Revisited: Is it legal to use sunfish caught in a castnet for bait?

[EricM]

A friend recently had this discussion again with a man who was keeping bluegill/sunfish that he had caught while cast netting for bait. We contacted the TWRA (ask.twra@tn.gov) and got this response, which was consistent with previous responses:

"It is not legal to take Sunfish (i.e. Bluegill) with a cast net. If you take Sunfish using a legal method and keep it for personal use, then there is no minimum length limit. However, if you are a bait dealer and take sunfish to sell, sunfish can only be bought or sold for bait purposes and they cannot be more than 4 inches long. Hope this helps. Have a great day!"

I hope this clears up any misconception that seems to have started with the wording in the bait section of the fishing guide a couple of years back. Thanks, Eric

 

[Softbaitmaker]

Back many years ago and I mean many I use to use pond perch I caught in minnow traps in a buddy's pond to bait limb lines with for catfish and because they were caught legally in a minnow trap in a private pond it was legal but I could not use a minnow seine in the pond to net the pond perch and then use them for bait cause that was considered Illegal. I eally didn't see what difference it made how the pond perch were caught except nothing over 2.5 nches could get in the minnow basket trap. My Son and Grandson still run lines about 5 times a summer and keep the fish freezer stocked about all year with Catfish filets.

 

[jimwarden]

Bream may be used as bait, but can not be taken by use of a cast net. They must be taken by legal means i.e. hook and line by licensed fisherman.
Page 37 TWRA Fishing Guide.

 

[davisjeremy1981]

jimwarden - 12/10/2017 11:34 PM

Bream may be used as bait, but can not be taken by use of a cast net. They must be taken by legal means i.e. hook and line by licensed fisherman.
Page 37 TWRA Fishing Guide.

Always get the current TWRA Guide. They're free. Just grab one every year around renewal time and take the time to look at the regs and limits of the areas you usually fish.

 

[heath j]

Thought that only applied to game fish.

 

[catfish170]

Tennessee is one of the states that put Bream in the Game Fish category!

 

[SpurHunter]

EricM - 12/10/2017 5:32 PM

A friend recently had this discussion again with a man who was keeping bluegill/sunfish that he had caught while cast netting for bait. We contacted the TWRA (ask.twra@tn.gov) and got this response, which was consistent with previous responses:

"It is not legal to take Sunfish (i.e. Bluegill) with a cast net. If you take Sunfish using a legal method and keep it for personal use, then there is no minimum length limit. However, if you are a bait dealer and take sunfish to sell, sunfish can only be bought or sold for bait purposes and they cannot be more than 4 inches long. Hope this helps. Have a great day!"

I hope this clears up any misconception that seems to have started with the wording in the bait section of the fishing guide a couple of years back. Thanks, Eric

Um, what??

So its now illegal again to catch bream in a cast new under 4" in length and use them for bait?

 

[bullshot]

SpurHunter - 12/18/2017 11:21 AM


Um, what??

So its now illegal again to catch bream in a cast new under 4" in length and use them for bait?

It is illegal to catch bream by using a cast net, with a normal fishing license. If you have a commercial license (i.e. bait), you can only catch/sell bream under 4" for bait.

 

[jimwarden]

I could be wrong, but I believe it has always been illegal to catch bream and trout in a cast net to use for bait. I found a 2014-15 TWRA Fishing Guide and the use of bait section reads the same and even has the same page numbers. So, be sure to obtain your bait legally so that new state record 16lb LM Bass won’t be disqualified

 

[SpurHunter]

I use shad anyways, so Im not worried.