Texas Hunting Leases

Texas Parks & WIldlife has published its Hunting & Fishing Regulations for the 2009 – 2010 season:

2009-2010 Hunting Seasons & Outdoor Annual

License & Registration Fees

Hunting and fishing licenses for the 2009-2010 license year go on sale August 15, 2009. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has approved increases to license fees. Most fees will increase by five percent. New prices for the most popular items are listed below:

• Resident hunting license, $25. Senior and youth hunting licenses, $7.
• Non-resident hunting license, $315.
• Resident freshwater fishing package, $30. Senior freshwater package $12.
• Resident saltwater fishing package, $35. Senior saltwater package, $17.
• Non-resident freshwater package, $58.
• Non-resident saltwater package, $63.
• One-day all-water fishing license, $11 for residents, $16 for non-residents.
• Super Combo all-inclusive hunting and fishing license, $68. Senior Super Combo, $32.
• Lifetime hunting or fishing license, $1,000; lifetime combination license, $1,800.  
• Fishing guide license: fresh water, $132. All-water, $1,050.

Fishing Guide License

• Fresh water only: $132 (resident or non-resident)
• All water: $210 Texas resident; $1,050 non-resident
• Guides who utilize paddle craft (canoes, kayaks) in salt water will have a new option: the All-Water Paddle Craft Guide License. A person may qualify for this license by completing an approved series of kayak training courses, along with CPR/First Aid and a TPWD boater safety course. A Paddle Craft guide who does not utilize motorized vessels is not required to have a U.S. Coast Guard Operator’s License.

Fishing Regulations

These changes take effect September 1, 2009.

Salt water

• For flounder, the recreational daily bag limit will decrease from 10 to 5 fish, and the commercial bag limit from 60 to 30 fish. During the month of November, hook and line anglers will be permitted to take 2 flounder per day, with take by all other gear prohibited. Possession limit cannot exceed the daily bag limit. These new regulations represent an attempt to reverse a long-term downward trend in the abundance of southern flounder.
• For sharks:
  • The minimum total length for most species will increase from 24 inches to 64 inches. However, the minimum for Atlantic sharpnose, Blacktip and Bonnethead sharks will remain at 24 inches total length.
  • A prohibited list (zero bag limit) will be established for the following 21 species: Atlantic angel, Basking, Bigeye sand tiger, Bigeye sixgill, Bigeye thresher, Bignose, Caribbean reef, Caribbean sharpnose, Dusky, Galapagos, Longfin mako, Narrowtooth, Night, Sandbar, Sand tiger, Sevengill, Silky, Sixgill, Smalltail, Whale, and White.
  • For allowable shark species, the bag limit will remain one shark per person per day, with a two shark possession limit.
• Limits will change for the following species, with possession limit set at twice the daily bag limit:
  • For greater amberjack, the minimum total length will change from 32 inches to 34 inches.
  • Gray triggerfish will have a minimum total length of 16 inches and a daily bag limit of 20 fish per person.
  • Gag grouper will have a minimum total length of 22 inches and a daily bag limit of 2 fish per person.

Fresh water

• For alligator gar, a new bag limit of one fish per day goes into effect September 1. The bag limit will apply to both recreational and commercial fishing. Read news release
• Lakes Lewisville (Denton County), Richland Chambers (Navarro and Freestone Counties), and Waco (McLennan County) will have a 30- to 45-inch slot limit for blue catfish. Daily bag for channel and blue catfish will remain 25 fish per day, but only one blue catfish over 45 inches may be retained. No harvest of blue catfish between 30 and 45 inches will be allowed.
• On Ray Roberts Lake (Cooke, Denton, and Grayson Counties), there is no longer a slot limit for largemouth bass. Anglers must comply with the statewide minimum of 14 inches, and may retain up to five bass per day.
• On Lake Texoma:
  • The daily bag limit on blue and channel catfish is still 15 fish. However, as of September 1, only one blue catfish 30 inches or longer may be retained.
  • During May, taking alligator gar is prohibited in the portion of the lake that lies within the boundaries of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and from the U.S. 377 bridge (Willis Bridge) upstream to the IH 35 bridge.

Hunting Regulations

These changes take effect September 1, 2009.

