Catching a record-breaking fish out of season

[Skeeloco]

Okay I googled and googled and can't find any information on this, surprisingly. I would guess that the rules vary by state and species, but just trying to find out for sure.  I only fish New York in Pennsylvania right now, so if anybody has any information specific to the states that would be great. It would really suck to have to throw back a potential state record breaking fish.

[jbsoonerfan]

A guy in Oklahoma caught a record spoonbill but couldn't get it certified because it was on a day you couldn't keep them.

[WRB]

Out of season is a violation of state regulations and will disqualify a record catch under poaching.

Tom

 

[A-Jay]

Not sure what NY and PA's rules are but here in MI

there's only two ways that deal can 'legally' go.

 Catch and Immediate Release and a "Possession"  -

which starts the Saturday before Memorial Day and ends 31 December. 

Many of my largest brown bass catches happen during the C & R time.

So a 'record catch' could not be officially recognized under those rules.

Record submission rules could not be fulfilled with an 'immediate release'. 

I've thought about this quite a bit and while I have a 'plan' for the 'possession' time,

I'd be very satisfied with my own video

and 'non official' scale results from in my boat during C & R. 

Finally, I'm not totally sure I'd even share a record at this point.

And you know why.

#lakemenderchuck

A-Jay

 

[MN Fisher]

I was perusing the laws in PA and NY.

 

Even taking a photo of a fish caught out of season is evidence of violation of the law and can see fines, jail time or both.

[Skeeloco]

5 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I was perusing the laws in PA and NY.

 

Even taking a photo of a fish caught out of season is evidence of violation of the law and can see fines, jail time or both.

Not true in NY, they received so much backlash about that law they repealed it a few weeks later. Enforcing such a law is idiotic and a waste of taxpayer dollars, and is going to do next to nothing for the fish. Unless stocked pellet heads possibly, which are mostly dead by summer anyway.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, Skeeloco said:

Not true in NY, they received so much backlash about that law they repealed it a few weeks later.

Still - why would you target an out-of-season fish anyway?

[Skeeloco]

6 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Still - why would you target an out-of-season fish anyway?

I don't. I mostly fish with jerkbaits, and I catch everything under the sun on them. Was trying to get after some smallmouth in New York this weekend, ended up catching a 37-in muskie. Walleye too. Bass are C&R in NY when the regular season isn't open.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Skeeloco said:

Bass are C&R in NY when the regular season isn't open.

MN we only have 2 weeks of C&R bass in the spring. Middle to end of May. End of Feb to middle of May, bass are totally off limits.

 

So are walleye and pike.

[J Francho]

There's some misinformation propagating here.  First off, the black bass catch and release season applies to all but Region 5 (Franklin County) where targeting black bass is forbidden out of season.

 

The rule for catch and release means catching and immediately releasing the caught fish without harm.  Initially there was confusion since no definition was given in the guide for what "catch and release" meant, leading some really self righteous people to make assumptions about what the law meant.  Later versions of the guide included this info.  It is still an offense to catch an out of season species, and photograph it.  Those must be immediately returned to the water.  

 

From https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/fishguide.pdf

 

Quote

• Catch and Release angling is only permitted during the open season for a particular fish species.
• Measuring, weighing, and photographing the fish are permitted as long as the fish is not removed from the water for an extended period or handled in a manner that could cause harm.
• Fish may not be placed in a bucket, tub, livewell, on a string or any other holding device. 
• Catch and Release angling for endangered or threatened fish species is prohibited.

 

As always, this is NY state, and there's a reason there's a 100 pages - don't assume that the law applies everywhere in the state.  Meaning, there's 99 pages of exceptions, lol.

[Skeeloco]

11 minutes ago, J Francho said:

There's some misinformation propagating here.  First off, the black bass catch and release season applies to all but Region 5 (Franklin County) where targeting black bass is forbidden out of season.

 

The rule for catch and release means catching and immediately releasing the caught fish without harm.  Initially there was confusion since no definition was given in the guide for what "catch and release" meant, leading some really self righteous people to make assumptions about what the law meant.  Later versions of the guide included this info.  It is still an offense to catch an out of season species, and photograph it.  Those must be immediately returned to the water.  

 

From https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/fishguide.pdf

 

 

As always, this is NY state, and there's a reason there's a 100 pages - don't assume that the law applies everywhere in the state.  Meaning, there's 99 pages of exceptions, lol.

Well according to the DEC spokesperson, the DEC will no longer ticket individuals taking pictures of out of season fish (article). So even though it may be that the rules, you're not going to get fined or jail for it.

[gim]

Ya you can't get any kind of state record credit for a fish caught out of season here in MN.  And we actually have a fairly long closed season too compared to many other states.  Heck, you can't even specifically target game fish species during a their closed season here and if you get caught with the tackle to do so, you will be in trouble.

 

As for taking a quick photo, there may be some leniency on that one.  I've done it before on rare occasion.  Its really no different that how I normally fish to be honest.  I remove the hooks quickly, take a photo, and release it.  The only difference is that out of season I don't take any measurements or weights as that would be not be considered immediate release.

[Bassin Bruce]

9 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Fish may not be placed in a bucket, tub, livewell, on a string or any other holding device. 

