Creek critters!!

[FJB]

Good for you for having contacted your local official conservation department.
The officer that responded to your query stated that fish coming from "waters of the state" are regulated, whereas those purchased by you (from other sources) are not.
This is similar to other state regulations I am familiar with, but the details may vary across the country.

In your original statement, you indicated,
"The creek by my house is full of crawl dads and small fry fish. It’s extremely easy to catch them."
That fauna is regulated, as it comes from "waters of the state" and you would be going against that guideline when capturing them to keep in your aquarium or pond.
What you do next is your choice, but you have the official answer you were seeking.
Good luck!

 

[ADawson23]

Good for you for having contacted your local official conservation department.
The officer that responded to your query stated that fish coming from "waters of the state" are regulated, whereas those purchased by you (from other sources) are not.
This is similar to other state regulations I am familiar with, but the details may vary across the country.

In your original statement, you indicated,
"The creek by my house is full of crawl dads and small fry fish. It’s extremely easy to catch them."
That fauna is regulated, as it comes from "waters of the state" and you would be going against that guideline when capturing them to keep in your aquarium or pond.
What you do next is your choice, but you have the official answer you were seeking.
Good luck!

You are correct, the kicker/advantage I have is that where my wife and I are building our house, my pond is private and in no way connected to the creek or stream. So the crawdads that are in my pond he considered as private to myself. I can gather those for “fish treats”. As for the fry those would be off limits so I will leave them be.

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

Love Missouri for that approach.