# Question catch and release



## mvue8422 (Feb 26, 2016)

Question about trout stocking? I just want to catch and release the trout that are being stock into to lakes. I feel like I’m obligated to keep them. I’ll only keep them if it’s gut hook only. Is it wrong? Maybe I just answer my own question. Lol


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## flyphisherman (Jul 7, 2009)

Don't let the warden catch you releasing them


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I always release them or give them away to whoever is fishing next to me. Those things are nasty tasting...


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## DL07 (Jul 21, 2011)

We have always released them


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Ya just be gentle with them,no problem releasing them for someone else to catch.
I dont think these stocked trout are all that fragile. Look at the small pool they fil with trout to be caught over an over at fishing/boat shows.


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## guppygill (May 8, 2004)

I use a spinner to catch them and easy release, they are practically lip hooked, come right off. When your using power bait or eggs, they tend to swallow it, can never release those.


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## bassteaser1 (Apr 13, 2004)

Lewzer said:


> I always release them or give them away to whoever is fishing next to me. Those things are nasty tasting...


Be careful, I had 5 in a basket and caught one after that was bleeding bad so the guy I was fishing with said just put it in your basket because he wanted it and an undercover officer gave me a big ticket even though I told him it was for the other guy


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## Wow (May 17, 2010)

It's silly that that the laws don't give you wiggle room to do the right thing for the fish or the fishery. You have to waste perfectly good meat to comply with the law, and throw back a dying fish. It could feed somebody or fertilize a garden. It's a sin to me. ...I suppose the dead fish will feed the wildlife, but it's literally a stinkin' shame.--Tim


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Yeah, but it was in your basket. If the other guy wanted it he should have put it in his basket.


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## All Thumbs (Apr 11, 2004)

Wow said:


> I suppose the dead fish will feed the wildlife


that was the response the warden gave me when i asked him


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

buckeyebowman said:


> Yeah, but it was in your basket. If the other guy wanted it he should have put it in his basket.


 Even that is against the rules/regs. They pop guys saugeye fishing all the time for "sharing limits". 
Me an a few of my muddys use to do a "community bucket" until we learned this. 
But if u catch an give away a fish it goes against your limit an whomever you give the fish to's limit


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

why is it different for charters? Or s it?


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Technically it's not. Neither is perch fishing with your buddies and throwing all the fish into the same cooler.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

crestliner TS said:


> why is it different for charters? Or s it?


It all boils down to enforcement....


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## Evinrude58 (Apr 13, 2011)

Truthfully the trout stockings near me are a big waste of money as the places they stock are real shallow and heat up quickly. They stock Petros which the deepest part is 10 feet and it probably averages under 5. They also stock Lock 4 which is even shallower, the only good thing there is most of the fish are probably caught the first day due to the kid's derby. After the first two weeks most people quit fishing for them so what wasn't caught just die.
I have fished for over 50 years and other than when wade fishing we have always used a communal basket/stringer/cooler. Have never had any game warden say a word about it anywhere I have fished and that includes over a dozen states, Canada, England and Germany.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

As long as theirs enough people to account for all the fish in possession your fine


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## All Thumbs (Apr 11, 2004)

DHower08 said:


> As long as theirs enough people to account for all the fish in possession your fine


and everyone knows what to say when asked how many were theirs


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## BASSunlimited (May 7, 2008)

Releasing trouts. You can release trout that you catch as long as you handle them correctly and catch them correctly. Most of the time when using spinners and spoons will help reduce the chance of gut hooking them. But if you gut hook them and they are bleeding all over, you might as will keep it or give it away until you reach your limit. Then your done, just go fish another lake that has no trouts and target other species.

As of giving trouts away. If you gave 5 trouts away and kept 5 trouts on your stringer, you are over your limit. That is 10 trout that you are accountable for, that is 5 trouts over your limit. If you gave 50 trouts away and kept none, you are 45 trouts over. Same goes with any fish that has limits. The only way to help a person keep the fish legally is hand that person your rod, let them catch the fish on their own, let them land it themselves and let them put the fish in to their own bucket.

