[Guest]

While there's a thread about bait fish legalities floating around, I thought I'd pose another question on the board...

Say I'm camping on Saturday and catch a few fish to keep. I want to fillet them, fish more on Sunday, then come home. Am I required to keep an area of the fish identifiable?

In other states, there is usually a regulation that you must leave at least a 1" x 1" patch of skin on the fillet so the fish can be identified while it is "on the water". I've scoured the Colo Regs and have not been able to find this requirement. I called the DOW and they gave me an answer, though it wasn't a field agent. If an officer asked to see my cooler and I have a bunch of fillets, how is s/he going to know if it is a smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, or wiper? Rainbow trout vs. kokanee?

What are your thoughts/what would you do?

 

[GMCO45]

What was the answer you got when you called the DOW?

 

[Guest]

What was the answer you got when you called the DOW?

no "identification patch" necessary - made me really nervous though...

1) How do you verify fish size when all you have is a fillet? What's to stop a person from keeping short walleye (16" in 18" waters), then filleting them to avoid getting caught?
2) Pink meat could be rainbows or kokanee - without a DNA test (which the DOW does do on game) how would you explain to an officer you have 10 kokanee and not 10 rainbows?

When I asked those questions, I wasn't really getting a straight answer. I know what I would do (I'm fairly conservative when it comes fishing - losing my privelage to fish and hunt would absolutely devastate me) but what would other folks do?

I have the same issue with catching a limit of fish in another state (like Nebraska) then bringing them home and possibly busting my "posession limit".

 

[roadkill]

i would just field dress the fish ie gut them. and puit them on ice then finish them up at home. i have wondered about this also

i cant seam to find it might have been in an older reg book but i remember seeing something about keeping fish intactfor length purposes

when bringing fish back from another state make sure you have your license from that state