Culling And State Regulations?

[Thad]

My father and I were discussing this tonight. I know a couple guys that fish local tournaments that don't cull during the tournament. Now the tournament rules don't say anything about throwing back the 6th fish before you make a cast like in the Elites. But what about the lake regulations? Say the limit in the tournament is 5 and the lake regulation is 5 per person. If two guys have 12 in the boat then that is illegal isn't it?

What if a tournament has a 6 fish limit and the lake regulation is 5 per person and someone fishes by themselves? Is it illegal to have 6 fish in the boat for that person?

Just curious about all this.

[kanasbassfisher08]

yeah to much thinking u made my head hurt lol . but they way i under stand it if u have 5 in the live well and u have a 6th in hand, on line, or in boat it is leagle as long as u release one before placeing that one in the live well or before casting. but idk about some people if i see multiple fish around my fish im reeling it then i pull in and throw at those fish before releasing just cus i dont want to scare them and if i get a ticket owell i guess. that just the way i understand it.

[Bluebasser86]

As long as you don't "posess" the fish by putting it in your livewell you should be ok. If you put it in the livewell you have just posessed the fish in the legal sense. If the limit was 5 and catching them put you over the limit then it would be illegal to even continue fishing because every fish you had after your 5 would be an illegal fish. I don't know why a tournament would have a 6 fish limit but if the lake limit is 5 and you're fishing by yourself you better hope your 5 are good ones!

[Thad]

...I don't know why a tournament would have a 6 fish limit ...

The federation and other tournaments sometimes have 6 and 8 fish limits. But these are team tournaments so there is always 2 people in the boat. It was just a hypothetical question that if one person fished a tournament with a 6 fish limit.

[Lund Explorer]

In all of the tournaments I've fished in, there has always been a rule that roughly states "All competitors will abide by all state and local laws.".

If someone or a team has more than their legal limit in their livewell, they have broken a state game law and are then in violation of the tournament's rules.

We also have several groups that provide that the "team" limit is five fish rather than the ten they can legally have in possession by state regs. Both groups state that the competitors cannot move to a new location (big motor) until they have culled down to their five fish limit per the group. I don't see anything wrong with this rule, and at time it helps when you are on schooling fish like smallies. Releasing fish back into an active school can shut down the entire school, so having the ability to keep a few culls in short possession helps.