen. My lake is chuck full of carp and they don’t seem to have much of an affect on the fish either. Carp become a problem when breeding size game fish aren’t large enough to be able to guard their nests.

You are so right about the carp Lake wright patman is full of them. And they are playing in the shallow waters about the time that the catfish go to spawn. Our Lake is fead by Sulphur River and on or about the middle of Feb. to the end of march they hit the river in droves. I,m not a net person and because of all the new rules,I don't trotline . But years ago, during the rough fish run up river I've seen one hoop net catch almost a jon boat load of rough fish in one hoop net. If the TPWD would open a three or four week season for the use of nets for rough fish harvest you would see a decline in those big egg sucking rough fish.

So you can keep fish under 12 inches

You can at Tawakoni last yr and this yr til Sept.1..not sure on the reasoning
for that. No meat on those bones.

Don't seem right to me

First off, I understand the needs for certain rulings on specific lakes & rivers. But I still stand by my saying that a 14# BC supersedes the taste of other sized Blues, smaller or bigger, any sized YC, or any sized CC.

I put my heart into my fish fry-s. In fact, my two prize Catfish Calendar & YC students (Jeff & son James), brought half of their $2600 salt water trip, to the Lake, just so I could fry it for them (& me, as I got to eat some too). So in a sense, I fried up $1300 worth (1 of 2 big bags) that one night.

I will take minute for a note to warn about what's coming. Regardless of everything the TPWD does for Texas, or the similar agencies in other states, here is what's coming. Fish now while you can, as soon the fish populations will be decimated. The drought of 2011 is nothing in comparison after the Comet runs. That occurs in this decade. Following that, a 10 year drought will devastate the Earth. But there will be a heavenly sign 1 year before the Comet's impact. Our beloved America will be reduced by a third, then split almost in the middle by the much larger Mississippi River. You see, I am a pattern recognizer & a puzzle-gatherer. It is almost like watching rows & rows of dominoes falling in a sequenced pattern.

Nevertheless, you must abide by the laws of the land, so if your lake or river is under the protected regulations, you must abide. Sadly, the protection was for naught.

Dang! I thought the earth ended in 2000 with the Y2K bug or was is 2012 with earthquakes and global warming? Now it’s a comet and the Mississippi River splitting open... I’ve been hearing that stuff my whole life and were still here catching fish. You must have been reading about Edgar Casey the sleeping prophet. 10 yrs of drought on the way? We’ve had 6 yrs of above average rain so now it’s time for a drought. I call that a weather cycle, not the end of the world.

Even if all those things were true there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it but there is something we can do to preserve the catfish for future generations. CPR all catfish over 10 lbs and in the event that Lynn is wrong again on his predictions, there might be a few good catfish left for our kids to catch when they grow up.

Side note: the monster you’ve been hunting all these years was most likely hauled out of your lake long ago and ended up in someone else’s frying pan. gone forever...You see Lynn, that’s what happens when you eat the big ones.

Good Read Lynn

++++++++++++
Side note: the monster you’ve been hunting all these years was most likely hauled out of your lake long ago and ended up in someone else’s frying pan. gone forever...You see Lynn, that’s what happens when you eat the big ones.
++++++++++++

"The Giant" has not been hauled out yet. If it had, it would be pretty well public knowledge. My last encounter was May 5, 2018. And hopefully, my next encounter will be my final encounter before the summer ends this year. A giant YellowCat is like a Giant Vacuum Cleaner. It consumes a lot of fish, which includes sizeable Yellows & Blues (the ones that the regulations wish to preserve). This one seems to be a Male. It runs like a tractor. And it's predictible. It always runs its path. And Lynn never ever gives up.

The reason I brought up the portion I did, was that it is almost upon us, is the senseless waste of fish, in the days ahead. I am almost thru compiling the data for my book on the Comet & related knowledge. Cayce never spoke of a Comet. He is but one of the many who have touched upon the future of the Mississippi River, that includes Native Americans. The Mayan Elders never stated that 2012 was the turning point. This was something Hollywood ran away with. It was the beginning of the 26 year cycle that there was to be turbulance. Compared to a child (as the Mayans saw it), as they hit about age 13, things sometimes go a little wild & sometimes do not stabilize as adults as late as age 26. So, in essence, turbulence begins in the 13th year(2025) & could last as far as the 26th year (2038). And in the past 10+ years, some have pinpointed 2038 as the culmination point indicated by the Great Pyramid. Anyways, I've been researching this since about 1985, just a few years less than the Catfish Calendar. So I've acquired well over a 5000 volume count personal library.

