Game fish are illegal

[ShadowBass]

well no.. but these fish are imported and are sent to the LFS so in a sense they are doomed for life... i could try and do my part by not keeping fish... but its too much fun...

whereas the wild fish that we catch still have a chance to live nice healthy lives in huge bodies of water.. and i just like to do my part to help the fish be happier/more comfortable. therefore, i dont keep wild fish that i catch myself, only keep fish that are already doomed

That's a pretty hypocritical stance sorry to say. If you don't believe in taking fish from the wild don't buy or keep fish at all unless you're fully aware they're tank raised. And whether or not the fish is wildcaught or tank raised they're in an enviroment smaller than they would be in the wild. The big thing about wildcaught fish in pet stores is they've been shipped a long distance under who knows what conditions and they're stressed, the same can go for farm raised fish which make up a large portion of fish store stock. People that collect natives, such as myself, are usually getting the fish directly from the water to our tanks, so how is that worse? They all seem to settle in fairly quick and take to captive life just as well if not better in a lot of cases than the ones from the fish store.

Another point, not all native fish seem to CARE where they're at. My madtom came from a river where he had plenty of room to swim around and he doesn't even leave his hiding spot. He won't even come out for food anymore, I have to put it in there. It's not because he's scared, it's because he's lazy and he knows I'll give him food so why do the work? Catfish in particular are like that. In fact a lot of fish don't care about anything but whether they'll find food and be safe from predators, so keep that in mind when you think the fish would have had a nice long happy life in the wild, they could instead be struggling to survive and find food and keep from getting eaten.
If they're fat and healthy and don't seem cramped who cares.

 

[USMCtanker]

no.. but if the pet store had them and i wanted to keep that kind of fish...
..

whats the diff. if i caught them or pet store did, there still from wild. sigh........ lol happyfishkeeping

 

[tunerX]

Some fish don't roam the whole lake. They mark off a territory, try to find food, and also try not to get eaten. They may migrate to find food and a mate. If you provide it then I would imagine that they are pretty happy. They don't go out and do water sports or anything.

Its funny that in the states where it is illegal that I can catch the fish, kill it, take it home and toss it in my garbage with no legal issues at all. I can also kill it any way I want.

 

[hotsauce]

as a keeper of natives here in socal, i really believe our hobby is built off of the love for the creatures we "PROVIDE" for. we go out of our way as soon as we notice anything uncomfortable for our pets, we adjust for them. one of my big reasons for keeping fish at all is for the learning and enjoyment my children get from having them. when my son catches a fish that he thinks is cool, he likes to make his own decisions based off of their potential grow out size. and i was only able to teach him this through fishing and keeping natives. for the few that act without thinking, like carrying home a 18" lmb in a six pack cooler, to put in a 55, they need the restrictions! but not the majority of us. i argued with my cousin for three straight days until he just fried the bass up!

 

[Fishermoe14]

im not bashing you guys that keep natives. its just my personal mentality.. i cant physically take a fish from the wild, but ill buy wild caught fish. its all about my personal ethics. my parents raised me to keep wild animals wild so thats what i do.. being buddhist probably helps out with that..

im not against keeping natives.. i just dont support the idea.

 

[Zoodiver]

In most states, you can't catch and keep your own fish without a permit. It doesn't fall under where most look (wildlife law), animals fall under protection by laws protecting "natural resources". Same as trying to keep a pet moose or deer. Sure you can kill one in seaon, but keeping them alive is a different story.


Here in Minnesota, you must buy from a hatchery (and keep proof of that). You can't legally take and keep live fish from any body of water without the proper permit from the DNR.

 

[ewurm]

You can get a permit from the DNR in MN to keep and sell some native species with a permit that costs $90 a year.

 

[mudkeeper]

I think it is good, most gamefish are to big to keep in a tank, unless you have a nice 300 gallon (the bigger the tank, you will be surprise how much more natural your fish acts). Somethings are best to leave in the wild, but some species of native fish live in macrohabitats, so they don't move far from their spots, only in search of food, other fish just sit around and lay at the bottom, like my catfish, only to move when its food time. However, I think bass and large sunfish is tough, since they are constantly roaming. You will be suprise the hundreds of other native fish their is to care for, with a big gamefish personality.

 

[stpeter]

2008 Minnesota fishing regulations state that:

• Transport of fish for display in a home aquarium is legal under the​

following conditions:
– Game fish purchased from an authorized licensee transported with
the necessary documents (such as a sales receipt).
– Anglers 16 or under may transport legally caught largemouth bass,
smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass, black crappie, white
crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, orange spotted
sunfish, and black, yellow, and brown bullhead. No more than
four of each species may be transported at any one time, and any
individual fish can be no longer than 10 inches.​

​

At no time may
water from infested waters be transported.

​

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing2008.pdf

its around page 10 on the pdf someplace

so... does this mean that if i was under 16 i could take home my fish to keep? or perhaps my little brother could bring some home....

i have the feeling that i'm misunderstanding, but if not.....​

 

[Phillis]

well in cali i think its illigeal but thats only because of the disease threat but i mean guys who in the right mind would send people to inspect each house to make sure they dont have "Native Fish" i mean people have better things to do... its just be smart people dont release your fish back to the wild its bad for us aquarist and the ecosystem... it will be the snakehead catastrophe all over agian...