By JIM BUTLER
A sage once said fishing and fiction are inseparable. Yet another offered numbers don’t lie.
Those observations pretty much summarize the current status of efforts to change sport fishery rules on Saline-Larto.
The Wildlife & Fisheries Commission at its February meeting took no action on the request from local government after hearing an updated2025 resource report from fisheries biologist Shelby Richard.
Anglers and their representatives want limits on crappie and bass taken from the sprawling waterway reduced, from 50 daily, no minimum size limit for crappie to 25 and 10” and from 10 daily, no minimum size limit for bass to 8 and 14”.
Their concern is promoted by apparent numbers of small fish kept by some fishermen and recollections of numbers and size of fish caught in years past.
Richard told the commission that catch studies show the fish are still there and size is not a big issue.
He said study results from 2025 found relative crappie abundance at the highest level ever measured.
Growth rates are slower than the state average but showed improvement, he noted.
Black crappie catches indicated a large number of smaller fish population. Catch rate of fish 8 inches or longer was comparable to the five-year average.
White crappie catches indicated a relatively stable count and the highest catch record of 10 to 12-inch fish, Richard reported.
Bass counts in 2025 were the fourth highest of catch surveys previously conducted in the complex with strong numbers of “stock” fish (8-12 inches).
Age-growth rates were faster than the state average, with the better numbers on the east side of the complex, a combination of water quality and habitat factors.
State Rep. Mike Johnson, who spoke on behalf of the concerned anglers, said he was encouraged by the findings though they don’t match up with the anglers’ view and said he would further study the findings before drawing conclusions.
The Commission left open the possibility of revisiting the matter after members likewise have time to study the data.
- Some of this report was initially published by Louisiana Sportsman.