rules say if you are to release a fish ,to do so immediately as soon as you catch them.So if you turn them loose at the end of the day(if you don't have enough for a meal)or after a tournament,are you in violation of said rule?
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rules say if you are to release a fish ,to do so immediately as soon as you catch them.So if you turn them loose at the end of the day(if you don't have enough for a meal)or after a tournament,are you in violation of said rule?
You should post this in "Ask the Conservation Agent"
sorry,thought I did
My BAD! Wasn't awake yet!
Only if fish was not legal to begin with . As far as the law is concerned (If legal) you can do as you like with them .As long as illegal dumping does not apply . jmo.:popcorn
Don't think it's illegal. Just can't cull fish from you possession to better your limit. Once it's in your possession it counts as your daily limit.
If you choose to turn them back alive and healthy it's your choice.
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I know that everyone does this but reading the rules says you have to do it immediately,this was a question brought to me and it got me wondering.people fishing a tournament needing seven fish only,can they catch and release the smaller fish up to 8 times as long as they don't pass their 15,I think they would be ok.or is it illegal to release a fish after it's put in a livewell.This is a hard one to answer.
I would have to go look it up again to be sure. But I'm am pretty sure in Missouri...the moment you land a fish you have to make a decision to keep or release. Once you put it in the livewell,stringer,basket whatever...it's in your possession and part of your limit. You are not supposed to cull fish . There is something about not wasting game too I think. Yes there your's but I believe they can ticket you for just dumping them or throwing in dead fish from a livewell or something like that.
They bend the rules for "sanctioned tournaments" I believe for bass.
It is something to be aware of resident or non resident.
If I can find the section of the wildlife code I will post it
But I am sure you can release unharmed fish...can't find where it spells that out though
Culling
Any fish you catch is included in your daily limit unless you release it unharmed immediately. You may not replace smaller fish in your possession with larger ones caught later. You need to make a keep-or-release decision as soon as the fish is caught.
There is one exception: if, from September through June, you are a participant in a bona fide catch-and-release black bass tournament (one after which all bass are released alive) that requires entrants to have a boat livewell with adequate capacity and a pump constantly adding fresh or recirculating water, the black bass you release unharmed from the livewell need not be included in your daily limit. At no time may the daily limit be exceeded.
https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/regulations
(Don't know if the below includes fish too. But I think it may)
Excessive waste
Excessive waste
It is illegal to intentionally leave or abandon any portion of any wildlife that is commonly used as human food.
Possessing, transporting, and storing wildlife
You must keep any wildlife you take separate or identifiable from that of any other hunter.
You can possess and transport wildlife as part of your personal baggage. It may be stored at your home, camp, place of lodging or in a commercial establishment.
https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-...ng/regulations
I often put fish on a stringer and turn them lose if I don't feel I have enough to bother cleaning (4 10" or 6 9"). If someone that is fishing wants them I will give them to the other fisherman as my first option. I would not consider culling particularly ethical because if you were happy to keep it when you didn't know if you would catch better fish then you should be happy to keep it and clean it. I know it sounds a little hypocritical since I catch fish I later release but if I catch a limit then after that I immediately release every fish regardless of size.
I don't know what the survival rate of the fish I keep and later release is but in summer I generally release the first few fish until I'm confident I can catch enough for a meal. Summer time is the only time I sense the fish getting sickly on the stringer, but I could be kidding myself about how healthy they are at other times.
I usually never keep more than 6 because that is enough for one meal prepared the same day they are caught. Eating fresh fish is a ritual not a food source as far as I'm concerned, plus they are better eaten as soon as possible.
As far as the law goes wasting game seems to be the issue if you are not culling fish from your limit. Once you have caught your limit and not immediately released them then every fish after that has to be immediately released. if a game warden wanted to be a hard ass I suspect that he could claim I was violating the law by releasing fish from a stringer that may not survive. On the other hand I see a lot of people culling for a better weighing limit and they do not get busted.
Culling probably has a more seriously negative effect on other species than Crappie because Crappie are not as easily suppressed by overfishing. Bass tournaments must have some negative effect on bass populations because I suspect that culling is a standard practice. As suggested earlier it would be pretty outrageous if law enforcement tried to apply different enforcement practices to Crappie fishermen than Bass fishermen or tournament fishing because of politics and revenue. That said my policy has always been not to argue with law enforcement officers. If they wanted to fine me I would just keep quiet and pay the fine and send a letter to my state representative about unequal law enforcement.
I don't know we do need a agent to weigh in on this I think....I guess in all my fifty plus years of fishing I never actually looked to see if it is okay to turn back fish alive and unharmed from a livewell. The more I look and read I can't find anything other than if you don't throw it right back after landing it....you own it...good thing I eat all mine or throw them right back LOL. I wouldn't remember if I knew that at one time anyway more than likely.
I don't know that it is a good idea to force a conservation agent to articulate the law when discussing a grey area. The way they have been handling the situation is to only go after people dumping dead fish and ignore responsible culling. Sometimes the law is written in a way that inadequately defines the nuances of responsible behaviour.
