The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) Fisheries Division presented its proposed 2016-17 sport fish and commercial fishing regulation changes during the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission’s August meeting. TWRA Fisheries Division Assistant Chief Frank Fiss announced the proposals at the meeting held in Morristown.
The public is invited to provide comments on the 2016-17 proposals. The comment period for the commercial fishing regulations will be until Sept. 8, 2015. The deadline for the sport fishing comments is Oct. 5, 2015. Comments may be sent to TWRA.Comment@tn.gov, or TWRA, Fisheries Division, P.O. Box 40747, Nashville, TN 37204. Please include “2015 Fish Comments” on the subject line of emailed submissions.
The TFWC will vote on the commercial fishing proposals at its Sept. 18-19 meeting in Nashville. The sport fish regulations will be voted on at the TFWC’s Oct. 15-16 meeting to be held in Chattanooga. If approved, the commercial fishing changes would become effective by Nov. 15, 2015 while the sport fishing changes would become effective March 1, 2016.
2016-17 Sport Fishing Proposals:
Region I:
Pin Oak Lake (Natchez-Trace State Park)-Black bass: 12-16 inch protected length range (slot limit), creel limit of 10 bass per day.
Beech River Watershed Lakes
Pine Lake: Largemouth bass - Creel limit of 10 bass per day
Dogwood and Redbud lakes: Largemouth bass – 12-16 inch PLR (slot limit), creel limit of 10 bass per day.
Region II:
Elk River and its tributaries from Tims Ford Dam downstream to I-65 Bridge
1. 20-inch minimum length limit for Brown Trout, 1 fish daily.
2. Creel limit of 7 trout per day (all species in combination).
Campbell Lake (Maury County)
Grass carp may not be harvested.
Region III
Cordell Hull Reservoir
Largemouth bass- 15-inch minimum length limit, creel limit of 5/day in combination with other bass species.
Parksville Reservoir
Largemouth bass- 15-inch minimum length limit, creel limit of 5/day in combination with smallmouth bass.
Watts Bar Reservoir
Paddlefish - Reduce creel limit from 2 to 1 per day.
Region IV:
Douglas Reservoir
October 16-May 31: 15-inch minimum length limit for smallmouth bass with a creel limit of 5/day in combination with other bass species.
June 1-Oct. 15: 18-inch minimum length limit for smallmouth bass. Only one smallmouth bass may be harvested as part of 5/day bass creel limit.
Also proposed are new upstream boundaries for Douglas Reservoir (year-round) – extend the reservoir boundary upstream to the Highway 321 bridge on the French Broad and Pigeon rivers. The reservoir boundary on the Nolichucky River would remain ENKA Dam.
Cherokee Reservoir
Oct. 16-May 31: 15-inch minimum length limit for smallmouth bass with a creel limit of 5/day in combination with largemouth bass.
June 1-Oct. 15: 18-inch minimum length limit for smallmouth bass. Only one smallmouth bass may be harvested as of a 5/day creel limit in combination with largemouth bass.
Crayfish Restrictions: Crayfish for food from the French Broad, Holston, and Clinch rivers and their tributaries shall not be possessed alive away from the waterbody from which they were harvested. Crayfish harvested for bait in these watersheds may be used as live bait, but not be moved from the waterbody of capture.
2016-17 Commercial Fishing Proposals:
1. Hatchie River – Hoop nets, fyke nets, trap nets, and pound nets with a mesh size of one (1) inch or smaller and/or three (3) inches or larger on the square may be fished only during the months of October through April.
2. Add fathead minnow, golden shiner, inland silversides (dead only), and brook silversides (dead only) to the list of commercial fish species.
3. Change minimum pickup float dimensions to 8x5x2 inches and not allow the use of black and gray as colors.
4. Change the beginning of paddlefish season on the Mississippi River to noon on Nov. 14 (currently it is midnight on Nov. 15)
5. Add hobbling limits to the definition of a gill net. A gill net may not be hobbled to less than two thirds of the net height.
6. Amend turtle trap definition to read: A barrel shaped net made of synthetic cotton, linen, and nylon supported by hoops (round and/or D-shape) constructed of plastic, fiberglass or metal. Metal traps can be square or rectangular and constructed of 2 (inch) x 4 (inch) wire or greater with supporting structures made from metal, plastic, fiberglass or PVC. Only one throat can be attached inside a hoop or metal turtle trap. Legal mesh size for all material, except for metal wire is one (1) to one and a half (1½) inches or three (3) inches and greater on the square. No wings or leads may be attached. Turtle traps must be set so that a portion of the catching area is positioned above the water. No wings or leads may be attached.
7. Modify the Daily Commercial Roe Fish Harvest Report to include the recording of the raw drained egg weight from each fish.