Outdoors With Mat Taylor
Commission adopts rule changes, corrects some mistakes

First, I need to make a correction. If you read last week's column, you would have assumed the spring Rio Grande turkey season opened on April 6. In fact, the season opened March 29. I also assumed devoted turkey hunters already knew the season-opener was the previous weekend. The season does continue through May 11 as I stated.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in its recent meeting adopted changes to the 2008-09 hunting and fishing regulations.

Several proposals were adopted that are supposed to create additional recreational opportunities while managing the state's natural resources.

I previously have discussed the proposal to lengthen the state quail and pheasant seasons. The quail season would have ended on the last day of February. I was not in favor of this change, as quail populations generally have been declining across the state, and I believe the season should be shortened instead of extended.

With the longer season, probably not many more quail would be harvested, but by the end of the season any quail still alive would mean more would be hatched, and this small amount could be significant to the overall quail population.

Evidently quail experts and many landowners had the same opinion and decided to fight the change. After all the negative comments, TPWD pulled the proposal for the slate of regulations for 2008-09.

The commission, in my opinion, corrected another mistake it made last year. Commissioners previously approved a one-year experimental period in which bow hunters could kill catfish and keep them. Despite the opposition of the Freshwater Fisheries staff and most anglers, the commission OK'd the proposal on a split vote.

Some bow-hunting organizations supported the taking of catfish with a bow and arrow. If you have attended many TPWD public hearings as I have, you know these bow-hunting associations are very vocal and seem to carry a lot of weight with the commission.

At the recent meeting, the commissioners finally listened to the fisheries staff and anglers, and the proposal to allow bow hunting for catfish was nixed.

If the proposal had passed, arrows would not have killed many catfish. But in Texas, catfish are considered a game fish, and there is a longstanding prohibition against taking game fish with any means other than by hook and line.

By allowing bowhunting, the commission would have devalued catfish, the second most important game fish in the state.

Another proposal concerning bowhunting was approved. TPWD eliminated the requirement of a 40- pound minimum peak draw weight on bowhunting equipment. I am not a bowhunter, but it seems to me there should be some minimum requirement. There is a minimum for rifle hunters, as it is illegal to hunt big game with .22 rimfire ammunition.

Other proposals adopted included expanding the Panhandle mule deer season. Sherman and Hansford counties will be added to the northern Panhandle season (16 days beginning the Saturday before Thanksgiving), and Gaines, Martin and the eastern portion of Andrews counties added to the southwest Panhandle season (nine days beginning the Saturday before Thanksgiving.)

These counties, wildlife biologists believe, have mule deer populations sufficient to allow the harvest of a few.

Deer proof of sex requirements also were changed. This allows special deer permit tags -- including Managed Land Deer Permits, Landowner Assisted Management Permitting System, antlerless mule deer, special public hunting, and Antlerless and Spike Control -- to satisfy proof of sex tagging requirements.

Another proposal adopted sets limits on community fishing lake poles.

Anglers will limited to two fishing poles on designated community lakes. This new rule addresses hoarding of limited bank access. The change affects impoundments of 75 acres or less totally within a city limits or a public park but will not be enacted on any waters inside a state park.

To view all TPWD rule changes for 2008-09, visit the website at www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar.net.