I heard a game warden at sangchris say that you had to keep your catches separate.On here someone said the dnr said no .would like to know what's true.I would also like to know if someone under the age of 16 without a fishing license can keep a limit of fish if they catch them?
I called dnr today, you don't have to keep fish separate,no reason they can't keep a limit
Go fish below the damn you can keep every single crappie you catch regardless of size.
Go to Lake Mattoon no creel limit or size limit
None for crappie on Highland silver lake either.
I believe that even the game wardens don't know! A friend and I was checked several years ago and asked if we could tell him which ones was his and ones that was mine? So I believe also it really depends which game warden you get and if they are having a bad day. Or if you have a target on your back! JMOQuote:
Originally Posted by ichabod
I know for sure thats the case in Missouri but not in Ill
You can call whoever you like and get an answer, and you can believe that you are in the right until you get popped. Unless you have a notarized written statement from a official that has the authority to give it or you can show in the SOI fish and game code where it says you can do something, your taking the chance of getting SCREWED!
Each angler has a daily limit on certain lakes.
Lets say that I am a game warden and I pull up on you to run a check. It is now up to you to prove that your live well contains the correct amount of fish by length for each angler. How do you prove it??? You can keep a tally book, put them on snap hooks that are color coded, use different live wells, ETC.
If the warden wants to write a ticket they can on what they "choose" to believe, then it is on you to prove your innocence! And here is the rub!
If you live 150 mi from where your fishing and have to work a full time job, can you afford to fight the ticket?
Now if you think I am talking out my rear end, I will give you a true story that actually happened to me. This will prove that some, officials have sense and others are nazi's.
Duck hunting on Shelbyville one fall(it was sucko) saw the IDNR and they didn't bother us while we were hunting, they like to hang back with binos and try to catch you breaking law first.
They were checking everyone at the ramp when they were coming out, one male officer and one female. The guy came up and said "did you do any good", the female stated "conservation police" and we will be checking you for compliance.
My partner walked up to get the truck and she followed him all the way up and back. The guy waded out in the water and held the nose of my boat and asked about the hunting while I waited on the truck and trailer, even hooked up the strap and winched me on.
The female stated that we were to pull up to the parking area and wait.
Get parked and the female started in on lack of current tags on my truck and trailer, the guy says" we checked and we know they are current". I was at a loss as to where my stickers were until i realized that I had been driving my other car when I did the renewals and that they were probably in the glove box.
They went and deliberated and he came back with a warning, she came back with a $75.00 ticket and told me that" we can let you go for one but not the other", I said you know they are paid and your still gonna write me? YEP.
She left and the guy came over and "quietly" Told me to go see the state attorney, and he would drop it if I showed proof.
Lucky for me I only lived 17 miles from the county courthouse, so I found my stickers put them on. Monday i an running to courthouse with registration papers and get it dropped. Was told by states attorney to "get them tags on" I said they are. Then he told me she wrote the ticket for the wrong reg anyway.
What I'm saying is this. They can write anything, but it comes out of your time and money to beat it. And it shows the difference from one officer to the other!
Sorry got so long winded
Mildot
PS: I hear that nasty female isn't with the IDNR anymore!
Simple solution, follow the rules.. It's black and white. Each license is entitled to so many fish, no more. Honesty goes along way and we all know if we are breaking laws. use culling tags or rubber bands or separate livewells or what ever it takes. I'm not being holier than thou, just saying I love my fishing too much and have too much invested to lose that privilege. Hate to see anyone put in that position but who's to blame?
