The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted a suite of changes to this year’s fishing regulations that includes standardizing harvest regulations for largemouth bass to the statewide limits at 12 lakes and increasing the daily bag limit for commercial and recreational take of king mackerel from two to three.
The commission adopted the following changes to the 2018-19 Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing Proclamations, the details of which will be incorporated into this year’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor Annual:
- Change from 16-inch minimum length limit to a 14-inch minimum length limit. Daily bag will remain at five fish.
- Lake Granbury (Hood)
- Possum Kingdom Reservoir (Palo Pinto)
- Lake Ratcliff (Houston)
- Change from 18-inch minimum length limit to a 14-inch minimum length limit. Daily bag will remain at five fish.
- Lake Bryan (Brazos)
- Cooper Lake (Delta)
- Old Mount Pleasant City Lake (Titus)
- Change from 14- to 18-inch slot length limit to a 14-inch minimum length limit. Daily bag will remain at five fish.
- Lake Bridgeport (Jack and Wise)
- Burke-Crenshaw Lake (Harris)
- Lake Georgetown (Williamson)
- Lake Madisonville (Madison)
- San Augustine City Lake (San Augustine)
- Sweetwater Reservoir (Nolan)
- Change from 14- to 18-inch slot length limit and five fish daily bag limit to no minimum length limit and a bag limit of five fish (only two may be less than 18 inches).
- Grapevine Lake (Tarrant)
- Change from 14- to 24-inch slot length limit to a 16- to 24-inch slot length limit. Daily bag will remain at five fish (limit of only one bass 24 inches or larger).
- Fayette County Reservoir (Fayette)
- Gibbons Creek Reservoir (Grimes)
- Lake Monticello (Titus)
- Change from catch and release with an exception allowing for possession and weighing for bass 24 inches or greater for possible submission to ShareLunker program to a 16-inch maximum length limit and five fish daily bag with the ShareLunker weighing and possession exception for bass 24 inches or greater.
- Purtis Creek State Park Lake (Henderson)
- Lake Raven (Walker)
- Change from an 18-inch minimum length limit and five fish daily bag for largemouth bass to a 16-inch maximum length limit and five fish daily bag with an exception allowing for possession and weighing for bass 24 inches or greater for possible submission to ShareLunker program.
- Lake Bellwood (Smith)
- Change from 14- to 18-inch slot length limit and five fish daily bag limit for largemouth bass to a 16-inch maximum length limit and five fish daily bag with an exception allowing for possession and weighing for bass 24 inches or greater for possible submission to ShareLunker program.
- Davy Crockett Lake (Fannin)
- Increase daily bag limit for commercial and recreational take of king mackerel from two to three.
The changes to the 2018-19 Statewide Recreational and Commercial Fishing regulations take effect on Sept. 1, 2018.
Source: TPWD