Here's How I see it
by Sam Lucas (editor, publisher)

The Trout Limit Controversy.

Well, this one may never go away, because everybody involved is right...and wrong.  Some people say we should outlaw trout over a certain size, while others say we should bump the minimum size up an inch or two.  Others say we should do away with limits altogether, while more than a few think we should lower the daily limit to 5 fish.  Some even say we should be limited to artificial only bait, and others just want to ban the use of croakers!

I've talked to a lot of folks and read a lot of material on these issues and, like I said, everybody involved is right part of the time, and everybody involved is also wrong part of the time.

What is most wrong is the controversy and the bickering between two groups of fishermen...bait soakers and pluggers.

This shouldn't be, because the underlying attitudes say more about the folks that are doing the talking than they do about the subject.   Fishing is a great sport and there is no room for elitism.

If anyone attended any of the speckled trout working group meetings, you know that this controversy isn't going away.  The trophy trout fishermen and tournament fishermen want one thing, while the freezer fillers want another, and nobody is really sure of the best way to proceed.

So what will probably happen is nothing.  And that's alright with me.

Our trout fishery is in good shape...much better than it was 5 and even 10 years ago.

Louisiana, which has a lower size limit than Texas, has an outstanding trout fishery, and I think I know one reason why.

I think the 15" minimum size limit on trout is self-defeating.  Some of those undersized trout we release die anyway, so why shouldn't they be counted against our daily catch limit by putting them on the stringer?   This would actually lower the numbers of prime spawning age fish that are taken.   Most fishermen don't much care whether a trout is 14" or 16" as long as it fits in the pan!  Taking those smaller trout certainly hasn't hurt the Louisiana trout fishery.

Of course, if you want to see an exploding trout and redfish population, just place a moratorium on all bay shrimping for five years.  Our sea grasses would come back and the habitat would be ideal for all sorts of gamefish.   Let the shrimpers ply their trade offshore.

As far as limiting the trout upper size limits, I'm sorry to say that I just don't have enough information to make an educated statement, but it is my feeling that, unless I plan to mount it on my wall, I would rather take a picture of that 29" trout and let it live to fight another day than to eat its filets, when there are tastier and more plentiful smaller fish around.

And that's how I see it.