Steve Knight

It didn't take long for Ralph Duggins of Fort Worth to take the lead in the clubhouse at his first Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting last Wednesday.

Years ago, while the Commission was discussing turkey hunting regulations, then-commissioner Teresa Hershey of Houston's only comment was, "This makes me want to puke." It became the most outrageous comment spoken by a commissioner on record, and has retained that title ever since.

It was immediately clear that Hershey was on the nine-member board for park issues, not hunting and fishing. That little brouhaha took an appearance by Gov. Ann Richards to straighten out, but life did go on.

At last week's Commission meeting, commissioners were again considering hunting and fishing regulations. This time the issue was whether the department should renew bowfishing for catfish. It was a proposal that was originally championed by former commissioner Phil Montgomery, the man Duggins ultimately replaced.

It was a contentious issue with no support from the TPWD fisheries staff, not because of an anti-bowfishing sentiment, but because of a pro-sport fishing stance. More on that later.

The Commission's support of the regulation first approved in 2006 was also teetering. In fact, had Montgomery not overstayed his appointment almost a year because of a slow replacement strategy by the Governor's office, it may have been squelched before the public hearing process this spring.

During a Commission committee meeting Wednesday, the issues' fate was all but decided when Duggins entered the discussion.

Duggins, who was appointed to the Commission in late February, reportedly told the other commissioners something about he had researched the issue and discovered that Indians used to take fish with bows and spears.

And the Indians also ran buffalo off the side of a cliff to kill them, but with all due respect, the Indians weren't recreational fishing or hunting. They were trying to survive.

On Thursday the staff presented the issue and its argument to commissioners.

"The use of this method for taking catfish is not compatible with the status of catfish as our second most valuable game fish and the management philosophy of managing game fish populations by selective harvest which includes the use of catch and release for under-sized fish," Ken Kurzawski, TPWD's regulations/information director for Inland Fisheries, explained this week in an e-mail. "Anglers wishing to catch catfish have the opportunity to catch these fish by more legal means than any other game fish. An additional concern expressed by some sport fishing groups is the precedent set by allowing the use of a lethal method for the taking of a game fish."

When bowfishing for catfish was approved, it was called an experimental regulation and carried with it limitations that would require commissioners to extend it for another three years, make it permanently legal or drop it from the books.

Kurzawski said there was little information about what impact bowfishing would have on catfish in 2006 and not much more now. Having surveyed a small group of bow fishermen it was able to identify, the department learned that catfish quickly had become a target, but that gar and other rough fish remained more popular.

The limit for bowfishing for catfish was the same as other means, 25 per day with a 12-inch minimum for channel and blues, five per day with an 18-inch limit for flatheads.

When it came time to vote on the regulation changes, Duggins apparently had a change of heart and the Commission reversed its stance on bowfishing for catfish, making it illegal again effective Sept. 1.

Along with fixing that wrong, commissioners also prevented another. A staff proposal to move the end of quail season from the last Sunday to the last day in February was also shot down. In this case it was public pressure against an issue that hunters believed made no sense in an era of declining quail numbers in America.

Even though the department argued extension of the season anywhere from one to six days beyond its current closing date would have no biological impact, hunters said whatever birds were taken during that period were destined to be brooders.

This issue came down to one thing: the department's perceived need to provide more hunter opportunity versus the hunters' desire to do whatever it can to protect the future of quail hunting. It was the right choice.

Overall, this was a light year for regulation changes. Others approved by commissioners include:

This includes the Faulkner lakes in Tyler and Lindale, Harvey Lake on the UT Tyler campus, Lower Overton in Overton, Rusk City Lake in Rusk and a number of others in East Texas. It does not include lakes inside a state park.

Anglers may temporarily retain a largemouth bass 24 inches or longer on Purtis Creek State Park Lake and Lake Raven in Huntsville State Park for possible donation to the ShareLunker program.

Steve Knight is the outdoor writer for the Tyler Morning Telegraph. He can be reached by calling 903-596-6277 or by e-mail at outdoor@tylerpaper.com.

Steve Knight
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