New laws for fishing and hunting

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Hook'em
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New laws for fishing and hunting

Post by Hook'em »

In a little more than two weeks, Texas coastal anglers will be restricted to having no more than one speckled trout measuring more than 25 inches among their catch.

And state game wardens get the authority to open ice chests or live wells to see if an angler has violated that or any other regulation -- something state game wardens currently cannot do without a person's permission or the warden having reasonable suspicion a violation has occurred.

Those are two of several changes in fishing- and hunting-related laws taking effect Sept. 1.

Some, such as the change in speckled trout regulations, were adopted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

Others, including the broadening of game-warden authority, are the result of laws passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature.

The five changes with the widest impact:

· Coastal anglers will be limited to retaining no more than one speckled trout measuring more than 25 inches per day. The daily limit will remain at 10 specks, and the minimum length will remain at 15 inches.

The move, approved earlier this year by the TPW Commission, was a result of TPWD coastal fisheries division staff trying to stabilize and improve the population structure of the state's speckled trout fishery.

Agency data showed a relatively healthy trout population along the coast, but it indicated heavy fishing pressure was skewing the population toward younger, smaller fish. Larger trout were becoming an increasingly small percentage of the population.

· On guided fishing trips on either freshwater or saltwater, a "boat limit" will apply instead of the individual angler limit.

Under the boat limit, the number of fish of any species allowed to be retained will be the daily individual bag limit multiplied by the number of customers on the guided trip.

For example, if a freshwater guide takes two customers fishing for white bass, the boat limit would be 50 white bass -- two customers multiplied by the 25-fish daily limit on white bass.

If those same two customers were with a guide on coastal water and catching redfish, they would be allowed to retain no more than six redfish -- two customers multiplied by the three-fish daily limit on redfish.

The boat limit applies to all instances in which a fishing guide is taking people for hire.

· Currently, 13 water bodies have a 12-inch minimum length requirement for white bass.

On Sept. 1, that minimum length drops to 10 inches, the statewide white bass minimum length.

TPWD staff imposed the 12-inch white bass minimum as an experiment to see if the increased minimum length improved the average size of white bass and stabilized population fluctuations.

After a half-dozen years of monitoring the fisheries involved, TPWD decided the rule was not making enough difference to be worthwhile.

So, beginning Sept. 1, the white bass minimum goes back to 10 inches on lakes Buchanan, Canyon, Conroe, Georgetown, Inks, Limestone, Livingston, LBJ, Marble Falls, Palestine, Somerville and Travis and on a section of the Trinity River upstream from Lake Livingston.

· The Legislature passed a bill broadening state game wardens' authority to stop any person a warden "reasonably believes" is or has been hunting or fishing and allows the warden to inspect that person's vehicle, game bag, boat, ice chests and any other container that might be used to store game.

Under current law, a game warden cannot open ice chests, game bags or boat compartments or search a vehicle unless the warden has observed a suspected violation, has reasonable suspicion a violation has occurred, or the person agrees to the search.

Most Texans mistakenly believe wardens already possess this authority. But some know the law, and they refuse game wardens' requests to inspect vehicles, game bags, boat compartments and live wells.

TPWD law enforcement officials said increasing numbers of people are denying wardens permission to perform random inspections, preventing the wardens from apprehending game and fish law violators.

Despite the obvious issue of the legality of a law allowing random stops and inspections, the Legislature passed the new statute.

As of Sept. 1, TPWD wardens will be allowed to conduct the stops and inspections of suspected hunters and anglers encountered in the field or on the water.

The law does not allow such "no cause" stops and inspections on public roadways, permanent residences or temporary residences. The law defines temporary residences to include hunting camps, cabins, lodges, tents, manufactured homes used as hunting camps or clubs, and hotel or motel rooms.

· Currently, hunters pursuing feral hogs must possess a valid state hunting license.

This holds true despite feral hogs being an alien species, horribly destructive to habitat, competitive with native wildlife and as prolific as bunnies.

On the up side, the hairy hogs are incredibly tasty (old boars excepted) and can be challenging to hunt.

Current rules governing the taking of feral hogs are basically no rules at all. The state allows the pigs to be hunted at any time with any method and sets no bag limits on them.

Come Sept. 1, if a person is a landowner hunting on his own land, that landowner's agent or lessee, the hunting license requirement goes out the door, too.

A bill passed by the Legislature waives the hunting license requirement for landowners, their agents and lessees who are hunting feral hogs on the landowner's property.

The law allows the unlicensed hunting of hogs so long as the pigs are "causing depredation on the resident landowner's land." By simply being on a piece of land, a feral hog probably meets the legal definition of "causing depredation."

State game wardens were a bit uncomfortable with this change. Their main concern was that unlicensed hunters actually pursuing deer or some other game animal for which a license is required would use the feral hog exemption as their excuse for not holding a license.


"By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle"
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