At Tuesday’s Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was given to establish rules for allowable sizes of Spotted Seatrout and Red Drum fillets while on the water as directed in Act 36 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session. This rule will only apply to licensed anglers who can demonstrate to the department’s satisfaction use of a boat launch located south of U.S. Highway 90 and that the angler has been actively on the water or at a remote camp that can be accessed only by water for two days or more. The rule will allow anglers to possess up to twice the daily bag limit of filleted Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout.
The commission intends to establish a minimum and maximum fillet size limit for Spotted Seatrout of eight inches and 13 inches, respectively, with an allowance of eight individual Spotted Seatrout fillets over 13 inches to account for the two Spotted Seatrout allowed over the slot limit. The commission further intends to establish a minimum and maximum fillet size limit for Red Drum of 10 inches and 18 inches, respectively. The commission also intends to establish an allowable number of Spotted Seatrout fillets at 60 and an allowable number of Red Drum fillets at 16, with an allowance for undersized and oversized fillets.
Interested persons may submit comments relative to the proposed rule upon publication in the State Register on February 20 to Jason Adriance, LDWF Finfish Program Manager, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898, or via email to jadriance@wlf.la.gov through March 27, 2026.