TPWD fishing for input possible regulation changes

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently unveiled a laundry list of potential regulation changes that could begin impacting the way Texas sportsmen do business in the woods and on water as early as Fall 2009.

Though the list weighs heavily on deer hunting, there were a handful of possible freshwater fishing regulation changes in the mix with ties to blue catfish limits on lakes Richland Chambers, Waco and Lewisville; largemouth bass limits at Ray Roberts; and alligator gar statewide.

The department will host a series hearings around the state around the state in coming weeks to allow for public comment on the possible regulation changes before actual proposals are made.

Here's a summary of potential deer hunting reg changes up for public comment:

* Expand antler restrictions to 52 counties including Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Brazos, Brown, Chambers, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Grayson, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Wichita, Wise, and Young.

*Â Increase the bag limit from one buck to two bucks in Baylor, Callahan, Haskell, Jones, Knox, Shackelford, Taylor, Throckmorton, and Wilbarger counties.

*Â Increase the bag limit from four deer to five deer in Pecos, Terrell and Upton counties.

* Increase the deer limit to five deer (no more than two bucks) in 25 counties across the Cross Timbers and Prairies and eastern Rolling Plains. Affected counties include: Archer, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Callahan, Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Haskell, Hill, Jack, Jones, Knox, Lampasas, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (west of IH35), and Young.

* Increase the deer limit to five (no more than one buck) in Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lipscomb, Motley, Ochiltree, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall and Wheeler counties.

* Open a regular season in Dawson, Deaf Smith and Martin counties.

* Allow the harvest of does for the full season in Cook, Dallam, Denton, Hardeman, Hartley, Hill, Johnson, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Sherman, Tarrant, Wichita and Wilbarger counties.

* Increase doe days from four to 16 days in Bowie and Rusk counties; four to 30 days in Cherokee and Houston counties; and no doe days to four doe days in Anderson, Henderson, Hunt, Leon, Rains, Smith and Van Zandt counties.

* Expand the late antlerless and spike season to include: Archer, Armstrong, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Briscoe, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crosby, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Haskell, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Hutchinson, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kent, King, Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, McLennan, Montague, Motley, Ochiltree, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Roberts, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Stonewall, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Upton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (West of IH35), Wise, and Young. In Pecos, Terrell, and Upton counties, the proposed season would replace the current muzzleloader-only open season.

* Implement or alter existing muzzleloader seasons in Austin, Bastrop, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Colorado, De Witt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Goliad (North of HWY 59), Goliad (South of HWY 59), Gonzales, Gregg, Guadalupe, Harrison, Houston, Jackson (North of HWY 59), Jackson (South of HWY 59), Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Marion, Matagorda, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Upshur, Victoria (North of HWY 59), Victoria (South of HWY 59), Waller, Washington, Wharton (North of HWY 59), Wharton (South of HWY 59) and Wilson counties.

* Extend the early Youth Only season to include the full month of October and extend the late Youth Only season by 12 days so it runs concurrent with the late antlerless and spike seasons.

* Implement a general whitetail season in Grayson County, which is currently an archery only county.

 Potential freshwater fishing regulation changes are as follows:

* Implement a 30-45 inch slot length limit on blue cat caught from lakes Richand Chambers, Lewisville and Waco. Anglers could still retain 25 fish between 12-30 inches daily.

* Change the daily limit at lake Ray Roberts to five fish, 14 inches.

* Create a regulation to protect large, alligator gar. Two possibilities are being considered. 1.) Create a tag issuance system that would limit the size and number of alligator gar an angler could harvest in one year. 2.) Set a minimum length limit of 7 feet and a daily bag limit of one.