RECREATIONAL FISHING GEAR

Methods of Taking Fish

Freshwater fish and saltwater recreational fish may be taken by means of rod, fishing pole, hook and line, trolling line, handline, bait casting, fly casting apparatus, by use of the devices known as yo-yos or trigger devices, bow and arrow, recreational wire nets and recreational slat traps, recreational hoop nets,
standard spearing equipment used by a diver sport fishing in saltwater or freshwater when submerged in the water, recreational pipes, recreational buckets, recreational drums, recreational cans, recreational shrimp trawls and recreational crawfish nets and traps, and by no other means except a barbed or barbless spear used in saltwater for taking flounder. NOTE: Certain species of game fish may not be taken with some gear listed above. Crossbows are not a legal method.

No person shall take or possess fish taken by means of spears, poisons, stupefying substances or devices, explosives, guns, tree-topping devices, electricity or any instrument or device capable of producing an electric current used in shocking said fish. No person shall take or possess game fish taken by means of snagging devices, not including bow and arrow. Catfish may be taken by means of snagging devices. Garfish may be taken by means of spears and bows and arrows. It shall be unlawful to possess any of the prohibited instruments, weapons, substances or devices set out hereinabove with the intent to take fish.

Minnows, crawfish, shrimp and other legal bait species, not including game fish, may be taken with legal cast nets, minnow traps, dip nets and bait seines when taken in compliance with all other laws. Legal bait species may be taken with bait seines with a maximum mesh size not exceeding one-quarter inch mesh bar,
one-half inch mesh stretched and thirty feet in length. Bait seines must be operated on foot and solely by hand, without any pulley, mechanical device or mechanical assistance whatsoever. Dip nets may not exceed three feet in diameter and must be operated solely by hand, by no more than one person and
without any mechanical assistance whatsoever.

Bream (Lepomis spp.) may not be taken as bait for sportfishing purposes in any form of trap except at Toledo Bend Reservoir, where a minnow trap not exceeding 24 inches in length and having a throat no larger than one inch by three inches may be used to take bream for non-commercial bait purposes.

Skin divers fishing for sport in freshwater, when submerged in the water and using standard spearing equipment, or any person using a bow and arrow, or any person using or possessing nets or traps, including recreational hoop nets, recreational slat traps, recreational pipes, recreational buckets, recreational drums, recreational tires, recreational cans, recreational wire nets and recreational crawfish traps may not take or possess any largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), spotted bass (M. punctulatus), black or white crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus, P. annularis), white bass (Morone chrysops), yellow bass (M. mississipiensis), striped bass (M. saxatilis), hybrid striped bass (striped bass-white bass cross) or any species of bream.

Mobility impaired persons, as defined in R.S. 47:463.4(E), that are bona fide residents of Louisiana and over 60 years of age, may use a single recreational hoop net in any waters of the state. The net must be no greater than eighteen feet by eight feet. Catch is restricted to catfish and used only for home consumption.

Recreational wire nets shall only be used for the taking of legal sized catfish. Recreational wire nets and recreational hoop nets may only be used in the area located north of Interstate 12 from where it crosses the Louisiana/Mississippi state line westward to the city of Baton Rouge, the areas located north of Interstate 10 from the city of Baton Rouge westward to where it crosses the Louisiana/Texas state line.

Recreational crawfish traps shall be marked with a waterproof tag, provided by the fisherman, with the name and recreational gear license number of the fisherman legibly printed on the tag. The minimum mesh size for the nets used to harvest wild crawfish shall be a hexagon of three-quarters by eleven-sixteenths of one inch. This measurement shall be from wire to wire, and any coating on the wire shall not be considered in computing the measurements.

ADDITIONAL GEAR RESTRICTIONS

In addition to the general method of take restrictions listed above, some Louisiana waterbodies have specific gear restrictions and are listed below.

Black Lake/Clear Lake/Prairie Lake
Yo-Yo restrictions
No yo-yo or trigger device with a hook in the water may be left unattended between two hours after official sunrise and one-half hour after official sunset. The device will be considered unattended if the user cannot be located and identified within the immediate vicinity of the device.

Hoop nets and wire nets
Hoop nets and wire nets must be marked with a waterproof tag with the name and address of the fisherman and his fishing license number.

Caddo Lake
Yo-Yo restrictions

1. No resident shall have set in the water for the taking of recreational or commercial fish in Caddo Lake more than 24 yo-yos or other trigger devices. Each yo-yo or other trigger device shall be clearly marked with the name and address of the user.
2. No resident shall leave a yo-yo or trigger device unattended in Caddo Lake while it is set in the water for taking fish, except from one-half hour after official sunset to one-half hour before official sunrise. A yo-yo or trigger device shall be deemed unattended when the user cannot be immediately located for identification therewith without leaving the location of the yo-yo or trigger device.
3. No person who is a nonresident shall set in the water, use, or leave a yo-yo or trigger device at any time in Caddo Lake.

Chicot Lake
Yo-Yo restrictions

1. Fishing with the use of yo-yos or trigger devices shall be permitted on Chicot Lake only from Nov. 1 through March 1 of each year.
2. Not more than 24 yo-yos or trigger devices shall be allowed per boat
3. Each yo-yo must be tagged with the name of the responsible party, the registration number of the boat and the date and time the yo-yo was set.
4. All yo-yos must be attended and re-tagged at least every 48 hours.

Cypress Lake and Black Bayou Reservoir, Bossier Parish Hoop nets, wire nets and slat traps

1. Hoop nets, wire nets and slat traps are prohibited from March 1 - October 31st of each year.
2. All hoop nets, wire nets and slat traps shall be removed from the lakes prior to March 1 of each year.

Lake D'Arbonne
Yo-Yo restrictions

1. No more than fifty yo-yos, or trigger devices, shall be allowed per person.
2. Each yo-yo, or trigger device, shall be clearly tagged with the name, address, and telephone number of the owner or user.
3. When used, each yo-yo or trigger device, shall be checked at least once every twenty-four hours, and all fish, and any other animal caught or hooked, shall be immediately removed from the device.
4. Each yo-yo or trigger device must be rebaited at least once every twenty-four hours.
5. When not being used in accordance to the above regulations, each yo-yo or trigger device shall be removed immediately from Lake D'Arbonne.
6. No yo-yo or trigger device shall be attached to any metallic object.

Trotline Restrictions

1. All trotlines must be marked, tagged, and dated with the owner or user's name, address, phone number, and the date of placement. The trotline must be marked on each end with a floating object that is readily visible.
2. No person shall set more than three trotlines with a maximum of fifty hooks per trotline.
3. All trotlines must be removed from Lake D'Arbonne when not in use.
4. All trotlines must have an eight foot cotton leader on each end of the trotline to insure that if the trotline is left unattended, the cotton leader will deteriorate and the line will sink.
5. All trotlines must be attended daily while in service.

Poverty Point

1. No person shall possess, set, or use any recreational hoop nets, recreational wire nets, yo-yos, trotlines, or slat traps.