St Marks trout thrashing

[flatsbroke22]

It is ridiculous that the Leo's can't give you an definite answer. Nor can they provide where it is stated. I'm needed to know the answer not so that I can go take as many fish as I fill. Like most of you think that is the purpose here. But this situation comes up a lot when several people go on a fishing trip but all the fish are left in one cooler for the ride home. Where then the fish are sorted out. This kind of stuff happens a lot and we need to know if any laws are being broken nor not.

[crappielimits]

In general, the daily bag limits set by Commission rule for saltwater fishing are for a calendar day (24-hour period from midnight to midnight). These limits are also possession limits. Therefore, it is illegal to possess more than one day's bag limit "while in, on or above the waters of the State or on any dock, pier, bridge, beach or other fishing site adjacent to such waters" with regard to most species.
Once you have caught and possess the bag limit for a species, you may not harvest any more of that species until the next 24-hour period. Thus it is illegal to take the catch to shore and then return to the sea to harvest another daily bag limit during the same calendar day.
Exception
There is an exception that allows individuals to possess double the daily bag limit certain fish only when fishing from a headboat or charter boat on a trip that spans more than 24 hours and:
The vessel has a sleeping berth for each passenger aboard the vessel;
Each passenger possesses a receipt issued on behalf of the vessel that verifies the length of the trip.
Species included in this exception include:
snapper (gray, red, Atlantic vermilion, cubera)
red grouper
hogfish
black sea bass
red porgy
amberjack (greater, lesser, banded

This is the kicker for overnight camping. Legally if you stay adjacent to the water, you are only allowed a limit in your possession. I found this out freshwater fishing the St Johns. I have since witnessed coolers checked at cabins and campers at Talquin for crappie. Most fisherman don't realize that they are to stop fishing once a limit is obtained. My question is can you fish for another species? The officer I asked said that's left to interpretation and what happens if I accidentally catch another trout while red Fishing?

Freshwater two day possession can be found here:
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFil ... 23.005.doc

[onefishtwofish]

It is ridiculous that the Leo's can't give you an definite answer. Nor can they provide where it is stated. I'm needed to know the answer not so that I can go take as many fish as I fill. Like most of you think that is the purpose here. But this situation comes up a lot when several people go on a fishing trip but all the fish are left in one cooler for the ride home. Where then the fish are sorted out. This kind of stuff happens a lot and we need to know if any laws are being broken nor not.

I agree. And if you want to keep 3 days worth or take your buddy's fish home, you should be able to. We will sometime get a bunch and try to have a family fish fry, so we need a mess. I am not judging your motive or the way you keep fish. I do what is right for me. As long as you are legal I have zero beef. Just to be clear.

[procraftwes]

I called the local office FWC and spoke to the highest ranking officer to get an answer on this(have his info somewhere).

My fear was that because I have a big boat with a fridge/freezer, spend multiple nights out and fish shallow with it(only drafts 3'/protected gear).. That having filets in my freezer might be a grey area and fall under the "not whole rule". Basically if i'm living on the hook, catch a fish, can i filet it for later consumption and/or eat it then?

Basically was told it's no problem.

As far as the trout in st marks there's thousands of 5-7" trout under my boat so they must reproduce this time of year.

[onefishtwofish]

Most fisherman don't realize that they are to stop fishing once a limit is obtained. My question is can you fish for another species? The officer I asked said that's left to interpretation and what happens if I accidentally catch another trout while red Fishing?

You turn it loose. No law against continuing to fish.

[crappielimits]

Most fisherman don't realize that they are to stop fishing once a limit is obtained. My question is can you fish for another species? The officer I asked said that's left to interpretation and what happens if I accidentally catch another trout while red Fishing?

You turn it loose. No law against continuing to fish.

I copied and pasted directly from regulations.

