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WE’VE HAD SEVERAL MONTHS now to ponder and reconsider, to hash and rehash the new speckled trout limits. To those of you who still think the changes are apparently cruel, ineffective, or otherwise inappropriate, I urge you to come up with something better, stop worrying, or stop fishing.
I’ve spent nearly 40 years covering our country’s biodiversity and fisheries, and I have a wealth of knowledge of the agency that runs both. Also, I have friends who are closely tied to fish and our fish, on expert levels, and they consistently help me fill in the blanks.
Three fish regular within a 15- foot to 20- foot casino. That’s almost ridiculous given all the options. And one of those three may exceed 28 feet. ( They are uncommon fish, almost infrequent, that I would anticipate seeing each of them being ridden by leprechauns in scuba gear. )
In September, there will come implementation of a$ 3 tag you can” spend” if you really, really want to kill a second giant trout and the leprechaun on its back. That fish, which is superfluous in any way or for any purpose, deserves more than just to be baked, and Hula Hoop members went missing with it.
During discussion of these changes on my radio show ( weekend mornings on SportsTalk790 in Houston or on iHeartRadio ) one weekend in April or so, Capt. A guest who was n’t pleased with the rules change’s impact on “my” fish and “my” time on the water, Scott Null responded by email.
In his message, Null pointed out something really telling about that declaration.
Normally, those who oppose the regulations complain about the new regulation’s short-term effects and how they will personally be hampered, Null wrote. The words” I” and “me” and “my” are littered throughout the songs of their unfortunate little music.
On the conservative side, those who see this as an opportunity to rebuild the fish so that it can be prepared to rise from a thaw or flow deep into the future, to keep the resource able to provide entertainment and a meal for generations to come talk about how the new limit will benefit both “us” and” them,” which includes all anglers in the present and the future.
Fish laws, like everything else in the earth, change. And it’s we, every moment, who force those changes. When more people move into—or out of —an area, pressure on natural resources ebbs or flows in reverse. Limits may increase if I awaken tomorrow and there are only 100 people who are permitted to fish the overall Texas coast ( I hope my name is on the list ). Approach away.
However, lawmakers are compelled to make plans for major stress on this prized, spotted resource because the opposite is almost certain in a nation and the world so funny with it.
Turn off the heat if your heart is still boiling above the new restrictions. Get a fishing trip and try to see it through less arrogant eyes while you’re missing it. Our animals and fish, collectively, belong to all Texans. However, not one of those bass belongs to you, me, or anyone else at all. I’ve caught a lot of fish, but I’ve never seen one with a scar that reads” Property of Doug.” ( But how cool would that be? )
I’ve been a Texas man for more than 60 years, and I have n’t again felt like a forced to leave the outside due to a significant hunting or fishing rule change. I enjoy freshly prepared fish, but unless a fish is of legal size and on death’s door from an injury during the fight, it has a free and gentle passing back into the water. Short, long, middle of the slot, 30 inches or three feet. All the same. Back they go.
By the time each fish I catch is finished, I have received everything I could ask for. The strike. The fight. The splash of water in my face because I embarrassed them in front of all of their fish friends. They deserve a chance to put a smile on someone else’s face by giving me all that. And I hope the next fisherman is equally appreciative.
Be grateful that we still have enough fish to support a year-round season and that the new limit shines a strong, positive light on the state’s top saltwater gamefish’s future rather than criticize change.
Editors ‘ Note: Page 28 of the TF&G Staff Report” Speck Regs: How Will New Limits Affect Trout Fishing” contains a detailed description of the new trout regulations.
Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@fishgame .com
