# Legality of transporting fish to private pond?



## JShort

Hey I'm new here and wanted to ask a question. Is it legal in ohio to take live fish out of a public body of water and transport them to a private pond?


----------



## FISNFOOL

Depends on what you mean by Take live fish from public water. I have released catfish into my pond that I caught while fishing.

I sent a PM to rangerjulie to have her respond to the question in this thread.


----------



## JShort

Like catching bass on a rod and reel then putting them in a pond.


----------



## sherman51

i dont know about ohio, but in indiana it is not legal unless you have a stocking permit. and there may even be other regs about this. this one i just happened to read while checking just what the law says about releasing live bait in indiana. in indiana your sopposed to put your worms as well as your minnows in the trash. i never knew this before. someone on here told me about the minnows being against the law in ohio. so i wanted to see what indiana laws was. i was shocked when i read that about worms. i have always just let them go.

i want to keep an eye on this thread to see what ohio law says about moving fish from one body of water to another.
sherman

i decided to just find out for myself, so i just sent an email to the odnr and asked them. ofcourse it will be next week before i get an answer. we may already know by then,LOL.
sherman


----------



## puterdude

I don't think it's illegal if caught legally to begin with and the fish are legal length.However it is illegal to catch them in one public lake and place in another public lake.But in your own pond it isn't but I know they don't recommend it mostly for getting undesirables started in your pond.


----------



## Bad Bub

I have no reference to post here..... but i believe it is illegal to transport live fish from a public body of water period.... now if anybody would ever stop you on the highway to check would be highly doubtful. I know a few people that have released fish into their own ponds in the past and never had any issues, but i'm sure if it is illegal and i tried it i would be the one guy that got nailed....

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## Salmonid

Puterdude is right, IF you catch them legally and they are of legal size limit, they are yours to eat, release or take to your OWN private pond. It is illegal to move them from a Public place to anywhere other then your OWN pond. So puting them into a local park is illegal, putting them into the pond you ocasionally fish is illegal, and putting them into another public watershed is also illegal. I hope that helps, the biggest reasons here is regarding introducing invasive or unwanted species. 

Salmonid


----------



## nixmkt

puterdude said:


> I don't think it's illegal if caught legally to begin with and the fish are legal length.However it is illegal to catch them in one public lake and place in another public lake.But in your own pond it isn't but I know they don't recommend it mostly for getting undesirables started in your pond.





Salmonid said:


> Puterdude is right, IF you catch them legally and they are of legal size limit, they are yours to eat, release or take to your OWN private pond. It is illegal to move them from a Public place to anywhere other then your OWN pond. So puting them into a local park is illegal, putting them into the pond you ocasionally fish is illegal, and putting them into another public watershed is also illegal. I hope that helps, the biggest reasons here is regarding introducing invasive or unwanted species.
> 
> Salmonid


Don't believe it is illegal to transport from one public water to another in Ohio unless it is an exotic species or species not established in a particular watershed or species covered under specific VHS regs. This has been discussed previously concerning using bluegills or other fish caught from one body of water as bait in another. You can do a search on transporting baitfish.

This is the best explanation about the transporting regs that I have seen.
http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89080


----------



## sherman51

puterdude said:


> I don't think it's illegal if caught legally to begin with and the fish are legal length.However it is illegal to catch them in one public lake and place in another public lake.But in your own pond it isn't but I know they don't recommend it mostly for getting undesirables started in your pond.


you know puterdude i think you are right about that. i went back and read what indiana said about it. and i misunderstood what they said. it says to move them from 1 public water to another public water you must have a permit. but it didnt say anything about a private pond. thanks for setting me and others straight. im 60 now but this old dog still likes to learn,LOL. and if im wrong i want to be told by somebody. thanks to all you guys that had it right.
humbled in indiana


----------



## JShort

thanks guys


----------



## puterdude

sherman51 after reading Indiana's regulations I think it's somewhat similar to Ohio but Indiana's is much more precise in the wording and allows it with a permit ,where Ohio doesn't period without approval from the ODNR director which would be like pulling hen's teeth.Neither mention anything about stocking your own pond from public waters but both covers moving fish from public waters to another public water and that's illegal.

Ohio's
http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing_general.aspx

Indiana's

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/5870.htm


----------



## rangerjulie

JShort said:


> Hey I'm new here and wanted to ask a question. Is it legal in ohio to take live fish out of a public body of water and transport them to a private pond?


