TWRC to Vote on 2010 Sportfishing Regulations at October Meeting
Friday, October 02, 2009 | 03:03am
NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission will vote on the proposed 2010 sportfishing regulations at its October meeting. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) Fisheries Division made its initial proposals for 2010 at the August meeting of the TWRC which was held at Paris Landing State Park.
The TWRC will meet Oct. 29-30 at the Holiday Inn Cedar Bluff in Knoxville. Committee meetings will begin at 1 p.m. on the 29th and the commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. on the 30th.
The following are TWRA’s proposed changes by region and statewide for 2010:
Proposed Changes-Region III:
*Dale Hollow Reservoir
Increase muskellunge minimum size limit to 50 inches, 1 fish per day creel
*Fall Creek Lake, Fall Creek Falls State Park
Remove black bass minimum size limit
Establish 20 fish aggregate creel limit for redear and bluegill
*Falling Water Lake, Burgess Falls SP
Remove all fisheries regulations- statewide apply
*Cordell Hull
Largemouth Bass-17-23 inches Protected Length Range (PLR), 1 fish over 23 inches, 2 fish under 17 inches
*Caney Fork River
Rainbow and brook trout-14-20 inches PLR with 1 fish over 20 inches
Brown Trout-22 inches Minimum Length Limit (MLL) with 1 fish over,
(changed from 18-inches MLL with two over)
Proposed Changes-Region IV:
*Cherokee Reservoir - remove paddlefish size limit. Replace wording: "Culling, the releasing of harvested fish, is prohibited" with “Paddlefish: 1 per day. Season is open from March 1-15. Fish may not be released when caught.”
*Melton Hill Reservoir – Increase the muskellunge minimum length limit from 44 to 50 inches. 1 fish per day creel
Extend the striped bass PLR (32-42 inches, 1 over) to Hwy. 61 bridge at Clinton
*South Holston Reservoir- Remove the closed trout season (Dec. 1 to Feb. 28)
*Norris Reservoir – change smallmouth bass size limit from 18 inch minimum length limit to a 17 to 22 inches PLR-1 fish under and 1 fish over the PLR
Proposed changes-Statewide:
Sport trotlines, limblines, and jugs: To read –"Sport fishing trotlines, limblines, and jugs must be tagged and/or marked with the angler’s name or current TWRA identification number."
Other changes being considered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (TWRC):
After hearing from several members of the public, the TWRC Fisheries Committee let it be known that it will also consider the following changes:
*Increasing the agency recommended 22 inches to a 24-inch minimum length limit on brown trout on the Caney Fork River with one fish allowed over 24 inches
*Also, on the Caney Fork, the TWRC Fisheries Committee will consider changing the daily creel limit from seven to five trout per day, per person
*The committee is also considering a change offered from the public that would increase the sauger minimum size limit from 14 to 15 inches on Kentucky Lake.
Bait Proclamations- Live Bait, Commercial and Sportfishing:
The bait regulation changes that were previewed at the September TWRC meeting will be presented for Commission approval at their October meeting. These regulation changes include: 1) adoption of the Live Bait Proclamation 09-20 which will regulate the sale and use of live bait for fishing; 2) Proclamation 09-21 which amends Commercial Fishing Proclamation 08-01 to allow commercial fishers to use live bait and provides guidelines for bait dealers who harvest live bait from the wild for the purpose of sale; and 3) an addition to the previously proposed Sport Fishing Proclamation 09-22 which would remove live bait regulations from the Sport Fishing Proclamation (because they will now be in the Live Bait Proclamation).
---TWRA---