question on legality

[Redneck]

Reading a post earlier brought a question to mind and considering the way our laws can be twisted around I think that it would be a good one for this forum.

Here is the scenario. You go out fishing, catch a legal sized crappie right off the bat and put it in your livewell. You fish for several more hours and catch nothing. The lone fish in your livewell is still healthy and releasable by your estimation.

Can you legally release that fish or could it fall under the no culling rule? Yes I know culling is releasing one fish to be replaced by another fish. But could it be construed a different way and end up biting you in the behind?

[Radioactive]

I wouldn't think they could stretch the law THAT far. However, if it were dead or dying and you threw it away, or back in the water it would fall under the wanton waste law.

[cook]

Absolutley legal to release it,just think,all the bass turneys release them after weigh in.

[beagle man]

they have different rules for tournaments and no fishing regulation can be based on what goes on in a tournament, seperate rules from you and me average fisherman, having said that. I would say release the fish. either in the lake or the trash bin. it's your fish, to do as you see fit, I don't see how it could be called culling. I do It done it for years, will keep on doing it till I am told by a conservation agent that it is illegal and to not do it. If that ever happens, then I will take said fish home and clean it and eat it and gripe till I die about a stupid rule,

just my opinion

[kazualobzerver]

Done it often enough to be given a life sentence if it's illegal. Agents in Missouri are professional and logical from my experiences. They are charged with enforcing regulations and people that I've seen get citations deserved them two fold.

[JohnnyLaw]

other than tournaments i`ve never heard of culling as being a rule or law. in my entire life personally or professionally i have never heard of anybody getting fined for releasing a fish from the livewell, i do it almost everytime i go fishing, that is if i catch anything

[insuranceguy]

Well if it is illegal then someone needs to go set at the Aunts Creek Ramp on Table Rock and write tickets to the idiots that release all the bass in the middle of August after their tourney's that are belly up and floating by the next morning. I think I counted somewhere between 5-10 one saturday morning last year.

[rugsrme]

Seems the regs refer to releasing smaller fish to keep larger fish.
I think it would be a real stretch to give a guy a ticket for simply releasing healthy fish if you didn't feel like cleaning them, if it is illegal, I dito what beagleman said.

[coreymassey]

I came very close last summer to getting a ticket for this very thing. I was catfishing a small conservation lake a had a C.O. watching me from the bank (I was in a boat) I had keep 2 already, when I landed another one that was bigger which gave me 3 fish (limits 4). I elected right then to release the smallest fish I had. I keep fishing not catching anything else, when I went to the ramp THE MAN meet me there with ticket book in hand wanting to see my fish. When I showed them to him (keep in mind I only have 2) he says, "wheres your others I know your over your limit I've been watchin you."
I say I dont know what your talkin about n he then proseed to search the boat, not finding anything. He then states the culling laws n tells me not to do it anymore. What a pr**k

[JohnnyLaw]

the reg says you can not replace a smaller fish with a larger one, doesnt say anything about releasing a lone fish.