32 Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual 2017-2018 REGULATIONS SUMMARY
FISHING REGULATIONS
- Gibbons Creek Reservoir in Grimes County
- Lake Bastrop in Bastrop County
- Lake Bryan in Brazos County
- Lakes Coffee Mill and Davy Crockett in Fannin County
- Lake Naconiche in Nacogdoches County
- Lake Pfl ugerville in Travis County
- North Concho River from O.C. Fisher dam to the Bell Street dam
- Pinkston Reservoir in Shelby County
- South Concho River from Lone Wolf dam to Bell Street dam
- Tankersley Reservoir in Titus County
- Wheeler Branch Reservoir in Somervell County
TROTLINES IN SALT WATER - No more than one trotline may be used per fi sherman.
• Tag Requirements:
- Must have a valid SALTWATER TROTLINE TAG attached to each 300 feet of mainline or fraction thereof. (Must be
purchased at TPWD Law Enforcement offi ces, see pg. 14.)
- Must be used with a valid GEAR TAG (see pg. 28) attached within 3 feet of the fi rst hook at each end of the trotline. Tag
does not need to be dated.
• Construction and Design Restrictions:
- Must be marked with a yellow fl oating buoy not less than 6 inches in height, 6 inches in length, and
6 inches in width, bearing a two-inch wide stripe of contrasting color, attached to end fi xtures.
- Buoys or fl oats may not be made of plastic bottle(s) of any color or size.
- May not be baited with other than natural bait. Natural bait is a whole or cut-up portion of a fi sh or shellfi sh or a whole
or cut-up portion of plant material in its natural state, provided that none of these may be altered beyond cutting into
portions.
- May not be used with hooks other than circle-type hook with point curved in and having a gap
(distance from point to shank) of no more than one-half inch, and with the diameter of the circle not less than fi ve-eighths
inch (comparable to Mustad 11/0 circle hook Model #39960ST).
• Placement and Location Restrictions:
- May not be used in or on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of this state.
- May not be placed closer than 50 feet from any other trotline, or set within 200 feet of the edge of the Intracoastal
Waterway or its tributary channels.
- May not be used in Aransas County in Little Bay and the water area of Aransas Bay within one-half mile of a line from Hail
Point on the Lamar Peninsula, then direct to the eastern end of Goose Island, then along the southern shore of Goose
Island, then along the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak Peninsula, then along the eastern shoreline of the
Live Oak Peninsula past the town of Fulton, past Nine-Mile Point, past the town of Rockport to a point at the east end of
Talley Island, including that part of Copano Bay within 1,000 feet of the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak
Peninsula.
- No trotline or trotline components (EXCEPT Sail Lines), including lines and hooks, but excluding poles, may be left in or
on coastal waters between the hours of 1 p.m. on Friday through 1 p.m. on Sunday of each week, except that attended
sail lines are excluded from the restrictions imposed by this clause. In the event small craft advisories or higher marine
weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service are in place at 8 a.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the
water until 6 p.m. on Friday. If small craft advisories are in place at 1 p.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the water
until Saturday. When small craft advisories are lifted by 8 a.m. on Saturday, trotlines must be removed by 6 p.m. on
Saturday. When small craft advisories or higher marine weather advisories are still in place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, trotlines
may remain in the water through 1 p.m. on Sunday. It is a violation to tend, bait, or harvest fi sh or any other aquatic life
from trotlines during the period that trotline removal requirements are suspended under this provision for adverse weather
conditions. For purposes of enforcement, the geographic area customarily covered by marine weather advisories will be
delineated by department policy.
UMBRELLA NET: A non-metallic mesh net that is suspended horizontally in the water by multiple lines attached
to a rigid frame.
• Legal only for taking NONGAME fi sh and other aquatic animal life (including crabs, crayfi sh, and shrimp).
• May not have within the frame an area that exceeds 16 square feet.
Freshwater Fishing Harvest Regulations
• Statewide regulations apply for all public fresh waters except for those locations noted in the Exceptions to
Statewide Freshwater Harvest Regulations on pgs. 33-37.
• A person taking or attempting to take game and nongame fi sh from fresh water for non-commercial purposes is
required to have a valid fi shing license and a freshwater fi shing endorsement.
• The only exceptions to the statewide possession limits, which are twice the daily bag limits, are for striped bass from
Lake Texoma and alligator gar from Falcon International Reservoir (see pg. 34-35). Please note that on Caddo Reservoir,
Kirby Reservoir, Lake Livingston, Palestine Reservoir, the Sabine River below Toledo Bend Reservoir and Toledo Bend
Reservoir where some daily bag limits are larger than the statewide daily bag, the possession limits remain twice the
statewide daily bag limits listed on pg. 33.
• For saltwater fi nfi sh species caught in the public fresh waters of this state, statewide bag, possession, and length
limits as listed on pgs. 40-41 apply.
• Some reservoirs have special regulations for red drum. See Exceptions to Statewide Freshwater Harvest Regulations.
