# Snapper to close August 2nd??



## saltaholic (Feb 19, 2005)

Now rec season will close the same day as the charter season. https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20190722b


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## blaze 'em (Jun 4, 2012)

Well ****... 

I will say this, the few times I've fished Saturdays with decent weather every well known spot had 15-20 boats on it. So I can definitely see that part of it. I've never seen so many people fishing outside the jetties in all of my short offshore fishing years. 

Time for another meat haul. 

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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

Every place we fish, for the last 5 years, loaded with red snapper as fast as you can catch them, can't catch anything else but snapper.

Even this last trip a few weeks ago, snapper would come all the way up to the boat swarming us like piranha, as we sat there tossing them back as fast as we could just trying to catch something else

Other boats sitting right next to us were getting "skunked" Just because there are other boats on a spot it doesn't mean they will automatically catch fish, or are catching fish, I've seen this scenario many time.

I don't know what they were using for bait or how they were fishing, but there was literally tons of fish down there. Just because they were not catching any doesn't mean there are none

From there perspective, had we not been pulling snapper two at a time right in front of them they would have thought there was no fish there

It would be like me going Elk hunting in my back yard, and "well, I've been hunting all year and haven't even seen one, I guess Elk are extinct, everyone killed them all"

In fact the snapper are so thick they actually cause shadowing on the sonar

And this isn't just a special honey hole, this is every structure we go to in over 100 ft of water. The spots in water less than that are eat up with juvenile snapper









Relentless


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Hardly any fishable days in Texas this season! At least not during weekends. BS is what I think. 


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

Using this logic to the bays, with a system a faction of the size of the Gulf, many times more boats, the ability to practically fish year round for the most part, the bay should be baron.

The last few trips in the bay I seen more boats on a single reef then I did all year offshore, and I didn't catch a single trout, so they must be extinct.

I mean certainly knowing what, how, where and when, reading sonar, etc plays no role in catching fish, I just put my boat on the little fish icon on the chart plotter and I didn't catch fish, I guess that means it's over fished lol

Relentless


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## Finatic31 (Apr 12, 2017)

Cant build a wall to stop the illegals from coming across the Texas border - even harder to keep this coyote from bringing snapper across the 9 mile mark - HAHAHAHAHAHA
Just kidding
maybe


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

Exactly lol


I thought the idea going around a few years ago was good, extend state water to say the 30 fathom line, or whatever it would be, and no commercial fishing in that zone

I can see it now, somewhere some sea lord saying "well, you know, at the rate recreational guys are catching fish, I'll actually have to fish for snapperv rather than just go pick them up, and that'll mean longer trips, more fuel, more supplies, which means I'll have less of that *ahem, extra donating money* if you know what I mean"

Relentless


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## KevinA (May 22, 2004)

Im surprised by the announcement.

We have fished several days this year and have not seen one game warden or anyone checking boats offshore or on land upon our return..

I am curious how they are able to estimate how many lbs are being caught..

as mentioned earlier snapper are plentiful and make it hard target anything else...


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

This has been the worst July I can remember , Iâ€™m all for a cautious approach but this seems a bit ridiculous.


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

KevinA said:


> Im surprised by the announcement.
> 
> We have fished several days this year and have not seen one game warden or anyone checking boats offshore or on land upon our return..
> 
> ...


This is true, first year we haven't been stopped every year

They are going to turn the forums and social media into a ghost town again

Few years ago everyone was afraid to post reports and fish pictures, as these were rumoured considered in the "catch analysis"

Relentless


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

63 days of a projected 97 day season , I was really hoping for better management from TPWD. Any uncaught quota can be added to next years season but if TPWD Is already this far off their projected season who knows how itâ€™s going to shake out.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Reading that public announcement I call BS.
Itâ€™s not science or management, itâ€™s sorcery. 2 weeks ago, I dropped bait and less than 8 secs up comes two legal sized snappers . This is on just one spot!

We have more offshore waters and fishing spots than you could possibly have in the bay, yet these folks seem to have it all figured out about the biomass of one offshore species to 90+ miles of Texas offshore waters. Yeah right. 


How can they actually say there are more boats out this year than last? The fishable days have been significantly worse plus more fishing time with more days last year.

As far as a game warden, I didnâ€™t see one either but on my first and only outing this year, I was boarded 40 miles offshore by the coast guards for a â€œroutine safety inspectionâ€ but I get it was more like â€œlet me see your catch and make sure you are only possessing max 2 Katies per personâ€. 
When I ran back to port, I got pulled over again by different number of coasties wanting to do the same darn thing. One guy more interested again in the fishbox despite passing my safety inspection 1 hr ago.

