TPWD Commission OKs Nov. flounder closure!
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Commission has given the green light to a proposal to shut down the flounder fishery in November and also reduce commercial and recreational bag limits. This is from TPWD's website.
"As briefed at the August Commission meeting Coastal Fisheries biologists believe that long-term downward trends in the southern flounder fishery warrant consideration of proposed regulations that will reverse the downward trend in abundance. The proposal approved by the Commission for publication in the Texas Register includes a statewide closure for the month of November. Additionally, the proposal would change bag limits to five fish for recreational anglers and 30 fish for commercial anglers. Possession limits for flounder are the same as bag limits."
This commission meeting was to set up official proposals for public comment and will be voted on at the next TPWD Comission hearing to be held in Austin at TPWD headquarters March 25-26.
What are your thoughts on these proposals? I'd love to hear them.
Closing the season during November will surely help the flounder fishery. I do wish they would leave it open to rod and reel fisherman though. This decision has been too long in coming and I'm afraid when the fishery is better, the decision to open it up again will be too long in coming also.
Wayne
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I'm with you on this one, but there is no doubt the fishery will benefit.
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At the scoping meeting in Dickenson they told us flat out that once the changes are made, they will never go back. Their reasoning..."even as the flounder population goes up, the population of fishermen will be increasing, therefore the changes will be permanent".
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If they leave it open to rod and reel there will be guys wading with spot light dangling shrimp in front of bedding fish, full closure removes any doubts if someone is caught with a fish during that period.
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I think that the November closure is something that should be looked at more on a regional or body water aspect. I know that the area that I fish is not hurting at all in my opinion. I had one of the best falls ever this past fall. Not only on quantity but also quality of fish. I will abide by whatever decisions are made, although I may not like them.
Kevin
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I do not like the closing of rec. fishing for flounder during Nov. I have been paying attention for the last 10 years on the flounder numbers I have caught throughout the year. Last year I caught the most flounder ever. Once they take it away we will never see it again, thats a fact.
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I agree with Wayne on this.
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The flounder is my favorite animal on God's planet. I had one as a pet once and used to dangle a piece of shrimp in the tank and watch the fish arch up and twitch like a cat after a cat toy or something. I love how their chromatophores change in an instant from brown like sand to mottled butterfly green granite. And not to mention the picasso vibe about it. It's a friggin' cool ass fish. All this reverence I have is not without guilt. I've done my share of damage. Year after year since before they changed the limit to ten I'd be out there tryin' to stock up my freezer. And what happened to kelly wigglers? Rootbeer flake and that chartruese with hot pink was all I needed in my bag of tricks. Anyway, I don't think it to much matters wether you gig em, jig for em', or you're the type with twenty poles set up waiting for a clicker to chatter. Or gill nets for that matter. It aint how it's when. This massive decline is due to everyone of us out there year after year hittin' em before they have a chance to do the nasty! We need to close November and December. Hell our wives would be happier. Besides, I'd rather be sittin at the mall sayin' "wtf!" than the eventual inevitable out there ANY time of the year with my pole sayin' "WTF?"!
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There is basically one commerical flounder fisherman for every 8,000 recreational anglers on the coast yet their impact is similar and in some years in the past has exceeded the recreational take. (your quote)
There you are. Correct me if I am wrong.One commercial fisherman for every 8000 recreational fishermen creating the same amount of damage to the flounder population.So lets say for example 8000 fisherman each take 1 flounder per season then this means this commercial fisherman takes 8000 flounder per year. So who is causing the adverse affect on the flounder fishery?
I don,t have any problem with the November closer,but I do not appove of reducing the bag limits for recreational anglers.We make it to the water on far from a regular basis.We are not on the water on a daily, and most of us are lucky to make 10-20 trips a year.Then take in to account that most of us are not experts in this.We just enjoy to be able to get out of the house and stand just a small chance of bringing home some fish for the table/freezer. I am a gigger and to show you what I mean, last year I went probably six times . My grand total for the YEAR was seven fish.If the threat of a five fish limit was in effect there would have been no hope of being able to bring home a decent mesh of fish.I do respect our laws. And in the past I had got my ten,tied my icechest shut and walked over flounder on the way back to the car.Reducing the bag limit makes it hard on everyone except those that are able to fish every day.
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I see nothing wrong with closing the season for two months a year,but to lower the limit is just plain retarded! If someone is needed to be blamed for a flounder shortage then lets blame big companies such as exxon-mobile for polluting the water. I see nothing wrong with someone going out and catching the limit as it is now, the only living thing that this will be helping is the idiot that came up with the idea to reduce the limit!!!
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Yes close it for Nov. and also Dec. but dont cut the limits. With two months you will have soo many flatfish returning that they'll have too start farming mullet to support them
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This is headed in the same direction as Snapper fishing. Get the KY jelly ready. Cheaper to take the Wife out for seafood.
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do you know which license allows the most fish removed from this resource ?
think on this one
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