J,

According to Ohio Fishing Regulations, it's illegal to "transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another."

Ranger Julie


----------



## FISNFOOL

Thanks Ranger Julie.

Here is the link to the reg. http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing_general.aspx

It does not mention public or private, it says from one body of water to another."

Therefore it means ALL. Plain and simple, I just forgot to read it.


----------



## sherman51

FISNFOOL said:


> Thanks Ranger Julie.
> 
> Here is the link to the reg. http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing_general.aspx
> 
> It does not mention public or private, it says from one body of water to another."
> 
> Therefore it means ALL. Plain and simple, I just forgot to read it.


hey thanks for the link. i guess that differs from the other link about transporting fish for bait. now im really confused,LOL. dont take much to do that,LOL.
sherman


----------



## [email protected]

The owner of ATAC is an Ohio game officer and we have discussed this topic.
It is illegal to stock anything into public water; whether the fish came from domesticated stock or wild stock does not matter. It is legal to transport from private to private with permission of the property owners and it is not a restricted species i.e. no hybrid striped bass in Lake Erie's watershed. The phrase "from one body to another" technically makes it illegal to stock from public into private but that part of the law is not enforced. As long as the fish are legally captured they consider them harvested and do not care if you put them in private water; you still have to pay attention to restricted areas/watersheds. Stocking wild fish is not recommended for fear of spreading disease and undesirable species. One other note: Do not stock fish over state lines; that is when the laws and regulations get strict and variable as every state has different regs and you are also under federal jurisdiction.


----------



## leupy

I generally agree with everything Lucas posts but this time I will not. If the law plainly states "from one body of water to another" that is what it means and it can be enforced. It is totally up to the officer you encounter, often refered to as "attitude" arrests. Don't tell me it is not enforced, that is just BULL.... with my luck the officer would have had a bad day, (fight with spouse, indigestion, been yelled at by his or her supervisior, just caught the spouse cheating or I could go on forever). If it is not going to be enforced take it off the books, until then it is still the law and enforceable. On the other hand if you choose to ignore this law and catch a legal fish and place it into your pond even knowing it is illegal hope I am on your jury, I will vote not guilty even if you had confessed. It is not the intent of the law and just how do blues and flatheads get into pay ponds, I think it's time for a big ODNR fish STING. I would also like to see some of the waterfowl charged with putting bullheads in my pond I know I never put them in. What can we charge the herons with, they trespass and stab 5 lb catfish in the head killing them and couldn't possibly eat one. (Actually I wish they would kill every one of them) Turtles, now there is another envasive species I didn't put them in but they trespass and eat the fish I do put in. The state of Ohio owns all wild animals in the state, if I kill one out of season I can go to jail but their animals can invade my property destroy my landscape kill the animals I stock in my pond and I have NO recourse, is that justice? OKAY IGNOR THIS RANT I'M STILL JUST PIZZE3D ABOUT HOW THE BUCKEYES PLAYED!!!!!


----------



## hang_loose

leupy said:


> I generally agree with everything Lucas posts but this time I will not. If the law plainly states "from one body of water to another" that is what it means and it can be enforced. It is totally up to the officer you encounter, often refered to as "attitude" arrests. Don't tell me it is not enforced, that is just BULL.... with my luck the officer would have had a bad day, (fight with spouse, indigestion, been yelled at by his or her supervisior, just caught the spouse cheating or I could go on forever). If it is not going to be enforced take it off the books, until then it is still the law and enforceable. On the other hand if you choose to ignore this law and catch a legal fish and place it into your pond even knowing it is illegal hope I am on your jury, I will vote not guilty even if you had confessed. It is not the intent of the law and just how do blues and flatheads get into pay ponds, I think it's time for a big ODNR fish STING. I would also like to see some of the waterfowl charged with putting bullheads in my pond I know I never put them in. What can we charge the herons with, they trespass and stab 5 lb catfish in the head killing them and couldn't possibly eat one. (Actually I wish they would kill every one of them) Turtles, now there is another envasive species I didn't put them in but they trespass and eat the fish I do put in. The state of Ohio owns all wild animals in the state, if I kill one out of season I can go to jail but their animals can invade my property destroy my landscape kill the animals I stock in my pond and I have NO recourse, is that justice? OKAY IGNOR THIS RANT I'M STILL JUST PIZZE3D ABOUT HOW THE BUCKEYES PLAYED!!!!!


