Daily/Possession limits in GA

Not a routine meat fisherman (bass catch & release majority of the time) and was hoping someone could clarify.

Brother is in town next weekend from SC and wanted some fish fry with a little to take home. We will be targeting specifically for crappie. It will just be him, myself and my 6 year old.

Question #1: Since the daily limit is 30/person, it’s conceivable we could keep up to 90 along with a few other species (striper, etc)?

Question #2: An underage person not required to have a fishing license could keep up to the daily limit as well?

Question #3: Is there an overall possession limit per person? I.E. in your freezer/cooler traveling.


Thanks in advance!

LetsGoFishin said:

Not a routine meat fisherman (bass catch & release majority of the time) and was hoping someone could clarify.

Brother is in town next weekend from SC and wanted some fish fry with a little to take home. We will be targeting specifically for crappie. It will just be him, myself and my 6 year old.

Question #1: Since the daily limit is 30/person, it’s conceivable we could keep up to 90 along with a few other species (striper, etc)?

Question #2: An underage person not required to have a fishing license could keep up to the daily limit as well?

Question #3: Is there an overall possession limit per person? I.E. in your freezer/cooler traveling.


Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

My understanding is that the limits are on a per species basis, so yes, 30 crappie per person + However many bass (10) + However many stripers. I think the catfish limits are super liberal, so you may look into setting up, and running some jug lines. It's a great way to put some meat in the cooler, and fun for younger folks as well, since it's very visual.

Yes to number two. If that younger person is fishing, they can have a limit of their own, even if they're not old enough to require a license.

For number three, I could swear there was, but I don't see anything about it in the 2017 rule and reg online doc. You might want to contact the DNR for some clarification there.

#3: Daily Possession Limit is defined as what you have in your possession, even if you are travelling, at least in GA. So, you can only transport one legal daily limit per person, regardless of when they were caught. I work with a guy that used to travel to a family crappie-fest, freeze the daily catches, then everyone would head home with numerous limits caught legally. He got pulled over somehow on the way home, and got burned for being over the daily limit, even though he explained what the deal was. The DNR did not care.

This makes sense if you think about it, how is the Ranger supposed to know when you caught what? It's not like anyone would ever lie to a Ranger about their catch (sarcasm).

FM

Good info FM!

Here's what I was thinking of...

Freshwater Game Species Daily Limits
It is unlawful to take in one day or to possess at any one time, except at a residence or commercial storage facility, more than the daily limit for each species. It is unlawful to possess more than a total of 50 individuals of all the game fish listed in this section, except channel and flathead catfish.
Once the daily limit for a particular species is taken, it is unlawful to continue to fish for that species.

Click to expand...

Obviously then, when you're transporting your catch, everyone needs to ride together, or you need have a couple of coolers, and split everything up in such a way that the numbers work out to keep everyone legal.

Cut and paste from DNR Fishing regs site. Very first line on page.

"It is unlawful to take in one day or to possess at any one time, except at a residence or commercial storage facility, more than the daily limit for each species. It is unlawful to possess more than a total of 50 individuals of all the game fish listed in this section, except channel and flathead catfish."

http://www.eregulations.com/georgia/fishing/general-regulations/

Example: Bream Limit is 50. If you caught and kept 50 bream; Is OK. But if you caught and kept 50 bream and 1 bass you would NOT be OK because 50 is the max number of any combination of game fish (except catfish) that can be kept at one time.

Coenen said:

Good info FM!

Here's what I was thinking of...


Obviously then, when you're transporting your catch, everyone needs to ride together, or you need have a couple of coolers, and split everything up in such a way that the numbers work out to keep everyone legal.

Click to expand...

It makes catch and release even more appealing! LOL

If its up to the discretion of the DNR officer, despite hard evidence (i.e. fishing trip as you mentioned), what about them striper/flathead fishermen using legally caught brims? Who is to say they didn't catch the brims with hook/line despite having cast net on board?

What if you are transporting a bunch of frozen fillets?
I.E. to a family/company/church fish fry.

61BelAir said:

What if you are transporting a bunch of frozen fillets?
I.E. to a family/company/church fish fry.

Click to expand...

If they were sport caught fish, not commercially acquired and in obvious packaging, it wouldn't matter. The verbiage of the Regs is clear. Do you read a loophole in there somewhere?

My co-workers filets were frozen, and in a freezer in the bed of his truck, with a generator keeping it running, so they obviously did not just catch them all in a day. It made no difference.

FM

Remember also the regs say, "Once the daily limit for a particular species is taken, it is unlawful to continue to fish for that species."

I have wondered, suppose I am on a lake that has both bass and crappie. I catch and keep 30 crappie. What is the safest way for me to continue to fish, fishing for bass? Should I avoid using a twirly tail jig or live minnows even though I have caught a number of bass with them and often use them when fishing for bass? If I am questioned, will the honor system work and I can just say I am fishing for bass? It would be reasonable. And if my word would suffice, why wouldn't it suffice in other areas where it is reasonable?

I wish they would make some provisions for traveling. I really try to keep within the regs, but it is often difficult, either because of vagueness or ambiguity, or a reg is unreasonable in my opinion. I can go on a weeklong fishing trip in the mountains and each day catch my limit of trout and bring them back to my hotel or campsite and pile up 40 trout and not have a problem. But when the week is up and I want to take them home, I can't, at least not legally. I can have 40 trout in my hotel/camp or at home but not in between. I think that is unreasonable. And, as was said, if a week later I go to a party with a bunch of people who love fish, I can't take them all over there. I did talk to a DNR officer about this once and he said that if I had them separated, such as each day in a separate bag, and a bunch were frozen and obviously were not caught that day, then he would let it pass. Now that's reasonable, but that is him, and there is no interpretation of the regs I know of that would permit that. The officer you encounter might go strictly by the letter.

