On Saturday, the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board approved changes to size and creel limits on spotted seatrout (speckled trout) and flounder. Previously the daily bag limit for trout was 10 with a minimum size of 14 inches. Under the new regulations, the daily bag limit has been reduced to 6 fish with a slot limit of 15 to 22 inches, with an allowance of one fish over the maximum slot limit.
The commercial daily limit was also reduced to 30 fish.
The changes were recommended to mitigate a downturn in abundance. The Alabama Marine Resources Division held a series of public meetings to explain the problem, offer solutions, and get angler feedback. According to Alabama Marine Resources Division Director Scott Bannon, the number of people in support of a reduced bag limit was “surprising”.
While the decline of speckled trout was marginal, the decline of flounder has been of great concern. The estimated harvest has declined 60 percent over a 15 year span from 2002 to 2017.
Meanwhile, Louisiana faces it’s own speckled trout dilemna.
According to a preliminary survey earlier this year, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries acknowledged that speckled trout might be overfished. There was an unconfirmed report that the spawning potential ratio was now at 6 percent, well below the conservation standard of 18 percent.
This was not the first time that the SPR has been below the standard. In fact, it’s been below the standard on several occasions since established in 1997. But if true, this is more than twice as low as it’s ever been.
If there’s any question about whether fly fishing tournaments are gaining in popularity, look no further than this past weekend’s 3rd annual “Fly Fishing for the Mission” event held at Pointe-aux-Chenes south of Houma, Louisiana. Once again, a strong turnout with the vast majority of participants under 40 years of age.
Teaching children a lifelong hobby, instilling appreciation for our marine environment and providing fun, family outings are the objectives for a Kids’ Fishing Clinic in Pensacola on Saturday, April 13. Hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the clinic is for kids ages 5 to 15 and will be held from 9:00am to 12 noon at Vince J. Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park, 301 W. Main St.
New Orleans Fly Fishing Expo
The Kisatchie Fly Fishers, an FFI-GCC affiliate club based in Alexandria, LA, will hold their annual “Fly Fishing 101” workshop on Saturday, March 30th at the Booker-Fowler fish hatchery in Forest Hill. Time is 9:00am to 12:30pm.
An epic fishing trip one March with my dad and younger son Jacob taught me a valuable lesson about sacalait (a.k.a, crappie, a.k.a, white perch). We were out in my dad’s boat on Henderson Lake. This idyllic cypress-laden backwater lake is a jewel of the Atchafalaya River basin; it’s stained waters teeming with bass, bream, crappie and more.