How can anyone justify owning an offshore boat, especially in Texas where we have these ludicrous offshore quotas, curtailed fishing seasons and on top of that lousy wind, chop and weather conditions. I donâ€™t mean just Katieâ€™s, but also AJs, Trigger and other species that are over-regulated. 

The less govâ€™t, better off IMO. 

Sorry but this is such a joke that you feel the dark forces of coms behind all this. 



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## littlebryan (May 19, 2016)

Finatic31 said:


> Cant build a wall to stop the illegals from coming across the Texas border - even harder to keep this coyote from bringing snapper across the 9 mile mark - HAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> Just kidding
> 
> maybe


Amen

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## littlebryan (May 19, 2016)

Wow!....we actually had to move at least 4 times last Saturday.....snapper were around 6 feet under the boat and could not get away from them.

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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

I hope TPWD isnâ€™t calculating fishing effort using NOAAs 10-15 knot 1-2 foot seas forecast because the only thing NOAA does worse than manage fisheries is forecast weather.

We had a named storm in the Gulf and this week we have a weird Northern front. This whole thing stinks


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## chuck richey (May 22, 2004)

I wonder how much the charter boats running two trips a day plays into this decision?


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

I too had higher hopes for TPWD, and would be curious to know where they got these numbers from

Hopefully TPWD hasn't started drinking the kool aid

Relentless


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## littlebryan (May 19, 2016)

I simply just don't understand....***** 

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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

littlebryan said:


> I simply just don't understand....*****
> 
> Sent from my SM-J337A using Tapatalk


Well at least the weather looks really good this week , oh wait never mind itâ€™s looks like a complete soup sandwich.


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## crismiller (May 1, 2013)

TXFishin said:


> I too had higher hopes for TPWD, and would be curious to know where they got these numbers from
> 
> Hopefully TPWD hasn't started drinking the kool aid
> 
> Relentless


I agree, was really hopeful that we were headed down the right path, but Nooooooooo.


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## blaze 'em (Jun 4, 2012)

Simple to understand in my opinion. More boats fishing equals more fish caught. Far from rocket science.

Now does the quota need to be adjusted, I think so. As everyone here has said you cant really get away from them. But that is not the case this year.

I would be interested to see the isnapper stats and tpwd surveys. I know I was surveyed every time I fished, 4 trips so far during snapper season. And judging by the looks of the published numbers, it was clear to see out of port aransas that everyone wanted in on the snapper fishing. Even some obscure spots had boats on them, I've never seen that.

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## Erichter5674 (Mar 29, 2018)

Well I guess only two snapper trips this year. not even giving it one additional weekend is a slap in the face!!


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## hungryhuntergirl (Aug 17, 2017)

KevinA said:


> Im surprised by the announcement.
> 
> We have fished several days this year and have not seen one game warden or anyone checking boats offshore or on land upon our return..
> 
> ...


I have seen them at bridge bait checking boats and have read where the Cg was boarding boats at one of the reefs.

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## Txfishman (Jun 20, 2004)

Do a quick search for tagged red snapper. I believe it is called thegreatredsnappercount.org or something along those lines.

Pay you $250 a tag to help us create variables to feed into our fishing pressure statistical models and bam you have a filled quota. Or at least 70% of the quota so we don't go over.

Hope to get one or two more licks in on the snapper, still have lots of kids to get out there but did not want to be in a rush or at least that is what I thought.

Have a good evening.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

That stinks. I have not caught nearly as many fish as I did last year. This is terrible news.

Just when you start thinking things are looking good on the Red Snapper front this kind of **** happens.


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

As soon as everyone cancels their end of summer vacations plans, TPWD will come out and announce a short fall season, effectively giving us back what shouldn't have been taken away to start with, as to mess up everyone's plans, and then expect applause and thank you's for the late season.

iSnapper and 'Ramp Checks', might as well all be counted as state water snapper.

It's not like data, or more importantly the health of the red snapper stock really matters to anyone state or federal anyway, it's all about the $$$ trail.

I was hoping the path we were on would eventually lead to year round seasons with temporary closures and slot sizes, at least something more reasonable.




Last year was 82 days (June 1 - Aug 22)

This year 62 Days (June 1 - Aug 2)

That's progress for you, 20 days shorter than last year

Nothing like going backwards faster than going forwards




TPWD has made me eat all the supportive words and bragging I have done since last year, and have totally destroyed any confidence I had in them.


I was just talking to some guys in Florida not long ago, bragging how I was glad TPWD is going to manage the seasons, how they have always done much better than others with wildlife management and recreational interest


Oh well, on to next year, right in line and back on track for an even shorter spoon fed season, followed by weekends only, then 21 days, 14 days, 10 days, eventually back to 3 days, and and/or 1 fish per person limits.

