PIERRE PART — New fishing regulations for much of the Atchafalaya Basin region will take effect on Aug. 1, decreasing the number of bass and crappie anglers can keep in the area, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced Thursday. 

Statewide regulations allow for a daily creel of 10 bass and 50 crappie per person, per day. The new basin regulations, introduced by the recently passed Senate Bill 111, cut those creels in half and impose new size limits for those fishing the Atchafalaya Basin and its surrounding waterways. 

Starting Aug. 1, those anglers can keep no more than five black bass, and none of them can be smaller than 12 inches. Black bass include largemouth, Florida and spotted bass, as well as their hybrids. 

For crappie, fishermen will be allowed to keep up to 25 fish, with a minimum size of 8 inches. These limits cover black crappie, white crappie and their hybrids. 

See a map of the full area covered by the new regulations below. Major bodies of water affected include Henderson Lake, Grassy Lake, Lake Verret, Lake Palourde and the majority of the Atchafalaya Basin. 

SB 111 was authored by Republican State Senator Caleb Kleinpeter and passed into law as Act. No. 460.