I've never met a bad game warden yet but after hearing stories like the one the other day about one man had 8 fish and another man had 3 and was leaving so gave man with 8 his fish,still under limit but both got a ticket for $145 ea for not marking who's fish was who's,makes a man want to be careful how rules are interpreted.I never turn fish loose after a weigh-in but see alot of people who do,if it's illegal,a hard-nose could make it rough on fellow tournament anglers.I know bass fisherman can but nothing is said about crappie or catfish.
That is a scary story. How do you mark fish and why would it matter if it is legal to give them away?Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiedave55
Pretty sure these are current. Notice it says after the COMPLETION of the days fishing or hunting on giving away .
3 CSR 10-4.136 Giving Away WildlifePURPOSE: This rule establishes the provisionsby which the taker may give wildlife toanother person.Wildlife legally taken and possessed may begiven to another only by the taker after completionof the day’s fishing or hunt. Anywildlife given to another shall continue to beincluded in the daily limit of the taker for theday when taken. Wildlife, except deer andturkeys taken in Missouri, shall be labeledwith the full name, address and permit numberof the taker, species and the date whentaken. Deer and turkeys taken in Missourishall be labeled with the full name andaddress of the taker, the date taken, and theTelecheck confirmation number of the deeror turkey. Wildlife received as a gift shall beincluded in the possession limit of the recipient.
3 CSR 10-4.137 Wildlife IdentificationPURPOSE: This rule establishes provisionsfor identifying the taker and possessor ofwildlife as a means of enforcing permits, limits,and other regulations.The taker and/or possessor of any wildlifeshall keep the wildlife separate or distinctlyidentifiable from wildlife taken or possessedby another. When not personally attended,the wildlife shall be plainly labeled with thefull name and address or ConservationNumber of the taker and/or possessor, exceptas provided in 3 CSR 10-6.405, 3 CSR 10-7.431, and 3 CSR 10-7.455.AUTHORITY: sections 40 and 45 of Art. IV,Mo. Const. Original rule filed Aug. 26,1964, effective Dec. 31, 1964. Amended:Filed July 30, 1987, effective Jan. 1, 1988.Amended: Filed May 10, 1990, effective Jan.1, 1991. Amended: Filed May 30, 1995,effective Jan. 1, 1996. Amended: Filed June11, 1997, effective March 1, 1998. Amended:Filed Aug. 24, 2005, effective Jan. 30, 2006.Amended: Filed March 1, 2017, effect
Use a hole punch,zip ties ,ect.I don't understand this either,bad ending to someone trying to be nice.
Dear and Turkey I understand because you tag them. If they really want to enforce this then they should give us like a hundred tags for fish, something you could put through the gills and mouth with a barcode having the information they require.
"Any wildlife given to another shall continue to be included in the daily limit of the taker for the day when taken."
Does the person you give fish too need a valid fishing licence? My guess is the answer is yes.
I was aware of all this I just didn't think they would enforce it unless you were doing something unsavory. I guess I will quit giving fish away. It is not like we don't understand the point is to stop people from catching and keeping multiple limits etc. In fact I have no problem with the law, I may have a problem with tournament fishing now that I know the rules are being overlooked for "special" people.
The "immediate release" causes the fish to not to be included in your daily limit. If you haul them around in a livewell and then decide to release them, it's not illegal but those fish do have less of a chance to survive than if they had been released immediately.
If you want to give them away, that's fine you, just need to give the person you are giving them to your name, address, permit number, species and the date when taken. Those fish count towards your daily limit not the person you give them to. They would count towards the recipient's possession limit.
Great reply, Jake. Thanks. This is what I always figured. Seemed pretty clear to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by MOfishmgr
Course, I never catch enough to give away anyway!
Thanks for the answer,all I ever could find was that you had to release immediately or otherwise it sounded like you had to keep them.As long as they are counted as your daily limit,it's ok to release them.Glad to clarify this.Thanks again.
And I got that from one of our Protection Supervisor's mouth. I always confirm things with them before I answer a regulations question. Just to be on the safe side.
Thanks Again
What do you guys think about giving a stranger your address? I think I will just stop being lazy and clean the three fish I caught that I didn't feel like cleaning.
I think the regulations are perfectly reasonable and the clarification well written. It would be silly to make a big deal out of this but I'm glad that the topic was brought up because I have been violating the code. I didn't think I was the kind of person that bends rules so maybe I need to take a look at other things I do and see if I was giving myself a bit too much credit. Obeying the law isn't just about preserving the resource but about how we live together in a civilized manner. When we don't obey the law we add a little bit of chaos to an already unfathomably complicated social order. There is a whole relative slope of bad to good laws but like us none of them are perfect. We shouldn't be looking for perfect but just something we can live peacefully together with.
It is legal to turn them loose so if you don't want them,just put it back in the water.That was the only question I really had and was glad to have this cleared up
I probally won't be giving fish away anymore.It's not worth a ticket.
I am not going to stop giving folks fish if I so choose. I guess however I will do so knowing the risk I am taking. An agent would have to see the transfer to even know it happened.