Relentless


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

Txfishman said:


> Do a quick search for tagged red snapper. I believe it is called thegreatredsnappercount.org or something along those lines.
> 
> Pay you $250 a tag to help us create variables to feed into our fishing pressure statistical models and bam you have a filled quota. Or at least 70% of the quota so we don't go over.
> 
> ...


Would have been better to just throw the tags in the trash

Relentless


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

blaze 'em said:


> Simple to understand in my opinion. More boats fishing equals more fish caught. Far from rocket science.
> 
> Now does the quota need to be adjusted, I think so. As everyone here has said you cant really get away from them. But that is not the case this year.
> 
> ...


More boats doesn't mean more fish caught, if that was the case then the bay systems would be wiped out and zero fish, way more fishable days and exponentially more boats, kayaks, jet skis, wade fishermen, pier fishermen, bank fishermen, etc, all in a body of water a fraction of the size of the Gulf.

As mentioned, on multiple trips I've fished in groups of boats, and no one else was catching anything, all the while we were throwing back 30"+ snapper after snapper as fast as we could just trying to find something other than snapper

Not sure what they were fishing for but it definitely wasn't red snapper

Relentless


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

The number of boats and effort was accounted for when Texas settled for 6 percent of the TAC for all of the Gulf states. Weather is the only legitimate variable and the weather has been garbage this year. Thatâ€™s my 2 cents


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Some crude math:
Rec quota alotted = 7,399,000 lbs
Texas State Record is a 37.5lbs snapper

= 197,306 TSR Snappers landed


Divided by 60 days fishable weather For entire Gulf. I donâ€™t know how many RS days are open with other states. 
= 3288 snappers landed per day

2 snapper bag limit per person = 1644 anglers fished offshore every single, **** day since it season opened. 

Yeah right...when pigs fly. 







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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

No different than the past, it's all a bunch of cow dung twisted numbers to keep the money flowing in the right pockets, there is no argument regardless of how logical that can beat the cash flow

As long as you keep seeing fillets for $25 a lb, each fish is basically $30 to $50 each on average, it'll never stop

If you could get $25 lb for Bermuda Chubb, all the sudden they would be on the endangered, over fished, 3 day season list as well

https://www.al.com/news/2016/01/kingpins_of_the_gulf_make_mill.html

The only chance at all to battle this is find the money trail, and at the voting booth

Relentless


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## blaze 'em (Jun 4, 2012)

We arent talking about some terribly challenging fish to catch. I would venture to say that as far as snapper fishing, more hooks in the water is definitely going to equal more fish, especially if "you cant fish a spot and catch anything else."

I'm sorry to sound argumentative, but at least where I fish, there are obviously more boats fishing...

Hope everyone gets to make at least one more trip or has some state water luck.

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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

Each state got the percentage of the fish that they asked for and there was some left over that got split up between FL and AL. Texas dropped the ball when asking for only 6%. This 6% was based on historical catch rates but from what I saw this year, there was more effort than I had seen in the past. I understand what TXFishing is saying about more effort not necessarily meaning more fish caught but it sure doesn't help things.
Don't get me wrong. I think this sucks as much as anyone else. I have five weeks off from work starting Aug 1st and had planned on making at least 10 trips during that time. Now I guess I'm gona target AJs, B-liners and learn how to catch tilefish. 


Any deep-drop gurus want to go fishing?


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## RobATX (Apr 5, 2011)

Kenner21 said:


> I hope TPWD isnâ€™t calculating fishing effort using NOAAs 10-15 knot 1-2 foot seas forecast because the only thing NOAA does worse than manage fisheries is forecast weather.


Ahha ha ha!


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## Cajuntriton (Mar 9, 2015)

Obviously there will be more people fishing over the years but Is it that there are many more boats on some spots due to having less spots to fish? All the rigs we used to fish are gone so more and more are fishing bottom structure.




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## tlt_tamu (Apr 17, 2013)

KevinA said:


> Im surprised by the announcement.
> 
> We have fished several days this year and have not seen one game warden or anyone checking boats offshore or on land upon our return..
> 
> ...


Its all the snapper with $250 tags in them people have been reported catching.


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## saltaholic (Feb 19, 2005)

And itâ€™s just coincidence that it closes for us the same exact day as the for hire season?? Whatâ€™s really going on


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## Erichter5674 (Mar 29, 2018)

For hire captains pitched a fit which screwed us lowly Rec fisherman!!


