Texas’ speckled trout regulations were changed to a three-fish bag limit with a 15-20-inch slot. Anglers can keep one fish over 30 inches as part of the daily bag.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved changes to spotted seatrout regulations Thursday at a meeting at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters in Austin.
The daily bag limit for speckled trout will be cut from five to three and the slot limit will be tightened from 15-25 inches to 15-20. The parameters on oversized, “trophy” fish were also changed.
Previously, anglers could keep one fish over 25 inches per day. But after hearing prolific public testimony urging the commission to restrict harvest on trophy trout until a tagging system can be implemented, a move was made to protect these larger fish. The regulations approved Thursday allow anglers to keep one fish over 30 inches as part of the daily bag limit. These changes were made for the entire Texas coast and will likely go into effect sometime in mid-March, in time to bolster the spotted seatrout spawning season. Read more here