Bass As Live Bait Illegal Or Not?

[Catch and Grease]

Is it illegal to use largemouth bass as live bait where y'all live? Anybody know the law in Georiga and if you can catch them by rod and reel then use them as bait.

Saw this brought up in another thread and was interested.

[aavery2]

Not legal in Kansas

[F14A-B]

Not in the state of Indiana either. Nor is Bluegill

[einscodek]

I dont believe game fish in general are allowed to be used as bait..

[Catch and Grease]

Here I'm pretty sure bluegill can be used as live bait... If not then I have been breaking the law for awhile.

[aavery2]

Bluegill and Crappie can be used as live bait if caught on a hook in KS.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Illinois says bluegill/sunfish can be used in the water they are taken out of, not transported to other fisheries.

[Missourifishin]

Illinois says bluegill/sunfish can be used in the water they are taken out of, not transported to other fisheries.

 

I think that's the law in MO too.

 

No crappie or bass though.

[flyfisher]

i looked at the VA regs and couldn't find anything saying you couldn't per se but the fish cannot be mutilated or anything so i would guess that they could use that as an exception and also creel limits are still in effect. 

 

I figured it would be easy to find but didn't see anything.

[Tony L.]

That's an interesting question, and I guess I never considered it.

I understand that this was a hypothetical question, but..... If, in theory, you didn't have laws governing how many bass you could possess at a time, and there were no minimum size requirement (both of which instantly rule them out as bait) just what on earth would one be hoping to catch by rigging up and tossing out a largemouth?

Muskie? Pike? Flatheads? I could see them all gobbling up one or two small ones, but hardly would consider bass a primary source of forage for any of the above. Just pitching out another hypothetical since you got me thinking.

Great discussion

[hawgenvy]

In Florida LMB have bag limit of 5 and all must be over 14". But there is a new proposal by the fish scientists that may pass: Still bag limit of 5, and only one can be over 16" (but the rest can be any size less than 16"). This preserves the lunkers. And the billions of little bassies found in any rain puddle all over the state can be kept, up to 4 or 5. So maybe if the law goes through we can use as bait the little bass. Seems a bit creepy but maybe I'll give it a try once Im sure its legal. Maybe get a lunker cannibal bass or a brackish water snook. Or a big ugly snakehead.

[slonezp]

If, in theory, you didn't have laws governing how many bass you could possess at a time, and there were no minimum size requirement (both of which instantly rule them out as bait) just what on earth would one be hoping to catch by rigging up and tossing out a largemouth?

 

Agree.

 

What would one hope to catch??? Why do lure manufacturers make baits in "baby bass" color. Fish are opportunistic and cannibalistic feeders. Bass will eat their own.   

[K_Mac]

My question is why? Why use game fish for bait? Of the "billions of little basses" spawned every year only a small percentage grow up to be decent fish. Natural predation takes a serious toll. I am a big fan of selective harvest and slot limits, but there is no good reason for using live bass as bait IMO.

[lmbfisherman]

It is illegal to use any fish classified as game fish as far as I understand here in Ontario, Canada.  There is a debate if we can use yellow perch as bait or not.  Any fish caught and used as bait legally can't be used in another body of water.

[Fish Murderer 71]

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/general-rules-regulations/definitions

Texas Parks & Wildlife Definitions:

"Bait:  Something used to lure any wildlife resource. It is unlawful to use game fish or any part thereof as bait."

​Bass fall into the Game category and so do Crappie, but Bluegill were not on the list. 

[mod479]

Not legal in NY. There's a group of kids here that fish at the same dam I do for muskie and flatheads using baby bass. They work, I've seen the results. I'm just waiting for them to do it this season, I know the DEC guys around my area and they're gonna nail them.      

[einscodek]

Kind of defeats the purpose of catch and release if you are gonna rig up and send it out as bait.

..and the lil guys caught aren't even legal size.

[Choporoz]

Hope I don't come off as an ass, but I really cringe at the thought that fisherman would come here for questions on their state/local fishing regs.  I see it as a responsibility and an obligation to familiarize yourself with the regs where you fish.  

 

     If I'm mistaken and you've read the regs and want opinions on interpretation, I apologize for the tone.  What do your regs say?

[tholmes]

Bluegill and Crappie can be used as live bait if caught on a hook in KS.

 Bluegill and other sunfish can be used as bait in Kansas, regardless of the method of capture. 

 

http://kdwpt.state.ks.us/Fishing/Fishing-Regulations/Definitions/Bait-fish

 

Bass and Crappie can be used only if legally taken by hook and line and must be of legal size (15" for LMB in most waters). Why anyone would use a 15" bass for bait is beyond me.

 

Tom

[Catch and Grease]

For all the people acting irritated at this question, I was only curious. Never in my life have I used bass as bait and I never will no matter what the law is. I see people using bass as bait sometimes and it just seems wrong when there are plenty of other bait fish and more plentiful fish to use.

[aavery2]

 Bluegill and other sunfish can be used as bait in Kansas, regardless of the method of capture. 

 

http://kdwpt.state.ks.us/Fishing/Fishing-Regulations/Definitions/Bait-fish

 

Bass and Crappie can be used only if legally taken by hook and line and must be of legal size (15" for LMB in most waters). Why anyone would use a 15" bass for bait is beyond me.

 

Tom

Thanks for the clarification, it had been a while since I read it,   I would never consider using a bass for live bait but I am sure there are flathead/bluecat guys that it would not even remotely bother.

[Tylertut]

As far as I read it is legal to use any game fish as live bait in Georgia as long it is taken legally, but it still counts toward daily limits.

[Hyrule Bass]

Kind of defeats the purpose of catch and release if you are gonna rig up and send it out as bait.

..and the lil guys caught aren't even legal size.

this has nothing to do with catch and release. not everyone are catch and release people, and not everyone has to be unless its regulated on a specific body of water as catch and release only or the states that have seasons and such. now if theyre not legal size then the person is breaking the law.

 

in VA, where i do most of my fishing, i believe it is legal to use bass as bait so long as its caught by rod and reel. i couldnt find anything specific on the website saying it couldnt be when i looked in the past.

 

also, for those asking. big catfish, namely flatheads, love to eat bass. a catfishing forum i visit from time to time has people that say bass is their favorite bait for large catfish...

[K_Mac]

The issue is not about catch and release, or keeping legal fish. Fishing with game fish as bait makes it nearly impossible to monitor and enforce creel and possession limits, and is one reason it is illegal in most jurisdictions. I don't care if it is the best live bait known to man, its use is wrong in my opinion.

[everythingthatswims]

i looked at the VA regs and couldn't find anything saying you couldn't per se but the fish cannot be mutilated or anything so i would guess that they could use that as an exception and also creel limits are still in effect. 

 

I figured it would be easy to find but didn't see anything.

As long as you use hook and line to catch them, obey size and possession limits (if any), it is legal to use game fish as bait in VA.