New Fishing Regulations Affect Some West Texas Reservoirs

Media Contact: Spencer Dumont, (325) 692-0921, icle__media__contact">Media Contact: Spencer Dumont, (325) 692-0921, sdumont@sbcglobal.net; Larry Hodge, (903) 670-2255, larry.hodge@tpwd.texas.gov

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ATHENS — Effective September 1, some Texas reservoirs will have different fish-harvest regulations. One is Lake Kirby, where the 12-inch minimum length and 25-fish daily bag limit for blue and channel catfish was changed to a NO minimum length limit and daily bag limit of 50 blue or channel catfish in any combination. No more than five blue or channel catfish 20 inches or greater can be kept.

The new catfish regulation will give anglers more harvest opportunities (i.e. anglers get to keep more fish and smaller fish) and will also provide more protection of larger catfish to increase, or at least maintain, numbers of larger catfish for anglers to enjoy (i.e. anglers can only keep five 20-inch or longer catfish).

Lake Alan Henry, near Post, will also have a new regulation for black basses. Gone is the 18-inch minimum length limit on spotted bass and smallmouth bass. The new minimum length limit for smallmouth bass is 14 inches, and the daily bag limit is five fish. For spotted bass and largemouth bass there will be NO minimum length limit and a daily bag limit of five largemouth or spotted bass in any combination; however, only two bass less than 18 inches long may be retained per day.

One other new regulation is that handfishing is now legal for blue, channel and flathead catfish. All current length and bag limits apply.

All hunting and fishing regulations are available in the 2011-2012 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, which can be accessed at http://www.txoutdoorannual.com/.

Spencer Dumont is a fisheries biologist with the TPWD. For more information on area reservoirs and fish populations, contact the Abilene Inland Fisheries district office at (325) 692-0921, send an email to sdumont@sbcglobal.net, or visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/tpwdifabilene.