Changes proposed to white bass regulations statewide

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
15A NCAC 10C .0318 WHITE BASS

The proposed amendment to the Rule will modify the general statewide regulations for White
Bass by establishing a minimum size limit of 14 inches and reducing the daily creel limit from
25 fish to 10 fish.
The proposed change to this Rule is necessary to allow White Bass the opportunity to spawn at
least once before becoming vulnerable to harvest by anglers. This is necessary in order to sustain
the White Bass fisheries in Piedmont reservoirs.

Fiscal Impact

State Impact
This rule amendment will have no impact as the change is part of routine fisheries management.

Local Impact
This rule has no local government impact.

Private Impact

No substantial fiscal impacts are anticipated. While the proposed rule change will alter what
anglers may harvest, they are not expected to impact overall participation in fishing. The
Commission does not have a mechanism to determine the specific fiscal impact of the proposed
change.
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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
A
lthough no studies have specifically looked at sexual maturity of white bass in Central Texas, fisheries biologists think that males become sexually mature at age one (8-9 inches) and females at age two (12-13 inches). This would be similar to fast growing populations in Tennessee and Arkansas. No studies in the Southern United States found significant numbers of female white bass less than 10 inches that were reproductively mature. A white bass weighs approximately 0.5 pounds at 10 inches and 0.9 pounds at 12 inches.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/pwd_br_t3200_0022e/biology.phtml
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
A 1951 study of the white bass population in Herrington Lake, KY shows that all female bass 11.4 inches and greater in length were mature. Further the average size of sexually mature females was 10.4 inches.

2 year old fish (age group I) seemed to make up the bulk of mature females.

The biologists further state that if a size limit is warranted in the future, it must be a minimum of 11 inches to be effective.


http://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Documents/FishBulletin008.pdf
 
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