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## Momma's Worry (Aug 3, 2009)

*Solution .....Snapper Wars 2020*

make a mandatory snapper head count for Fed water...open Jan 1st

......no "season" .....when Texas share is met ..... then end it for the year.....

Tx only gets 6%?(joke).......no where near fair

weather rules for the window of opportunity.....which is not much ...good luck trying to "plan" for a trip more than a week out ....

some one weight a snapper... then fillet it ....then weight them separately meat vs scrap....
let's calculate how much they cost at today's trip expenses...(some PHD can weigh in on this)


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## Txfishman (Jun 20, 2004)

Erichter5674 said:


> For hire captains pitched a fit which screwed us lowly Rec fisherman!!


Curious if you have some sort of proof of this? Just curious, not throwing stones.

The for hire sectors gurus I traded remarks with yesterday were just as surprised as the rest of us on the announcement.

Until we get away from a statistical science based management system, there will not be a tremendous change.


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

Windy.com Forecast reaches to August 1st and thatâ€™s first maybe fishable day out of Freeport. Is this more of the awesome weather TPWD is claiming we are having this summer?


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Should **** REC fishermen off that the number of red snapper we can catch off the coast of Texas is effected by red snapper caught off Florida...... the whole management system by pounds per the entire gulf of Mexico is flawed.


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## impulse (Mar 17, 2010)

I'm asking this, not to be a wise butt, but because I don't know...

Is it legal to fish the federal area and release any snappers that you may catch? 

With the small limits, it seems that the cost per pound for a sport fisherman makes it a "pay for the fun and a few fillets get thrown in" experience anyway. 

I can always buy some fish on the way home and turn that $500 day into a $520 day.


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

impulse said:


> I'm asking this, not to be a wise butt, but because I don't know...
> 
> Is it legal to fish the federal area and release any snappers that you may catch?
> 
> ...


Itâ€™s legal but 1. If youâ€™re deeper than 100 feet you risk killing a bunch of fish due to barotrauma 2. Iâ€™ll be dammed if Iâ€™m going to spend 25 dollars a pound on red snapper fillets supporting companies like Katieâ€™s Seafood.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

I blame it on the snapper tournament. Lol

This is horse **** with a cherry on top. 


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## impulse (Mar 17, 2010)

Kenner21 said:


> Itâ€™s legal but 1. If youâ€™re deeper than 100 feet you risk killing a bunch of fish due to barotrauma 2. Iâ€™ll be dammed if Iâ€™m going to spend 25 dollars a pound on red snapper fillets supporting companies like Katieâ€™s Seafood.


Thanks for that info.


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## chuck richey (May 22, 2004)

You would think Robin Riechers would be here trying to answer some questions. 
My first would be why close it on a Friday? Already messing up many peoples vacation plans to fish , why not end it on a Sunday night and give everyone a final weekend.


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## BOATMAN (Jun 25, 2012)

*Snapper season*

Louisiana is playing the same old bullst. game. Since the season opened on Memorial day weekend we have had about 15 fishable days due to high winds and seas.We only have Friday Saturday and Sunday as days to fish. According to LDWF we have caught 500,000 lbs of snapper I do not know where the powers to be get all their info on fish caught They must not count off for none fishable days. Our 3 day a week season should have let us fish to the end of Sept. Most trips I only see 1or 2 other boats offshore out of Cameron,LA.LA is projecting an August 18 closing. We the private boat owners are getting the shaft again as usual. Ranger250


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## Momma's Worry (Aug 3, 2009)

Is it legal to fish the federal area and release any snappers that you may catch?

With the small limits, it seems that the cost per pound for a sport fisherman makes it a "pay for the fun and a few fillets get thrown in" experience anyway...........

I can always buy some fish on the way home and turn that $500 day into a $520 day.[/QUOTE]

catch and re-lease on snapper is the same as catch and kill(waste)(check Fed data,100% mortality)......
also re-calculate your total expenses ...if you have(own) everything necessary to go out there to pursue snapper it costs a lot more than $500 per trip .....only $20 spent at a fish house?...I can never get out of one for under a $100....


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

chuck richey said:


> You would think Robin Riechers would be here trying to answer some questions.
> My first would be why close it on a Friday? Already messing up many peoples vacation plans to fish , why not end it on a Sunday night and give everyone a final weekend.


Iâ€™ve sent a few messages to the TPWD Facebook page with zero response. Might be better off emailing Reichers directly. Too be fair itâ€™s been less than a day and Iâ€™m sure Iâ€™m not the only one sending messages/asking questions. Iâ€™ve been a huge cheerleader for TPWD Taking over red snapper management. I may have spoke too soon.


