The 2012 B.A.S.S.National Conservation Summit.

The Angler Advocate is attending the B.A.S.S. National Conservation summit in Shreveport, La. This event is a gathering of the Nation's leading fresh water conservation leaders, and state and Federal resource managers. The agenda is loaded with great presentations and topics. Training and mentoring of our State conservation directors is also a big component. I will update the blog through ought the weekend.

TPWD Seeking Input From Lake Jacksonville Anglers

TPWD proposes regulation changes for lakes from time to time based on scientific data and public input. If you fish Lake Jacksonville, please take just a couple minutes to fill out this quick survey. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N5LJ3B8

Here is some background information from TPWD.We have been hearing discontent from some of the anglers in the Jacksonville area regarding the 18-inch minimum length, 5-fish/day daily bag limit for largemouth bass in effect since 2000. With changes in habitat following release of grass carp in 2006 and 2007 and the floods of 2007 these anglers are concerned that although 14-16 inch fish are still abundant, fish over 18” are hard to find and this interferes with their ability to conduct several very popular night time tournaments. This was such a concern that at least one of the tournaments has temporarily moved to Lake Palestine. These angers have requested that TPWD consider a modification to the current regulation. Craig Bonds, Dan Bennett, and myself met with the anglers before Christmas to try to understand their concerns. Although they wanted to revert the regulation to the statewide 14-inch minimum length, 5-fish daily bag our concern was that doing so would cause the size distribution of largemouth bass to pre-2000 conditions where the population truncated at 14 inches with few fish over 14. The 18-inch minimum length limit has been successful in restructuring the population and maintaining fish up to 18” in length but has never produced a real surplus of fish over 18” (see attachment). This is understandable and is a function of how a minimum length limit works on relatively infertile systems like Lake Jacksonville. Although the anglers could understand what we were saying about the current regulation they felt that it still interfered with tournament activity. During the meeting we discussed several possibilities including changing tournament format to a “paper” tournament or a format similar to TTBC where fish could be weighed in the boat and immediately released but they did not think these were workable options. They also asked about a tournament exemption to allow them to temporarily retain fish 14-18 for later release but this is just not an option available in our regulation tool box at this time. We did discuss a compromise regulation that would remove the minimum length limit; however, only two largemouth bass less than 18 inches could be retained each day. Combined daily bag limit for all species of black bass would remain 5-fish/day; (this regulation is currently in effect at Lake O. H. Ivie in West Texas). Because the compromise regulation is already in use it is much easier to justify than an entirely new type of regulation. Although they would have preferred the 14”-minimum length they could see the benefit (to them) of the compromise regulation and they are currently preparing a petition to propose it. They understand that there are potential risks associated with revision of the regulation, including the possibility of fewer fish over 18 inches, but they believe the benefits to tournament activity resulting from the ability to retain two fish below 18 inches justify those risks.


We attempted to carry this request through our Senior Administration for the 2012 regulation cycle but the Commission had already been advised of all proposals for this year so the earliest it could be considered is for the 2013 cycle. In the mean time the Senior Administration would also like us to investigate whether the proposed change is agreeable to the majority of Jacksonville anglers or just this sub-group. To do that we are preparing an on-line survey that anglers can access to voice their opinion about this regulation change and to provide some demographic information about themselves that will help us better understand their reasoning for that opinion.
We will keep the survey active until June to allow anglers to cast their votes. The way the survey works is that only one vote can be accepted from each individual IP address so stuffing the ballot box is minimized. If it appears that most anglers are in favor of the change we will propose it at the beginning of the next regulation cycle in July.
This is sort of an experiment in new technology for us and we hope we can better inform anglers of proposed changes before they see them in the Fishing Guide.

The Stumpy Stumps of Lake Dunlap

If it seems like I have a lot of stump stories on my new blog, it is not by coincidence. In Texas we have a lot of lakes which have been hit hard by the drought leaving lakes low and the timber which is normally well under water in plain view. I have received reports from all over Texas reporting incidence of trees and habitat being removed by lake front property owners. Currently river authorities and resource managers across Texas have different policies regarding tree removal, and we are working with TPWD to implement a more reasonable and uniform policy across the state to protect habitat.

Lake Dunlap's story started not as the result of drought, but rather a scheduled draw down to make repairs to the dam. Lake Dunlap is a 410 acre river lake located between New Braunfels and Seguin on the Guadalupe River. (MAP). Carl Adkins who serves as the Water Policy Coordinator for the Texas B.A.S.S. Federation Nation was tipped off by a friend that a group of  Preserve Lake Dunlap Association members were pushing to have large areas of timber cut in the lakes lower end to improve the area for skiing. Carl reached out to TPWD district biologist John Findeisen and director of research and management Dave Terre making them aware of the plans. TPWD contacted the river authority GBRA and a meeting was established which allowed all parties to discuss the project. A series of trips to the lake were made by boat with anglers and lake association members on board along with TPWD and GBRA to identify areas which would be left alone and marked. Stumps which posed navigational hazards were also identified for removal. The project was shaping up to be a textbook example of how anglers can get involved with resource managers and other lake users and work together to meet the needs of each group. Unfortunately things did not turn out quite as planned.
On a rainy day in December just days after work had been completed by GBRA cutting and marking the identified areas, individual property owners took it upon themselves to modify the plan, and with 3 boats they managed to cut 80 or more stumps at the water level which at the time was 3 1/2' below normal pool.  The brazen actions of these individuals created a public safety issue and once GBRA became aware of the work of these individuals they took immediate action to close the lake to all boats and prevented more habitat destruction. (GBRA emergency directive)
The Texas B.A.S.S. Federation Nation has since been working with TPWD and GBRA pushing for mitigation by these individuals for the habitat loss as well as developing a plan which will limit skiing in this area given the newly cut stumps which are now at an unsafe depth below the surface for skiing. I will keep you posted as to how this develops.