Changes include reduced fees, changes to methods of take, much more

Printed copies of the 2008 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary won't be available until early January, but anglers should be aware of several new regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2008. The most welcome changes should be reduction of youth trout and paddlefish fees, as well as a reduction of the 24-hour fishing license fee. Other changes affect gigging, length and creel limits, black bass tournaments, and more.

The following information details Kansas fishing regulation changes for 2008:
Trout

• Willow Lake in Tuttle Creek State Park has been added to the list of waters where a trout permit is required for all anglers from Oct. 15 through April 15; and
• Lake Shawnee in Shawnee County requires anglers fishing for or possessing trout to have a trout permit Oct. 15-April 15.

Methods of Take

• gigging is now a legal method for taking nonsport fish, and
• barbless hooks are no longer required for paddlefish snagging on the Neosho River.

Aquatic Nuisance Species

• diploid (fertile) grass carp have been added to the list of species illegal to import or possess in Kansas.

Length and Creel Limits

• the wiper creel limit was increased from two per day to five per day at Coldwater City Lake, Douglas County Lonestar Lake, John Redmond Reservoir, Leavenworth State Fishing Lake, Paola’s Lake Miola, and Lake Shawnee;
• a 20-inch minimum length limit and one-fish creel limit on brown trout has been established in the Mined Land Wildlife Area;
• a creel limit of five per day has been established on blue catfish at Wilson Reservoir; and
• a 35-inch minimum length limit has been established on blue catfish at Wilson, Cheney, and El Dorado reservoirs.

Paddlefish

• all paddlefish snagged must be kept, except on the Kansas-Missouri boundary waters, where there is a 24-inch length limit.;

Fees Reduced

• youth 15 and younger no longer have to possess a trout permit to fish during the trout season in designated trout waters, but there is a daily creel limit of two trout for those youth (unless they purchase a trout permit, which allows a full daily trout creel limit);
• a youth paddlefish permit fee has been established at $5 for anglers 15 years and younger; and
• the 24-hour fishing license fee has been reduced to $5.15.

Black Bass tournaments

• minimum weigh-in procedures for all black bass fishing tournaments featuring weigh-ins have been established, holding them to similar standards currently required of tournaments in which participants hold a black bass pass.

More detailed information is available in the 2008 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary booklet, now available online. The 2008 booklet also features state park information and detailed regulations for each body of water managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP).

In addition, a full-color fish identification guide lists all the state's sportfish, complete with text descriptions and detailed illustrations by renowned fish illustrator Joseph Tomelleri. Look-alike species are grouped together with complementary text to help the angler discern the difference between such closely-related species as white bass and wipers, blue catfish and channel catfish, the state's three black basses, black and white crappie, pallid and shovelnose sturgeon, and others.

The booklet also provides the latest information about invasive species in Kansas waters. Two pages are dedicated to this subject, complete with detailed illustrations and tips on how to prevent the spread of exotic species of plants, mollusks, and fish.

Anglers who want to contact a district fisheries biologist will find a listing of names and phone numbers of the nearest biologist, as well as regional supervisors. A listing of natural resource officer contacts is also included.
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