Texas Anglers Have Until Nov. 4 to Weigh In on a Fishing Rules Cleanup. Here Is What Would Change

Texas anglers have until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, to comment on a long list of proposed changes to the state's fishing rules. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is set to vote on them Nov. 5.

Most of the package is housekeeping: deleting expired language, cutting text that repeats state law and rewording rules so they are easier to follow. But a few items matter to anglers on the water, and one gives trophy bass anglers a practical new option, according to TPWD's public comment page, which includes the full proposed rule text, and Texas Fish & Game.

Why now

The changes come out of a review by the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, which the Legislature created in 2025 and placed in the governor's office. Its job is to find outdated and redundant rules and lighten unnecessary regulatory burdens.

TPWD is bringing its changes to the commission in stages. This second stage covers Chapter 57, on fisheries, and Chapter 58, on oysters, shrimp and finfish. The commission authorized publication Aug. 19, and the proposals appeared in the Oct. 2 Texas Register. TPWD's fiscal note says the rules would have no fiscal impact on state or local governments.

ShareLunker bass

Texas law generally requires boaters to drain all water from their boats when leaving or approaching public fresh water, to keep invasive species from spreading. That creates a problem for an angler who lands a giant largemouth for the Toyota ShareLunker program and needs to carry it alive to a weigh station on another lake.

The proposal adds an exception. A ShareLunker participant could carry the fish in a live well with water from the lake if there is no approved weigh station on that lake, all other water has been drained, and the boat takes the most direct route to a TPWD-approved station. The live-well water must be drained or properly disposed of before the boat leaves the station, unless TPWD tells the angler to return the fish to its home lake. The angler must carry a TPWD transport authorization, which can come through the ShareLunker app.

Guided boats, redfish and snapper

On a guided trip, the boat's bag limit would still be figured by counting the licensed or license-exempt anglers aboard, minus the guide and any deckhand, and multiplying by the bag limit. The proposal adds one plain sentence: "Personal bag limits continue to apply." A big group total does not let one angler keep more than his own limit.

The red drum tagging rules are being reorganized for clarity, TPWD says. Each angler may keep one oversized red drum per license year, plus one more with a Bonus Red Drum Tag when fishing under a physical license. Texas Fish & Game reports that this is a rewrite, not a new harvest opportunity.

For red snapper, the rewrite makes clear that anglers using natural bait must use circle hooks.

Flounder closure stays

Coastal anglers reading the marked-up text will see whole flounder paragraphs struck out. Do not be alarmed. Those lines held the old November and early December rules, which expired Sept. 1, 2021. The proposed rule simply says the flounder season is closed from Nov. 1 through Dec. 14 every year, the same closure that starts Sunday. Our earlier story explains the rules and the reasons behind it.

Reefs, shrimp and the rest

Other changes would separate Public Reefing Agreements, for public reefing, from Material Donation Agreements, used for oil and gas decommissioning, to reduce confusion over artificial reefs. On the commercial side, TPWD would remove expired oyster provisions and bay shrimp size rules it says were nullified in 2015, and clarify that a commercial license may be transferred at any time.

How to comment

Comments can be submitted online on TPWD's public comment page until 5 p.m. Nov. 4. The form asks for your name, county and whether you hold a Texas hunting or fishing license.

Trimming rules nobody needs is good government, and clear rules are easier to obey. If you fish Texas waters, take ten minutes to read what is proposed and tell the people writing the rules what you think.