I read my state regs, and what they dont allow is.
1. releasing aquarium fish, that would be considered invasive to the area, actually any tropicals.
2. Any baitfish from a bait supplier, for fear of the possibility of the water or container being contaminated with zebra mussel eggs, or other pathogens from the baitfish, or water they are in.
No mention is made of releasing a fish, taken from a given body of water, back into that same body of water, although..to release any fish into any body of water requires a stocking permit, that has to be approved by my State DNR, to insure you are not releasing invasive species. Which in my opinion is toooo much red tape just to let a large mouth bass go after it gets too big to house anymore, not to mention how much that would cost.
My method of operation is, If i know i dont have a big enough tank to support any fish to full mature growth, I dont get it to start with, or be aware that at some point you may have to kill that fish, because, I for one am not gonna buy a stocking permit, just to try to keep one fish and be able to let it go, and im not gonna fight with the Possum Cop that catches me letting that fish go without a permit. I guess its called being a responsible, law abiding fishkeeper.
