QUESTION FOR YALL THAT FISH THE SPRING WHITING RUN AND THE SPOTS WHEN THEY COME IN…
HOW MANY OF YOU FILET AND ICE YOUR CATCH WHILE STILL FISHING, I’VE HEARD ARGUMENTS PRO AND CON !!! EVEN HEARD SOME SAY ITS ILLEGAL TO DO SO ???
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
We use whiting for shark bait all the time…but the regs say fish must be landed whole. I suppose you could scale them and gut 'em…supposed to be brought to the dock with head and tail intact.
Equipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 25 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 21 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC
If you ask anyone in law enforcement ( DNR), they’re going to tell you that since it’s impossible to ascertain whether a fish is legal or not, once the head and tail has been removed, they’re going to presume it was not legal, and that the act of cleaning fish while still on the water, is being done to hide illegal fish.
There’s got to be some degree of common sense too. If you’re on a beach camping and preparing fish to eat, and the DNR stop by to check you, obviously, you won’t be cooking fish without cleaning them however you prefer, but while still on a boat, or even on land, while still fishing, that’s a different situation.
I recall a discussion once where it was even suggested, that tossing the waste from cleaning fish into the water could be considered “polluting” as far as law enforcement, so that opens up an new can of worms.
In most regulations that I’ve ever read, as long as you keep the head and tail, and fins intact, to enable proper identification, and measurement for size, you’re legal as far as cleaning your fish on the water.
Beyond that, it’s likely more a personal preference as far as taste of the fish. IMO, if keeping fish in a live well, means that they stay alive longer, that’s going to have an affect compared to tossing them into an ice chest after killing them or where the soon die. Whether they’ve been cleaned or not, I can’t say as anything can happen. I never cleaned fish until I returned from fishing, and wouldn’t ever keep fish that were not legal, so never a concern about that anyway.
I CAN’T SEE WHERE THIS WOULD BE AN ISSUE ON THE LIKES OF WHITING OR SPOTS …
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
I got a warning from the man, years ago, for having 2 black tips in my cooler with the head and tail cut off. He said that it is hard to clasify a fish with out his head. I was luck he could see the black tips and what was left was as long as the cooler and only gave us a warning.
I CAN'T SEE WHERE THIS WOULD BE AN ISSUE ON THE LIKES OF WHITING OR SPOTS .....
George, do as you like. There’s no size limits on them, so you’re probably correct for those species. Maybe you might want to ask the same question to the DNR and see what they say.
What bigjim said… Personally I don’t care much for cleaning fish on a moving boat… too much chance on a misplaced slice. The only fish I semi clean are sharks… Gut while still alive and dip in the water for a bit before putting on ice.
IMO, you caught the man on a good day. Wouldn’t work out for me that way.
As Fred eluded to, if keeping a shark, gut, rinse and ice ASAP.
Only fish cleaned aboard were a couple offshore that were grilled on the boat for fish tacos:+1: Not sure what they were, but reddish:question:
NN
If I catch bait fish and chop them up for chum, is that illegal?
What did you say? It’s only illegal if you get caught. Ohkk
No,there is a list of fish that must be landed with head and tail intact.Check the rules and regulations book.
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I’m sure you would have shared some grilled fish with the man if he swung by. Been a long time since I’ve caught a fish offshore and put it straight on the grill. mmmm…
Did your reddish fish look like this… 
