On June 2, the CWLFC adopted a memorandum of understanding to amend the rules for passive freshwater fishing gear that includes a hook or hook, and the changes will apply nationally if passed. The full press release is available at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Resources/Publications/Commission_Action_Items/Passive-Hooked-Devices-Revised-NOI-062022.pdf. All wild freshwater fish caught in a recreational or commercial net or trap must be returned immediately and safely to the water from which they were taken. You will find tips for the safe release of fish in www.wlf.la.gov/page/best-fishing-practices. The new rules include marking all fishing gear, restricting the use of metal objects to attach gear to structures, and limiting the total number of hooks for trotting lines per person. All anglers who fish in freshwater must have a valid basic fishing licence. 3. Waterproof tags with name, fishing licence number and telephone number must be attached to all suspended passive devices. Tag information can be written directly to the device. 2.
The proposed scheme shall cover freshwater recreational yo-yos, extractors, trableines, limb lines, jugs and any other passive fishing gear with a hook and a hook (passive hook catching gear). 5. No metal object shall be driven into or tied to the bottom of the water, stump, tree or shoreline, except those situated above the water and attached to a private wharf, wharf, barge or any other artificial structure intended for fishing. Metal anchors that are not fixed to the ground are allowed. Louisiana residents who enjoy fishing with yo-yos, trigger devices, trotting lines, jugs, and other hook and trigger devices should be aware of the changes proposed by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC). No calves, nets or belts in this river or its tributaries, from its origin in Washington Parish to its mouth in Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish. You may not use aircraft, including fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons, helicopters or other forms of aerial surveillance, to assist in fish fishing, with the exception of menhads and herring-like fish. Some Louisiana waters have specific catch limits and are listed below.
Always check with an LDWF enforcement office if you have any questions. See the Ministère de la Faune et de la Pêche for contact information. According to a press release from his office, the intent of the rule is to “reduce waste, consider passive equipment, and reduce risks to resource users, fish and wildlife.” 7. Objects fixed or attached to the seabed, stump, tree or shore used to accommodate fixed fishing gear shall not be more than two inches wide by two inches or two inches in diameter and shall be removed when not in use. No one is allowed to own or sell piranhas, Rio Grande cichlids, or apple snails in this state. If a fisherman catches a Rio Grande cichlid using legal methods, the fish should not be released or kept alive while in their possession. No butterfly nets or shrimp trawls over 16 feet, fishing seines, gillnets, flappers or trammel nets. No fish of any kind from outside the State of Louisiana may be released into the State except with the written permission of the Secretary of the LDWF.
Black-Clear Lake, Caddo Lake, Chicot Lake, Bruin Lake, including Brushy Lake, D`Arbonne Lake, Laforche Lake, Lake St. Joseph and Prairie Lake No gill nets, trammel nets, flag nets or seines. No tire nets from March 1 to May 15 (only in this part of the reservoir from a point north of Logansport where the lake enters Texas, and south to a point on the lake where the Texas Duck Refuge Canal crosses the old Sabine River Canal). All applicable licences must be in the possession of the fisher. The following changes to the existing rule are proposed and published on the Louisiana Registry in June 2022: False River Lake, Bruin Lake, Providence Lake, and Poverty Point Lake Exotic species of Asian carps (silver, bighead, black, and herbivorous) taken from state waters cannot be returned to the water and may not be possessed alive. No gill nets, rubber nets or trammel nets from March 1 to November 30 (in the part that crosses the Lacassine National Refuge). It is illegal to possess the prohibited instruments, weapons, substances or devices described below with the intent to catch fish. Lake Anacoco, Lake Vernon and the portion of Bayou Anacoco between the lakes, Lac Bistineau, Lac Bundick, Caney Creek Reservoir, Cross Lake and Chicot Lake No fishing seines, gillnets, rubber nets or trammel nets. Claiborne Lake, Concordia Lake and D`Arbonne Lake.
Including minnows, crayfish and shrimp (excluding wild fish) To view the full Letter of Intent or submit written comments on the proposed rule, contact Robby Maxwell, Inland Fisheries Section, 1213 N. Lakeshore Dr., Lake Charles, LA 70601, or email: rmaxwell@wlf.la.gov by July 29, 2022. You can only use gill nets and trammel nets from October 1st until sunset on the last day of February of the following year. Meshes must be at least 3.5 square inches (7 inches stretched). You can leave the equipment overnight, but you are only allowed to remove the fish during the day. Recreational anglers are not allowed to exceed the daily pocket limit for all species on the water. Following the public comment period, legislative oversight committees have 30 days to review the amended rule and a summary of public comments from the WFDA. Once these regulations are completed, the amended rules will come into force in the fall of 2022. No one is allowed to keep net fish on board a freshwater vessel. However, for consumption, a person shall not have more than 2 pounds of filleted fish per person on board a freshwater vessel, provided that the vessel is equipped to cook that fish and that the fish does not exceed the applicable receiving limit.
Wild fish are defined as mullet, spotted perch, shadefish, yellowfish, whitefish, striped perch, hybrid striped perch, black crappie, whitebird and bream. Some alternative methods are allowed to capture or withdraw certain types of water. 8. Trotting lines are limited to a total of 150 hooks per person and a cotton guide must be used at each end of a trotting line. No recreational angler may possess more than double the daily pocket limit of any type of recreational freshwater fishing, EXCEPT that anglers may have up to three times the daily limit of black bass (Micropterus spp.) under U.S. Route 90 on the Louisiana coast.
