At today's meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission issued a declaration of emergency which will allow licensed commercial fishermen to fish gill or trammel nets on Poverty Point Reservoir in Richland Parish for an additional month in 2020 to give fishermen an additional opportunity to take advantage of good fishing conditions and current markets. The season will be extended until sunset on March 31st. A recurring season has been established to run from October 1 through the last day of February each year.
The netting season on Poverty Point Reservoir has been in effect since 2017 and was recommended by LDWF Inland fisheries biologists as an effort to reduce the abundance of commercial fish species while allowing the opportunity to take advantage of an under-utilized natural resource. Abundant populations of catfish, buffalo, carp, and freshwater drum have been identified in the 2,700-acre lake. The LDWF sees this as a valuable management tool that should provide benefit to the overall fishery.
Licensed commercial fishermen are encouraged to participate in this special season. Interested fishermen should first call the Trip Ticket office at 225-765-3588 to receive a special code for fishing Poverty Point Reservoir and receive instruction on the program. They should then contact either Poverty Point Reservoir State Park (318-878-7536) or the LDWF District 2 office in Monroe (318-343-4044) for further instructions, including fishing boundaries, State Park regulations, and other requirements.
For more information, contact Ryan Daniel, District 2 Fisheries Biologist Manager, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at 318-343-4044 or rdaniel@wlf.la.gov .
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting many of Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb or follow us on Twitter @LDWF. To receive email alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.