Too Many Rules?

[Chief Grey Bear]

It's not stupid at all. And yes people get cited for it.

It's to keep poaching to a minimum.

No you don't have to wait until midnight to make a cast. You can C&R until your heart is content. But you can't keep your own limit if someone gave you a limit too. That's two limits in one day.

Now if you are catching your limit and while still on said waters someone gives you theirs, you would be in violation.

And no a boat with one live well and two fishermen is not illegal. You simply keep your fish seperated and labeled. It's as simple as putting them on a stringer or by inserting something to make two compartments.

[Feathers and Fins]

Some of my favorite stupid laws are:

Shell Restrictions in a Shotgun! You are only allowed (X) amount of birds so no more than (3) shells is just a stupid regulation.

Putting the word (Hunters Responsibility to know) in the baiting regs! I don’t know how many citations I have seen written for hunting over bait when the hunter had NO CLUE or LEGAL WAY to ascertain if he was hunting over bait. For instance there was a cases in California and Arizona where numerous hunters were cited for hunting near bait. The bait was a ¼ mile away along a railroad track ( grain car spillage ) however the property near the tracks and that they went through was private property and illegal to trespass on. Second case in Kansas, Guy was cited for hunting near bait. His neighbor had a couple deer feeders out and the warden said it was “altering the flight path in his favor”.

In Fishing the separation rule is stupid for people in boats but I get it so just use different color zip-ties to separate fish you plan to keep. But still IMO a stupid rule especially for Crappie, Brim etc.

Length limit measuring: I have seen some for pinched tail some for non-pinched how about laying a fish on the golden rule no manipulation if it’s not (X) length laying flat it’s not legal!

I could go on and one, the simplest rules would be best

[Chief Grey Bear]

Some of my favorite stupid laws are:

Shell Restrictions in a Shotgun! You are only allowed (X) amount of birds so no more than (3) shells is just a stupid regulation.

Putting the word (Hunters Responsibility to know) in the baiting regs! I dont know how many citations I have seen written for hunting over bait when the hunter had NO CLUE or LEGAL WAY to ascertain if he was hunting over bait. For instance there was a cases in California and Arizona where numerous hunters were cited for hunting near bait. The bait was a ¼ mile away along a railroad track ( grain car spillage ) however the property near the tracks and that they went through was private property and illegal to trespass on. Second case in Kansas, Guy was cited for hunting near bait. His neighbor had a couple deer feeders out and the warden said it was altering the flight path in his favor.

In Fishing the separation rule is stupid for people in boats but I get it so just use different color zip-ties to separate fish you plan to keep. But still IMO a stupid rule especially for Crappie, Brim etc.

Length limit measuring: I have seen some for pinched tail some for non-pinched how about laying a fish on the golden rule no manipulation if its not (X) length laying flat its not legal!

I could go on and one, the simplest rules would be best

For someone that has multiple biology degree's and is a avid waterfowler, I would think you would be the last to question the three shot rule.

I'm surprised you didn't toss non toxic shot in too.

If in a boat and checked by an agent, if your fish aren't seperated, how does one ascertain who's fish belong to who?

[Feathers and Fins]

Snow Goose conservation order is the best proof in the world for the lack of need of Three Shots in a gun, You can only shoot 6 waterfowl (ducks a day) well unless the lack of moisture in the Dakotas and Canada this year put us back to a restricted season then 3 shots will be all you need. Only thing the three shot rule does now is reduces the ammo makers a little less rich.

I caught 4 fish John caught 2 fish I can only keep 2 more of that species and he can keep 6 more simple as that. Sorry I know common-core might make that equation much longer and harder to figure out though.

[Deadstream]

Missouri has had a separate stringer,basket ,etc. rule for as long as I can remember. I fish in 5or 6 different states/countries a year and all of them require some sort of personal separation. Most require possession limits be marked with name, etc., Missouri does for sure.

Sad when you need a law degree to catch a mess of fish and avoid a ticket.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Snow Goose conservation order is the best proof in the world for the lack of need of Three Shots in a gun, You can only shoot 6 waterfowl (ducks a day) well unless the lack of moisture in the Dakotas and Canada this year put us back to a restricted season then 3 shots will be all you need. Only thing the three shot rule does now is reduces the ammo makers a little less rich.

I caught 4 fish John caught 2 fish I can only keep 2 more of that species and he can keep 6 more simple as that. Sorry I know common-core might make that equation much longer and harder to figure out though.

Well for snows you can go unplugged.

"The Conservation Order for light geese will be in effect from Feb. 1 to April 30 with no bag limit. Hunters may use electronic calls and unplugged shotguns, and shoot from ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. A Conservation Order Permit is the only permit required for residents & nonresidents during this time"

How does the agent know if Johnny didn't catch all of them? That is the whole point of the rule. Not to know if Scotty can count or not.

[ALLSTAR1]

I was trout fishing and a guy caught several catfish he did not want. He ended up giving 3 limits to other fisherman who all said after seeing him throw one back; " hey, I will take em if you don't want em.." Were there 4 violations? The giver and 3 takers or just 1; the giver? Or none?

[Al Agnew]

Geez, you guys are doing a lot of complaining about very little. It's pretty simple. Each angler is responsible for his own fish. The agent needs to be able to identify which fish belong to which angler. Neither angler can violate their own creel and possession limits. As long as you know that, it's up to you to figure out how to count your fish and keep them separate so the agent can identify them as yours. Allowing it to be done any other way would be enabling a lot of hanky panky.

As for measuring fish, I know some states require different ways of measuring, but I believe that for any fish except paddlefish that has to measured in Missouri, you measure with mouth closed and tail lobes squeezed, and there's a very good reason for that. By doing it that way, you are measuring the maximum length the fish can be, and it's the most standardized way of doing it. Any other way, the length of the fish could vary considerably depending upon how wide open the tail was or how wide open the mouth was. That's the way the tournament guys require measurements, so they not only don't have any problem with it but realize that it's the only way to get a standardized measurement.

[Ffer]

Where I have a problem is private waters vs public waters. Four or 5 of us are fishing a lg bluegill nd small bass infested lake. We throw a bunch- 20-30 or so 10-12" bass in an ice chest and 100 or better gills in another one. Guessin we could get screwed real good if one of the agents had a bad morning, Right? Still BS

[Justin Spencer]

Where I have a problem is private waters vs public waters. Four or 5 of us are fishing a lg bluegill nd small bass infested lake. We throw a bunch- 20-30 or so 10-12" bass in an ice chest and 100 or better gills in another one. Guessin we could get screwed real good if one of the agents had a bad morning, Right? Still BS

Never have worried about that and never will. Very rare to be pulled over by a conservation agent just driving down a road. Don't go fish a lake afterward with all those fish or you could be in big trouble.