[Apalachee Inshore]

I guess I’ve gotten a little lost on this thread, where does it say you can’t continue to catch and release once you harvest a limit? Also what else is in question? Whether Fish in your freezer count toward your possession limit? I can’t ever see that being an issue unless you were selling fish or giving some other reason for the FWC to go into you freezer and count fillets. I mean who is to say what kind of fish the fillet belong to anyway? As far as taking Fish Home whole while in a cooler I would think the possession limit adds up to however many people with valid fishing license are present during the check. So if you get checked at the gas station on the way home, which has happened to me, I would be real nervous about having say 30 Trout with only two people present even if they were taken within the law by the right amount of people.

My 2 cents

[Gulf Coast]

Something else to chew on....hypothetical...I have my Fl. legal limit in the freezer and I go to La. and bring home that limit, in my mind I'm legal. Only way any of the freezer issue would come into play if you are really being watched, they gotta want you !

[crappielimits]

Yes guys you have to give them reason to check freezers at home. As far as the fishing after a limit is caught. It is clearly stated to not harvest any more of that species once a limit is caught. A friend of mine got fined up north for this and I had always kept fish alive and culled. He was told once you have a limit and land another you are in theory over the limit and if you kill that fish, what do you do? I looked up our law and it compared in wording. It clearly says no harvesting after obtaining a limit.

[Apalachee Inshore]

Catching a fish and harvesting a fish are not the same. Harvesting means you put it in your cooler or live well. And yes culling Fish in a live well is technically illegal.

[flatsbroke22]

Here is what I've gathered from a Leo. This is not worded from the regs but his interpretation of the regs.


Scenario # 1- You go to the beach for a week camping in a tent with only a cooler and ice. My interpretation is that you can only possess 1 days bag limit, assuming that the beach is near salt water. ( "it is illegal to possess more than one day’s bag limit "while in, on, or above the waters of the State or on any dock, pier, bridge, beach or other fishing site adjacent to such waters"

Scenario # 2 - You go to the beach for a week and stay at a near by motel that has a freezer. Once you clean the fish and put them in the freezer they become a food product and you can have as many as you want. "Once the fish are processed and placed in a freezer (not a cooler) at a residence (e.g., their permanent home, a mobile home or motel catering to anglers), they become a food product. From that point on there is no longer a limit on them." Although I think you would be shaky ground if it was the opening week of a season such as grouper, red fish, snook and you had 2 or 3 times a seven day bag limit.

Scenario # 3 - A friend is having a fish fry and asks if you have any fish you can bring. You say, " sure I have a whole freezer full." You can legally put them in a cooler and transport the fish to the location of the fish fry. Same reasoning as scenario # 2, "Once the fish are processed and placed in a freezer (not a cooler) at a residence (e.g., their permanent home, a mobile home or motel catering to anglers), they become a food product. From that point on there is no longer a limit on them." Just the same as someone who has a freezer full of fish and they are traveling back up north or anywhere for that matter.

Scenario # 4 - Let's say you're in the keys for a week and a friend calls you and say's he's having a fish fry and asks if you have any fish that you could bring. You say sure The fish fry is only a day or two after you will get home. So you catch 3 or 4 days bag limit and rather then freezing them you clean them and keep them on ice in a cooler. My interpretation is that you would be in violation because they have not been frozen and are therefore not considered a food product yet.

There are a lot of different scenario's that could come up. What if you and 2 other guys (each driving in separate vehicles) go fishing and each catches his limit . You put them all in one cooler in your car to clean and divide up when you get home. You would technically be in violation of the law. Would you get a ticket if you and the other guys explained the situation? I wouldn't think so by I don't know. I'm sure there have been times when I have come home from the Keys and technically have been in violation of the possession limits but luckily it has never been an issue.

So for my initial statement was correct except those cleaned fish would have to be frozen and not just on ice. Then this come to mind: what if those frozen fish thawed out on the way home!!

[Salty Gator]

Here is what I've gathered from a Leo. This is not worded from the regs but his interpretation of the regs.