If I happen to be on this trip with 4 other family members, and even if they don't fish, then I could cheat and put 8 trout on each of 5 stringers and claim one stringer per person and get away with it. If they take my claim for that, why not take my claim about me catching them on different days on a trip, especially if I bag them separately?

I know that there are those who would poach and lie with regs like that. But I could poach and lie with the 5 stringer example as it is now. So what's the difference?

fishmonger said:

If they were sport caught fish, not commercially acquired and in obvious packaging, it wouldn't matter. The verbiage of the Regs is clear. Do you read a loophole in there somewhere?

My co-workers filets were frozen, and in a freezer in the bed of his truck, with a generator keeping it running, so they obviously did not just catch them all in a day. It made no difference.

FM

Click to expand...

They can't do anything to you if you claimed you caught them in a private pond, other than harass you a little. If I have a cooler full of fillets that I caught out of my pond that I am taking to a fish fry, there isn't anything they can do to me, regardless of how many I have. State possession limits don't apply to fish in stocked private ponds just like they don't apply to purchased quail bought from a plantation or clip toe ducks from skeeter branch. Now if you caught them at the lake, and are driving back home pulling the boat, then i guess they have reasonable cause to try to charge you. But you can drive a cooler full of filets you caught from your farm pond, and they can't do anything but try to harass you a little bit.

luigi said:

Remember also the regs say, "Once the daily limit for a particular species is taken, it is unlawful to continue to fish for that species."

I have wondered, suppose I am on a lake that has both bass and crappie. I catch and keep 30 crappie. What is the safest way for me to continue to fish, fishing for bass?

Click to expand...

Only keep 29 crappie and keep fishing, if you catch another crappie you can throw it back and still be legal.

So one can catch and release more than 30 crappie?

lampern said:

So one can catch and release more than 30 crappie?

Click to expand...

Anything over 30 you have to throw back

You can catch and release crappie all day long, hundreds if you catch that many. But once you have kept 30 crappie, you can't keep fishing for crappie, even if you say you are going to throw them back if you catch any more.

Stop keeping them at 29 is the answer. Once you have kept 29, start throwing any more back. I've done that with trout before, after I kept 7 good ones I started releasing any more I caught so I could keep on fishing.

fishmonger said:

If they were sport caught fish, not commercially acquired and in obvious packaging, it wouldn't matter. The verbiage of the Regs is clear. Do you read a loophole in there somewhere?

My co-workers filets were frozen, and in a freezer in the bed of his truck, with a generator keeping it running, so they obviously did not just catch them all in a day. It made no difference.

FM

Click to expand...

No, I read no loophole. I just know I've been to plenty of fish fries where 20-50 people ate and most of the fish were brought by maybe 5 to 10 anglers. Legally caught fish that were caught on more than one trip. Another part of my question that was unsaid, but I thought implied - when it's a bunch of frozen fillets how would anyone know how many fish it was? I.E. catfish fillets - there's a whole lot of difference in some bags of fillets from 1.5 pounders and 15-40 pounders.

Personally I mostly bass fish and don't often keep them unless it's a limit of 14-16" or so ones to give to one of a few people I know. Also, I fish private water much more often that public anyway.

From further posts I guess the "loophole" is fish caught from private water and/or having a carload of licensed fishermen traveling together. I can see the preacher making the announcement now: "Alright we are going to be bringing the fish in from so and so's house this Sunday and we need several members with a fishing license to ride along for legality's sake."

Never mind whether the licensed ones actually caught the fish. As long as there are enough people for the number of fish to divide out then you're okay.
Liars, cheats, and crooks are always going to find a way so I guess the laws are worded as best as they can to avoid it.

61BelAir said:

Liars, cheats, and crooks are always going to find a way so I guess the laws are worded as best as they can to avoid it.

Click to expand...

True, but they also make it difficult for honest people to remain honest.

luigi said:

You can catch and release crappie all day long, hundreds if you catch that many. But once you have kept 30 crappie, you can't keep fishing for crappie, even if you say you are going to throw them back if you catch any more.

Stop keeping them at 29 is the answer. Once you have kept 29, start throwing any more back. I've done that with trout before, after I kept 7 good ones I started releasing any more I caught so I could keep on fishing.

Click to expand...

Thank you

That explains it.

Why stop at 29 you can keep fishing even with a full limit on board
just don't keep any over limit . You can trout fish anytime but you can only keep them when season is open ?

LTZ25 said:

Why stop at 29 you can keep fishing even with a full limit on board
just don't keep any over limit . You can trout fish anytime but you can only keep them when season is open ?

Click to expand...

Once you have caught a limit of one species you can no longer fish for that species. That said if you continue to fish and catch lets say the 31st crappie you must immediately return it to the water. Possession means to take or kill. That also being said if you have 30 on the boat and are still fishing with a crappie rig you might get some flake from an agent. Bending the rules depends on what agent you get. Don't be caught in the middle.

Trout streams are open all year in GA. Delayed harvest streams you cannot take a fish unless the harvest time for that steam is open. You can fish it out of harvest but all fish must be returned. You can not take any fish from it dead or alive.