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## Txfishman (Jun 20, 2004)

chuck richey said:


> You would think Robin Riechers would be here trying to answer some questions.
> My first would be why close it on a Friday? Already messing up many peoples vacation plans to fish , why not end it on a Sunday night and give everyone a final weekend.


Email this guy, Robin's boss:

Carter Smith
[email protected]

Pretty much a Fed lover from day one....


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## BadCompanyFT (Apr 7, 2017)

Lostinpecos said:


> Some crude math:
> Rec quota alotted = 7,399,000 lbs
> Texas State Record is a 37.5lbs snapper
> 
> ...


BOOM! I love the application of simple arithmetic to make a point. Problem is not too many people have it now a days.

Point well made!

Drew
BCFT

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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

*In defense of TPWD*

Of course we're all upset about this but there are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Anecdotal reports of fisherman seeing or catching tons of fish mean absolutely nothing to the "scientists" collecting this data. You could have photographs where you can count thousands of individual fish from hundreds of different locations all taken on the same day and it wouldn't matter one bit to researches other than being visual interesting.
2. The "math" has never made sense to us fishermen who don't have all the data and don't know the methods. (not suggesting I buy it either, because I don't)

3. There's always politics involved that will trump actual science, even if we did have good science.

With all that in mind, before everybody trashes TPWD too bad, I offer this as a possible explanation: Knowing that Texas catches a lot of flack from other Gulf states for having year-round state water season, knowing that Texas (probably) has more red snapper than anyone else, knowing that the two year state limit trial is ending, and possibly having some really good _preliminary_ data (emphasis on the preliminary, because this type of research takes years), TPWD decided to close the season earlier than projected so when they go to the table to negotiate for full permanent control over the fishery they can look at this trial period and say, among other things, "we even closed the season down early because we are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain a healthy and viable fishery."

Just food for thought, even if it is just wishful thinking.


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## chuck richey (May 22, 2004)

High Water I agree with everything you just said. 


My thoughts are that TPWD should have gotten in front of this a little better. They could have been saying hey everyone, we are getting near the point of having to shut this down. A week and a half is just ridiculous.


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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

chuck richey said:


> High Water I agree with everything you just said.
> 
> My thoughts are that TPWD should have gotten in front of this a little better. They could have been saying hey everyone, we are getting near the point of having to shut this down. A week and a half is just ridiculous.


Thanks

I agree more of a heads up would have been nice.


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

High Water :

Amendment 50 thatâ€™s already been passed granted control of Red Snapper management to the Gulf states.

http://gulfcouncil.org/press/2019/g...recreational-red-snapper-for-private-anglers/


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## Bozo (Jun 16, 2004)

Ok, i had it in my noggin that snapper were only allowed to be caught and retained by private rec boats on the weekends? Where did i get that misinformation. was it like that the first year of the waiver and i just rolled that forward or am i completely insane?

i basing my question because of the â€œmathâ€ post above using a 60 day figure in the calculation. which would be everyday this fed season, not just weekends.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

This is all but a foolish game. Perhaps this is a strategy for control of the fisheries but on our dime and time is not on our side. We ainâ€™t getting any younger.


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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

Kenner21 said:


> High Water :
> 
> Amendment 50 thatâ€™s already been passed granted control of Red Snapper management to the Gulf states.
> 
> http://gulfcouncil.org/press/2019/g...recreational-red-snapper-for-private-anglers/


I forgot about that, looks like the behind-the-scenes political scheming may not be as favorable as I had hoped.


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## Chase This! (Jul 20, 2007)

We counted 19 boats on Tall Rock a couple weeks ago. Crazy.


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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

Bozo said:


> Ok, i had it in my noggin that snapper were only allowed to be caught and retained by private rec boats on the weekends? Where did i get that misinformation. was it like that the first year of the waiver and i just rolled that forward or am i completely insane?
> 
> i basing my question because of the â€œmathâ€ post above using a 60 day figure in the calculation. which would be everyday this fed season, not just weekends.


Weekends only was in Louisiana, not Texas.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Only positive that I see from the increased interest in snapper fishing, and what TPWD claims to be more fishermen going after snapper is the economic boom it should have been to many places. The boom should be measurable and a tool in fighting to get more fishing days next year to help local economies, many that have been devastated by hurricanes/tropical storms and floods in recent years.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Why would a fish conservationist give a **** about economics. Thatâ€™s the problem. It wonâ€™t change their BS quota if they feel that number is what is needed to protect and preserve the species. 


