Texas Jug Fishing Laws
Texas is well known for many things and one of those is it’s big catfish. Because of this reputation of producing big catfish it’s no secret that jug fishing for catfish is so popular. Before you get started jug fishing in Texas you need to make sure that you are following all of the rules and regulations for building your catfish juglines. You also need to make sure that once you get on your local lake or river in Texas and get started catfishing with you jugs that you are still in compliance with the laws.
Here is a brief summary of the jug fishing regulations in Texas as of January 1st, 2011. These Texas jug fishing regulations are updated each year so you need to make sure you stay current. They are typically updated in September of each year.
Texas Jug Fishing Regulations
Must have less than 5 hooks
Must be used to take NON GAME FISH (channel, blue and flathead catfish only)
Must have a valid gear tag within 6 inches of the jug and include the anglers name, address and phone number as well as the date they were set. The gear tag is valid for 30 days from the date on the tag.
Jug lines used for no commercial purposes must be white in color.
Commercial jugs must be orange in color.
Juglines may not be used in the following water bodies:
Community Fishing Lakes
Reservoirs or sections of rivers within boundaries of a state park
Lake Bastrop
Bellwood Lake
Lake Bryan
Boerne City Lake
Lakes Coffee Mill
Davy Crockett
Dixieland Reservoir
Gibbons Creek Reservoir
North Concho River
Lake Pflugerville
South Concho River
Tankersley Reservoir
Once you have researched all of your state and local laws and built your jugline setups you should be ready to get started catfishing.
Choose some good catfish baits for your area like catfish bait soap, shad or some other productive catfish bait and you can get started catching fish.
Once you get ready to advance into some more productive catfishing techniques you should check out the jug fishing tips and trick at Learn To Catch Catfish and the book How To Make The Best Catfish Jugs.