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FISHING REGULATIONS
- Gibbons Creek Reservoir in Grimes County
- Lake Bastrop in Bastrop County
- Lake Bryan in Brazos County
- Lakes Coffee Mill and Davy Crockett in Fannin County
- Lake Naconiche in Nacogdoches County
- Lake Pfl ugerville in Travis County
- North Concho River from O.C. Fisher dam to the Bell Street dam
- Pinkston Reservoir in Shelby County
- South Concho River from Lone Wolf dam to Bell Street dam
- Tankersley Reservoir in Titus County
- Wheeler Branch Reservoir in Somervell County
TROTLINES IN SALT WATER - No more than one trotline may be used per fi sherman.
• Tag Requirements:
- Must have a valid SALTWATER TROTLINE TAG attached to each 300 feet of mainline or fraction thereof. (Must be
purchased at TPWD Law Enforcement offi ces, see pg. 14.)
- Must be used with a valid GEAR TAG (see pg. 28) attached within 3 feet of the fi rst hook at each end of the trotline. Tag
does not need to be dated.
• Construction and Design Restrictions:
- Must be marked with a yellow fl oating buoy not less than 6 inches in height, 6 inches in length, and
6 inches in width, bearing a two-inch wide stripe of contrasting color, attached to end fi xtures.
- Buoys or fl oats may not be made of plastic bottle(s) of any color or size.
- May not be baited with other than natural bait. Natural bait is a whole or cut-up portion of a fi sh or shellfi sh or a whole
or cut-up portion of plant material in its natural state, provided that none of these may be altered beyond cutting into
portions.
- May not be used with hooks other than circle-type hook with point curved in and having a gap
(distance from point to shank) of no more than one-half inch, and with the diameter of the circle not less than fi ve-eighths
inch (comparable to Mustad 11/0 circle hook Model #39960ST).
• Placement and Location Restrictions:
- May not be used in or on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of this state.
- May not be placed closer than 50 feet from any other trotline, or set within 200 feet of the edge of the Intracoastal
Waterway or its tributary channels.
- May not be used in Aransas County in Little Bay and the water area of Aransas Bay within one-half mile of a line from Hail
Point on the Lamar Peninsula, then direct to the eastern end of Goose Island, then along the southern shore of Goose
Island, then along the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak Peninsula, then along the eastern shoreline of the
Live Oak Peninsula past the town of Fulton, past Nine-Mile Point, past the town of Rockport to a point at the east end of
Talley Island, including that part of Copano Bay within 1,000 feet of the causeway between Lamar Peninsula and Live Oak
Peninsula.
- No trotline or trotline components (EXCEPT Sail Lines), including lines and hooks, but excluding poles, may be left in or
on coastal waters between the hours of 1 p.m. on Friday through 1 p.m. on Sunday of each week, except that attended
sail lines are excluded from the restrictions imposed by this clause. In the event small craft advisories or higher marine
weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service are in place at 8 a.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the
water until 6 p.m. on Friday. If small craft advisories are in place at 1 p.m. on Friday, trotlines may remain in the water
until Saturday. When small craft advisories are lifted by 8 a.m. on Saturday, trotlines must be removed by 6 p.m. on
Saturday. When small craft advisories or higher marine weather advisories are still in place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, trotlines
may remain in the water through 1 p.m. on Sunday. It is a violation to tend, bait, or harvest fi sh or any other aquatic life
from trotlines during the period that trotline removal requirements are suspended under this provision for adverse weather
conditions. For purposes of enforcement, the geographic area customarily covered by marine weather advisories will be
delineated by department policy.
UMBRELLA NET: A non-metallic mesh net that is suspended horizontally in the water by multiple lines attached
to a rigid frame.
• Legal only for taking NONGAME fi sh and other aquatic animal life (including crabs, crayfi sh, and shrimp).
• May not have within the frame an area that exceeds 16 square feet.
Freshwater Fishing Harvest Regulations
• Statewide regulations apply for all public fresh waters except for those locations noted in the Exceptions to
Statewide Freshwater Harvest Regulations on pgs. 33-37.
• A person taking or attempting to take game and nongame fi sh from fresh water for non-commercial purposes is
required to have a valid fi shing license and a freshwater fi shing endorsement.
• The only exceptions to the statewide possession limits, which are twice the daily bag limits, are for striped bass from
Lake Texoma and alligator gar from Falcon International Reservoir (see pg. 34-35). Please note that on Caddo Reservoir,
Kirby Reservoir, Lake Livingston, Palestine Reservoir, the Sabine River below Toledo Bend Reservoir and Toledo Bend
Reservoir where some daily bag limits are larger than the statewide daily bag, the possession limits remain twice the
statewide daily bag limits listed on pg. 33.
• For saltwater fi nfi sh species caught in the public fresh waters of this state, statewide bag, possession, and length
limits as listed on pgs. 40-41 apply.
• Some reservoirs have special regulations for red drum. See Exceptions to Statewide Freshwater Harvest Regulations.
290