Got A question

[Mr. Catfish]

Okay,I was talking to my brother-in-law today and he told a co-worker of his got a ticket for transporting gamefish. The guy was just getting to the dam and unloading his truck to go fishing when a wildlife officer pulled up next to him.After checking for licenses the officer looked in there bucket and saw they had bluegills in it . He then gave them a ticket for transporting game fish,85 dollars a fish for a total of 3500 dollars.The officer told them they could catch bluegills their and use but could not use bluegills from some where else.I would like to know if this is true because I've been using bluegills from private ponds. I couldn't find anything on the DNR website about this ,please help.:confused:

[Thunderflight]

$85.00 a fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it's not in the game regulations then I'd take that to court and fight it. That's bull crap.

However I can kinda see why they wouldn't want you to do that. What if you where to introduce a bunch of sick fish to a foriegn enviroment and then contaminate the rest. Actually it's probably a control means to keep foreign fish from upsetting the balance of that ponds eco system.

Either way that fine is out ragous. Mabye the GW was behind on his monthly ticket quata.

TF

[george tinkham]

I HAVE FOUND an its my only beef with the odnr,that they make laws a little confusing or so many that you may make an honest mistake.i personally read the huntin laws over an over for i feel i may make an honest mistake like this.i have even went to wildlife officials over the restrictions they used to have on sunday hunting.i'm sure to an extent that law was made for them to rake in fines on petty stuff where you could be fined even if you carried a permission to hunt slip from the landowner.

[Thunderflight]

Actaully this is the last quarter of the fiscal year. Mabye the ODNR needs the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....

TF

[george tinkham]

usually they drastically lower the fine an ask for it payed on the spot...they may lower a fine like this to 150-250$...they dont want to go to court because they lose a lot of the cases

[Thunderflight]

I'd be taking this one to court. Shoot I might even call the media too....

TF

[Ohio Sportsman]

Follow this link and read the first paragraph.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/fishing/fishregs/gnrinfo.htm

What it means is that you can only use what is native to this particular body of water, so if you bring bluegills out of some farm pond, creek, river or another lake that would be illegal since they are not a native fish to this particular body of water. I know it sounds messed up but the law is in place to protect fisheries that are public from disease among other things.

I see and here of people doing this all the time, say they might catch a fish in the river and on the way home they know a little lake that they might deem needs a few fish. Now you can take out of public water and stock privately but not the reverse. We have no way of knowing if a fish is diseased unless we are qualified and trained with the facilities to test them, so what you might think is ok could turn out to be detrimental to a body of water.

[Thunderflight]

Ohio Sportsman, Just curious, but do you work for the ODNR? No flame intend, just curious.

So technically if you buy bait fish and use them then your braking the law too?

TF

[MadCatter]

I think I would have to fight this one .. first, I think it is hard to find any waters in OH that don't contain at least a few bluegills .. second the law reads It is unlawful to transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another. The Key word being AND .. you must transport AND introduce meaning you must do both to be in violation .. if the water already has a bluegill population then you can't introduce them.. I also agree that they make the laws so you can interpit them in various ways .. the law is the law and should be written so it is not subject to interpitation. I don't see anything about using bait that is native in that line .. what about minnows sold at bait shops .. they are not native .. so in fact are we all breaking that law ... I think the officer needs to re-read that regulation or it needs to be rewritten

Dave

[Mr. Catfish]

Thanks everyone ,I told my brother-in-law to tell his co-worker to fight it.I'm still gonna call the DNR monday and ask them because I know alot of people who are also doing this. I know they wouldn't want to find out that way either.

[flathunter]

That is bull I have been doing that for 25 years, so has alot of other people.

[flathunter]

What about minnows from the baitstore, is this illegal?

[MISFIT]

if it happened just that way,i'd sure fight it.i don't know of any law that says you can't "transport" fish.if they were still in the in the bucket and they didn't have a line in the water,they weren't guilty of "introducing".i think that would be thrown out.as others have mentioned,what's the difference in that and other "rough" fish and baitfish being introduced?
they need to do a little revamping of the laws to make things a little more clear.

[george tinkham]

right on two counts flathunter.i been breakin the law since i started trappin an usin minnies...if they choose they can ticket me

[Thunderflight]

I'd also sue the ODNR for waisting your time too.

TF

[Mr. Catfish]

Well guys, I talked to the ODOW today . They told me you can't use bluegills or other gamefish from a different body of water.Only fish from the body of water you are fishing are to be used.Maybe everyone should call them to see if they get a different answer, and let us know what they tell you.

[Thunderflight]

Are blue gills good bait for cat fish?

TF

[Mr. Catfish]

They are an excellent bait for flatheads. I use them 75% of the time. I've also caught some nice channel cats on them.

[george tinkham]

so heres my big question...how do they know where you got the gills if you dont tell em

[Lance]

I'm told they also work tied under a small balloon for Musky.

[Thunderflight]

We use balloons for sharks tool.

If you tie a lifesaver to the balloon and then tie it to your fishing line you can use it as a timed release for bottom fishing.

The current takes the balloon further out into the river or lake. Eventually the lifesaver disolves. When it's gone the bait falls to the bottom. Bad thing is the balloon keeps going so you could get a litering ticket and from the sounds of the ODNR it would be a stiff ticket too.

TF

[CatDaddy]

So does that mean we cant buy chubs at a bait store and use them to fish with.

[MISFIT]

the way i understand it,yes.
this discussion has made me wonder about the way the regs. are written,and interpreted.seems even people within the DNR even have different interpretations of some of them:confused:
i'll post a link to some news that may interest you and others.
it is one way to get some answers and maybe some changes.

[CatDaddy]

So we might as well not even worry about using goldfish.

[MISFIT]

CatDaddy,i meant no:o
in other words,you CAN use chubs.sorry about letting the air out for a minute;)
this is my reason for my other new thread.
some of the regs. need to be better explained.

example: i was told by someone,that you can use softcraws bought from a bait dealer,but can't transport your own from one place to the other:confused:
doesn't really make a lot of sense to me.