About sharing one stringer/bucket/cooler for multiple people I don't know a clear answer for it. If someone have the rules for it, please post it. In my experiences it all depends on the game warden. The first time was when i was fishing the Ohio river, pike island dam on the ohio side, my buddy and i shared a stringer of saugers together. The game warden came down to check our stringer and told us as long as we both are within limits we are good. Then the second time, during my first trip to the maumee river i got fined for putting my buddy's walleyes along with my limit on the same stringer because he forgot his stringer and I didn't know either, that we can not share the same stringer. We just went off of what people told us that it was ok to share the same stringer. Third time was on the ohio river, new Cumberland dam ohio side, a different buddy and his friend got fined for sharing the same stringer of saugers. I didn't know they were putting it on the same stringer or else I would've told them. The fourth time was at Milton spillway, two guys was putting both their limits of walleyes into one bucket and the game warden checked their bucket and told them as long as they have 12 walleyes or less they were good. So, I don't really know an exact answer for this one. I now, only put my own fish that was caught by me on my own stringer, just to be safe. I also bring extra stringers just in case a buddy decides to keep his own fish and don't have one on him. I rather buy a stringer for under $2 versus hundreds of dollars of fine, all your gears getting taken away and maybe get your fishing liscence taken away just because you didn't know the rules. Not worth it.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

That's all false. Basically your saying if two guys in the boat share the livewell one person is over limit if both persons limits are caught. You got had by an officer that was not knowledgeable of the laws


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

DHower08 said:


> That's all false. Basically your saying if two guys in the boat share the livewell one person is over limit if both persons limits are caught. You got had by an officer that was not knowledgeable of the laws


Its not all false at all. Some rangers just have more common sense then others. Keeping a limit an giving a way after that is over-bagging. 
And i have also seen on more then one occasion of people being popped for "community buckets". Its not enforced a lot. But it is.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Eh that's a bunch of horse ****. Long as theirs enough people to cover the amount of fish in possession at any time your good . And I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for giving someone a fish they didn't want. Sounds fishy to me


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

DHower08 said:


> Eh that's a bunch of horse ****. Long as theirs enough people to cover the amount of fish in possession at any time your good . And I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for giving someone a fish they didn't want. Sounds fishy to me


Lol just cause it sounds fishy dont mean its not true. 
But im sorry it is.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

DHower08 said:


> Eh that's a bunch of horse ****. Long as theirs enough people to cover the amount of fish in possession at any time your good . And I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for giving someone a fish they didn't want. Sounds fishy to me


Guess you cant


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)




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## louisvillefisherman (Jun 9, 2012)

There are many other factors at play when it comes to enforcement and community baskets or livewells for that matter.

First off, did the officer witness the violation? Yes? Your getting a ticket.
Does the officer suspect you of a violation? Yes? Maybe a Ticket depending on your and your friends attitude, and a host of other mitigating factors such as location. Spillway at Pmy where they are having serious problems? Likely a ticket.

Law enforcement is not always so cut and dry. The printed law is the law, but the reality is that it is often difficult to implement without considering the larger picture, thus resulting in what appears to be inconsistencies in enforcement.

I also believe giving away fish counts against your limit. Limits are not in place just to minimize the amount of fish we each personally posses. Its not like radiation where if you are exposed to too many fish you fall ill (insert environmental joke here). Limits are in place to control the numbers of fish being removed from the water. Whether you are holding the fish or the guy you gave it to is, the end result is the same...you removed a fish from the water.

Just my thoughts on the matter.


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## BASSunlimited (May 7, 2008)

Like I said, I don't know the clear answer or the legitimate rule for community bucket sharing. I just went off of personal experiences. I guess i got played and i paid a fine for nothing if it was legal.


