Keeping a fish you intend to throw back...

[heyitskirby]

I've been fishing a pond where a co-worker lives and I've caught a couple of fish that would be "citation" in my state. Normally I don't care much about these things, but I figure if I keep catching them then maybe I should get my certificate.

Does anyone have a good way to keep a fish alive from pond to check station and back to the pond?

If I have to kill the fish I'll just keep throwing them back and be happy to know that I caught it.

[Dan:]

Do it by length, it only requires a witness' signature.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/forms/EDUC/EDUC-006.pdf

[Shane J]

Yup, that's true. I have a friend that caught a citation fish at Briary this year, and we couldn't find the DNR guy again to save our life, so he took a bunch of pictures on a measuring board, and the weight, and then a witness signature did the trick. He got his citation for it.

[Wayne P.]

You don't need a witness to get a citation, just use the photo instructions.

Carry a camera/camera phone with you at all times.

[slonezp]

Pardon my ignorance. What is a "citation" fish.

[TrickyVT1887]

in VA it's 8lbs or 22 inches here is a list of trophy fish sizes in Virginia http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/trophy/sizechart.asp

and you can view trophy fish citations by year at

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/varp/citations.asp