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## Bozo (Jun 16, 2004)

High_Water said:


> Weekends only was in Louisiana, not Texas.


well, iâ€™m not as crazy as i thought... 2017, the first year they started â€œrelaxing the seasonâ€, it was weekends only in Texas. iâ€™m just dumb for not realizing that restriction had been dropped the last 2 years. Doh!

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20170614a


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## Momma's Worry (Aug 3, 2009)

*Snapper wars ...2019*

Gov only functions from one crisis to another ......must hit rock bottom first 
and must be "forced" to make any changes....

Economics proves beyond any doubt that there should be no commercial exploitation of the red snapper in Texas .....no catch shares(Fed) and states TAC equal to square miles of snapper habitat they have .....


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

2019 RS count from me - ZERO. Was counting on August to get out


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

There is no logic or reasoning, it's all about the money, that's all the logic and reasoning the rule makers hear.

All the rest of the noise, and so called conservation, is simply an attempt to appease, and pacify, the masses, nothing more.

The early closure and "estimated catch" came from people cashing in on those $250 tagged snapper.

Everyone should have thrown the tags in the trash

I normally get stopped every single trip, sometimes multiple times per trip.

Not a single stop this year, because there was no need to, they used the tagged snapper.

Some kind of ratio of X number of non-tagged = 1 tagged and they had their estimated quota.

The tagged snapper was cheaper than running boat to boat

Someone on the other side is probably laughing their self to sleep tonight, thinking "we just got the recs to work for us and close their own season early"

Relentless


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

From above. That says it all about the â€œ taggedâ€ quota. Complete BS and the public swallowed a Ron Jeremy load


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## AirbornXpress (Sep 27, 2006)

Why donâ€™t they do the survey when you purchase your license, like they do about doves and Ducks
How Many snapper did you bag?


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Lostinpecos said:


> Why would a fish conservationist give a **** about economics. Thatâ€™s the problem. It wonâ€™t change their BS quota if they feel that number is what is needed to protect and preserve the species.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


TPWD sued the FEDs years ago when the season was first shorten to 10 days or something like that. TPWD keeps up with the economic impact to fishing towns, at the time they valued each day of snapper season at 1 million a day of local revenue due to the season. TPWD won the case in Brownsville against the FEDs with one of the main arguments was that local economies were going to be negatively impacted to much with short season. So yeah, TPWD cares and so do the businesses and it can and does effect the seasons.


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## -Jake- (Aug 5, 2016)

Complete ********. I got out twice this year

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## Gap (Jun 4, 2004)

Should it be open or closed? Lots of calm days early, then rough alot since July 4 for most smaller vessels.

Nearshore areas, published spots within 60 of freeport seem to be beat up. I generally fish alot deeper, but stopped recently at some areas in 160-170' to top off a limit and found loads of small - medium sized fish. Not my kind of keepers. Party boat nearby. 29's, inshore of Salvadore.

I did fish a few of the calm weekend days in June and saw 20-30 boats each at some of the areas like Tall Rock and Germans. Lots of pressure for sure. 

On the federal side, the NMFS is a part of the commerce department. When we finally got management that was interested in commerce, not fish hugging, we've grown from a few days to much longer. I see it at the marina, at the gas stations. Snapper days are a big deal! Hopefully we'll get some extra days in the fall. 

Trying to make a last hurrah kid trip with a load of teenagers, need to wreck that quota! Get it while it's hot!


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

German Charlieâ€™s and 32s were covered in boats every fishable day I was able to make it out. Run another 15 miles we pretty much had it to ourselves every trip. My assumption is because those are some of the first spots you can hit and still scratch out a limit so thatâ€™s exactly what people were doing because it was rough. Also the fact people were still hitting those picked over spots and catching enough fish to stay there speaks to the strength of the fishery. TPWD is going to screw around and make me buy a bigger boat , Anyone interested in a Contender 25T? ðŸ¤”


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## chuck richey (May 22, 2004)

We fished one trip this year and it was the Sunday of opening weekend.. It was in the clay pile area. Only 1 other boat the entire day. They finished a limit of snapper at 9:00 am and headed back in. We finished at 9:30 and went looking for other fish. Back at the dock in LaPorte before 3:30. 


I was surprised with the lack of other boats fishing that day.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Jolly Roger said:


> TPWD sued the FEDs years ago when the season was first shorten to 10 days or something like that. TPWD keeps up with the economic impact to fishing towns, at the time they valued each day of snapper season at 1 million a day of local revenue due to the season. TPWD won the case in Brownsville against the FEDs with one of the main arguments was that local economies were going to be negatively impacted to much with short season. So yeah, TPWD cares and so do the businesses and it can and does effect the seasons.