There would be no reason to write a ticket if your legal unless there was a complaint or the game warden had been watching you and you really weren't legal. As far as the ticket it would be for not displaying the sticker even though you had it.Quote:
Originally Posted by mildot1
I agree on the failure to display. I have bought an annual pass for Shelbyville as long as they have sold them. I forgot to hang it on my mirror once and was given a written warning for no permit/failure to display ..Even though I had it in my center console, I didn't have it properly displayed.Quote:
Originally Posted by clfarms1
No, sticker for liscense plateQuote:
Originally Posted by local16
quick fix to recognizing who's fish is who's lay a pocket knife down between u and your partner. one person decides they're gonna cut the other doesn't. when the "cutter" catches a fish take the knife make a slit in the dorsal fin of any fish that goes in the box. now theres no question who's is who's. i got checked in missouri earlier this yr using a cooler to keep fish in. it was me and my grandpa and we had 6-7 fish (limit is 30 a piece), game warden said I'm not worried bout it but the next guy may be. simple solution to who got what. rules are rules whether we think its dumb or not, i will say tho some of them have athority issues best case just deal w it and move on arguing doesnt help, ive tried it.
You are correct. My point was to show how two "different" officials view things when it comes to writing tickets. One took the opportunity to warn me, the other tried to roast me. They both had the right to make either choice. I believe the one that went the fine route was willing to gamble that I would just pay it and go on, the other realized that it was a unintentional mistake and choose to inform so I could rectify the error.Quote:
Originally Posted by clfarms1
Mildot
Black and White? clfarms can call DNR and they say it's not a rule to separate or mark fish, but then others say they've been questioned on it.....must be color blind if you think that's black and white. I'll follow the rules best I can but it's a little difficult in these muddy waters.Quote:
Originally Posted by local16
I don't argue the fact each license can only keep a limit, which was mostly your point, but referring to the topic of this thread there is nothing black and white about it.
Is their anyway of having someone from Dnr reply? Or a conservation officer?
The fact that is black and white is that you can keep 10 over 10" and then you must release all others except of course your 5 under 10". Not color blind here at all. I''ll be at Shelbyville all weekend, have a great weekendQuote:
Originally Posted by chickenguy
You absolutely have your facts correct, If you are fishing Shelbyville. However the question from original poster was about mixing daily creel limits together, would you care to show me in some type of binding document from the Great Suburb of Chicago(sorry I meant Illinois, If you live below I-80 you will understand) that states that two people in a boat DO NOT have to separate catch by some means?Quote:
Originally Posted by local16
This thread is not about a pissing match in my mind, It's about avoiding a ticket even though you know you are legal!
I am going to the State Fair tomorrow. I always cruise through Conservation World, i will drop in the IDNR tent and ask them the grey area questions about livewells and such. It will be interesting because there are always several CPO's in the tent from different regions. I am curious to see, since some are from different regions if they all look at the question from a different angle or if it is Black and White. I'm happy to be in the 10-25 percentile it keeps my conscience clear!! Integrity Some have it Some Don't!
I agree mildot on the purpose of this post. I've been checked a few times and separating or marking limits has never been an issue, so inherently I assume I am following the law. Now...if I get a GW with the "gotcha" mindset can he take my fishing privileges away for years because they aren't marked? that's the question.
Because of these post I'll probably error on the side of caution and start doing it. However if I would have been ticketed for it a week ago I wouldn't view this as lack of honestly as some would say, I would have thought I was within the regs especially due to prior checks with the GW.
It's always best to error on the side of caution.
I don't think you will find a document that's you don't have to mark them, there would only be a document that you have to if it was a law.Quote:
Originally Posted by mildot1
Been pretty black and white to me for years!!!! Go buy a cheap paper punch and punch the fin of YOUR fish, been doing this for years
I've been checked multiple times in at least three states including Illinois.I can tell you that technically in Missouri you are suppose to keep catch separate. Everything about getting checked is pretty subjective about how much of a deal they want to make about it and what they have time for and feel like doing on any given day.Be sarcastic or a smart a&* if you want to find out exactly what they may do.
I remember specifically being checked on Cedar Lake in Illinois one time with a partner in the boat and we had a mix bag of fish in the livewell. The game warden said it was a good idea to keep them separate. I want to say at that time he told me it was the law.But that's been maybe 15 years ago? Anyway I said...well do you want me to pull em all out so you can see and measure them? And he said ..naw just let me look in there..he just looked em over pretty good and said have a nice day.