• Panhandle counties that had the special short season for white-tailed deer now get the full north Texas season, the first Saturday in November through the first Sunday in January. Those counties are: Dallam, Hartley, Moore, Oldham, Potter, and Sherman. Dawson, Deaf Smith, and Martin counties, which had no open season on whitetailed deer, now get the regular open season.
• 52 counties are added to the list of counties with antler restrictions.
• New crossbow rules approved. Crossbows are now allowed for use by all hunters during the archery-only season, except in Grayson County. Grayson retains the old restriction to persons with an upper-limb disability during the archery season. See News Release
• Laser sighting devices approved for hunters with a disability making it impossible to use conventional sighting devices.

TPWD announced today that the wildlife commission approved the changes to the 2009-2010 Dove season.  Of key interest is a 70 day season and a 15 bird daily bag limit statewide.  If authorized under federal guidelines, Texas dove season in the North and Central Zones will run from Tuesday, Sept 1 through Sunday, Oct. 25 and reopen Saturday, Dec 26 through Sunday, Jan. 9, with a 15 bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves.  The South Zone dove season will run Sept. 18 – Nov. 3, reopening Dec. 26-Jan 17 with same limits as the other zones.

On another note, the department released information on its proposed waterfowl season for 2009-2010.  Texas will likely revert this fall to the standard 74-day season and six bird daily bag limit for ducks during the general waterfowl seasons.

TPWD is recommending the High Plains Mallard Management Unit waterfowl season run Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 — 25 and Friday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Jan. 24, with a youth-only season of Saturday/Sunday, Oct. 17-18.

The proposed season for the North and South Zones would run concurrently Saturday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Jan. 24, with a youth-only season of Saturday/Sunday, Oct. 24-25 to avoid conflict with the youth deer season.

The daily bag limit statewide would be six ducks, with the following species and sex restrictions: five mallards (of which only two may be hens), three wood ducks, two scaup, two redheads, one pintail, one canvasback, and one “dusky duck” (mottled duck, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids).

“There still remains the outside chance that pintail, canvasback and mottled ducks could have a season within a season structure or a 39 day season within the 74 days allowed,” said Dave Morrison, TPWD waterfowl program leader.

The season dates TPWD is proposing for the Western Goose Zone are Saturday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Feb. 7. The daily bag limit is 20 light geese in the aggregate and four Canada geese and one white-fronted goose. Possession limit is twice the daily bag limit for dark geese and no possession limit on light geese.

Proposed dates for the Eastern Goose Zone are Saturday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Jan. 24 for light geese and Canada geese and Saturday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Jan. 10 for white-fronted geese. The daily bag limit is 20 light geese in the aggregate and three Canada geese and two white-fronted geese.

For more information, see the News Release as of May 28th, 2009.

AUSTIN, Texas — Most hunters, anglers and boaters in Texas could see a modest $2-$4 bump in license and boat registration/titling fees if a proposed 5 percent across-the-board increase is approved in May by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says the fee increase is necessary to address critical needs.

“As you know license fees were last increased in 2004 and prior to that there had been no increase in eight years,” Gene McCarty, TPWD’s deputy executive director for administration, told commissioners. “Since that time, our operational costs have increased an average of 6.1 percent, while our fund balances continue to dwindle.”

McCarty said the department initially considered a 10-15 percent increase, but scaled back due to the current economic downturn.

“Instead we are proposing a very slight increase of 5 percent rolled up to the next dollar,” he explained. “This fee increase will not create new programs or services. The last fee increase in 2004 was just enough to maintain current levels of service. This increase will do the same. ”

Under the proposed increase, hunting licenses would go from the current price of $23 to $25, while the popular Super Combo all-inclusive license would increase from $64 to $68. Fishing packages would increase by $2. McCarty noted the cost for all of the special endorsement stamps would not go up.

The vast majority of boat owners in Texas would also see only a small increase in boat registration and titling fees under the proposal. Biennial boat registration for vessels less than 16 feet in length would increase from $30 to $32 and those in the 16-26 foot range would go from $50 to $53.

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Two exceptions pertain to larger craft. Those vessels 26-40 feet in length would increase by $40 and 40-foot-plus vessels would go up by $110. These larger increases are necessary because the department has been undercharging for these larger boats for many years in comparison with smaller boats, especially when considering the fee as a percentage of boat size and value.

A complete list of proposed fee changes can be found online at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/news_roundup/license_and_boat_fees/.

The public is invited to comment on these proposals by visiting the TPWD Web site or by writing TPWD Public Comment, attn. Robert Macdonald, 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744 or email robert.macdonald@tpwd.state.tx.us.