I recall itâ€™s negative economic impact shutting down the season. 
My point is you canâ€™t tell a snapper to reproduce faster because of business.

The beef I have is with the method used to determine a quota and research call that sustainable when nobody knows you canâ€™t get a hard count on the available biomass or the quantity harvested. You are catching snapper out to 300-400ft water.

Someoneâ€™s gonna look like the fool. I do hope season gets extended but I ainâ€™t holding my breathe,

Anyways would most boaters in Texas call this upcoming weekend fishable? Thatâ€™s basically how itâ€™s been almost every weekend this season while from dodging storms.

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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Lostinpecos said:


> I recall itâ€™s negative economic impact shutting down the season.
> My point is you canâ€™t tell a snapper to reproduce faster because of business.
> 
> The beef i have is the methods used to determine a quota and call that sustainable when nobody canâ€™t get a hard count on available biomass or the quantity harvested.
> ...


Should have a beef with the fact there is a gulf wide Quota.

Why should the number of fish caught in Florida or Bama limit how many days in your season? You are not a commercial fishermen, not going to run to ports in other parts of the gulf for red snapper on the same fishing licns. The whole concept that REC fishermen seasons for a non migratory Reef Fish are being based on fish caught in other states should **** all Texas fishermen off.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Jolly Roger said:


> Should have a beef with the fact there is a gulf wide Quota.
> 
> Why should the number of fish caught in Florida or Bama limit how many days in your season?


Thatâ€™s what Iâ€™m saying. Common sense would tell me it should be based on coastline with alittle leniency to smaller states. Better yet take the number of saltwater license holders or differentiate between inshore and offshore tag owners.

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## photofishin (Aug 7, 2009)

-Jake- said:


> Complete ********. I got out twice this year
> 
> Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


Maybe you should have gone out more? I went twice in my bay boat here to the 32's and got my limit of fish both times within an hour. Had two over 20lbs both times. I also got two limits in June in Florida and yesterday on Bluefin Charters we got a 14 man limit. There have been a lot of fishable days in July and a few in June. Not difficult to see why they're closing it a little early. We got a total of 60 days...MUCH better than previous years.


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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

Jolly Roger said:


> Should have a beef with the fact there is a gulf wide Quota.
> 
> Why should the number of fish caught in Florida or Bama limit how many days in your season? You are not a commercial fishermen, not going to run to ports in other parts of the gulf for red snapper on the same fishing licns. The whole concept that REC fishermen seasons for a non migratory Reef Fish are being based on fish caught in other states should **** all Texas fishermen off.


 Im with you 100% on this one buddy


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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/red-snapper
At least Louisiana is serious about keeping people in the loop about snapper season. TPWD surely could have taken a few minutes to slap something like this together so nobody got blindsided.


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## Stumpgrinder1 (Jul 18, 2016)

:sarcasmYou boys need to leave Scott + Buddys fish alone.


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

I demand a real headcount for those red rodents of the sea. 6% TAC is a joke. 


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## Oyster Dog (May 21, 2005)

High_Water said:


> http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/red-snapper
> At least Louisiana is serious about keeping people in the loop about snapper season. TPWD surely could have taken a few minutes to slap something like this together so nobody got blindsided.


*ahem* https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/state-recreational-red-snapper-management-exempted-fishing-permits


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

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## blaze 'em (Jun 4, 2012)

Lostinpecos said:


> View attachment 4436843
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


So our actual number is the 156k#?

What's the crude math there?

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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

blaze 'em said:


> So our actual number is the 156k#?
> 
> What's the crude math there?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


#3,815 lbs per day by July 12th
265,090 total pounds to catch
70 days at current average
Close date should be August 10th.


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## High_Water (Jun 6, 2017)

Hmm never thought to check NOAA to find TX landing stats, so at least its published somewhere.
I guess that answers some questions though:
July 12 is 6 weeks into the season, if we were at 59% (call it 60% for simplicity sake) that means average 10% per week. Aug 2 is the 9 week mark so it looks like they shut it down early so they don't exceed the ACL. I guess you can't blame them IF the landings data is accurate.
It's been said over and over but I'll say it again, the ACL program is garbage, Texas getting 6% is garbage, why should we care what they're catching in Florida or Alabama when it comes to _non-migratory_ species. One good thing that might come from the tagging program is that they might finally figure out that Alabama's fish didn't migrate over from Texas and they might be able to make a strong enough argument to divide the gulf into zones, even 2 zones, east and west of the Mississippi Delta, would be better than treating the entire gulf as one population. A band-aid solution would be increasing the ACL or even just getting a larger percentage, but it seems to me a better idea would be to define regions within the gulf that can be regulated independently, similar to the way they already do grouper.


