Hi, I haven't yet been fishing in Mo. Relocating close to lakes and am planning on getting back to it as I used to be an avid fisherman.
I was reading on here about two people in a boat had to keep their fish separate. This doesn't make sense; surely that is not correct. Most small boats under $20,000 have only one livewell. Who would make such a law? Only someone who thought we all could afford over $20,000 boats?
Say it isn't true and that I misread.
My wife & I would use the one livewell. Would we be illegal?
They can be in the same livewell they just need to be identifiable as the fish you caught. Just run a safety pin through the lips of your fish, or clip a fin, or something like that.
My boat is way under 20K but has two livewells. However it is easy to handle with one livewell in several ways. One person tosses them in a livewell, and one puts them on a chain stringer. Livewell divider if yours has that option. Picnic cooler with some ice and water in it, instant livewell (well actually a death well, but is a great choice in summer). You can put tags on one persons fish, use a fish basket etc. etc. The idea is to have the fish identifiable for each fisherman, not party fishing or putting them all in one big container. I fished for years with no live well at all, just fish basket or cooler, never any problem, actually liked the cooler option, fish were nice and cold, and already in a container, didn't have to dig them all out of the livewell when I got home and ready to clean them.
like ghost said, they can be in the same livewell...just be able to identify who caught what....you can have 5 different people throwing fish in the same cooler...just put an identifier on the fish each person caught...clipping fins works great..one person doesn't clip, one clips tail, one clips dorsal, one clips pectoral...etc. etc...once you start doing it..it really becomes second nature and doesn't take hardly any time at all. the reason for the rule is because "party" fishing is illegal in MO, this rule is so the agent who checks you doesn't have to guess who caught what when there are 42 crappie in the cooler. Its your responsibility to be able to show the agent
Safety pin sounds like an easy idea. The law sounds strange as I haven't run into it where I am from.
When we had one lw we kept scissors by the "guest" in the boat and it was his/her responsibility to clip the dorsal fin of the fish they added to the lw. We now have two lws and if we had three then that third person will have the job of fin snipper.
iv used 3 to 1 livewell 1 leaves all fins on 1 cut left fin 1 cut right fin
never had any trouble yet
I use a hole punch. Quick and easy.
:hesaid, we use a hole punch and have been checked several times. As long as they are marked it's legal.
In Texas, It is a combined total. For Catfish, the daily total for each person is 25. If you have 2 people in the boat, your total catch cannot be over 50. Doesnt matter if you catch 40 and your friend catches 6, you are under the total allowed limit, you are legal.
Well this isn't Texas and are rules would say the guy with 40 is 15 over his limit and it would cost you!!!! You are not to be able l to catch someone else fish!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by PanfishHunter
I used the hole punch.
6ft. walmart stringer
In my opinion, this particular law is a useless pain in the butt. It may prevent some honest folks from party fishing, but if individuals want to party fish this law does nothing to stop them. Once an individual has a limit or is within a fish or two of their limit they can begin to mark the fish they catch the way their buddy or wife is marking, or start throwing them in the other side of the livewell. To make an overlimit case the law officer has to do the work and observe them fishing and count the fish each individual keeps. Very hard to do if they move around the lake at all. Again, this law is a pain, especially for a family with two or three kids, and does (in my opinion) absolutely nothing for the fisheries resource.
For what putting paper in your 3 ring binder? :RoflQuote:
Originally Posted by Joedog
Glad I don't fish in misery !!! :yikes!!!
You read correctly, fishermen/hunters/trappers must always keep their fish/game separate or identifiable. This enables the accurate identification of the taker’s specific wildlife during inspection. This shouldn’t be viewed as a hassle, rather it helps you. If you know your fish are legal then you have no trouble during inspections. If your fishing partner were to measure incorrectly and put a short fish in the live well he might say it was not his as easily as you say it’s not yours. If you’re in compliance with this regulation it should be clear who’s fish that is.
You do not need separate live wells to be in compliance with this regulation. Many fishermen clip a particular fin of their fish or use different colored stringers (within a common live well). As long as the fish/game are either separate OR identifiable you are in the clear. Feel free to call your local agent with specific methods if you have a question regarding what may or may not be distinctly identifiable.
3 CSR 10-4.137 Wildlife Identification
The taker and/or possessor of any wildlife shall keep the wildlife separate or distinctly identifiable from wildlife taken or possessed by another. When not personally attended, the wildlife shall be plainly labeled with the full name and address of the taker and/or possessor, except as provided in 3 CSR 10-6.405, 3 CSR 10-7.431 and 3 CSR 10-7.455. [fishing general provisions, deer hunting general provisions, and turkey hunting general provisions]
Daniel Schepis
Conservation Agent
Clay Co. MO
This is only a partial replication of the Wildlife Code of Missouri and is current as of 07/30/13 @ 12:52pm.
Good info,I only have 1 well and was wondering how to get around this. Thanks
Daily limits are used to spread the harvest around to more anglers. Without this rule, I could take my wife out with me and she could just throw a rod in and sunbathe while I caught two limits. Granted this rule doesn't come into play very often, but it can prevent fish populations from getting overfished when they are especially vulnerable. When bluegill or crappie are spawning and white bass are running or surfacing a limit is easy to come by. I caught a limit of 15 white bass Friday on 16 casts. Did I really need more than one limit? No. But if my wife had been along like she was the previous trip, I could've easily caught her limit as well. I released about 40 fish after my limit was in the live well. Even caught some on my fly rod. A great evening on the water. When Smithville opened, the crappie population was decimated in a year because the fishing was so good and people did the party fishing thing. It's a tough rule to enforce and the Agents were just overwhelmed with the thousands of anglers taking home limits. Folks were even taking multiple limits each day. It took almost 20 years for the crappie population to really rebound. There is a purpose to the rule.
Have fished many tour in missouri!!! We use wire ties(1000) keep in boat come in handy from wal-mart many colors and cheap,Does not hurt or mangle the fish.Just take off the fish reuse!!! easy to ID can even put your Lic no on them if needed!!
Gentlemen, this is a very valuable board to the outdoorsmen and women who use this site. The Conservation Agents who log on and answer our questions do so out of their own generosity. Their knowledge and insight is an invaluable tool for us to use. I am sure that they have far more important things going on, but they take time out of their busy lives and help us. We are all very grateful to them. That being said, I will not stand for people using this board to bash the Conservation Department or its Agents because you have a personal issue with them. If you disagree with the laws which are on the books, contact your state representatives and tell them. Do Not attack the people who are charged with enforcing those laws. If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.