BASS Rule against culling dead fish! WON Bass??? FLW?????

[Dewayne]

One pet peeve of mine is the unclear rules on culling dead fish. Many tournament organizations turn a blind eye to praice although in states such as California with a 5 bass daily limit and wanton waste regulations it is illegal to cull a dead fish or for a tournament to knowingly allow the waste of dead fish. A fish that dies while in our care becomes a part of our 5 fish daily limit according to California Law.

1.87. Waste of Fish. It is unlawful to cause or permit any deterioration
or waste of any fish taken in the waters of this
state.

BASS Elite Series rules now have a specific rule against the culling of dead fish. While I am not a fan of BASS, I have to applaud them on clarifying their stance on the conservation of our fisheries.

Now if FLW and WON Bass would just follow the BASS lead rather than allowing us to break the law (if we choose) so the numbers of live fish at the scales look better. We should not be put in a position where we have to break a game law to compete. Each year I see a law abiding angler loose weight/money because they refused to cull a dead fish and break the law, while others toss their dead fish. Beyond that, it also sends a very mixed message on their view of conservation of our fisheries.

Thank You BASS!

[Ricky-S]

Great post Dewayne.

I was always confused about the law. I have seen people cull dead fish as a co-angler and never really knew that it was against the rules.

I think that this should be addressed during the pre-tournament meeting. There is a lot of grey area on that subject both in and outside of CA.

[Dewayne]

Since FLW has no rule against it you can cull dead fish even though you are breaking the law. I made a point to ask this year and asked them to go over it in the meeting. It was not mentioned, but all they would tell me was that culling dead fish was not against their rules and I would not be DQed for culling a dead fish.

We need clarity in the rules and that does not exist at this time.

[tunaman]

This topic was covered recently on the Southern board - here's a link:
http://westernbass.com/forum/viewtopic. ... =cull+dead

Specific to California DFG, 1.17. of Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Natural Resources, Bag and Possession Limit was quoted as reference (quote from Andy included here for convenience):

Fish Culling during Black Bass Tournaments

Section 1.17. of Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Natural Resources, Bag and Possession Limit, provides that no more than one daily bag limit of each kind of fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk or crustacean named in these regulations may be taken or possessed by any one person unless otherwise authorized; regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen, or otherwise preserved.

Additionally, Section 1.80. of Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Natural Resources, defines "Take" as to hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, crustaceans or invertebrates or attempting to do so.

California Sport Fishing Regulations provide that anglers may take up to five bass per day when fishing; and fishing contest permit regulations provide that "insofar as possible; all fish shall be returned to the water alive and in good condition".

Section 230 of Title 14 contains new regulations adopted by the Fish and Game Commission which became effective September 22, 2005.

Section 230 (1)states: "No provisions of these regulations exempt any participant in a contest from the sport fishing regulations, except that the department may, for permitted contests, authorize an exemption to:

(A) Regulations which impose an increased minimum size limit larger than 12 inches, a slot size limit, or a reduced bag limit less than five fish for Type A contests, and; B) Daily bag and possession limits for all permitted black bass contests, insofar that once the daily bag and possession limit has been reached by an individual angler, that same angler may continue to fish under the condition that each additional fish caught must immediately be returned to the water alive and in good condition, or be used to replace a fish being maintained alive and in good condition from the participant's livewell or other suitable holding facility."

Note that Section 230 (B) applies to all permitted black bass contests while Section 230 (A) applies only to Type A ('Event') contest permits for which the exemption has been authorized.

Information regarding Zero (0) bag limits

Section 7.00. of Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Natural Resources District General Regulations; provides that in waters where the bag limit for trout or salmon is zero, fish for which the bag limit is zero must be released unharmed, and should not be removed from the water.

Roger

[Pearl Swimbaits]

It is not against the law to release a fish that is dieing.
That is where the problem lies what was the status of the fish when u let it go...........if it is breathing it AINT DEAD, it might be doing upside down donuts but it aint dead.

I keep them all cuz i cant catch 5

As long as it is up to angler discression gonna have unhappy campers but clearly u dont have to play if u dont wanna.

I dont play cuz all the big wigs and funky rules and ettiquette dammm............ i aint cut out for it

OUT Mike

[Rod Rinta]

I specifically asked this question to Chris Jones at the fish off at Amistad last winter. His response was, and I quote, "It is legal to cull a dead fish, as long as it is not against the rules of the state the event is being held in". So, in California, ya can't do it. In Texas, it's legal. Sounds pretty black and white to me.

[Dewayne]

What you were told is different from what I was told by him on the Delta this spring and the results from a protest that was filed at Clear Lake. Even though it is against the law they said they will not DQ for culling dead fish as they do not have a rule against it.

[Obi-Hub]

Dewayne,

While I was still fishin' FLW stuff, I asked Chris the same question. I got a slightly different answer. State F&G take precedence over FLW rules. Unfortunately, if you don't get caught and sited by the DFG, they don't consider you to have violated the State's F&G regulations Basically if you get caught it is a DQ, if you don't...OH WELL

Obi

[Robert F]

So it is OK to break the law in a FLW tournament as long as you don't get caught? Sounds fishy. Should be covered under sportsmanship. I still have trouble not throwing back foul hooked reaction fish in out of state events. Don't think I will be throwing back any dead ones. Rule or not.

[Marc]

Dewayne, at first I didn't agree with your post in that I didn't see the need for a rule that is already covered by saying that you must comply with State law. I kept and weighed a small fish because I didn't want to break the rule of wasting gamefish. It cost me several places in the standings that directly resulted in loss of funds.

If others are throwing back dead bass, or violating other state law, and they are protested and it isn't upheld, then I am not fishing a fair event.

So I guess Steve Kennedy could have weighed those big bass at Clear Lake that were foul hooked since DFG hadn't cited him? Even if it was on camera, and his coanglers saw and reported it, FLW wouldn't have DQ'd him?

ciao,
Marc