'Nuff said for the moment. Back to catfishing ... April posting of the calendar & info on the printed calendar coming up shortly, as it has been a full week on my end here.

I love Bill Haley and the Comets

Just learning here,nothing to see

[color:#CCFFFF][/color]

"LIKE" or "TWO THUMBS UP".... whichever you prefer Sir

Whew, that's a lot of rule's. Ours is no limit on catfish with the exception of only one can be over 34 inches. But the limit on bullfrogs is 20. Gotta love Alabama!

Are these proposals or actual new laws going into effect?

They take effect Sept 1, 2021.

Never needed all the rules and regulations before.
Must be all the technological advancements in sonar making it easier to catch fish these days that is driving the new regs.

That along with the internet (including message boards like this one) where people can be more educated. And there's just a lot more people fishing these days.

When you’re talking about TP&W, money is always the driving factor. The old mentality of catfish are only a food is rapidly shifting and there is an increasing number of guys who sport fish. Sure there are still a ton of guys that fish for catfish to eat them, but the amount of guys that fish for sport has dramatically increased. It is this new revenue stream generated from the sport fisherman that has driven the regulations. If things were to continue to go the old way, the resource will be depleted and they believe that by protecting more of the breeding sized fish from the meat haulers will in turn be enough fish for all types of anglers. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if you leave the big breeders alone there will be a lot more eaters to harvest. Blue catfish have been studied extensively the past 15 years so there is a much better understanding of their life cycle and how to protect them better. I wish they could have protected the Flatheads like that. When I was a kid there were 70,80,90 lb flatheads coming out of my lake on a regular basis. They were heavily jugged and trot lined in the 80s and 90s and nearly every one that was caught was removed. Now there are rarely fish in the 40s caught. Once you remove a dinosaur from the lake you remove his genetics forever. Do that enough and you turn a world class Flathead fishery like Lewisville into what it is today. Sorry! it takes a long time to change the way people think and the older you are the more set in your way you tend to be. I’ve been self regulating for the last 30 yrs anyway so I am very happy to see the effort in protecting the big fish.

Set-liners are gonna be upset. They're going to have to learn how to read a tape and count, now.

I agree with the new regs as those who have been going out and making the meat hauls can't seem to regulate themselves.
They only hurt their own livelihood but don't seem to care only for the now.
It's a start, but seems too little too late on some of the lakes in my neck of the woods.

Chris, as usual I agree with you 100%. It is about the money. I read your post and thought about how I promote the sport and what else I could do. So, I just joined the Texas Trophy Catfish Association. I started out in my younger days as a meat hunter. Luckily I wasn't a very good fisherman back then. As I've gotten more successful, I've grown to appreciate the big fish more and I'm to the point where I'm in it for the sport, not the meat. Don't get me wrong, I love to eat catfish almost as much as I love to catch them. But, I now know how to selectively harvest, I don't harvest females pre spawn, I don't harvest fish over 10 pounds, I release big fish quickly so they go back healthy. I want to be able to do this as long as the good Lord lets me. And, I want my children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy it for their lifetime as well. So, I'll put my money where my mouth is to advance the sport and the conservation of our resources.

Sermon over...

Say and do as you choose but TPWD is heavily influenced by the $, if you have plenty of $ your voice becomes louder. Like it or lump it the new rules are going into effect and a few will be hit in the pocketbook.
Yes the line fishermen have and will overharvest but they are somewhat of an older generation and they ain't gong to change.

Man I love hearing that Tim. I’m not a preacher either amigo but I do love to talk catfishing and I’m not afraid to stick my neck out and stand up for things I love or what I think is right. I was raised a fighter which means I tend to get into some altercations from time to time with ignorant folks. Always have and probably always will. Change can happen quick but most often it’s a slow process to change the way people think. Some people will never change and that’s just the facts of life. Educating the young anglers is the best path to preserving what we love. The young anglers that have been on my boat when big fish are brought in never get upset when you turn them loose. They generally ask why we’re turning them loose and when you tell them the age of the fish they tend to gain a lot of respect for big fish. A 20-30 year old fish should be respected and not fried in a pan for Tuesday night tacos. When explaining why it’s important to let the big breeding fish go they kids have all been very understanding and not a single one was upset. They love releasing them. Now old farts are a different story. While quite a few of my older fishing buddies are CPR guys I do get some that are meat haulers as well. Some of those guys practically throw a fit when we turn loose the big ones. Those guys are a dying breed and changing their minds at this point is practically impossible. Focus on the youth and everything will work out just fine.