DHower08 said:


> Eh that's a bunch of horse ****. Long as theirs enough people to cover the amount of fish in possession at any time your good . And I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for giving someone a fish they didn't want. Sounds fishy to me


But giving fish away. Your basically saying you can give away fish, as long as the person that is taking your fish takes claims of those fish. So for example, that means I can bring 10 family members and have them hold a bucket each person and load them up with 6 walleyes each as long as they claim it's theirs. Or have them share one long stringer and put 60 walleyes on one stringer. I don't know about this, it might be legal, it might be illegal, but do it at your own risk i guess. Just hope you have a lay back warden.


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## All Thumbs (Apr 11, 2004)

BASSunlimited said:


> put 60 walleyes on one stringer


i do not know if it is legal or not but i want to go fishing with you


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## Brandon Allen (Oct 7, 2015)

You can only give away your limits worth. So if you give away 6 walleye you cannot give away anymore. I was fined $350 for giving away my 7th walleye and was lucky that the 30 days in jail was suspended. Do not give away more than your limit


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## thistubesforu (Mar 30, 2009)

As stated before you have to give the rod to someone else have them land the fish than they are good. If you have caught your limit than catch more and try to give them awaybthan you are in violation. Only way around it is to pass the rod or pack up and leave or just plainly catch and release.


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## boss302 (Jun 24, 2005)

flyphisherman said:


> Don't let the warden catch you releasing them


Of all the nonse on this thread - this takes the cake.

Catch them, enjoy, release them....they are nasty tasting, let someone else catch them or let them become food for other animals.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

We now know its not horse ××××


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

Trout taste terrible.


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## flyphisherman (Jul 7, 2009)

crestliner TS said:


> Trout taste terrible.


You must be eating them wrong. Flip your tongue over. 

They are like a blank slate. They will taste like the seasonings and flavor that you add. I'm pretty sure they sell farmed trout in the markets with good results........

Now if you said Sheepshead tastes bad.......I'm not gonna go there


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

flyphisherman said:


> You must be eating them wrong. Flip your tongue over.
> 
> They are like a blank slate. They will taste like the seasonings and flavor that you add. I'm pretty sure they sell farmed trout in the markets with good results........
> 
> Now if you said Sheepshead tastes bad.......I'm not gonna go there


I have eaten smoked sheephead that tasted great! I imagine smoked Trout would taste good too. Just have not tried it.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

I’d say that too if i sucked at fishing...


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## Popspastime (Apr 1, 2014)

Ok so based on everything said here the guy running a trolling charter is handling 12 rods so at that point he is fishing with 12 rods (customers haven't touched a thing yet) is he legal or illegal? 
Rod goes off and he grabs the rod to hand off, who caught (hooked) the fish the customer or the skipper? Al tho the fish is not landed he's done this 42 times on that trip. That skipper has attempted to catch 42 fish to hand off to others and throw in a community pot. 

So you see, it's all about laws and interpretation. There is nothing clear or written on these scenario's and totally up to the enforcing officer.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

crestliner TS said:


> Trout taste terrible.


For sure the stockers do! They taste like they're stamped out of cat food, with a livery undertaste. I belong to a fish & game club that stocks the main fishing lake w/trout every spring. It's an old, deep limestone quarry, so the water quality is like champagne! I'll wait till Fall to fish for them when the water and living in the "wild" has cleaned them up a bit.



flyphisherman said:


> You must be eating them wrong. Flip your tongue over.
> 
> They are like a blank slate. They will taste like the seasonings and flavor that you add. I'm pretty sure they sell farmed trout in the markets with good results........
> 
> Now if you said Sheepshead tastes bad.......I'm not gonna go there


As far as Sheepshead go, take the back meat off of them, cut into 1 inch chunks, and boil in 7Up. Make sure you have plenty of drawn garlic butter on hand. Poor man's lobster!


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

mvue8422 said:


> Question about trout stocking? I just want to catch and release the trout that are being stock into to lakes. I feel like I’m obligated to keep them. I’ll only keep them if it’s gut hook only. Is it wrong? Maybe I just answer my own question. Lol


releasing them is fine, if that's your game plan, crush down the barbs with pliers to minimize the damage to the fish and use spinners.


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