Scenario # 1- You go to the beach for a week camping in a tent with only a cooler and ice. My interpretation is that you can only possess 1 days bag limit, assuming that the beach is near salt water. ( "it is illegal to possess more than one day’s bag limit "while in, on, or above the waters of the State or on any dock, pier, bridge, beach or other fishing site adjacent to such waters"

Scenario # 2 - You go to the beach for a week and stay at a near by motel that has a freezer. Once you clean the fish and put them in the freezer they become a food product and you can have as many as you want. "Once the fish are processed and placed in a freezer (not a cooler) at a residence (e.g., their permanent home, a mobile home or motel catering to anglers), they become a food product. From that point on there is no longer a limit on them." Although I think you would be shaky ground if it was the opening week of a season such as grouper, red fish, snook and you had 2 or 3 times a seven day bag limit.

Scenario # 3 - A friend is having a fish fry and asks if you have any fish you can bring. You say, " sure I have a whole freezer full." You can legally put them in a cooler and transport the fish to the location of the fish fry. Same reasoning as scenario # 2, "Once the fish are processed and placed in a freezer (not a cooler) at a residence (e.g., their permanent home, a mobile home or motel catering to anglers), they become a food product. From that point on there is no longer a limit on them." Just the same as someone who has a freezer full of fish and they are traveling back up north or anywhere for that matter.

Scenario # 4 - Let's say you're in the keys for a week and a friend calls you and say's he's having a fish fry and asks if you have any fish that you could bring. You say sure The fish fry is only a day or two after you will get home. So you catch 3 or 4 days bag limit and rather then freezing them you clean them and keep them on ice in a cooler. My interpretation is that you would be in violation because they have not been frozen and are therefore not considered a food product yet.

There are a lot of different scenario's that could come up. What if you and 2 other guys (each driving in separate vehicles) go fishing and each catches his limit . You put them all in one cooler in your car to clean and divide up when you get home. You would technically be in violation of the law. Would you get a ticket if you and the other guys explained the situation? I wouldn't think so by I don't know. I'm sure there have been times when I have come home from the Keys and technically have been in violation of the possession limits but luckily it has never been an issue.

So for my initial statement was correct except those cleaned fish would have to be frozen and not just on ice. Then this come to mind: what if those frozen fish thawed out on the way home!!

The problem is, all leo’s May have a different “ interpretation” of the law. If It’s not in writing, it isn’t going to hold up. I wonder if “ a guy on the forum said he spoke with a Leo and he said it was ok” is something that will get you out of a ticket. Doubt it

[flatsbroke22]

Exactly what I told him. There has been laws stating what's rite and what's wrong in writing and also stated so that no one will interpret them the wrong way.

[relicshunter]

What I started with was the idea that many charter captains are giving their fish to the paying customer to take home plus their own limit for the day. That still seems illegal to me and the FWC officers in the meeting room said it was also. The customer would have to have been on a multi day charter to transport more then a days legal take, right? It seems like this all comes down to the the rule saying you can transport a couple days limits, but! you have to have been somewhere for a couple of days! right?
I think those extra fish limits are unnecessary and are taxing the population more then is needed. If this is changed then most likely you will see the deck hands catching a limit and handing it over to get tips and return customers. A loop hole will be found to get the desired effect. It needs to be that there is no boat take, just the paying customers. The guy at the meeting figured it was a few hundred thousand trout per year for just the ones the captains catch and hand over. Are you comfortable with say 300,000 trout being caught by charter captains to pad the customers day?
That's why I brought it up then it exploded into a transport post.

[Salty Gator]

What I started with was the idea that many charter captains are giving their fish to the paying customer to take home plus their own limit for the day. That still seems illegal to me and the FWC officers in the meeting room said it was also. The customer would have to have been on a multi day charter to transport more then a days legal take, right? It seems like this all comes down to the the rule saying you can transport a couple days limits, but! you have to have been somewhere for a couple of days! right?
I think those extra fish limits are unnecessary and are taxing the population more then is needed. If this is changed then most likely you will see the deck hands catching a limit and handing it over to get tips and return customers. A loop hole will be found to get the desired effect. It needs to be that there is no boat take, just the paying customers. The guy at the meeting figured it was a few hundred thousand trout per year for just the ones the captains catch and hand over. Are you comfortable with say 300,000 trout being caught by charter captains to pad the customers day?
That's why I brought it up then it exploded into a transport post.

Threads get hijacked. The op had nothing to do with guides or transport