NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Fisheries Division has released its 2023 fishing regulation proposals.
One of the proposed changes is looking to establish a limit on the amount of largemouth and smallmouth bass that can be caught per season at Douglas Lake.
If approved, the rule would limit largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass catches to a combined total of five fish per day year-round. From June 1 to Sept 30, five bass per day could be caught. Only one can be a largemouth or a smallmouth over 16 inches.
From Oct. 1 to May 31, five bass per day can be caught with a 12-inch minimum length limit. Spotted bass have no minimum length limit.
Another change would remove pallid and lake sturgeon from the sport fishing proclamation due to their status as threatened or endangered species.
The public is invited to provide comments on the proposed regulation changes. You can find a full list of the proposed changes here.
The deadline for sport fishing comments is Nov. 15.
To provide comments, email TWRA at fishingreg.comments@tn.gov, or write to TWRA Fisheries Division, 5107 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, TN 37211.
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote on the commercial and sport sportfish regulations at its Dec. 1-2 meeting in Memphis at the Ducks Unlimited Headquarters. If approved, the changes would go into effect March 1, 2023.