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## chuck richey (May 22, 2004)

I am beginning to think it has more to do with amberjack and snapper being open at the same time rather then the pounds caught.


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## snapperlicious (Aug 11, 2009)

So now on my fish rules app itâ€™s showing August 22nd!


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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

Same here, showing the 22nd, but follow the link, looks like it's for 2018










Relentless


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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

Doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. Shouldn't each state get a % of whatever biomass lives in that states waters? I'm sure that a 1,000,000 lbs. of fish being removed from Alabama's waters might make a dent but that same 1,000,000 lbs. being removed from Texas water wouldn't make the same impact. Not even close, but we are only getting 1/4th of that. 
They should at a minimum, split the GOM snapper fishery into east/west of the Mississippi. By state would be better.


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## Stephanb (Aug 24, 2016)

Thursday is last day we can fish for it 😒


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## Robert.Parson (Sep 7, 2004)

#3,815 lbs per day
Average red snapper is what 20# ?
That's 1907 fish PER DAY.
And if every boat had 6 anglers, that's 317 boats EVERY DAY.
BU!!$&IT

Hoping that we get the week before and after Labor Day weekend to catch the rest.

If we ever get to vote again, I will be voting for the split season this time.


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

TPWD couldnâ€™t even give us the Friday? If the fishing effort doubled then Texas needs more than the 6 percent they settled for. Sloppy weather most of July , a named storm in the Gulf and a weird northern front and somehow there was an increase in effort ? Does TPWD think people just now heard about red snapper fishing ?


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## roundman (May 21, 2004)

mrsh978 said:


> 2019 RS count from me - ZERO. Was counting on August to get out


x2


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## Momma's Worry (Aug 3, 2009)

*Snapper wars ...2019*

snapper season is open year round thanks to the loop hole provided by TP&W..that is if you know how to play the system

Fed still runs the show.....

Buddy G and a few others are still getting richer ....

Joe user fee payer/spreader of the wealth still getting the short end ....


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## Blue Devil 7 (Aug 25, 2005)

roundman said:


> x2


X3. Plans got scuttled twice because the weather SUCKED. TPWD is either making stuff up or just lying to us. I was planning to go this weekend and now the weather is going to be perfect, but TPWD screwed it up. This is BS.


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

Momma's Worry said:


> snapper season is open year round thanks to the loop hole provided by TP&W..that is if you know how to play the system
> 
> Fed still runs the show.....
> 
> ...


After speaking to Tpwd about this ..... itâ€™s bs math. Never should it have opened in June due to historical weather ( this year was rare) , but they did it to close it before August weather allowed recs to get out and fish . I addressed the fact that commies are profiting from a public, natural resource year round . Tonage per month , 12 months every year . ..!.


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## CB101 (Sep 19, 2017)

*Cb101*

It's been many years since I've been offshore, so bear with me. I'm not trying to be a smartass (or a dumbass for that matter).

If there are so many snapper that guys are limiting out in minutes, won't the year round season in state waters be just as good? Are they just not found in state waters? Something else I'm missing?


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## Cajuntriton (Mar 9, 2015)

CB101 said:


> It's been many years since I've been offshore, so bear with me. I'm not trying to be a smartass (or a dumbass for that matter).
> 
> If there are so many snapper that guys are limiting out in minutes, won't the year round season in state waters be just as good? Are they just not found in state waters? Something else I'm missing?


Water Depth... bigger snaps are deep, you can catch 12-14â€ snappers to your arms fall off in state waters.

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## TXFishin (Apr 26, 2010)

They are getting so thick, even in deeper water we caught snapper trolling Russelures for kings yesterday

Completely ridiculous, when you have reef fish coming up to compete for food like that

Relentless


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## Lostinpecos (Jul 9, 2013)

Hopefully they will only get bigger in state waters over time instead of weeding out a billion of them babies for a keeper. 


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## sabotage (Sep 17, 2013)

Any word if there will be a fall season??? optimistic I know....


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## Blue Fin Charters (Mar 2, 2010)

Erichter5674 said:


> For hire captains pitched a fit which screwed us lowly Rec fisherman!!


I donâ€™t know any for hire captains that pitched a fit. Most of us were glad to see the recreational fisherman get more days. They had gotten the worse deal out of everybody previously. The only thing I noticed was most for hire captains in Texas wanted to be left out of the TPWL deal. Most didnâ€™t believe TPWL was going to be able to deliver year in and year out the days that were being mentioned. We have seen a lot of boats fishing this year. I keep reading people saying they havenâ€™t fished but a couple times due to weather, but there have been boats fishing.


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