| (a) There are no public waters closed to the taking
and retaining of fish, except as provided in this subchapter.
(b) Game fish may be taken only by pole and line, except
as provided in this subchapter.
(c) The bag and possession limits set forth in this
subchapter do not apply to the possession or landing of fish lawfully
raised under an offshore aquaculture permit issued under Subchapter
C of this chapter (relating to Introduction of Fish, Shellfish, and
Aquatic Plants).
(d) Fish caught in federal waters in compliance with
a federal fishery management plan may be landed in Texas.
(e) In Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Ector,
El Paso, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth, Kinney, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves,
Terrell, Upton, Val Verde, Ward, and Winkler counties, the only fishes
that may be used or possessed for bait while fishing are common carp,
fathead minnows, gizzard and threadfin shad, sunfish (Lepomis), goldfish,
golden shiners, Mexican tetra, Rio Grande cichlid, and silversides
(Atherinidae family).
(f) There is no open season on porpoises, dolphins
(mammals), whales, or sawfishes (Pristis perotteti).
(g) It is unlawful:
(1) for any person to take or attempt to take fish
by any means, or at any time or place, other than as permitted under
this subchapter;
(2) for any person to possess fish within a protected
length limit or in greater numbers than as permitted under this subchapter;
(3) for any person, while fishing on or in public waters,
to have in possession fish in excess of the daily bag limit or fish
within a protected length limit as established for those waters;
(4) for any person to land by boat or person any fish
within a protected length limit, or in excess of the daily bag limit
or possession limit established for those fish;
(5) for any person to use game fish or any part thereof
as bait, except for processed catfish heads used as crab-trap bait
by a licensed crab fisherman, provided the catfish is obtained from
an aquaculture facility permitted to operate in the United States.
A person who uses catfish as bait under this paragraph shall, upon
the request of a department employee acting within the scope of official
duties, furnish appropriate authenticating documentation, such as
a bill of sale or receipt, to prove that the catfish was obtained
from a legal source;
(6) for any person to possess a finfish of any species,
except broadbill swordfish, shark or king mackerel, taken from public
water (salt water or fresh water) that has the head or tail removed
until such person finally lands the catch on the mainland, a peninsula,
or barrier island not including jetties or piers and does not transport
the catch by boat;
(7) for any person to use any vessel to harass fish;
(8) for any person to release into the public waters
of this state a fish with a device or substance implanted or attached
that is designed, constructed or adapted to produce an audible, visual,
or electronic signal used to monitor, track, follow, or in any manner
aid in the location of the released fish;
(9) for any person to knowingly take, kill, or disturb
sea turtles or sea turtle eggs in or from the waters of the State
of Texas;
(10) for any person to knowingly take or possess a
diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) or their eggs unless the
person is authorized to do so under a permit issued under Chapter
69, Subchapter J of this title (relating to Scientific, Educational,
and Zoological Permits);
(11) for any person to take or kill shell-bearing mollusks,
hermit crabs, starfish, or sea urchins from November 1 through April
30 within the following boundary: the bay and pass sides of South
Padre Island from the East end of the north jetty at Brazos Santiago
Pass to the West end of West Marisol drive in the town of South Padre
Island, out 1,000 yards from the mean high-tide line, and bounded
to the south by the centerline of the Brazos Santiago Pass;
(12) for any person to take, kill, or possess more
than 15 univalve snails (all species), to include no more than two
of each of the following species: lightening whelk, horse conch, Florida
fighting conch, pear whelk, banded tulip, and Florida rocksnail; or
(13) for any person to:
(A) purchase or use more finfish (red drum) tags during
a license year than the number and type authorized by the commission,
excluding duplicate tags issued under Parks and Wildlife Code, §46.006;
(B) use the same finfish tag for the purpose of tagging
more than one finfish;
(C) use a finfish tag in the name of another person;
(D) use a tag on a finfish for which another tag is
specifically required;
(E) catch and retain a finfish required to be tagged
and fail to immediately attach and secure a tag, with the day and
month of catch cut out, to the finfish at the narrowest part of the
finfish tail, just ahead of the tail fin;
(F) have in possession both a Red Drum Tag and a Duplicate
Red Drum Tag issued to the same license or saltwater stamp holder;
(G) have in possession both a Red Drum Tag or a Duplicate
Red Drum Tag and a Bonus Red Drum Tag issued to the same license or
saltwater stamp holder;
(H) have in possession both an Exempt Red Drum Tag
and a Duplicate Exempt Red Drum Tag issued to the same license holder;
or
(I) have in possession both an Exempt Red Drum Tag
or a Duplicate Exempt Red Drum Tag and a Bonus Red Drum Tag issued
to the same holder.
(h) Harvest Log.
(1) The provisions of this subsection apply to any
person in possession of a license lawfully purchased by any means
other than through an automated point-of-sale system.
(2) A person who takes a red drum in excess of the
maximum length limit shall complete, in ink, the harvest log on the
back of the hunting or fishing license, as applicable, immediately
upon kill, or, in the case of fish, upon retention.
(i) Alternative Licensing System.
(1) The requirements of this title that require the
attachment of license tags to wildlife resources do not apply to any
person in lawful possession of a license that was sold by the department
without tags for red drum. A properly executed wildlife resource document
must accompany any red drum in excess of maximum size limits until
the provisions of this title and Parks and Wildlife Code governing
the possession of the particular wildlife resource cease to apply.
(2) The provisions of this section do not exempt any
person from any provision of this subchapter that requires or prescribes
the use of a wildlife resource document.
(j) No person may leave a body of water listed in this
subsection while in possession of a live nongame fish:
(1) the Red River below Lake Texoma downstream to the
Texas/Arkansas border;
(2) Big Cypress Bayou downstream of Ferrell's Bridge
Dam on Lake O' the Pines, including the Texas waters of Caddo Lake;
and
(3) the Sulphur River downstream of the Lake Wright
Patman dam to the Texas/Arkansas border.
(k) A person who leaves a water body listed in this
subsection while in possession of a harmful or potentially harmful
species listed in §57.111 of this title (relating to Definitions)
that is invisible to the unaided human eye is not in violation of §57.112
of this title (relating to General Rules), provided that:
(1) all live wells, bilges, and other similar receptacles
and systems that are capable of retaining or holding water as a consequence
of being immersed in a water body have been drained prior to the use
of a public roadway; or
(2) the person is travelling on a public roadway via
the most direct route to another access point located on the same
body of water.
(3) This subsection applies to the following bodies
of water:
(A) the Red River from the I-44 bridge in Wichita County
to the Texas/Arkansas border, including the Texas waters of Lake Texoma;
(B) Lake Lavon; and
(C) all impounded and tributary waters of the Elm Fork
of the Trinity River above the Lewisville Dam, including Lake Lewisville
and Lake Ray Roberts.
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