NGPC Southeast District to test protected 15–18 inch bass slot and 5-fish bag on select reservoirs
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Summary
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Southeast District will implement an experimental largemouth bass regulation — a protected slot of 15–18 inches with a five-fish daily bag (no minimum for fish under 15 and one fish over 18 allowed) — on four reservoirs to evaluate growth and size structure with university partners.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Southeast District announced an experimental largemouth bass regulation for several district reservoirs intended to increase growth rates and produce larger fish, staff said at a Jan. 2025 public meeting.
“A protected slot of 15 to 18 inches and a 5 fish daily bag,” said Aaron Blank, Southeast District supervisor. Blank clarified the rule is structured so there is no minimum length for fish under 15 inches, anglers may keep fish under 15, only one fish over 18 inches is allowed in the daily bag, and the 15–18 inch range is protected.
The rule will be implemented on Prairie Queen, Prairie View, Duck Creek and Wagon Train (Wagon Train has not yet filled), Blank said. The district said the measure is experimental: staff will evaluate whether targeted harvest of smaller bass relieves density-dependent growth suppression and leads to a larger size structure.
To evaluate the regulation, NGPC will partner with the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources co-op unit. Two master’s students are slated to assist: one will focus on bass population dynamics (age structure, age and growth, condition, population estimates and tagging) and the other will conduct creel surveys to measure angler catch and harvest. Blank said tagging and creel work will be used to determine whether anglers are harvesting smaller bass under the new rule and whether that produces improved size structure over time.
Ending: NGPC staff asked anglers to cooperate with creel surveyors and to contact district staff with observations; the agency emphasized the regulation’s success depends on harvest of smaller bass under 15 inches.