The late fall and winter meetings of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission don’t always produce a lot of significant news for outdoorsmen.

But this week’s meeting provided a few details that are actually worth mentioning.

The TWRC announced several changes to the state’s sport fishing regulations that are sure to raise the eyebrows of bass fishermen.

These new regulations will go into effect March 1, 2008:

** An 18-inch size minimum limit for smallmouth bass will be implemented on most state reservoirs with only a few exceptions. The size limit for smallmouth will be 15 inches on Kentucky Lake and 16 inches on South Watauga and Boone Reservoirs.

** The TWRC also removed the creel limit for spotted bass on Norris Reservoir. The spotted bass creel limit was increased from five to 15 for the upper end of Chickamauga Reservoir. They’re just trying to head off any potential problems with overpopulation.