The old timers come from a time when you don't throw anything away. Times were tough. Especially if they're from rural areas. I don't believe it's a "they don't care" thing as much as it's a "I grew up in a tough time when you'd be crazy to throw that fish back". I know this because my grandad is/was one of those folks. Catching 30-40+ pound catfish on a rod and reel was something I introduced him to when I started targeting those fish. He thought I was crazy for throwing those fish back. After a few times of explaining why, he got it. It's not the 40's in rural Texas where we have to cure pork anymore and only sell our beef. He also didn't understand why I'd filet these fish instead of skin them and eat them off the bone. Old folks are set in their ways as a result of experience. But they also aren't immune to education, either. We all need to learn as we go.

I teach the fishing and fly fishing merit badges in Boy Scouts, El Gato Azul, you just said a mouthful. Ignorance is not bliss. The things I try to instill are: know your gear, know your quarry, and know the laws.

My point is going to be this. We are creatures of imitation and habit. If I follow the rules I am teaching my three boys the principles I want to instill and setting them up for success.

G,
You described my dad to a tee. He grew up in the south in the depression. It was a tough life. He and my uncles would fish and hunt and they ate everything they caught or killed. The lived along the Mississippi river so that meant catfish, turtles and anything else that hug off the trotline when they ran it. He would have looked at me cross eyed if he saw me throwing the big fish back too. But, you said it well. The old folks are not immune to education; at least not all of them. Some are about as flexible as mount Rushmore. My dad was that way. He knew what it was to go hungry so if my mom didn't have twice the food we needed on the table every night for dinner. He would be mad as a hornet. We were blessed that that didn't happen hardly ever. Chris I think is right. Focus on the youth. They are the future of our sport.

Another thing before I get off my soap box. I’m sure almost every guy in here is guilty of this including myself. When you hire a guide to take you fishing your not required to keep every fish or fill your limit. I know you think cuz someone else is cleaning them and your spending so much money on the trip you might as well keep them all but 90% of the fish that people bring home from a guided trip is still in the bottom of the freezer a year later. It’s hard to eat 25-30 lbs of fish and a huge number of those end up in the trash. Every time I’ve been on a trip with a guide, my buddy that I’m with will keep the fish. I hear em say fish fry fish fry. I love a good fish fry as much as the next guy but when I’m fishing for a fish fry the fish fry is already planned. When I ask my buddy the next year how the fish fry went and what happened to all those filets, nearly every time most of those fish were still in the bottom of the freezer. Catfish are best cooked fresh and after being in the bottom of the freezer for a year most people just throw em out. If your keeping fish it’s best to keep what your going to eat in 1 or 2 meals and when you want more for another meal then go catch some fresh ones.

Rant complete.

Chris, I you put frozen fish beside fresh fish, I can pick the fresh out of a blind taste test 100 times out of 100. There is no comparison. When I go striper fishing with a guide up on Texoma, I don't always keep them. Sometimes I do. My daughter likes striper better than catfish (strange girl) so I keep some for her but a lot of times I wont keep any. I don't need a freezer full of fish. If I want some, I'll go catch em.

I grew up the same way..uncles and parents born in the 20s and 30s you learn quickly not
to throw anything away. I still trotline and will til i can't no more plus fish with rod and reel.
Usually set liners or us atleast do it just a few weeks out of the yr. and catch enough for family
reunions and to have some thru out the yr. Rod and reel fisherman have never liked set liners mainly
because of snagging it with there line and set liners don't like rod reel fisherman because they cut
there line or steal it. Noodles seem to be popular with this generation and seem like it would be
fun but you got to keep up with them and don't cause trash. Trotliners need to take there lines
out when they are thru for the season. As far as fish population i would be willing to bet my life savings with all
the guides now days pulling in 4 person limits sometimes twice a day over a whole yr. and making a nice paycheck
doing it has caused more damage than set liners. Trophy catfishing has turned into a big business
for guides and are changing the rules. I have no problem with the rules because 25 a day is plenty
for everyone and 5 over 20 inches at Tawakoni is more than we ever catch.