Interesting, I read that to mean it's not legal to even use your fish grips for the release.

Not sure a game warden would enforce that strictly, maybe. ?‍♂️

[gim]

51 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Finally, I'm not totally sure I'd even share a record at this point.

And you know why.

I think that is a wise decision.  Although, it might depend on how big the body of water is too.  If you pulled it from Lake Michigan...as opposed to a 1500 acre lake...

[Jaderose]

Yet another reason I like Missouri.  The rules are simple, straight forward, and easy to follow but they ARE taken seriously.  The fees are low and the MODOC does an outstanding job of managing the public lands.  All of the fishermen I know around here have a good relationship with our local office and officers (myself included) and wouldn't hesitate to call them on some idiot egregiously breaking the rules. 

[A-Jay]

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I think that is a wise decision.  Although, it might depend on how big the body of water is too.  If you pulled it from Lake Michigan...as opposed to a 1500 acre lake...

Thanks and it's sort of sad, on a couple of fronts. 

Perhaps in the extremely unlikely event this actually happened,

I could just take an 'illegal' picture of it,

and make a 'guess the weight' post.

A-Jay

 

[gim]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

Thanks and it's sort of sad, on a couple of fronts. 

We both know in today's modern age of electronics, social media, and mass communications, a relatively small body of water would get hammered quickly.  Heck, it already happens.  Not just specifically talking about bass fishing either.  There's a reason I do not disclose my spring crappie or eater size walleye locations.  The vultures circle the carcass really quick.

 

We've all seen your videos and photos.  Your catches are legit.  I don't think anyone would ever doubt you, at least on this forum.

[A-Jay]

On 3/21/2022 at 1:35 PM, gimruis said:

We both know in today's modern age of electronics, social media, and mass communications, a relatively small body of water would get hammered quickly.  Heck, it already happens.  Not just specifically talking about bass fishing either.  There's a reason I do not disclose my spring crappie or eater size walleye locations.  The vultures circle the carcass really quick.

 

We've all seen your videos and photos.  Your catches are legit.  I don't think anyone would ever doubt you, at least on this forum.

I totally hear you and thanks btw.

And right back at ya.

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

15 minutes ago, gimruis said:

As for taking a quick photo, there may be some leniency on that one.  I've done it before on rare occasion.  Its really no different that how I normally fish to be honest.  I remove the hooks quickly, take a photo, and release it.  The only difference is that out of season I don't take any measurements or weights as that would be not be considered immediate release.

I guess my aquatic biology training made me a little more 'tow-the-line'. If it's an out-of-season accidental catch - no photos, no measurements - back in the water ASAP.

 

Number of dink bass I've caught while targeting crappie with crappie lures is annoying at times.

[gim]

Just now, MN Fisher said:

I guess my aquatic biology training made me a little more 'tow-the-line'. If it's an out-of-season accidental catch - no photos, no measurements - back in the water ASAP.

I understand that.  Its not usually how I roll either.  I think the last time I did take a photo of a fish out of season was in 2017.  I only did it because it was a freak of a largemouth when I was crappie fishing out on Tonka.  Turns out it was the biggest largie I caught that entire season too.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, jbsoonerfan said:

A guy in Oklahoma caught a record spoonbill but couldn't get it certified because it was on a day you couldn't keep them.

Same thing happened here. Makes

sense because the only fish season we have is for paddlefish 

[J Francho]

36 minutes ago, Skeeloco said:

Well according to the DEC spokesperson, the DEC will no longer ticket individuals taking pictures of out of season fish (article). So even though it may be that the rules, you're not going to get fined or jail for it.

Okay, if you say so.  Seems like most guys with PA plates around here know the regs better than anyone.  Your article is from 2015, btw.  That's the most recent guide published (2021) I linked to.  Pretty sure if whatever you're doing is harming the out of season fish, you're getting a ticket - especially if it's a trout or salmon.  DEC officers are goofy about them.

[TnRiver46]

Some consider Dottie the record fish even though she was snagged 

[A-Jay]

12 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Some consider Dottie the record fish even though she was snagged 

Bet Mr Long does . . .

Sorry, I know that's low hanging fruit but I could help it.

A-Jay

[king fisher]

       In Alaska the law is, if a fish was caught in a catch and release season, or body of water,  weighing and taking a picture would be legal.  If a body of water is closed to a certain fish species, and a fish of that species was caught accidently than you would be required to release immediately without removing from the water, no weighing, no picture.  Otherwise people would be tempted to target the closed species while planning on using the excuse of an accidental catch when caught.  This law had to be clarified in Alaska because one year they closed the King Salmon season on a river, and some lodges stayed open while catch and release fishing for Kings.  They claimed they were fishing for Chum salmon, even though true fishing for chums was in a totally different part of the river, with different lures.  Other lodges quite fishing for Kings, while truly targeting the chums, and immediately released Kings if caught accidentally.  Every state is different, but the intent of the law is the same.  A catch and release fishery, means intentionally catching and releasing a species of fish.  A closed fishery means closed to targeting a certain species, accidental catches are true accidents, released immediately. An honest anger will not go fishing, planning on having accidents.