Texas Regulation Changes 2025

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has extended mandatory white-tailed deer antler restrictions (MLDP-style minimum: at least 13-inch inside spread OR 4 or more points on one side) to 57 additional counties beginning with the 2025 general season. The expansion follows years of data showing improved buck age structure in counties already under restriction. Hunters in newly added counties should verify their county's status in the 2025 Outdoor Annual before the season opener. Legal bucks must meet spread or point requirements; any deer with hardened antler and legal points qualifies.

Texas has banned all commercial harvest of alligator gar statewide and reduced the sport angling daily bag limit to one fish per day for 2025. Alligator gar populations have been declining in many Texas river systems due to habitat alteration and historic overexploitation. The commercial ban removes a major harvest pressure vector, while the sport bag reduction aligns Texas with neighboring states. TPWD will continue to monitor population trends using boat electrofishing and tagging studies on the Trinity, Guadalupe, and Rio Grande river systems.

TPWD reduced the largemouth bass minimum length limit from 14 inches to 12 inches at Sam Rayburn Reservoir and several Toledo Bend tributary impoundments for the 2025 season. Electrofishing surveys documented overpopulation of intermediate-size bass, causing stunted growth rates and reduced forage availability. Reducing the minimum size encourages harvest of fish in the 12–14-inch class to improve overall population structure and long-term trophy potential. The change is experimental and will be evaluated through follow-up surveys in 2026.