Funny ya'll talk about those old timers like there are so many of them out there still loading their freezers every week.
I guess those old timers must be in their fifties by now?

Those clients have big smiles on their faces as they stand around the cleaning table watching the guides clean that big pile of fish!
Now what guide doesn't want his clients to have smiles on their faces?
If they can't make their clients happy there is always several other guides working the same lake that will!
I just believe what my own eyes have seen time and again over the years!
Even they complain that the fishing isn't what it used to be!....Duh!
Plenty of reasons, and when we point fingers there is always three more pointing back at you, and I'm all for the new restrictions, and maybe they don't go far enough!

The reason I brought up old timers is because the ones I fish with complain when we release big fish or any fish for that matter and the young anglers do not.

I don’t know what lake you fish but here in Lewisville there are still a ton of older anglers fishing. Most young and middle aged anglers are working their jobs during the week but the retired guys I know are at the lake fishing quite a bit more than us working guys. I knock off work early a lot to fish and over the years I’ve made a ton of friendships with some of the old timers at my lake.

I’m 47 and I grew up watching Jimmy Houston outdoors. I think he had a huge impact on my generation in educating us on the importance of conservation and catch and release. My brother is the generation before me and his fishing style was more influence by my dad and my uncles. My dad is 85 and he is an old timer. My uncles are all in their 60-80s and they are all old timers that continue to fish. Their friends are mostly old timers as well. Many of them are life long catfisherman and still fish often and keep all their fish.

Old timer can have several meaning. That can mean a seasoned veteran, an antique, or just someone who follows the old time way of doing things. My brother is a perfect example. He is 50 and follows the old ways of the keep em all mentality. I call him an old timer all the time. We don’t fish much together cuz we don’t see eye to eye.

I knew this thread would ruffle a few feathers but judging from the majority of comments it looks like peoples ways are rapidly changing and there is a paradigm shift that is happening before our very eyes. The old ways of over harvest and keeping everything you catch seems like it is finally beginning to subside.

Hey Jimbo, I resemble that remark! I'm 57 and I am not an old timer, some days I might feel like one but I'm not. Chris, change happens slow but I think you are right there is an awakening to the fact that this is a limited resource and if we want to keep it, we need to manage it and not just mindlessly use it up.

I've said it before here but it's worth saying again I think. I had a guide tell me his fisheries buddy said the striper population on Texoma is about 5 million. They estimate that all the guides pulling limits every day, sometimes twice a day, only takes a million fish out of the lake. At the rate those fish grow, that is sustainable. Catfish are much slower at growing and the same equation would not work out with the blue cat's growth rate.

I am more and more in favor of limiting the harvest of blue cats. The more popular the sport becomes, the more important the regulations are. If it takes money for the TPWD to notice and see value in regulating them, tell me where to send the check.

Any of us that had parents or relatives grow up during the Great Depression have seen this mentality. My mom grew up dirt poor on a Nebraska farm and you can bet she knew how to stretch the available food in the pantry and stockpiled on certain things when they were on sale. I once counted 20, yes 20, cans of tuna in the pantry.

Just like when they were begging anglers to keep small bass on Fork. Too many fish competing for the available food sources. Trying to protect the trophy fish means some of the youngsters need to be culled from the population.

Train em up right. Wyatt is 4. I want to make sure the next generation is in good hands...

Not sure why anyone would but it says no minimum on some.

They need to have a minimum size of 12 in.

I come from that generation, and you hit the nail on the head ! When I had a houseful of kids, trying to pay bills and make ends meet, I wouldn’t throw back any legal fish. We also ate squirrels and ducks (I don’t even like duck I cleaned and fried many a bass in my younger days too. These days it’s a different ballgame. I don’t pull enough limits of crappie to hurt the population, or catfish either. I enjoy a fish fry as much as the next guy, but I recognize the resource needs to be protected too.

If TPWD cares about the breeders, why in the world did they make noodling legal ?

They made it legal because of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in the right pocket