# Red drum and flounder regulation changes?



## lampern (Jun 1, 2022)

Do you think they need to change?

Multiple choices allowed in poll

-Changes being looked at by DNR-


----------



## lampern (Jun 1, 2022)

Red drum size limits by state:

Virginia 18-26 inch slot
North Carolina 18-27 inch slot
South Carolina 15-23 inch slot
Georgia 14-23 inch slot
Florida  18-27 inch slot
Alabama  16-26" slot with one oversize fish allowed per day


----------



## Doboy Dawg (Jun 2, 2022)

Texas and Alabama allow one oversize redfish.  Why can’t Georgia?


----------



## Redbow (Jun 2, 2022)

You can rest assured. Many people who fish in saltwater do not follow the law on creel nor size limits here in NC. The chances of getting caught with illegal fish are slim. With all the fishing I have done over the last 3 decades I have only been checked 5 times while fishing in the salt. But we do follow the law with creel and size limits. I guess we are kinda foolish to do so. The last time we even saw the marine fisheries officer was over near Swansboro NC. He pulled up beside out boat and asked if we had caught anything I told him no and reached for our fishing license. He said, that's okay I don't want to see anything and away he went.


----------



## Mexican Squealer (Jun 2, 2022)

I say keep flounder the same and mandatory catch and release on reds....plenty of other (better) fish to eat.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Jun 2, 2022)

Mexican Squealer said:


> I say keep flounder the same and mandatory catch and release on reds....plenty of other (better) fish to eat.


I think they're going stupid with flounder. NC now has a two-week season (!) for recreational flounder in September, with a 15" size limit and four per day. They're trying to go to one per day next year. 

You can still go out there with a ship and a big net and catch and sell them, though.


----------



## Redbow (Jun 2, 2022)

NCHillbilly said:


> I think they're going stupid with flounder. NC now has a two-week season (!) for recreational flounder in September, with a 15" size limit and four per day. They're trying to go to one per day next year.
> 
> You can still go out there with a ship and a big net and catch and sell them, though.



Oh the fools in Raleigh will never stop the netting here all the commercial guys are Gods on the water, you know producing first quality seafood for everyone, yeah right. And if people don't think even with the closures for Flounder that commercials and recreational fishermen alike are not keeping flounder they are blind.


----------



## lampern (Jun 2, 2022)

I don't think Georgia has much in the way of commercial fishing unlike NC


----------



## jfish (Jun 2, 2022)

Reds are in decline in a bad way.  Have been for several years.  Small juveniles to say 16" fish are just not around like years past.  Someone said keep red overslot?  Why?  They are not good to eat over that anyway.  

Flounder need a larger lower limit.  I would go 14".  12" is just to small and 15 is WAY to many.  If they are filet size that is four filets off of one fish.  Multiply that next time your cooler is full.

Trout is never mentioned but needs a slot also.  14 to 18 with one over slot.  The bag limit however is WAY to liberal.  15 per person is way to many if three or four people are on board.  I just saw this result last weekend.  72qt cooler filled with trout.  There needs to be a boat limit.  30 fish is plenty even if 4 people are on board.  Any trout over 18 is NOT a good eating fish.  They are also the breeder females.  

Do some better management for two years maybe three we would have the best fishery in a very long time.  No one from DNR management will listen.  Officers are spead thin to be on the water (on the coast) also.  We see idiots and violations of the above numerous times a year.

Guys that fish for bull reds, tarpon, and other scale fish also need to be WAY more considerate of the fishery.  Taking these fish out of the water or taking them out for a longer amount of time results in dead fish.  Yet you cant get people to understand.

Guys that fish for sharks....... have at it.  They are along with red snapper are killing our offshore reef fishery.  You can hardly get anything past sharks.  I dont mean one at the boat, most of the time its 10 or more.  Fall in?  Your screwed.  Red Snapper, the idiots at NOAA gave us two days again.  Reds can be caught with sight of shore.  When it used to be black bass you caught now its reds.  

Until they listen it will never change.  When they do it will be too late.


----------



## Redbow (Jun 2, 2022)

lampern said:


> I don't think Georgia has much in the way of commercial fishing unlike NC



Neither did SC not with inshore netting anyway.


----------



## marlin (Jun 2, 2022)

I think the redfish slot for ga and sc are good. They could lower the creel limit to two or three fish. Personally I would like to see flounder gigging banned or either tighter restrictions and/or regulations on gigging. As far as trout, leave the creel limit as is and go to one fish over 18 or 19 inches and all above released. Just my thoughts. Yes, I know the comment above about flounder gigging isn’t going to be popular with most. Sorry about it.


----------



## lampern (Jun 8, 2022)

https://flylordsmag.com/georgia-coasts-redfish-on-the-decline-will-management-change/


----------



## lampern (Jun 9, 2022)

Public comments can be submitted

https://coastalgadnr.org/RedDrumTownHall

And this seems to be pushed by the Georgia fishing guides, not the DNR


----------



## lampern (Jun 11, 2022)

For booger and others interested in red drum:


----------



## charlie81 (Jun 12, 2022)

I see guys keeping multiple bull reds every year on the Jekyll pier. They’ll filet them right after catching and throw the meat in a cooler. What’s the point if regs if there’s no one to enforce them?


----------



## cuda67bnl (Jun 13, 2022)

charlie81 said:


> I see guys keeping multiple bull reds every year on the Jekyll pier. They’ll filet them right after catching and throw the meat in a cooler. What’s the point if regs if there’s no one to enforce them?



Did you report them? Or say anything to them? How else would dnr know so they can enforce?


----------



## jfish (Jun 13, 2022)

As normal the DNR Fisheries Management observe only data..aka "numbers".  They do not survey on the water that I see other than maybe some shocking perhaps.  They are relying on surveys from a license program??  Its flawed.  Folks for the most part do not want too or are trying to get a license as quick as possible and do not fill out any part of it correct.  Its been going on for years yet they still use the same process and stand by there flawed data.  Most of it is years behind.  That I do not understand.  These guides make a living on the water.  They are not trying to damage the fishery they want it to improve or at least substain itself.  

Kathy states in the video they dont see a problem based upon there data.  WOW.  These people are all in agreement that there is a problem.  These people are on the water 200 days a year.

As I stated above they will not change anything until its too late.  We started practicing catch and release years ago just to try and help.  So far it hasnt.


----------



## Scallen (Aug 10, 2022)

Reds are a blast to catch, but they taste like crap. Not sure why anyone would want to keep one over the current slot anyway - that would be nasty table fare.


----------



## lampern (Aug 26, 2022)

https://gon.com/news/georgia-proposes-lower-redfish-limits


----------



## perryrip (Oct 18, 2022)

jfish said:


> Reds are in decline in a bad way.  Have been for several years.  Small juveniles to say 16" fish are just not around like years past.  Someone said keep red overslot?  Why?  They are not good to eat over that anyway.
> 
> Flounder need a larger lower limit.  I would go 14".  12" is just to small and 15 is WAY to many.  If they are filet size that is four filets off of one fish.  Multiply that next time your cooler is full.
> 
> ...


----------