Had just about the same thing happen on KY lake one time about 10 years ago.
I think I only had a time or two they actually had me pull em all and really go over them.Most of the time I don't think they want to jeopardize the health of your catch by having them out of the water for a good while checking them. Now just a fish or two...and something that has slot limits or something...your gonna have to present and measure a lot of times.
Illinois has NO requirement to separate fish per the regulations.
CULLING
It is illegal to replace a smaller fish held in possession with a larger fish unless: the smaller fish is counted toward the daily limit or released within the confines of a bona-fide catch-and-release fishing tournament which requires the participants to have a boat live well with a pump constantly adding fresh or recirculating water.
DAILY HARVEST AND LENGTH LIMITS (STATEWIDE)
1. Length is measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail with the fish laid flat on a ruler, with the mouth of the fish closed and the tail lobes pressed together.
2. No fish species may be dressed (filleted or head and tail removed) on any waters to which length limits are applicable. Regardless of where taken, no fish less than the specified minimum length or more than the daily harvest shall be possessed while taking from, or on the waters to which length limits and/or daily harvest limits apply.
TOURNAMENT FISHING PERMIT
4) Demonstrates adequate provisions for holding, handling, and releasing caught fish. Specific criteria are:
A) Tournament officials must be able to certify that all boats will be required to possess a livewell (except muskie fishing tournaments) fitted with a functioning aerator and water pump.
That covers all the rules regarding harvesting fish. Not even tournament anglers are required to mark/identify fish or separate them per the state. You cannot exceed the creel limit for the number of occupants you have in the boat.
My source- the IDNR Fishing Regulations. Read it yourself. It' only 80 pages long.
http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/fishing/...nformation.pdf
Well my plan to go to the State Fair was a wash out due to the rains! But I'm sure this thread is not dead and positive some-one will come up with an answer.
We have covered this many times on this site over the years. The wildlife code states you must keep bag separate ie ducks. The Fish Code you do not in IL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowbender
I did in post number 2.
YUP!!
:deadhorse
ZACKTLY!!
Just talked to 3 game wardens at conservation world and got the same answer,you do not have to keep your fish separate. If there is a short one and 3 guy's fishing someone is going to get a ticket ,if no one claims it he said he would confiscate all the fish. Contrary to what I was told not to worry about it by another game warden, if fishing 3 poles one needs marked with name and address
Good to know ....
Wish you would have asked them if they enforce a "boat limit" when checking fishermen and who caught each individual limit of fish or if they just check to make sure fish in live well were legal
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Several years ago, a buddy of mine's sister and her husband were at wilborn ramp after a day of crappie fishing. Game warden asked them how many they had and the husband told him 20 overs. Game Warden counted and measured them and said all was fine. Husband walked to put some stuff away in the truck and the Warden told the wife nice fishing and how many did you catch?. The wife said she only caught 7. Husband was ticketed for 3 over his limit. Each fishing license has a daily limit.
I didn't ask you local16. Thanks though. I asked Clfarms if he asked the game warden. We have been over the rules several times and we're all well aware that you've never broken a law.
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Nice attitude.Quote:
Originally Posted by birdman
Actually I did and there isn't a boat limit,your fish are your fish. So if you're guiding and catch 25 fish your 10 over your limitQuote:
Originally Posted by birdman
I thought your wife couldn't testify against you ... :Doh: Sorry if this posts stirs up more crap ..... but
If I contract a guide to go fishing, I am paying him to put me in a position to catch fish or learn a technique I am not thoroughly up to speed on.....Not to catch fish for me.....It's not the value of the fish I am interested in.
On a couple of occasions, the guide I fished with seemed to treat the trip as a competition with his line always going in the water first at a new spot. I guess everyone has a different goal when contracting a guide, but my goal is not to compete with the guide to determine if he can catch fish better than I can.....I am assuming he is better than me or I wouldn't have contracted him.
This post is NOT intended to refer to anyone on this forum.