Spotted sea trout season closed in the South Zone of Florida November 1, and remains closed to all harvest through December 31. The South Zone is described as all waters south of Volusia-Flagler County line on the east coast, and south of Fred Howard Park on the west coast. All areas north of this zone will be closed to seatrout harvest during the month of February.
Seatrout season is closed during these periods to help assure enough of the fish population survives to keep the seatrout stocks stable. November, December and February were selected as the closure months because seatrout have a higher release survival rate during periods of cooler weather.
Recreational and commercial fishermen have been awaiting the upcoming November 16-17 meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) which has recently intimated the possibility of relaxing the rules on spotted seatrout because of an improvement in the overall population.
Proposed trout rule changes include the elimination of closed seasons for recreational anglers, expanding the commercial season for seatrout from three months to five, allowing for the commercial trip limit to be increased from 75 to 150 per day if two licensed fishermen are aboard the vessel, and the allowance of a 75 trout bycatch for commercial fishermen using beach or haul seine net gear.
These proposed changes have been met with reluctance by many of the state’s conservation groups and fishing clubs that along with their members feel the seatrout population has not experienced a comeback dramatic enough to relax the current regulations on the species. Among the groups that have written letters to the state in hopes of encouraging FWC Commissioners to vote against any change in the current seatrout rules are the Coastal Conservation Association, the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and the Snook Foundation.
The FWC meeting on spotted seatrout rules will take place at the Key Largo Grande Resort and Beach Club, 97000 South Overseas Hwy., Key Largo. Meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day with time set aside for public comment. For a complete agenda of the FWC November 16-17 meeting, including presentations on spotted seatrout, redfish and more, visit www.MyFWC.com.
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Seatrout season is closed during these periods to help assure enough of the fish population survives to keep the seatrout stocks stable. November, December and February were selected as the closure months because seatrout have a higher release survival rate during periods of cooler weather.
Recreational and commercial fishermen have been awaiting the upcoming November 16-17 meeting of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) which has recently intimated the possibility of relaxing the rules on spotted seatrout because of an improvement in the overall population.
Proposed trout rule changes include the elimination of closed seasons for recreational anglers, expanding the commercial season for seatrout from three months to five, allowing for the commercial trip limit to be increased from 75 to 150 per day if two licensed fishermen are aboard the vessel, and the allowance of a 75 trout bycatch for commercial fishermen using beach or haul seine net gear.
These proposed changes have been met with reluctance by many of the state’s conservation groups and fishing clubs that along with their members feel the seatrout population has not experienced a comeback dramatic enough to relax the current regulations on the species. Among the groups that have written letters to the state in hopes of encouraging FWC Commissioners to vote against any change in the current seatrout rules are the Coastal Conservation Association, the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and the Snook Foundation.
The FWC meeting on spotted seatrout rules will take place at the Key Largo Grande Resort and Beach Club, 97000 South Overseas Hwy., Key Largo. Meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day with time set aside for public comment. For a complete agenda of the FWC November 16-17 meeting, including presentations on spotted seatrout, redfish and more, visit www.MyFWC.com.
#1 Florida fishing report site