Hey Leupy, You forgot the officer could have been a Buckeye fan too! Also if you have any turtle left, make it into soup. (and make it snappy)


----------



## [email protected]

leupy said:


> I generally agree with everything Lucas posts but this time I will not. If the law plainly states "from one body of water to another" that is what it means and it can be enforced.


Hey Leupy I don't think we disagree. The law is written "from one body to another" so technically it is illegal to take from public to private and technically an officer could write you up. The law officer I spoke to thinks the law should be re-written to be more accurate to the intentions of the law; which is to keep people from putting non-native or invasive species into public waterways. There was a pacu, a fish native to South America caught in Buckeye Lake this year. I don't think there is any dispute that the law has worthy intentions but needs to be re-written. BTW- the blues and flatheads are suppose to be legally captured by commercial fishermen and screened for health issues before they enter the state.


----------



## BlueRibbonTaxidermy

If you read the line before the "from one body of water to another" is sais "that requires a license". I believe this applies to transporting fish also. Private bodies of water don't require a license to fish so that regulation doesn't apply to them. But i agree, it needs to be re-written so it can't be open to interpretation. $.02 Jeff


----------



## Snakecharmer

BlueRibbonTaxidermy said:


> If you read the line before the "from one body of water to another" is sais "that requires a license". I believe this applies to transporting fish also. Private bodies of water don't require a license to fish so that regulation doesn't apply to them. But i agree, it needs to be re-written so it can't be open to interpretation. $.02 Jeff


Good point! Just like it if you read this literally, you could NOT clean a fish next to your pond and then stick it on your grill or frypan.

*It is unlawful to buy or sell any fish taken by angling from any water area in the state where an Ohio Fishing License is required.

It is unlawful to transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another.

It is unlawful for the public to tag and release fish into any public water area.

It is unlawful to clean fish or possess fillets while on or at a body of water. For more information, see OAC 1501:31-13-08 *


----------



## [email protected]

Are the unofficial cliff note regs printed in pamphlets being mistaken for law? 

See below

http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/1501:31-13
1501:31-13-01 Sport fishing states:
(7) It shall be unlawful for any person to release any fish or aquatic insect into waters of the state, or waters under control of the division of wildlife without first obtaining permission from the chief of the division of wildlife.

1501:31-13-08 is about bag limits on protected species. Nothing on transport as far as I could tell.

I emailed the DNR citing their website and the one above. We'll see.


----------



## bassmanmark

I talked with a DNR officer from Erie and Huron county and they both said it's legal to move a fish from a reservoir to a private pond. I called Erie county's office a couple years back to make sure it was legal before I moved fish to my pond. That question I asked was about bass.


----------



## [email protected]

Here's the response

*"You can catch fish by legal angling methods, with proper fishing licenses, and put them in a land locked pond (where water does not flow into or out of &#8211; like from or to a stream). If you do put them in a private pone, you cannot charge people to fish for the fish, nor can you sell the fish. The regulations are not the &#8220;full&#8221; set of laws and regulations that apply, but, are only a concise version. The Ohio Revised Code and Administrative Code are the full laws and regulations. 



Thanks, 
Michelle 
1-800-945-3543



Follow The Division of Wildlife: 
www.wildohio.com 
www.facebook.com/ohiodivisionofwildlife 
www.twitter.com/OhioDivWildlife 
www.youtube.com/user/TheOhioDNR"*


JShort, I have yet to see an Ohio law that says it's illegal to move fish from public to private as long as all other laws are followed.

More fish have been stocked into Ohio waters from private ponds by floods and going out overflows than have been removed by pond owners. 

There are risks involved in stocking from public as has been discussed. 

You also do not know how old the fish are that your stocking or how good of genes you're getting. Fish grow their entire life but have a limited lifespan. 

Oftentimes transplanted fish do not fair as well as fish reared in the pond...natural selection. Transplanted fish will often lose weight rather than thrive if they even survive the often crude transport methods. The cost to catch and transport fish is more costly than buying fish from a farm.


----------



## Tim Jeandrevin

I know this is an old post, but I just spoke with an officer from the Ohio Division of Wildlife to get a positive answer. It is perfectly legal to bring fish of legal size home to your private pond. It is ILLEGAL to move them from one public body of water to another pond that is not on your property, or to another public body of water.


----------

